Retro Cool Suzuki Katana Stuns!

You’ve got to love a sweet garage build, and when they’re as nice as this example certainly is, sometimes you just want to let the pictures do all the talking – because Team Classic Suzuki has hit the modern-retro vibe nail square on the noggin. A shallow dive into the details won’t hurt though, as there are some nice technical headlines to back up the super cool visage.

Fashioned during a year when ordinarily they would have been flying the flag for Suzuki on the classic racing front. Instead, they turned their attention to making something wonderful. The Katana has always been a little controversial, with both detractors and ultra-enthusiasts shouting loudly from their side of the fence, be that the original all the way up to the latest iteration. So, if there’s any Katana vibe that can bring everyone together, it’s this beauty, a near-perfect mix of old and new.

The core of this bike hails from those days when top British Superbike teams would get year-old hand me downs from the World Superbike circus. Thus, it has a 2008 WSB chassis and an engine (from Suzuki world champs Alstare) rebuilt by Nathan Columbi, who knows a thing or three about Suzooks. It also has factory spec’ header pipes and cooling equipment, too. We could say that, in actuality, while Alstare were indeed top dogs when it came to Suzuki the truth was they got little help actual help from Suzuki in terms of ‘factory’ kit for most of their time representing the brand, doing most of the work themselves. However, they won the title and stacks of races, so the kit is about as factory as you’re going to get from that time period – quibble over.

It also has a chunky Alpha Performance swingarm, Yoshimura ECU, Ohlins suspension, a Race fit can and link pipe, a Brembo braking setup plus lightweight Dymag wheels. Yet it’s the styling that has won the day, with that iconic nose-cone leading the charge. Everything just looks right, the proportions are easy on the eye and the older design cues appear to match flawlessly with the more modern sculpted tank and running gear.

Fingers crossed we’ll see this little diamond out and about, or that someone will get to test it, because despite it looking dope as hell, it looks even more like it needs to be ridden. Bravo Team Classic Suzuki, bravo…