Early 1990s Katana 750 vs. GS500E?

[ned from PA]

I ride a 1992 GS500E that is in pristine condition and still plenty of fun to ride.  My neighbor has a Katana 750 (of roughtly the same vintage) sitting in front of house like a lawn ornament.  It strikes me that the two bikes appear to have a lot in common.  I'm wondering if the Katana might be a natural progression beyond the GS500 if one wanted more horsepower.

Does anyone have experience riding a vintage Kat?  From specifications on the Web, I see that the Kat 750 weighs a good 60 lbs more than the GS500, makes around 90 hp, is air/oil cooled, has four cylinders and four carburetors. 

Does it have a much higher center of gravity than the GS500?  Are four carburetors a total pain in the butt (e.g., to balance).  Is the engine nearly as reliable as the bulletproof GS500's?

Ned

[black and silver twin]

my brother had a kat 750, it was a bear to ride in town because of the weight, trying to turn it at low speed was cumbersome. but once under way it was incredibly stable and fast. to me it seemed like the opposite of the gs which is light, easy to turn, and slow (relatively, sorry!). the next step up from a gs500 would probably be the sv650, light (same weight as gs), easy to turn, but almost double the power (~40whp[gs500] vs. ~70whp{sv650}), and still a two cylinder.

[scottpA_GS]

If the price is right you can always fix it up, ride it a bit see if you like it. If not sell it for a proffit   

[tt_four]

I've always liked the katanas. As far as natural progression, that all depends what direction you think you should be progressing in. The katana is considered more of a real bike, which the GS is usually looked at as more of a starter/learning bike, but obviously everyone here still loves them. If you want it as a general duty commuter/cruising bike, it would be a great option. The fact that it has fairings and an inline 4 motor means that most people consider it a sportbike, and by those standards it usually gets picked on for being heavy, slow, and ugly by comparision. It's really not a sportbike though, it's more of a small sport/touring bike, and if that's what you're into it'd be a great step up. Oddly enough, it's the same frame/motor as a bandit, and they're generally regarded as good bikes, so it just shows you the stereotypes a bike with a fairing will get.

Ask him if you can take it for a test ride. Like Black and Silver said, SV650 is also another good option. I'd prefer an sv650 to a katana, but I'd also enjoy a bandit too, I think you could probably get the katana the cheapest though, especially if it's just been sitting in his yard.

[ned from PA]

My neighbor takes terrible care of his stuff, and the Katana has been sitting out in the elements for a few years.  I was just toying with the idea of buying a working version and using my neighbor's bike for parts. 

An SV is a nice choice for a next motorcycle.  I rode one and liked it.  I have short legs, however, and prefer a bike with a lower seat and lower center of gravity.  The GS500 is great because I can flatfoot it (and then some).  Another bike that caught my interest is the Honda 599 (sold in US in 2004 and 2006).  It is supposedly compact and good for short people.  It's a naked bike with about 90 hp and a cult following in Europe. 

The Ninja 650R also has some appeal (~70 hp, two-cylinder, fuel injection, low seat, low center of gravity).  I read that the engine lacks steel cylinder sleeves, which make me wonder about its longevity, though. 

It's difficult to contemplate spending money on another bike when the GS has been so good to me.  Twenty more horsepower would be nice, but I'm not sure if that's worth a few thousand dollars.  As long as I'm acquring new riding skills with the GS and having fun, there is really no need to upgrade.

Ned

[tt_four]

You're always going to want more, that's just a fact. My last bike had 100hp, it was a blast but I still wanted something faster.

[SmartDrug]

You're always going to want more, that's just a fact. My last bike had 100hp, it was a blast but I still wanted something faster.

I disagree, there is a point where enough is enough.  My last bike had 157 RWHP and that was ample, for a street bike, any more would have been silly.

[tt_four]

Well I was slightly exaggerating, which I knew as I was typing, and I went into detail, but then it got longer than I cared for and erased it. For a lot of people, I feel like there's never a limit, considering how many turbo hayabusas there are with NOS on them. Even a ridiculously fast bike could still accelerate faster in a straight line in 6th gear. Even though I definitely want something faster than a normal 600, I know that a 1000 is way faster than I'd care to cruise around on. Luckily for me suzuki has my back with a good compromise, although I am slightly disappointed that there's only one company that makes a good 750.