Anthony
Grainger's letter started in modest fashion: "It was your back page
specials that made me do it 'cos I thought I could do better than that,
so I did (I think) and it goes like snot."
He was certainly right when he called it, "not
just another Kat". A GSX-R1100 motor. FZR front end and
monoshocked rear is not your average Katana, even if it fits together so
well you might miss it at a quick glance.
As Ant, a TV satellite engineer (or 'Erectionist', as
he prefers), built the bike from the frame up, instead of the more usual
method of using a donor bike, his first step was to find a suitable
frame.
After deciding on a Katana one ("I'd had GSX-Rs,
FZRs, etc., before and wanted something different.") he did a bit
of phoning around. Perhaps surprisingly the best deal was to buy a
new frame from Suzuki for £250. "The breakers all wanted
about £600 for a secondhand one as they came with a log book."
Hmm. I wonder what market they were supplying?
Bodywork also came from Suzuki during one of their
`clearance sales' for older models - £100 each for the tank and
fairing. For some reason it would have been twice as much for the
same bits in plain silver.
The swing arm was a little more trouble - a JMC
rising rate jobbie that took six months to arrive and was not a
straightforward fit: "A JMC bolt-on rising rate modified with
hammer and hacksaw," was Ant's description. Spondon adjusters
were fitted as, "I thought they only made one-offs for the likes of
Steve Burns. If I'd known they made replacement swing arms I'd
have got one from them instead."
The engine, presumably chosen for its ability to go
like snot, remains fairly standard you can safely ignore the Wiseco
stickers. Low-down useable power was what Ant was after and having
clocked 160mph (on private land, we trust) it's plenty fast enough.
Ant reports the bike to be dead stable, with the
small fairing deflecting more wind than it should for its size. At
the time of the pics it had covered 1,500 miles since its completion two
months previously, which is fairly healthy.
Total cost to date (there are plans for an Ohlins
shock before very much longer) is a little over £4,500 which is really
incredibly cheap considering the bike's specification and
originality. (A mint, zero mileage Katana 1000 appeared in MCN
recently at £6,900.)
And the dinosaur on the sidepanel? "Well,
everybody thinks these sort of bikes are dinosaurs so I put a picture of
one on it." Should cause a few scratched heads in 60 million
years' time.
Michael Brown
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SPECIFICATION
Engine
1988 GSX-R1100 with altered cam timing, 33mm Mikuni
Smoothbores, Vance & Hines filters, one-off Pete Gibson race exhaust,
Setrab oil cooler.
Chassis
Stock Katana 1100SD frame except for GSX-R rearsets and
carriers, JMC rising rate swinging arm with Spondon adjusters and Spax
shock. FZR1000 forks.
Wheels, Brakes and Tyres
GSX-R rear wheel, caliper and disc, FZR front wheel,
calipers and discs, Avon AM22 120/70 VB 17 front, AM23 160/80 VB 17 rear.
Small Marsupials
Goodridge hoses, B&C sprockets (stock GSX-R gearing),
Renthal flat bars, Katana electrics modified for GSX-R ignition switch,
Katana lights, clocks and bodywork.
Thanks
To Dad for getting all the fiddly bits done and my
girlfriend for putting up with me. To Keith and Pete. Two Wheel Spares in
Mansfield Woodhouse supplied all new Suzuki parts. Peter Gibson
('genius'). Paul Hobbs of Hobbs Sport - Goodridge, etc. WH Paint finishers
- powder coating.
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