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• Auction House:
  Donington Auctions
• Sale Name:
  Collectors' Motorcycles, Cars & Horse Drawn Carriages - Featuring the Private Museum of Racing Driver Bryan Thomson
• Sale Date:
  20 Jun 2021 ~ 2pm (AEST)
• Lot #:
  8
• Lot Description:
  1981 SUZUKI GSX1100S 'KATANA' SIX HOUR SPECIAL - Rare Wire-wheeled Katana (One owner motorcycle for 40 years)
  Rare Wire-wheeled Katana. One owner motorcycle for 40 years. Covered a mere 3,674 km
• Notes:
  Until the mid 1970s style wasnt considered a priority in motorcycle design. Street motorcycles gradually evolved as form followed function and apart from a few factory café racers all motorcycles followed a generic path. BMW changed that with Hans A. Muths R90S and when Suzuki embarked on their Katana in 1979, they engaged Hans A. Muths Target Design to draw up their Katana. Muth and fellow Target Design directors Hans Georg Kasten and Jan Olof Fellström presented Suzuki with a radical design created through wind tunnel testing. The rider and motorcycle were incorporated as a complete aerodynamic package, with the fairing and fuel tank flowing air over and around the rider. The first prototype appeared in April 1980, with an official unveiling a few months later at the Cologne show. To everyones surprise Suzuki announced the Katana (named after a Samurai sword) would go into production during 1981, and so it did, for the 1982 Model Year. At a time when other manufacturers were incorporating liquid-cooling, rising rate single shock rear suspension, and experimenting with 16-inch front wheels, the 1100 Katana harked back to the past. The air-cooled 1074cc four-cylinder engine had double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and Suzukis TSCC (Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber) but was still an evolution of an earlier design. Yet it still produced a class-leading 111 horsepower at 8,500 rpm, making the Katana the most powerful production motorcycle available. However, the chassis lagged behind the engine as beneath the style was a stock GSX 1100 Suzuki, complete with twin shock rear end, skinny front forks (albeit with trendy hydraulic anti-dive), and a 19-inch front wheel. The wheelbase stretched 1,520mm and the weight was a considerable 232kg. Intent on winning the 1981 Castrol Six-Hour race at Amaroo Park Suzuki Australia ordered 100 "Six-Hour Specials." These were fitted with 19 and 18-inch wire wheels from the Canadian-spec version. The 18-inch wheel was preferred for racing as there was a wider range of tyres available and the lower sidewall didnt flex as much as the 17-inch. But with the shipment stranded off Sydney heads due to a tugboat strike the Katana missed the cut-off date for race entry and the wire-wheeled Katana didnt actually race in the Six-Hour that year. Ironically Suzuki still won the 1981 Castrol Six-Hour race; with a GSX1100 shod with a 17-inch rear wheel! With an Australian compliance date of 8/81, this Suzuki GSX1000S Katana was sold new to Bryan Thomson by Macs Handy Hire (Suzuki Agents) Seymour Victoria on 25/10/81. This is noted in the accompanying service book and owners manual. Showing only 3,647 km, it has never been registered and has been ridden mainly to Ulysses events on permits and dealer plates. This bike is featured on the front cover, centre spread lift out and over page 58 to 63 of issue No. 15 Sep/Oct 2009 of Old Bike Australasia and is sold unregistered. This motorcycle is sold unregistered.
• Estimate:
  A$30,000 - 40,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.