This fact is proven by its inclusion in the Guggenheim museum’s “Art of the Motorcycle” exhibit in New York in 1998 - an exhibit that is still traveling the country in one iteration or another.Īppearances can be deceiving Underneath its wild appearance lives a more-or-less standard issue GS. While not everyone was fond of the design when it debuted, to this day it is still an icon. Basically, they told him to come up with something so outrageous that no one would be able to ignore it, hoping that somehow just one wild design would draw attention to their whole line. To update their image, the company hired Hans Muth, a German designer and ex-chief of styling for BMW motorcycles. Then as now, appearance was key when it came to motorcycle sales, so Suzuki decided it was time to make a bold change. Though Suzukis of the day were known to be some of the fastest, best-handling machines in their respective classes, the word on the street was their lineup was also a bit boring when it came to looks. “What struck me the most,” Richard says, “was the appearance, the way the back of the tank came to a point, and how the seat was ‘scooped out’ to allow the rider to feel like they were a part of the bike, rather than sitting on top of the bike.” Though the first Suzuki Katana was not an entirely new motorcycle when it debuted in 1982, it was radically different in design and idea than its predecessors in Suzuki’s GS line of bikes. Now he can spend his lunch hour aboard one of his two GS1000SZs or a host of other fine bikes in his garage. “I spent more than one lunch period in the school library reading about it in all of the motorcycle magazines of the day,” he admits. It mentally takes him back to his senior year of high school. With just a bit of plutonium for power, the DeLorean sent its driver and passengers traveling through time.įor people like Richard Bruner, the 1982 Suzuki Katana GS1000SZ is a time machine of a different sort. Although Spielberg originally thought about using a refrigerator as a time machine, he turned instead to the DeLorean for something a bit sexier. Fox drove across the silver screen in the movie Back to the Future. In 1985, executive producer Steven Spielberg introduced thousands of teenagers to what would become their first object of moto lust: the gullwing-doored DeLorean that Michael J. It’s not likely that the 1982 Suzuki Katana GS1000SZ comes to mind. If you grew up in the Eighties, chances are when you think of a time machine, you think of a stainless-steel DeLorean complete with a flux capacitor. Suzuki Katana GS1000SZ Years produced: 1982 Claimed power: 90hp 8,500rpm Top speed: 140mph Engine type: Air-cooled, in-line four-cylinder Weight (wet): 252.4kg (556.5lb) Price then: $4,499 Price now: $3,500-$5,500 MPG: 35-50
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