Production Recursion Concept to be called Suzuki Katana?

Just days after magazine Young Machine published that the turbocharged Suzuki Recursion concept was going into production there’s now even more evidence the wheels of progressive are finally turning at Suzuki. It’s been revealed that Suzuki has re-registered the Katana brand name and logo in Europe and the United States.

That seems significant, because the Recursion concept has a strong resemblance (as far as concept bikes are concerned) to the Suzuki Katana’s of old. The original Katana was a rocket ship and at the time it was released in 1980, was claimed to be the fastest production motorcycle in the world. The original Suzuki Katana in fact defined the superbike market for years to come. By the end of the Katana’s run however, the bikes that featured the name were more sport touring than superbike.

But if Suzuki is producing the turbocharged Recursion then resurrecting the Katana brand which was last used in 2006 would be a great way to go because the Recursion is a bike that has the potential to redefine the motorcycle industry by way of a practical, forced induction machine as opposed to the Ninja H2 which few will ever get to ride.

Also of note is that Suzuki re-registered the Gamma name and logo, but in Europe only. The Gamma name was used for a vareity of two-stroke bikes in the early 80’s.

 

Production Recursion Concept to be called Suzuki Katana?

Suzuki to Build the Turbocharged Recursion Concept?

News has broken today from Japan that Suzuki may be on it’s way to putting into production the Suzuki Recursion, a concept bike first shown at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show and featured a 588cc, parallel-twin, turbocharged engine. But is it too good to be true seeing as this is Suzuki we’re talking about?  A company that hasn’t updated most of it’s lineup in 10 years and who we’ve been critical of as recently as last month?

If Suzuki were ever to get itself back in the game, this would be the motorcycle to do it. While the Ninja H2R and H2 are impressive on paper, very few riders will swing a leg over them and they’re hardly motorcycles for the ‘Real World™‘. The Suzuki Recursion is small in stature (the aluminum frame goes over the engine instead of beside it, keeping it narrow), weighs only 174kg dry (not bad with a turbo bolted on) and will supposedly have improved emissions and fuel economy over a similarly sized 600cc bike by as much as 50 per cent.

Obviously it’s the power and torque figures that are the most attractive proposition. Leaked internal documents of the concept bike indicated 100 hp @ 8,000 RPM, compared to the GSX-R 600 which makes 124 hp at a much higher 13,500 rpm. But it’s the supposed torque figure that is really exciting – 73 ft-lb @ at only 4,500 rpm. The GSX-R 600 only has 51.3 ft-lb @ 11500 rpm. And while we’re comparing the performance figures to the GSX-R 600, don’t think that Suzuku Recursion aims to replace or even compete in the same category at the supersport machine – we’re only comparing like displacement for like displacement. The Suzuki Recursion is more of an SV-650 than a supersport – at least the concept was.

The magazine that broke the news is titled Young Machine. Their track record isn’t totally accurate though they generally get the at least parts of the story right. For example, they were one of the first to indicate Honda were working on a bike to sit between the CBR250R and CBR600RR – claiming it was a CBR400R. They were out by about 100cc, but nevertheless they general idea was right. The image of the Recursion they’ve also printed is probably way off as it looks more concept than the original concept did.

If Suzuki were to release the Recursion, 2015 would be the time to do it. With a return to MotoGP, Suzuki is obviously deciding now is the time to get their name back out there as a manufacturer of high performance machines. If the Suzuki Recursion does make it to market, this is a motorcycle that will the practical alternative to the Ninja H2 and one that we think could end up being wildly popular.

 

 

Suzuki to Build the Turbocharged Recursion Concept?