First Glimpse of the New 2019 Suzuki Katana
We’re less than a week from the official introduction, but Suzuki has released the first look at the new Katana in its latest teaser video.
The video starts with a look at a katana sword before switching to a frontal shot of the headlight. We were worried that would be all we’d get, but thankfully Suzuki added a quick glimpse of the 2019 Katana in motion.
The quick look at the 2019 Suzuki Katana reveals a few important details. Firstly, we now see how closely the new Katana clings to the original bike design by Hans Muth. The front fairing has a few more sharper edges but the general look is similar to the classic design.
Below the radiator, we can see four header pipes and an engine that resembles the GSX-S1000′ inline-Four. The chassis also appears to be a match for the GSX-S.
An inline-Four would also likely rule out the theory of the Katana being the production version of the turbocharged Recursion. All indications point to Suzuki applying a turbo to a twin-cylinder engine, so unless there was a big change in direction, we can expect the Katana to be naturally aspirated.
In our most recent dyno run of the 2018 GSX-S1000, we measured 134.2 hp at 10200 rpm and 72.5 lb-ft. at 9300 rpm. We should expect similar numbers from the Katana.
The video confirms LED lighting, an inverted fork with Brembo brakes, high footpeg placement and a tire-hugging swingarm-mounted fender/plate-holder/turn signal mount.
We’ll have more details when the 2019 Suzuki Katana makes its official debut Oct. 2 at Intermot. Check back here on Motorcycle.com for more on the Katana and other new model announcements in our our 2018 Intermot coverage.
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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I see this as a limited production version of their gsx-s platform....which is great since the Hans Muth design style was always good looking.....we'll see soon enuff!
Found out today the new Katana has a ridiculous 12 liter (3.17 gallon US) fuel capacity. That should yield about 80 miles to the fuel light, if you get 40 mpg.