Like a good pair of leather boots or a fine Cabernet Sauvignon, the Suzuki Katana just seems to get better with age. The rapier-sharp design is 35 years old now, and no longer has the power to shock. Instead, it?s heading for icon status.
We?re now seeing Katanas rolling into custom shops, and it?s interesting to note the parallels between the Katana?s gestation and the inevitable cycles of the modern day custom scene.

Just as we?re moving on from the ?brat style? and checkered-stripe café racers that dominated the past few years, Suzuki was observing a similar shift in the late 70s. Interest in large Japanese street bikes was waning: the CBs, KZs and GSs had started to lose their allure.
Japan?s most conservative motorcycle maker instructed its German marketing boss to put a call in to Hans Muth, BMW?s former chief of styling, and his Target Design consultancy. The Katana was result, hitting American streets in 1982 and finally giving motojournalists something interesting to write about.
Bike builders Sébastien Guillemot and Mathieu Ménard are giving us something interesting to write about too: This hot-rodded Katana is the latest release from their workshop FCR Original, based in northern France.
We love the way ‘Furiosa’ retains the sharp-edged aggression of the original Target design, but adds a whole raft of tasteful upgrades?a true resto-mod. The action starts with the transverse four-cylinder engine, which has been boosted out to 1166 cubic cent...