Suzuki Katana

The Suzuki Katana is a street motorcycle that Suzuki sold from 1981 to 2006 and again since 2019. Its original styling was drawn in 1979 and 1980 by the German firm Target Design, led by Hans Muth, formerly chief of styling at BMW, and was shown to the public in 1980 as the ED1 and ED2 prototypes. The shark-like faired ED2 became the basis of the 1,100 cc GSX1100S Katana, which Suzuki claimed on its late 1980 release to be the fastest mass-production motorcycle in the world, while the unfaired ED1 became the GS550M and GS650G Katana. Muth named it after the Japanese sword and gave it a V-shaped fuel tank, a continuous line joining headlight, tank, seat and fenders, and silver paint. Factory variants such as the GSX1000SZ were built to homologate racing machines, and the Katana name was later also used on 50 cc scooters in Europe.