Katana Advice

[Slingblade]

ok a mate of mine just bought a Katana 1100 for $250. It has been sitting outside for years but was low k's when it was taken off the road.

Any advice about what to look for or things to check out. ie. do the tanks rust etc. etc.

Also the right side engine cover is cracked , does anyone have a spare cover they want to sell.

It needs some work but it is complete and i think it was a bloody bargain.

[Zed14]

lets have a barbie and burn the thing.

[fimpBIKES]

i would love to see a pic of what a $250 kat11 looks like...

Electrics, they will definitely be getting a bit on the dodgy side. Go through the lot. Switch blocks will have corrosion issues if left out in rain. Pull apart all electrical connectors, apply electrical contact cleaner and re-connect. Needless to say the battery will be fucked. Run a multimeter over the stator and reg/rec outputs.
Wheel and steering head/swing arm bearings will need re-packing if not actual replacing.
The tanks weren't prone to rusting, but will definitely need cleaning out and examining at least.
Carbs, good chance the diaphragms have hardened to some degree. Will require full strip down to free up sticking components such as floats.
Anti-dive will probably have seized, and the fork seals will definitely need doing.
Change ALL fluids, and examine the condition as it comes out. Engine may require flush through a couple of times.
Exhaust system is probably a bit "how's you're father"
That's about the biggest of issues, but if there are no major problems then tell you're mate he's a lucky bastard and I'm fuggin jealous :D

Personally I would be looking at doing a full strip down and re-build (not the motor) and he'll have one of the, if not THE, finest examples of 80's Japanese muscle bikes you can get. (In the 80's there was nothing worth buying but Japanese, the Itie bikes were slow and unreliable, Beemers were even more boring than today, Harley was just coming out of their worst ever period, the AMF 70's, and the English industry was finally dead and buried by 81)

[Slingblade]

Thanks for the advice chalky.

Just got back from his place and in two hours we managed to get it running after cleaning the tank out and cleaning the plugs. To be honest it is not too bad. Paint is average from exposure but the engine sounds tight as a drum! The carbs are woefully out of tune but as you said all the diaphragms and seals will have perished. It is missing the side panels but apart from that it is all together. Couldnt find a compliance plate anywhere though.

So now we need to know how to modernise it. He wants to upgrade the front and back ends so the next question is..............what fits? The anti-dive forks and 18 inch rim must go.

Any suggestions? Unlike me he actually has money to spend...........

AND TO MAKE IT EVEN WORSE HE GOT IT FOR $200 NOT $250........BASTARD.

[Large]

http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/7396977189498.gif

[Slingblade]

Sorry mate, didnt get one while i was there (slackass). I will asap.

[Slingblade]

Ok just been doing some research but i need some confirmation.

I think his is actually a gsx1100e. The bloke he bought it off said it was front ended years ago and had a new front end put onto it as it has a round headlight and no kat fairing. The give away was it has a conventional fuel tap. If i remember rightly the Kat had a big round fuel selector built into the side cover??? It has a tank that looks like a Kat with the suzuki written up the side the same. Bit hard to tell with no compliance plate.

Either way it was cheap i suppose.

[ozkat]

The big round thing was the choke.

[Slingblade]

Buggered if i know then. The choke cable is hanging loose at the moment. I will post a pic and you blokes can let me know.

check here mate, might tell you what is what.

A non Kat GSX11 has the choke on the left hand switchblock, at the bottom, moves horizontally.

If it has flat bars rather than clip-ons, the GSX11 dash (has a picture of the bike on it, displaying warning lamps such as side stand, blown bulbs etc) and no oil cooler, then it probably is the GSX rather than Kat.
Still a damned good bike though, and at an excellent price. I'd like another Kat11 meself, but I'd LOVE another first gen GSX11 model.

look here
http://www.suzukicycles.org/All-Suzuki/all_suzuki_models.html

[Slingblade]

Cheers chalky. Either way he is happy with a bargain.

I am trying to source parts for him as he has no computer to scour ebay etc. Trying to get it on the road in time for the fools run.

I need to source some pods, side covers, and will look at putting an acewell dash on it as the old shit instruments are unlikely to work properly(although the idiot lights seemed to work fine). It would be good to sort out the front end as it really seems to be a death trap with those bloody anti dive forks tapped into the brake system.

Anyone know what would be a straight front end swap??

Try Z-Power in Sydney for airpods.

The stock instruments should still be OK, unless they've been shorted out. Does the rev counter still work?

Anti dive works well when set up properly, I still run it. They can be disabled, but will require beefed up springs if you do. DO NOT just blank off the anti-dive though that will result in a very stiff/wooden front end. But later model suspension is better.

Try OzKat/Large or Fimp in regards a front end swap. There is an issue with ground clearance though, especially with that wide motor. I was constantly grinding through the left-hand engine cover on standard suspension/wheels.
Tip: a blob of weld on the inside of the cover will keep them going a bit longer before dumping oil.
Tip: keep the oil level in the engine up to the top mark, and changed regularly, the stator runs in the oil, to keep cool, and will age fast if the level is allowed to get low, resulting in spikes which will take out the reg/rec unit.
Tip: Electrix USA provide a reg/rec unit for these that deals with the 2/3 phase issue effectively, preventing electrical burnouts.


If you hadn't already guessed, I spent waaaay too much of my youth hooning around on the big Suzi's :D I fucken love'em

Have you been onto Old Skool Suzuki, that's the site for these bikes.

PS I still have the factory and Haynes workshop manuals for these bikes if you want scans.

[ozkat]

Side covers and nearly everything else are still avaliable from Suzuki. Why are you putting pods on? Does it still have the original airbox? If the original dash works why change it? Try it, it proberly will work. Any GSX/GSXR/RGV (up to about 95) front end will bolt straight in, maybe a steering stem change tho. Id do the absolute min mods before getting rego. It will be easier to get a ratty looking (but legal) GSX rego than a modified one.

[fimpBIKES]

sounds like a kat to me?

mine doesnt have a compliance plate either
the rego papers just say "no comply"

[Slingblade]

Cheers, all good advice lads.

I just had a look at the latest issue of streetfighters(latest issue to my slow newsagent anyway) and there is a great looking black GSX in it that will give him an idea of what can be done with one of those old bangers.

I think the best plan of attack will be to source the few parts that are missing , put a kit through the carbs and get them balanced, so it is running well and assess it from there. It really is in pretty good nick considering the neglect. The motor seems really strong. I think a day spent detailing and hitting it with Autosol will make a massive difference. It has the original airbox but he is keen to put pods on it after rego. It has the original exhaust as well so he should be fine with noise. A 4 into 1 will be a must afterwards!!

Keep the tips coming as the plan is to get it to the fools run.

[fimpBIKES]

any chance i could borrow that zorst for a saturday???


so its a kat?

Bet ya a pot it's a Gix.

[Slingblade]

Na i think it must be a GSX. It doesnt have clip ons and after having a good look at some Kat pics on the net i think the tank is a bit different as well. It was the front end change that threw it all out of whack.

As for the zorst fimp it aint my bike. Ask him at the fools hopefully.

[megareg]

Lets see photo's.... $200... bastard...