The Suzuki Katana motorcycle, which has gained vintage bike status since its creation in the early 1980s, was the result of the dreams of a German industrial designer. Although production ended seven years ago, fans in countries including Taiwan are still eager to add one to their collection.
The bike made headlines in Taiwan when it played a major part in apprehending the robbers involved in the hijacking of a money transport vehicle from Cathay United Bank in Taipei in 1982.
The first thing one of the robbers, Yu Jung-chia (游榮佳), did after the hijacking was to take NT$600,000 out of the NT$14 million (US$424,400) loot to buy an 1,100cc Suzuki Katana. His inability to account for the source of the money became key to police cracking the case.
Taiwanese fans of the bike have organized a Katana Club, and a few days ago they made a surprising discovery: They found that John Geiger, a member of the original design team, is now a teacher at Dayeh University in Changhua County.
Geiger married a Taiwanese, Ke Chi-hui (柯啟慧), last year, and lives in Changhua. Geiger and his wife both teach in the industrial design department at Dayeh University.
When members of the club first requested a meeting, the couple thought they were dealing with a fraud ring, but as soon as the word “Katana” was mentioned, they agreed to meet the club members.
On Dec. 20 last year, 12 fans, including one from as far away as Keelung, roared up to the university on their Katanas.
Liao Wen-cheng (廖文成), who has been driving big motorcycles for 20 years and has four of them in his collection, said the Katana would forever be his motorcycle of choice.
“It’s as if I have seen God,” Liao said after his meeting with Geiger.
Geiger said the Katana had been a result of Suzuki’s wishes to make inroads into the European market.
To do so, Geiger said, the company contacted a team that specialized in design work for BMW and said they wanted a Japanese motorcycle that European bikers would find attractive. The result was the Katana, which maintained a clear Japanese style with its pointed body reminiscent of a Japanese samurai sword.
The first Katana, which also became popular in Japan, was produced in 1981, and production of the final model began in 1997. In response to demands from Katana lovers, however, Suzuki produced a final run of 1,100cc Katana motorcycles in 2000.
Geiger himself does not own a Katana, but at the sight of a row of them lined up he could not resist climbing on top of one while he answered questions and shared his experiences over the years in motorcycle and car design.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
END OF SESSION: Other changes that passed involved the removal of restrictions on group tours to China and raising the sentence for people found guilty of child abuse Legislators yesterday passed the third reading of amendments to Article 49 of the Electricity Act (電業法), which stipulate that at least half of the electricity price evaluation committee should be made up of civilian representatives, and a resolution to invite President William Lai (賴清德) to present a state of the nation address at the Legislative Yuan. They also passed a motion proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that the government remove restrictions on group tours to China. On the last day of this year’s first legislative session, the legislators attempted to deal with dozens of bills