At the "KATANA Meeting 2024" held on September 8th, the new "KATANA" model, which is scheduled to be released in 2025, made a surprise appearance. We would like to share with you some photos from the event.
Suzuki's president enters the venue in a new Katana!
This year marks the sixth KATANA Meeting. The event has been held since 2019 and attracts many KATANA fans every year. This year's meeting was held at the special venue in Hamamatsu Fruit Park Tokinosumika in Hamamatsu City, where Suzuki has its headquarters, and 1,334 KATANA fans participated along with 1,153 motorcycles.
A breathtaking view of 1153 motorcycles gathered together.
KATANA riders came one after another.
What attracted a lot of attention this time was the surprise appearance of President Toshihiro Suzuki. And it wasn't just a surprise, he arrived riding the new, as yet unreleased KATANA.
"I came riding it because I wanted to be the first to show it to everyone who came to the KATANA Meeting," said President Suzuki. The KATANA, which was being shown for the first time, was finished in a vivid blue color, and was met with thunderous applause from the KATANA fans at the venue.
President Suzuki himself made an appearance in the new KATANA, which drew a large crowd of fans at the venue.
He wanted to be the first to show the new KATANA to the fans gathered in Hamamatsu.
Speaking of blue KATANA, the 2022 model "Matte Stella Blue" is still fresh in our memory. Before that, the first KATANA was introduced in blue on the 1983 model "GSX1100S KATANA". However, the body itself is silver, with a blue line running from the tank to the upper cowl. This shows how rare the "blue KATANA" is.
The "GSX1100S KATANA" boarded in 1983. The blue line from the tank to the upper cowl was a distinctive feature.
In addition to the blue KATANA, a silver KATANA, which is scheduled to be sold as a 2025 model, also made an appearance at the event. The matte blue tail cowl was also designed with the first generation in mind.
The blue KATANA in the foreground is the blue KATANA that President Suzuki rode, and the silver one in the back is the 2025 KATANA model.
The event ended with great excitement, with Tutorial's Mitsunori Fukuda also taking part.
At the venue, there was a talk show by Suzuki developers, and Tutorial's Mitsunori Fukuda, a comedian known for being a motorcycle enthusiast, participated as a special guest. Commemorative photos, a raffle, and a rock-paper-scissors tournament were held, creating a lottery and excitement for the event.
A talk show was held with Suzuki developers and Tutorial Fukuda-san.
Mr. Fukuda, a KATANA rider himself, shares his love for KATANA
The rock-paper-scissors tournament included exclusive gifts.
Commemorative photo of the meeting. Many Suzuki fans gathered.
Original goods were also available at the venue, including limited edition T-shirts, face towels, acrylic key chains, and genuine leather coasters. One of the event's contents was a photo spot where people could take photos with the motorcycle, which was so popular that long lines formed.
The KATANA Meeting drew more participants than last year, and ended with great success. We look forward to next year's event.
All limited-edition goods were unified in a KATANA-inspired design.
Long lines at popular photo booths
After the closing ceremony, the participants were escorted home by Suzuki staff.