Our weekly providing to the gods of velocity is bookended with Suzukis. We begin with a Katana from the masters at AC Sanctuary and finish with a take a look at the brand new Suzuki GSX-8T and GSX-8TT. Wedged between them is a contemporary Honda Fireblade that pays tribute to Freddie Spencer’s NS500.
Suzuki Katana by AC Sanctuary The restomods produced by Japanese powerhouse AC Sanctuary have a lot presence that they render hyperbole out of date. This time, they’ve pulled out all of the stops to ship a hard-hitting Suzuki GSX1100S Katana for his or her most discerning buyer: AC Sanctuary founder Hiroyuki Nakamura.
Nakamura-san’s Katana takes the same old AC Sanctuary recipe and pushes it into overdrive. Its body has been trued and strengthened, and lodging have been made on the left facet to offset the drivetrain for a wider rear tire. There’s a brand new subframe up prime, full with repositioned shock mounts.
Additional down, you’ll discover a burly Sculpture swingarm, linked to Öhlins Blackline shocks with {custom} crimson particulars. The decrease shock mounts function eccentric cams that let you tweak the geometry and trip peak.
Öhlins Blackline forks are held in place by billet yokes up entrance. An AC Sanctuary steering stem equipment fine-tunes the geometry additional, and there’s a particular steering damper that the corporate has been growing in collaboration with Öhlins.
The Katana rolls on beautiful OZ Racing hoops, shod with Bridgestone Battlax tires. Braking comes courtesy of Brembo, with a pair of race-bred GP4-RX calipers grabbing AC Sanctuary discs (that are manufactured for the model by Sunstar).
The Suzuki’s now-1,135 cc engine sports activities extra upgrades than you may shake a stick at. There’s every little thing from Yoshimura cams and high-comp pistons, to a freshly machined engine block. The complete spec sheet might fill volumes, however highlights embody Mikuni flatslide carbs, a digital ignition with a number of engine maps, and titanium exhaust headers from Nitro Racing.
Visually, the Suzuki Katana retains a lot of its DNA, though it largely wears {custom} elements. It’s wearing carbon fiber fenders, a brand new fiberglass fairing, and a reworked rear finish. Stack dials adorn the cockpit, mounted in a custom-made sprint that’s tucked behind the windscreen.
Formally designated ‘RCM 644,’ this Sanctuary Katana is completed in a hanging gray and crimson livery, hand-picked by Nakamura-san himself. If there’s a greater therapy for the enduring Katana, we haven’t seen it. (Supply)
Honda Fireblade by Rindperformance Fashionable MotoGP bikes are engineering marvels—however that additionally makes them hopelessly busy, visually. The race bikes of yesteryear had less complicated bodywork and fewer sponsor logos, which might be why we bear in mind them with such fondness.
Robin Ludwig of Rindperformance in Germany is especially enamored with Freddie Spencer’s championship-winning 1983 Honda NS500. So he determined to construct a contemporary homage to it, utilizing a 2007-model Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade as a donor.
“As an enormous fan of the golden period of two-strokes,” says Robin, “I got down to convey again that unmistakable 80s race bike spirit—deep rear fairings, under-seat exhausts, a large entrance fairing. The entire vibe. However I wished to do it on a contemporary street-legal supersport platform.”
“The SC57 was the proper base—basic Honda engineering, a inventory under-seat exhaust, and a uncooked, mechanical character that match the imaginative and prescient completely.”
To construct the ‘Freddie Blade,’ Robin tore the Fireblade all the way down to its bones and mocked up new bodywork, utilizing cardboard cutouts to visualise sure elements. He constructed the fairing and tail part out of fiberglass, earlier than designing beneficiant facet panels to nail the NS500’s silhouette.
In inventory trim, the Fireblade’s waspish tail sits at a manner sharper angle than the NS500’s, so Robin tweaked the bike’s trip peak too. A home made subframe holds the brand new bodywork, with an Alcantara seat including a contact of sophistication. A pair of Bodis silencers poke by way of the tail, mounted on {custom} headers.
Robin additionally fitted a smaller radiator, PVM wheels, and LED lights. An upgraded ECU and a quick-shifter assist the 998 cc four-cylinder motor attain its 170-plus horsepower peak, whereas a handbook trip peak adjuster on the forks helps with racing begins.
Resplendent in a paint job impressed by Quick Freddie’s 1984 livery, the Freddie Blade is an irresistible mix of nostalgia and efficiency. (Rindperformance)
Suzuki GSX-8T and GSX-8TT Suzuki has simply expanded its middleweight GSX-8 sequence with the addition of two new retro-themed fashions—the GSX-8T and GSX-8TT.
Constructed on the identical platform as the prevailing GSX-8S and GSX-8R, these new bikes take inspiration from Nineteen Sixties and Seventies Suzukis. That makes them the one fashionable classics within the Japanese marque’s vary, except for the Katana.
The Suzuki GSX-8T (above) and GSX-8TT (under) use the prevailing GSX-8 engine, chassis, and operating gear, however function all-new bodywork and trim. They share a brand new 16.5-liter (4.36-gallon) gasoline tank, linked to redesigned radiator shrouds that bear spherical ‘GSX8’ badges.
Each bikes function a spherical LED headlight, though the Suzuki GSX-8TT’s is housed in a fairing that’s harking back to the Seventies Suzuki GS1000S. The TT mannequin additionally will get a stomach spoiler and a special seat cowl design. Spherical bar-end mirrors come commonplace on each fashions.
The GSX-8 engine that powers the Suzuki GSX-8T and GSX-8TT is a 776 cc parallel-twin unit with a 270-degree firing interval, good for 81.8 hp at 8,500 rpm and 78 Nm of torque at 6,800 rpm. It’s housed in a twin-spar metal body, with an aluminum subframe out again. Suspension elements come from KYB, whereas the brakes are provided by Nissin.
Fashionable facilities embody a TFT display, switchable rider modes, traction management, ABS, and a quick-shifter. There’s even a USB-C port that helps quick charging.
Every bike is available in varied colorways, with completely different finishes for its laborious elements. Though we will’t deny that the Suzuki GSX-8TT seems to be quite fetching in black and crimson, we will’t assist however really feel that Suzuki’s recipe has extra fashionable than retro in it. The model cites references just like the Suzuki T500 and the Yoshimura GS1000 AMA race bike, however these new bikes bear little resemblance to these legendary machines.
That stated, they’re better-looking than their stablemates, whereas providing the identical degree of efficiency. And that alone may make them value a re-examination. (Suzuki)
