Where did the inspiration for
the project come from?
The unstoppable urge
to own a Katana was caused by a feature in the November 1987
issue of Performance Bikes magazine.
The magazine frequently organised Frenzies, in which they pitted
the same sort of bikes against each other. The "Katana
Frenzy" had 18 loonies on modified Katana's.
"Katanas
rate along with Zed Ones and LCs as the most popular Reader's
Specials. Why? Probably because the looks are pretty much timeless
and the things look just as mean as they did when they first
hit the streets in '81. The motors are pretty much unburstable
with loads of tuning goodies on sale. A few interesting preferences
amongst the Katana owners raised their heads at Brunthingthorpe.
First off the most popular lid was easily Simpson's Star Wars
effort which proves three things:
Katana owners are poseurs, law breakers and sub-consciously
desire to be Darth Vader.
Most popular big bore was Wiseco's 1170 kit followed by the
Cosworth 1170. Harris pipes were the most popular exhaust system
though the locals didn't seem at all impressed by that.
TTS, NCK and V&M seemed to be the most used engine prep
and gear supply shops.
Final useless statistic: only two bikes ran steering dampers
which must say something."
Katana's are cool and their owners are heroes ;-)
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Way before anyone had ever heard about the
"Fast and Furious" or the "BikerBoyz" movie there
was a feature in streetfighters magazine of this bike, which they
found Don Blanchard dragracing on the streets for money during Daytona
bike week. I've never been much of a fan of "the american way"
to customize a bike, but somehow this bike made a very big impression
on me. I don't know if it was the story or the looks of the bike,
a proper go-fast tool finished in hammerite.
My SevenEleven is not very good for dragracing, the only thing it
wants do is wheelie, and I allways have a very hard time to make up
for the distance I loose in the first hundred metres against more
balanced machinery. So the thought of owning a second bike that can
use all of its power from the line seems very attractive.
Click on the image for the full article. |
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SFmag
No.30
August '96
Don Blanchard's
GS1357
Engine:
1981 Suzuki US-spec GS1100, gasflowed head with 38mm oversize valves,
heavy duty springs, .355 Megacycle cams, 1357cc FBG big block with
Wiseco pistons, Falicon modified crank, Hi-output oil pump with
double overhead oiler, straight-cut gears, billet clutch basket,
lock-up clutch, 1150E oil cooler, Spider exhaust with ceramic-coated
header pipes, 40mm Mikuni smoothbores with K&N filters, MRE
air-shifter with on-board compressor, Stage 2 NOS system with delay
box, Dyna coils, Dyna 4000 ignition, Dyna ignition retard box. |
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Frame: Modified 1981 Suzuki
US-spec GS1100
Front End: Shortened Suzuki GS1100 forks and yokes, 18in Dominator
wheel with Metzeler tyre, single Grimeca caliper and Koenig disc,
stainless steel line and Suzuki master cylinder.
Rear End: 4in overstock steel box section swinging-arm with rigid
struts, 18in Dominator wheel with 180x60x18 Yokohama tyre, Koenig
disc, PM caliper, stainless steel line with Suzuki masters cylinder.
Bodywork: 1981 Suzuki petrol tank, headlight and modified rear light
pod, seat, QD panels and rear extensions by owner, aftermarket custom
front mudguard.
Electrics: Modified Suzuki
Paint: Chevrolet teal green #25, fram powdercoated "hammer-look"
black and silver.
Other Stuff: All work by owner.
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How low can you go? I spotted this Katana
on Roger's Katana website,
with the seat on the same level as the top of the rear tyre.
When walking around a Katana you can't help but notice how long and
low it is, especially when you're used to ride a short and high streetfighter,
and I'd really like to exaggerate those features to the point of the
extreme. In Scandinavia they all seem to be building their Katana's
that way. |
| Kurre's Katana |
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