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Rating today's "old-tech" 600s--four Japanese sportsters that refuse to ride into the valley of death. Should we applaud them? Or is euthansia called for?
This ongoing battle for your 600cc sportbike dollars is not a bad thing for those of us on a budget--or those whose self-esteem doesn't hinge on hving the very latest hardware. Motorcycles porliferating faster than SCUD missiles means there are a lot of less expensive alternatives in every dealership. And while you might pay list or, egad, above list for the latest GSX-R or ZX-6R--you'll be able to drive a much harder bargain on the new-old stuff. Here's the scoop.
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Ah, the ol' "Kan-a-tuna." Adam and Eve begat Cain and Abel, yadda yadda, and the came the 600 Katana---in '88, the year after the original Honda CBR600 Hurricane, in fact. The difference is the Honda is now on the verge of springing CBR600 the Fourth, and the Katana is basically the same.
Less powerful than its rivals in its heyday, the GSX600 feels slower in comparison now. But this bike always relied on surprisingly good suspension, with adjustable rebound at either end, and surprisingly good handling thanks to a stiff perimeter frame.
Like Kawasaki's old ZX-6, the Katana is from the era when 600s were designed for all-around duty. It, too, is somewhat large with a great cushy seat and roomy ergos, and therefore a fine traveller (though it buzzes a bit).
With this one you give up the 85/95 -horsepower punch we've come to expect from the newer 600s. And while the Kat's wheels are 17-inchers, they're relatively skinny things (3-inch front, 3.5 inch rear) and designed for yesterday's bias-ply rubber. Still, it's a competent machine. Just don't ask us to comment on its styling.
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It brings a tear to the eye really, looking back at our January 1985 cover which shows staff editor Bring "Roscoe" Ross roosting manfully on the new 600R Ninja. Sniff. They don't make 'em like that anymore, eh? But Kawasaki is still stamping out 600 Ninjas. There have been a few upgrades along the way, but the basic, steel-tube-framed middleweight Ninja remains.
It's all relative. Compared to current 600s, the middleweight Ninja feels a little flighty, sort of stiff and pogo-ey, underdamped and not all that fast. But if you're thinking of making the move from just about any bike born before 1984-you'll love a 600R even if it is a decade old design.
You get the basic building blocks that are still in use-a liquid-cooled, 16-valve, four-cylinder rev-monster, a single-shock rear end, an aluminum swingarm-l in a lightweight, quick-steering package.
What you give up, mostly, is modern suspension, radial tires and more ponies. The old R-version comes with a damper-rod(non-cartridge) fork, an air adjustable rear shock and high-profile bias-ply tires fitted to 16-inch rims. These items are perfectly fine for aggressive street riding, but the step up from there to modern radials on wider wheels was a big one.
What hasn't changed is that this revvy little beast is a blast to ride. Why'dya think they call them the "ray-gun" 80s?
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If you find the idea of mature, full-figured 600 more appealing (Yamaha's new YZF600R comes to mind), then you'll also love the first-generation ZX-6 which Kawasaki has been extruding since 1990.
The basic fact of the matter is that this ramaired, aluminum-framed 600 still makes 84 rear-wheel horses and screams merrily up to 14,000 rpm-very respectable numbers even by current standards.
It offers a reasonably well-damped chassis in a softly-sprung, somewhat heftier package. It's smooth and comfortable, a fine sport-tourer that can easily deal with a string of 300-mile days as well as an occasional passenger. And it comes with modern-sized wheels: a 3.5 x 17-inch front and 4.5 x17-inch rear, fitted with reasonable sticky radials.
The ZX-6 fork and shock are too softly sprung and lightly damped for serious back road assaults, but do a perfectly adequate job of handling commuting, sport-touring or seven-tenths sportbike duty. A suspension fix is just a few hundred bucks away, though at this price, better legs should be part of the deal.
What do you have to give when you buy a ZX-6? Only money and your common sense really. Yamaha's new YZF600R does everything this old Ninja does, only better, and for $100 less.
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If an army issue sportbikes to its soldiers, an olive drab FZR600 would be it: pared down, creature-comfortless and frill free, yet lacking none of the essential ingredients to complete the mission. The mission? Take yon curves...
The FZR is a fiesty little flamethrower of bike, with a long-stroke, midrange-intense motor that makes most of its power where it belongs for street use, though we'd estimate peak horsepower is probably on the shy side of 80-something.
It can be buzzy, though, and the riding position verges on racy-prone. Your seat's thin, your springs are pretty stiff, you feel every bump, you're young and glory-hungry and probably don't mind.
You can find good, sticky rubber to fit the FZR's 3- and 4-inch-wide 17-ich wheels, the better to test its stiff Deltabox frame and powerful brakes. What you're giving up here is new-tech suspension action, especially from the low-end shock in back. An FZR fitted with a high-end damper (along with a Race Tech catridge Emulator up front) is a backroad force to be reckoned with.
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It's pretty funny actually. As every new-model year approaches, the buying public oohs and aahs with anticipation as the manufacturers trot out their newest, trickest, fastest race-replicas or fattest, lowest, torque-pumping cruisers.
By the time the bikes actually hit the showrooms, the hype has reached critical mass as potential buyers are pounded mercilessly by ad rhetoric and magazine test results proclaiming them the absolute latest and greatest.
And yet, by the end of the year, it's amazing which bikes you'll find standing atop the sales charts. Models that should've faded into the oblivion of obsolescence long ago are sometimes the ones that end up capturing a large majority of the buying public's hearts, minds, and pocketbooks.
Pop Quiz time: Which motorcycle has remained one of Suzuki's top three overall best-sellers for the past several years?"
"Oh, that's easy," you think, "it's gotta be the GSX-R750." Nope. "Ok, then, maybe one of the Intruders." Guess Again.
The bike that's appeared on Suzuki's top-three list for several years running--and which was Suzuki's top selling streebike in '95--is none other than (are you ready for this?) the GSX600F Katana.
Wait a minute...you mean the same Katana that was introduced back in 1988? The bike Suzuki hoped would topple the CBR600F Honda? The funkily styled sportbike that used a 600cc version of the old air/oil-cooled GSX-R750 engine? Yep. Same bike.
And the 600 Kat isn't the only Katana that can boast such impressive staying power. Its next of kin, the 750 Katan, introduced a year later, has sold well enough to outlast more polished models such as the 1100 Katana. Even features like an adjustable windshield, comfy ergos and a stump-puller of motor weren't enough to keep the 1100 Kat alive, while the much simpler 750 has continued to sail along upon the sales floor seas without so much as a hiccup.
So what's the deal here? Why do consumers go for these semi-old-tech veterans when there are plenty of newer and flashier models to grab their attention?
The answer lies in the old adage that's as logical as it is overused--"bang for for the buck." Most Americans aren't willing or able to pay top dollar for the latest and greatest, no matter how much performance or trickness it offers. They just want a simple machine with enough zip to work out the adrenals, when the urge strikes, without sending them to the chiropractor or the poor house.
When the GSX600F made its debut in 1988, the little Kat matched up pretty close to the then dominant Honda 600 Hurricane--especially in the all-important price category--and Suzuki even offered a generous racing contingency program to spur sales. But as time passed and the other factories refined and updated their middleweight sportbikes, the Katana experienced only minor changes. It soon fell to also-ran status in the 600 performance sweepstakes.
Constant technological improvements come at a price, however, and while the other factories were duking it out on the racetrack, Suzuki was cleaning up on the showroom floor. With decent looks at rock-bottom pice, the sold stacks of the little Kats, creating in the process a league of loyal followers.
Motorcyclist heard from those followers in a January '93 "Reader Report." Numerous comments like "smooth and powerful enough for me" and "does it all well" were mixed in with statements like "roomy and comfortable," "couldn't beat the price" and "love it, will never sell it." Not a bad report card for a bike tat was pretty much ignored by the mainstream motorcycling press.
The 750 Katana, on the other hand, was meant to be a slightly softened version of the GSX-R from the very beginning. When Suzuki's engineers decided to answer the appeals for a 750 sport-tourer, they simply rebored the 600 Kat's engine to original specs, threw in a shortstroke crank, upgraded the chassis a little and let it fly. And they ended up with a very competent sport-touring 750 that has aged well--well enough to undergo virtually no changes (except paint and graphics, of course) since its inception.
The 750 Katana was a natural progression, since both bikes use the same style semi-perimeter steel frame, although the 750's skeleton is beefed up to handle the additional power. Mainframe thickness grew from 2.0 to 2.3mm, with a stronger rear subframe as well. The 750's chassis numbers are reshuffled for added stability as well, with the swingarm lengthened by 1.4 inches (33mm), and the rake/trail opened up to 25 degree/4 inches (102mm), versus the 600 Katana's racier 24.8 degrees/3.9 inches. The brakes are identical, with different spring, linkage and damping rates in the otherwise equivalent suspension units.
The fairing and midsection bodywork is basically the same on both bikes, with styling that's loathed by some and adored by others. Love it or leave it, the Katana's looks were rated as one of the favorite aspects in the "Reader Report."
Climbing aboard either Katana finds the rider in a quite comfy seating position, though the 750's ergonomics are definitely more spacious for both the rider and passenger. Fairly high-set bars give a nice mellow cant to the upper torso, with ample legroom on both bikes. Passenger accomodations on the 600 are more of an afterthought, though; the skimpy pillion is sure to elicit complaints.
Cold mornings will have you running with the choke lever thumbed for at least the first few miles. Blame the same lean low-speed carburetion that's been a Suzuki trait for years. Once warmed up, things are a bit smoother, but any partial-throttle cruising at slow speeds still has both Katanas bucking and surging, with the 750 the worst of the two.
Still, urban environs demonstarate why the Katanas are so popular in these parts of the country. Despite the low-rpm stumble, both motors are fairly quick revvers, allowing traffic to be dispatched with ease. The mildly sporting ergos alleviate wrist burden on extended superslab drones, while the fairings provide a decent amount of wind protection. Engine vibes start to intrude after a while, especially at higher revs, though we are talking about what are basically GSX-R engines down there.
True to their GSX-R lineage, the Katanas show a definite proficiency on the serpentine tarmac. Both chassis are stable, confidence-inspiring platforms that are far less demanding to ride quickly than some of the more high-strung sporting mounts. The tallish bars provide plenty of leverage for quick steering inputs, and the suspension units feature well chosen spring and adjustable rebound damping rates that are right in the ballpark for the Kat's intended use.
Probably the biggest weakness is the 600 Kat's mill, however. The sleeved-down GSX-R750 engin is tuned for midrange power, but even with minor updates through the years it still feels a bit flacid; and never mind that the 600 is the heaviest middleweight around. It isn't much of a problem in the tight stuff, but anytime the road spreads out, the little Kat starts to wheeze out at around 10,000 RPM, while the 750's broad spread of power keeps things interesting on all but the longest straits.
Tires are also a factor, with the 750's excellent Metzeler rubber far outclassing the 600's merely adequate Dunlop K655s. Although brake performance was fine on both models, the 750's better skins allow greater break exploitation.
Of course, that really won't matter much to most of the Katana faithful. It's the combination of frugal price ($5999 for the 600, $7099 for the 750), distinctive styling and reasonable performance that's kept the Kats at the top of the sales charts, and Suzuki isn't about to mess with success. Newfangled models will come and go. But the mild-mannered Katanas will be cotent to just plug along and sell like crazy. Life is funny sometimes.
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