Suzuki’s Back-to-the-Future Katana Gets Even Sharper

The 1982 moonshot was an also-ran in the eighties. No more.

In the early eighties, Suzuki released the bike of the future. The Katana was trim, silver, and zippy as hell. Maneuverable to a fault, the bike was an instant favorite of serious bikers. Unfortunately, it was largely ignored by everyone else. In an era when bigger and louder was better and better, the Katana was actually too futuristic to claim market share.


That’s no longer true, which is why ICON 1000, the Portland motorcycle gear and one-off outfit, has reimagined the bike with a 1200cc Bandit motor and an improved paint job. The result, dubbed the New Jack, feels deliberately iconic, not vintage. The superbike suspension doesn’t hurt, but speed isn’t the attraction here. It’s all about those lines.