[GreasyCarb55]

2 days ago on the 27th of June 2022 the official Suzuki Motorcycle India twitter account posted a video teasing the retro styled Suzuki Katana naked bike as "Coming soon to India" and the bike is apparently going to be a CBU unit.

Official launch date yet to be confirmed by the company.

The Suzuki Katana is based on the Suzuki GSX-S1000F naked bike and is powered by a 1000cc Inline 4 making 150.8hp and 108nm. This engine is the same as the 2005-2008 Suzuki GSX-R1000 sport bike.

Source: Car&Bike, Suzuki Motorcycle India Tweet

[TusharK]

Suzuki Motorcycles has released a short teaser of its upcoming litre-class bike, the Katana, for India.



The Suzuki Katana was first showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo. The bike maker is now gearing up to launch it in the Indian market.

The Katana is a semi-faired street bike featuring a neo-retro look. It has a square-ish headlamp and a short tail section with a stepped seat.

Powering the Katana is a 999cc, inline 4-cylinder engine that produces 150 BHP and 106 Nm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox featuring a bi-directional quick-shifter.

The bike rides on 17-inch wheels and gets upside-down fork suspension at the front and a mono-shock at the rear. The brake setup is pretty conventional for a litre-class bike. It has twin discs at the front and a single disc at the rear equipped with Brembo-sourced calipers.

Link to Team-BHP News

[noo.b]

If they manage to assemble this locally keeping the price low like the last gen Busa then this bike will definitely take the market by a storm. It would be in direct competition to the Ninja 1000SX which is selling in really good numbers off late and beat it due to its novelty and a much cooler design theme.

Heck had I known they were looking to launch the Katana here I would've put off the purchase of my Z900 that I bought just before the year turned over.

[Axe77]

I just love the Katana - an utterly desirable bike with so much history and pedigree behind it.

I’m not optimistic on how well Suzuki might be inclined to price it. Wish they had more focus and attention on their Superbike division. Right now they’re even behind the lethargic Honda, trumping only the non - existent Yamaha amongst the prominent superbike majors.

[GoBlue]

Katana will be a CKD. Expect pricing around 15-16 OTR in MH. It’s a GSXS1000 in a different skin.

Expect it to disrupt the segment which is currently occupied by naked bikes with lesser displacement engines.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by GoBlue

Katana will be a CKD. Expect pricing around 15-16 OTR in MH. It’s a GSXS1000 in a different skin.

Expect it to disrupt the segment which is currently occupied by naked bikes with lesser displacement engines.

Wow! This is news to me. That's incredibly sweet pricing for a 150bhp naked. Bikes like even the Street Triple are going to feel the heat at this price. I guess the litre class Honda nakeds and Speed Triple anyway don't move much. Will go head on with the Z 900 / 1000 twins too.

Bring it on Suzuki!!

[neil.jericho]

Recently, a little birdie had told me that Suzuki was quietly bringing the Katana to India and that it was possibly undergoing ARAI homologation. I didnt hear anything about the timelines though, hence I refrained from mentioning it here. The pricing mentioned by GoBlue will certainly set the cat among the pigeons!

The other bit of good news is that Suzuki has finally set things right in the Kerala market. There is a big bike showroom coming up in the city. All this while, the only Suzuki dealer for big bikes in Kerala was in north Kerala. That made things quite impractical for enthusiasts. Suzuki lost a ton of sales with this approach. Cochin is the geographic hub of Kerala and the commercial capital of the state. Ducati, Honda, BMW, Kawasaki, Triumph, Benelli (2 showrooms!) are all present in Cochin. Now that Suzuki is in town, enthusiasts can look forward to seeing more Suzuki big bikes on our streets, narrow and crowded as they may be.

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Wow! This is news to me. That's incredibly sweet pricing for a 150bhp naked.

Even sweeter is the fact that although it’s labelled as a CKD and therefore attracts lesser RTO costs, it’s a CBU from JP. The only parts that are manufactured and assembled in India are the front number plate holder and sari guard.

[Slash]

Wow. I hope it has all the goodies the 1000sx has, with a slightly lower seat height and a better exhaust note. If not for the unresponsive and ignorant kawasaki sales here in bangalore, I might have already booked the 1000sx. Good to see other players stepping in.

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by GoBlue

Katana will be a CKD. Expect pricing around 15-16 OTR in MH.

Input from a reliable source.

Pricing could be a shade lesser than 15 OTR in MH. Very limited units would be available. Further import batches are not decided.

A special colour scheme would also be offered in India, specific to our market, which is not available globally. 1 India-specific colour, one global.

Bookings would start the moment the bike is launched by SMC India.

[Sebring]

Kawasaki sales (and service) was the best in Bangalore. I'm surprised on hearing this

Originally Posted by Slash

Wow. I hope it has all the goodies the 1000sx has, with a slightly lower seat height and a better exhaust note. If not for the unresponsive and ignorant kawasaki sales here in bangalore, I might have already booked the 1000sx. Good to see other players stepping in.

[nitro.1000bhp]

Originally Posted by Slash

Wow. I hope it has all the goodies the 1000sx has, with a slightly lower seat height and a better exhaust note. If not for the unresponsive and ignorant kawasaki sales here in bangalore, I might have already booked the 1000sx. Good to see other players stepping in.

The 1000sx is a sport tourer. Katana is a modern retro naked. The gsx1000 gt will be the ideal competitor to the sx. The Katana, in markets abroad competes with the z900rs and r9t etc..

[Slash]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Kawasaki sales (and service) was the best in Bangalore. I'm surprised on hearing this

I'm specifically speaking of Rideventur on Langford road. I visited them thrice last year for the ninja 650 and twice earlier this year for 1000sx. My last trip being in Feb when their office was under renovation (as was Keerthi Triumphs nearby). I also wrote to kawasaki but got no reply, calls or follow ups ever. On the other hand both Triumph and Ducati (Victoria Road) were really good. Will probably do another round in the coming months and see how it goes.

[Venkatesh]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Suzuki Motorcycles has released a short teaser of its upcoming litre-class bike, the Katana, for India.

Teaser shots of Suzuki Katana

Having ruled the streets and hearts of millions for over 4 decades, the epitome of fine craftsmanship is Coming Soon to India!

Link

[dheer4]

Does this mean that we have a slight chance and can see the revival of the Gsxr 1000R or even the Naked GSX 1000 as the Engine in katana is shared with these twins?