'Baby' Kats - info needed please.

[Smokinapankake]

Yeah they released those little tiddlers here in the 90's as well. By the late 80's they weren't really Kats anymore though (IMHO). They just kept rehashing the name.

So do you consider the Pop-ups as real Kats?

[Zooks]

I'm not sure how to answer that question. If it says Katana I suppose it IS Katana. Definition is a personal thing really. I like the original bikes from the first 4 or 5 years, after that they lose their appeal a little.

GSX/R's are a good example. I'd love a 1st generation 750 'slab side' but after about '89 they lose all interest for me. It's just personal preference.

[arve]

kat 550 color

Mine is red with black seat,white letters on tank,gold wheels.Calipers and disc centers are red,I believe the rear shocks also are supposed to have red springs,but I think they have been replaced on my bike.All silver engine,black frame.Im pretty sure this bike is all original.Its a 1981 model,sold new in UK.

[Zooks]

Mine is red with black seat,white letters on tank,gold wheels.Calipers and disc centers are red,I believe the rear shocks also are supposed to have red springs,but I think they have been replaced on my bike.All silver engine,black frame.Im pretty sure this bike is all original.Its a 1981 model,sold new in UK.

So many questions -

Are you and the bike in the UK now? (nothing in your post about where you're from)
Are we talking 550 or 650?
Do you have any pics?

This bike sounds very different, we definitely need to see it.

PLEEEEEASE

[waltfen]

I can't remember seeing gold wheels but there again it was along time ago.
How have the wheels been painted? Suzuki left the rims and the edges of the spokes as shiny alloy.
When it comes to spraying most people cannot be bothered to mask it all off and end up spraying the lot. (as in my 650 wheels that are powder coated)
When I sprayed the 550 wheels I masked the rims but couldn't be bothered to mask the edges.

[SiggiK]

You guys really need to read this kat history to actually know your Katīs

GO HERE http://www.katanacentral.co.uk/histo...natimeline.asp TO READ THE KATANA Timeline

After its starting appearance at all the international motorcycle shows in 1979, the target DESIGNed GSX1100S Katana was officially launched in early 1980. It is impossible to over-estimate the impact of the Katana on the motorcycling world - it may as well have been from another planet...
No-one had used a design house to style a motorcycle before, and if the original Katana had never happened, a bike released this year utilising the flowing lines of the prototype would still look pretty impressive, 17 years on.
Being an old fart, I can remember the first arrivals hitting the local showrooms. It really was a case of love it or hate it, and although I thought it looked mega, in general the conservative motorcycle buying public found it a bit avant-garde for their tastes. It wasn't a massive seller initially, but as punters became more used to its in-yer-face styling, more and more found their way out onto the roads.
I think Suzuki bottled it after the first months or so, because the inevitable smaller versions in the Suzuki range utilised the Katana styling in a much diluted form. Although the original Kat died out in Europe in late 1983, it had mage a big impact on the global market as a whole, and Suzuki road motorcycles continued to be derivative of the original design for some years to come.