Katana Photos

The Suzuki Katana's visual design is its most divisive and most interesting quality. The brief Hans Muth received for the original 1980 machine was to make something that looked like a Japanese sword - aggressive, precise, with not a single unnecessary line. The 2019 revival kept that directive: the sharp nose, steeply raked windscreen, angular tank, and the distinctive 'knee cutout' profile that is impossible to confuse with anything else on the road.

Up front, the Katana wears a flat, angular fairing with a narrow LED headlight cluster that gives it an appropriately menacing face. The fuel tank lines flow into sharply cut side panels, and the tail unit ends in a clean, upswept tail lamp. There is no unnecessary chrome, no gratuitous scoops - just sharp edges and intentional geometry.

Detail highlights worth looking at include: the exposed aluminium frame sections visible through the bodywork, the Brembo radial calipers finished in gold gripping the twin 310mm front discs, the distinctive slash-cut exhaust tip, and the minimalist LCD instrument cluster that keeps numbers readable without overwhelming the cockpit.

In Metallic Mystic Silver, the bike reads as a direct visual tribute to the 1980 original. In Metallic Stellar Blue, the same body lines feel distinctly modern. Both work well - the shape is strong enough to carry either.

Side by side with rivals: next to the Honda CB1000 Hornet SP or Kawasaki Z900, the Katana's retro-modern character stands out immediately. The current crop of super-nakeds favour muscular, aggressive bodywork - the Katana's geometric restraint is an acquired taste that divides opinion sharply.