After much teasing, and officially debuting the model almost a year ago, we finally know what the 2020 Suzuki Katana will cost American buyers, and the answer is a stout $13,499 MSRP.
We had hoped that the new Katana would be priced aggressively against its naked bike competitors, especially since the “new” machine is largely a restyled Suzuki GSX-S1000F, which comes with an MSRP of $11,299.
That new bodywork must add over $2,000 of value in Suzuki’s eyes though, with the 2020 Suzuki Katana commanding the largest price tag out of the Japanese models in the relevant category.
That doesn’t bode well for the Hamamatsu brand, as the new Katana doesn’t exactly blow the competition away on a quick spec-sheet comparison (see below).
For our money, it would seem the potent Yamaha MT-10 is still the way forward in this segment, with the crossplane inline-four machine impressing us at Deal’s Gap several years ago.
Of course, we reserve final judgment for when we get to swing a leg over the 2020 Suzuki Katana, because we know that Suzuki has gone to some lengths to refine the GSX-S1000 platform for this machine.
One also cannot discount the appeal of a neo-retro styling on the new Katana, which is certainly attractive (especially if you remember the original Katana).
We faithfully hope that the rumors of an up-spec Katana are true, though we hope that Suzuki can keep the price tag down on a such a model. We are not so sure that the Japanese brand can tread into European model pricing with this bike.
Spec-Sheet Comparison of Relevant Models to the 2020 Suzuki Katana:
| Suzuki Katana | Honda CB1000R | Kawasaki Ninja 1000 | Yamaha MT-10 | |
| Horsepower | 147 hp | 143 hp | 140 hp | 158 hp |
| Torque | 80 lbs•ft | 77 lbs•ft | 82 lbs•ft | 82 lbs•ft |
| Weight | 474 lbs (wet) | 467 lbs (wet) | 516 lbs (wet) | 463 lbs (wet) |
| Engine | 999cc / Inline-Four | 998cc / Inline-Four | 1,043cc / Inline-Four | 998cc / Inline-Four |
| Price | $13,499 | $12,999 | $12,199 | $12,999 |
Source: Suzuki Motor America
Comments