'Baby' Kats - info needed please.

[waterman]

Can't help but stare at the beautiful kats, but really kinda interested to know if the bodywork of the 550 will fit on the 650 kat. In my small town, I came across a 650 kat that is in about 60 percent condition, would like to approach owner about purchasing it but not sure if I want to track down unobtanium bodywork.

 

[850 Combat]

I thought I read when they came out that all the shaft drive 650 had shell bearings, and all the chain drive motors had the roller crank.

I think I was corrected here that 650G had a roller crank.

What is the scoop?

Both the 650 and 550 have 8 valve motors. The 550 is the engine that was fitted into the normal GS550's.
The 650 has the engine with shell main bearings.

Seeing the comments about other Kats. Suzuki actually produced a GSX250 Kat in the early 90's for the home market which is styled the same as the 1100, and 1000 Kats. (like the GSX400S in the previous post).

I have seen one in the flesh, so to speak and as the picture shows they are just a mini sized version.

Have a look here :-
Click Here

 

[waterman]

The shaft drive 650s (g, gl, and m) are plain bearing while the chain drive 650E were roller bearing, from my understanding. I think the e model shares a few engine parts with the 550, at least some of the gaskets are interchangeable (oilpan, clutch).

 

[TrickyRicky]

Walt, those are a superb pair of Katanas you have there - :clap:

Waterman, I had always been under the impression that the GS550M and GS650G had the side plastic panels in common, but in eyeballing them side by side, I see they are not The panels are almost the same size, but the plastic mounting pins (the ones that break!) are in different locations to match up with the frame.

As for compatibility of parts, I have used the following link lots to find matching parts :

www.flatoutmotorcycles.com

I then sometimes google the part number as there are a few other sites hosting compatibility listings. The above site will also give a guide as to parts that have been upgraded ... in which case, repeat said search with new part number!

To respond to Zook's original question, most of the GS650G's I've seen over the years had silver bodywork - at least for the '81 model. Later models which were released in the US then had 2-tone tanks and mini fairings. Those without the silver bodywork were clearly not original.

 

[waltfen]

The petrol tank is interchangeable between the 2 models, unfortunately the side panels are different and seats are different.
Rear end is the same, the forks at least on mine are different, 37mm and 35mm.
Exhausts are not the same as the 650 has a smaller diameter pipe at the engine end.

 

[BentRod]

going back to the Black 550M, There were some katanas that did receive a special black paint job, but with the standard seat colour. calipers and disks were also generally black.
The lettering was usually orange on those that appeared in north america, but varients have appeared labelled as original with red or even yellow lettering, and various degrees of accenting such as brakes and shocks, and even frame colour.

The black is not the STOCK colour, but is was around in 1982.

 

[Zooks]

BentRod,

when you say 'received' a black paint job, do you mean that the dealers did this themselves after the bikes were imported into Nth America? Are we talking US or Canada, or both?

 

[bmt]

BentRod,

when you say 'received' a black paint job, do you mean that the dealers did this themselves after the bikes were imported into Nth America? Are we talking US or Canada, or both?

I'm really interested in what the black ones looked like myself. I also noticed that Waltfen's bikes have white wheels while my 550M and others I've seen from the US have red Enkei wheels. Those white ones look pretty slick.

a PO painted over the orange calipers on mine, but that will be remedied when I start fixing the cosmetic issues.

Waltfen, your bikes look amazing. I was just happy to have mostly original parts when i got my 550M.

 

[Zooks]

I'm really interested in what the black ones looked like myself.

This is similar to what my 550 looked like (before I pulled it apart) except that mine had red lettering and Katana logos. The headlight bracket on mine is black also.

I think this is a Brit pic, but I'm not sure. The cars are parked on the right so it may be Europe (continent) somewhere. There are two cars parked nose to nose, just to confuse the issue.

I always presumed that someone had painted my 550 black because I've never seen another one down here like it.

 

[Smokinapankake]

I vaguely recall seeing a black baby Kat sometime in the early 90's. I was living in Colorado Springs, riding my first Katana 1000, this dude parked next to me in the parking lot. I don't know if it was a 550 or 650 but it was definitely black. Looked to have the original paint, but then again, who knows?
Red/orange calipers and Katana emblem on the side, red/orange Suzuki lettering on the tank that appeared to be original. The bike was kind of tatty and in my "real Kat" snobbishness, combined with my ignorance and youth, I did'nt give it a second look.

 

[Smokinapankake]

Yeah they released those little tiddlers here in the 90's as well. By the late 80's they weren't really Kats anymore though (IMHO). They just kept rehashing the name.

So do you consider the Pop-ups as real Kats?

 

[Zooks]

I'm not sure how to answer that question. If it says Katana I suppose it IS Katana. Definition is a personal thing really. I like the original bikes from the first 4 or 5 years, after that they lose their appeal a little.

GSX/R's are a good example. I'd love a 1st generation 750 'slab side' but after about '89 they lose all interest for me. It's just personal preference.

 

[arve]

kat 550 color

kat 550 color

Mine is red with black seat,white letters on tank,gold wheels.Calipers and disc centers are red,I believe the rear shocks also are supposed to have red springs,but I think they have been replaced on my bike.All silver engine,black frame.Im pretty sure this bike is all original.Its a 1981 model,sold new in UK.

 

[Zooks]

Mine is red with black seat,white letters on tank,gold wheels.Calipers and disc centers are red,I believe the rear shocks also are supposed to have red springs,but I think they have been replaced on my bike.All silver engine,black frame.Im pretty sure this bike is all original.Its a 1981 model,sold new in UK.

So many questions -

Are you and the bike in the UK now? (nothing in your post about where you're from)
Are we talking 550 or 650?
Do you have any pics?

This bike sounds very different, we definitely need to see it.

PLEEEEEASE ray:

 

[waltfen]

I can't remember seeing gold wheels but there again it was along time ago.
How have the wheels been painted? Suzuki left the rims and the edges of the spokes as shiny alloy.
When it comes to spraying most people cannot be bothered to mask it all off and end up spraying the lot. (as in my 650 wheels that are powder coated)
When I sprayed the 550 wheels I masked the rims but couldn't be bothered to mask the edges.

 

[SiggiK]

You guys really need to read this kat history to actually know your Kat?s

You guys really need to read this kat history to actually know your Kat?s

GO HERE http://www.katanacentral.co.uk/history/katanatimeline.asp TO READ THE KATANA Timeline

After its starting appearance at all the international motorcycle shows in 1979, the target DESIGNed GSX1100S Katana was officially launched in early 1980. It is impossible to over-estimate the impact of the Katana on the motorcycling world - it may as well have been from another planet...

No-one had used a design house to style a motorcycle before, and if the original Katana had never happened, a bike released this year utilising the flowing lines of the prototype would still look pretty impressive, 17 years on.
Being an old fart, I can remember the first arrivals hitting the local showrooms. It really was a case of love it or hate it, and although I thought it looked mega, in general the conservative motorcycle buying public found it a bit avant-garde for their tastes. It wasn't a massive seller initially, but as punters became more used to its in-yer-face styling, more and more found their way out onto the roads.
I think Suzuki bottled it after the first months or so, because the inevitable smaller versions in the Suzuki range utilised the Katana styling in a much diluted form. Although the original Kat died out in Europe in late 1983, it had mage a big impact on the global market as a whole, and Suzuki road motorcycles continued to be derivative of the original design for some years to come.