Description
14th Feb, 2025 11:00
The February 2025 Auction
1983 Suzuki GSX1100 Katana
Stunning example
Estimate
£8, 500 - £9, 000
Buyer's premium: 18. 00%
Lot details
Registration: A694GAL
Frame: GS110X535719
Odometer: 18, 337
1074cc air cooled inline four
Used as a Sunday toy by the owner
V5
Maxton suspension
Superb condition
Low miles
The Suzuki Katana is a street motorcycle sold between 1981 and 2006 and then since 2019. It was designed in 1979–1980 by Target Design of Germany for Suzuki.
The Katana name was later applied to a range of in-house styled sport touring motorcycles in North America through the 2006 model year and, starting at the turn of the millennium, a line of 50cc scooters in Europe.
Hans Muth characteries the Suzuki Katana by what he calls its dramatic “flyline,” melding five key components into stylistic and aerodynamic unity: headlight, fuel tank, seat, and front and rear fenders. Central to the Katana's unique identity is its “V-shaped gas tank,” describing the way the tank narrows toward the rider and diverges toward the front of the bike. Muth's design was rendered in silver - like the sword. Originally, it had no windshield - that was Suzuki's requirement. On the side cover Muth added the Japanese character for the katana sword, interleaved with a red image of the same sword. “The sword first serves as a weapon, but a katana also has a mythological meaning in Japan,” Muth said when he presented the design to Osamu Suzuki. “If you don’t treat it right, its sharpness can be lethal. The same is true for a motorcycle.”
