Suzuki GSX1000 KATANA TURBO   Specifications

Owner: Connaris Andonis

At first, you're not too sure what you're looking at here; from a distance it looks like a weird stretched GSX1100 Katana with a dull black paint job. When you get a bit closer you notice the water cooled motor, USD front forks and fat tyre. Closer still, and you see the nitrous bottle. Finally, the enormous MC Express turbo poking out under the front of the engine.. this bike belongs to a big bloke called Andonis Connaris, who has the mild air of menance about him. He also owns the neat CBX1000 seen here, and while he's a little reticent about his day job, its safe to say he's not a man to be messed with. Neither is his bike. The Katana look is pure classic, but its fair to say that little more than the nosecone has remained standard. The end product is a fantastic blend of modern high-performance engineering with a dash of retro style that's as cool as it is unique.

The frame is esentially a handmade steel tube item, built on the island by Pantelis Ioannou of Limassol firm "Motormania Racing". It looks like stock, but a closer glance reveals specially-shaped front cradle downtubes that bend around the turbo install. There are pics of the frame being made on the Motormania Website - it's well worth a look.

The electrics feature a Turbosmart six-stage boost controller, a Power Commander, and an external ECU controlling an additional set of 65bhp Bosch injectors.

Inside sits a Hayabusa motor with the aforementioned turbo kit forcing air and fuel in, and kicking 500bhp out the back. You dont get that sort of power without some serious engineering though, and the motor is crammed with drag race parts, from 84mm low-compression JE pistons to the APE 6.25mm stroker crank. Kent cams, APE cam sprockets, cyliner studs, and a multi stage lockup cluth.

The front forks and yokes are from a Hayabusa, as is the audacious stretched swingarm, again, welded up to look suprisingly "factory" by Motormania Racing.

A water-cooled charge-cooler sits under the fuel tank to chill the hot, pressurized air coming from the turbo, and the tail unit is actually from a Honda NSR 250. Brake disks are by Moto Master, and a Hyperpro steering damper finishes off the chassis spec.

(Superbike Magazine, October 2007, p.66, Author: Alan Dowds)