Icon 1000 New Jack-suzuki Katana

The 1982 Suzuki Katana was a machine before her time; a Nippon-Saxon gamble on starship styling to jumpstart Suzuki’s dour offerings. Thirty years on, the Katana is the darling of the ball, but in the early eighties few were interested in dancing with the silver dame. The Katana, in stock form, is an acquired taste. Her diminutive fairings, rectangular headlight, awkward tank, and sofa’esque seat are a divisive mix. Not a superbike, nor a sport bike, she remains an obtuse side note in the performance bike narrative.

NEW JACK is ICON 1000’s interpretation of what could have been; one possible future. Built within the confines of our Portland based headquarters, New Jack uses a host of late model componentry to bring the Kat into fighting trim. A 1200cc motor, transplanted from a Suzuki Bandit, provides simple yet effective horsepower. As is often the case, big motors expose big structural problems. Therefore, the New Jack’s frame was triangulated with 1/4” plate to keep the wobbly’s at bay. Modern swingarm, superbike suspension, and a full rework of brakes help keep the rest of the ride five by five.

The donor bike is an ’82 Suzuki Katana but there are only few things left to tell the old story in full. Most likely, the front upper fairing and the slot where the old and fugly square headlight used to be are the ones who will speak about the bike’s past. However, the New Jack is a completely different machine altogether, and the headlight was replaced by a huge oil cooler, while the lower lip of the nacelle incorporates a high-power LED strip to allow night-time rides.
 

An iconic Suzuki with a lot of Honda parts

If you thought the Icon 1000 New Jack is an all-Suzuki-blooded beast, you’ll be surprised to learn that the front end and wheels come from the house of Tokyo. The forks are provided by a CBR 954, while a 929 Fireblade threw in the clamps, and a VTR RC51 SP2 was the source of the wheels.

Pro-Lite rotors have replaced the standard ones and are squeezed by matching high-performance pads, while carbon fiber fork protectors have also been installed. The golden Nissin calipers and disc carriers are matched by a similarly-colored Icon 1000 branding job in the lower section of the fork.

The heart of the old Katana was not exactly worthy to motivate this radical project so the engine of a Bandit 1200 was added to the scheme, with structural reinforcements for the frame being the next logical step in this build. The airbox gave way to open velocity stacks, and the exhaust was changed to a 4-into-1 shorty which should provide quite a roar when revved hard enough.

In the rear, a racing-grade TL1000 swingarm replaced the stock one, and Icon decided to make an even bolder move. Dual high-performance Nitron racing shocks have been installed as the rear suspension, but they’ve been mounted side by side in the place where a monoshock could normally be spotted. All in all, the functionality is dramatically higher than what the old array could ever deliver, and the rear end looks sporty and aggressive, especially with the custom tail section and the bespoke racing solo seat.

Source icon1000.com