Some aficionados imagine that the one technique to design a beautiful bike, is to take care of a superbly horizontal basis line. But the German designer Hans Muth thumbed his nostril at this conference, when he penned the mighty Suzuki Katana. He did imagine within the significance of “flyline”—however on the Katana, he intentionally made it angular and dramatic.
His design raised various eyebrows, but it surely additionally went on to turn into iconic. These days, it presents customizers with an fascinating quandary: lean into the Katana’s inherent quirkiness, or try to clean out its strains? Maurizio Carraro has performed a little bit of each right here, with intriguing outcomes.
Maurizio runs the workshop Imbarcadero 14 Venice, the place he’s constructed up a portfolio that covers a broad vary of manufacturers and kinds. “The bike was commissioned as a gift for the 50th birthday of an old friend of mine,” he tells us, “a person passionate about motorcycles and cars. So the bike had to be fast and safe to ride, to meet the expectations of an experienced rider.”
The donor was 1986-model Suzuki GSX 1100 Katana, and the transient referred to as for a café racer construct. But Maurizio injected shades of traditional sport tourers in it too—and a touch of the unique Katana silhouette.
To obtain this, a whole new set of garments needed to be fabricated for the 80s sportsbike. Maurizio mocked up the design utilizing Photoshop first, then introduced it to life in aluminum.
It’s quick changing into the norm to make use of 3D printing to create molds for shaping steel over, however Maurizio didn’t take that route. Instead, he formed every half freeform with the assistance of his common collaborator, Ronnie Biasibetti. Their work consists of the entrance fairing and fender, gas tank, tail part and stomach pan, tweaks to the subframe, and the one-off bracket that holds the fairing.
To add a contact of modernity, Maurizio embedded a pair of LED projectors up entrance, and an LED taillight out again. The cockpit retains the unique Katana yoke and clip-ons, however sports activities new grips and a digital Acewell speedo.
Lower down are a brand new set of Tarozzi rear-sets. The tail piece is adorned with a slim racing seat pad, whereas a hand-made license plate mount retains issues road authorized out again.
The bodywork is likely to be the most important change, however the remainder of the bike received a ton of consideration too. The entrance forks had been rebuilt with new internals, whereas the rear shocks had been swapped out for a set of longer piggyback models. The wheels and brakes are authentic too, however every thing’s been refurbished and repainted.
Maurizio additionally stripped the motor to scrub and refinish it, inside and outside. It appears to be like manufacturing facility recent now, with contrasting black and steel finishes. Even the logos have been polished again in, giving the bike a interval right really feel.
A row of pod filters are tucked in beneath the bodywork, with a pair of Virex mufflers doing obligation additional again.
Race followers would possibly acknowledge the Katana’s new shade palette. It takes inspiration from Barry Sheene’s 1976 Suzuki XR14, though it’s a reinterpretation fairly than a reproduction. It’s complemented by successful of gold on the wheels, with the body refinished in black.
It’s an uncommon search for the Katana, however we’re into it. Think of it as a Katana from an alternate universe, the place Herr Muth was obsessive about traditional race bikes and didn’t personal a protractor.
Imbarcadero 14 Venice | Instagram | Images by Giovanni Federici
Source: www.bikeexif.com