400 katana

[Nutter.]

looking at buying a 400 katana on eblag   will any larger engine fit without to much trouble   thanks in advance

[Swirl]

I know there water cooled, don't know which engines will go in, could look at rfor srad maybe keep it water cooled, think oil cooled will be the smallest

[neil w]

At one stage there was a gsxr1100 or gsxr750 powered one doing the rounds at the shows on the katana Owners Stand, when I owned my 400 kat I did measure it up to fit a 600 bandit motor and it looked like it would just slip in.

 

if it is the dark grey one it has already been slightly modified with what looks like either 400 bandit or gsx600f wheels  ie 17" front and rear 3 spokes instead of 18" front and 17" rear star pattern wheels.

 

When i had mine I was also running my 1100 kat with standard running gear and the 400 would run rings around the bigger bike on back roads especially once the super soft rear shocks were changed

Edited February 21, 2017 by neil w

[Swirl]

if a 600 bandit engine goes in, a 750 gszr engine will go in

[Nutter.]

Thanks guys its on eblag. Would like a oil cooled motor in it have a 750m engine in garage 

[johnr]

the kat 400 that had the gsxr1100m engine in it required some frame surgery to make it fit and even then the builder said it was super tight to get it in, he joked that if he had put another layer of paint on the frame then it wouldnt have fitted.
having said that, having a 400 frame in the shed, the tubing is very flimsy, certainly not as thick a wall as the older gs series frames. , some of the joints arent welded tube to tube, they have castings with the tubes onto them and then welded round. and the 250 kat frame is even smaller than the 400 in case you were wondering.

[neil w]

Still trying to work out why I sold mine, it was an ideal fun back roads bike (if a bit revvy) once fitted with better rear shocks and radial tyres, to be honest I don't think it would need any more than a 600 motor in it to make it just about perfect.

[Nutter.]

ive always wanted a kat looks like a 400 with 600 motor it might be

 

[neil w]

I was out on my 400 one day and stopped at a local cafe where there were a load of bikes parked up, problem with the 400 is that it attracts the self opinionated prats who know that it is not  a 750/1000 or 1100 but despite never having seen or ridden one will at length spout off to all and sundry about it not being a real katana and that it is not a patch on a 11100.

At the time I was running my 1100, the 400 and a 550 katana , so I pointed out to him very loudly in front of his gathered crowd that he was talking out of his ars* and that  I owned a 1100, a 550 and the 400 and that on any of the back roads in the area the 400 would run rings around a standard 1100 due to its lighter weight and better brakes and that was the reason that the 1100 /550 were sitting at home in the garage.

if I had the room I would have another one in the garage