New member with a Katana 550 question.

[Guest]

Hello everyone I am a new member who just picked up a 1982 Katana 550. I am having trouble finding a lot of info on this bike and am curious how rare it might be.

[Jd10ac]

Here is another pic. The bike is all original with 20,000 miles on it. It runs and rides very nice.

[steve murdoch]

Welcome to the site, Jd.
Tech info for your bike can be found here. http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Your bike looks great.
The 550 Kats are fairly rare but not hugely valuable if that is what you are asking. Production numbers could probably be found on a Katana site.
The rarity of yours is that it still looks stock.

[AMK]

Very nice bike.

[Jd10ac]

Steve, I didn't think it would be anywhere near as valuable as the big Kat I'm just hoping I didn't get too burned on it. To the best of my knowledge the bike is completely stock, still has the original exhaust, and airbox, even the seat cover is original. I picked it up from an older Suzuki tech who just rebuilt the carbs, put a new chain and sprockets on it, a new battery, and new tires. It is a little sweetheart of a bike and I was just looking for something to ride to work, I finally outgrew my need for the new race replicas but I do miss the torque of my old SV1000.

[Nessism]

Nice bike. The GS550's are overbuilt and seem to last forever as long as the valves get checked. Many GS bikes hit the scrap heap because people ignore this critical bit of maintenance.

Enjoy!

[Griffin]

In the condition it's in and obviously running well, I'd have no problem paying $1,200-$1,500 or so for it, if that's what I was looking for and it needed nothing. By the time one can resurrect a dog of a bike, one will have that much into it, along with a lot of sweat and blood.

It was only imported for one year into the USA, and not in great numbers, so enjoy your new bike. Don't worry too much for what you paid for it as long as it does what you want it to do and you enjoy riding it.

And DON'T WRECK IT!!!!! Nice replacement parts for it are very difficult to come by.

[Larry D]

I really like the Baby Kats.....I'd really like to find a 650 in good condition.

[TxGSrider]

That's a nice looking bike... ride the crap outta it!

[Jd10ac]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I really don't feel like I got too burned on it because of the condition its in. I was able to pick it up for 1500 and it honestly doesn't need anything. There are some scratches in the tank that bother me but it is a 34 year old bike. I only wanted to pay 1400 for it max and came very close to walking away from it to go get a KZ650 Kawasaki but it needed a little tlc compared to the baby Kat.

[Jd10ac]

I guess the days are gone when you can pick up something like this one for $1100. I never should have let her go a few years ago but I thought I needed something newer and faster.

[Griffin]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I really don't feel like I got too burned on it because of the condition its in. I was able to pick it up for 1500 and it honestly doesn't need anything. There are some scratches in the tank that bother me but it is a 34 year old bike. I only wanted to pay 1400 for it max and came very close to walking away from it to go get a KZ650 Kawasaki but it needed a little tlc compared to the baby Kat.

You made the right choice.

$1,500 for a bike that needs nothing is a good deal. No matter what I initially paid for any of my bikes, I inevitably ended up with that much (or more) into each of them when all was said and done.