It's motorcycle show and launch season, so the blog has been weighted towards new bikes for the last few days.
This is the new Suzuki Katana, and though it's being labeled a retro, that's a bit of a stretch in my mind. The latest 911s aren't retro, but they're related to 1960s Porsches.
The Katana is based on the GSX-S1000, the 'roadster' version of the Suzuki GSX-R1000. The engine is a retuned version of the 2005 GSX-R1000 (my favourite litre superbike of all time), making 150bhp and 108lb.ft of torque. It has proper suspension and monobloc front brakes from the current GSX-R1000
The new Katana was designed by Rodolfo Frascoli. You might not be familiar with the name, but you'll know some of his work, including the 2005-10 Triumph Speed Triple, Triumph Tiger 1050; Guzzi Griso, Guzzi Breva, Guzzi Stelvio, various Moto Morinis, Gileras, Piaggios and others.
It'll be in dealers in Spring 2019. I could definitely see myself owning one of these, and I haven't thought that about a new bike for a while (ok, that's a lie, it's about two months since I nearly talked myself into a KTM 790 Duke)...
