Best Retro: 2019 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards

The 2019 Bikesales Bike of the Year (BOTY) Awards recognise excellence across 11 separate motorcycle categories.

And here’s how it will work. After a massive five-day test through-north-east Victoria in early November – branching out from the beautiful town of Bright – we'll whittle our shortlist down to one outright winner, to be announced on Thursday, December 5.

Let's continue the 2019 BOTY by announcing the Suzuki KATANA as the winner of our Retro category.

Arguably the most anticipated launch of 2019, the new Suzuki KATANA caused a sensation when it was first unveiled at the 2018 Intermot Show in Germany, some 38 years after the original broke cover at the very same expo.

Since then we've had a steady drip feed of information leading up to the local release of the bike on August 8, and it seems there are no shortage of riders eager to turn back the clock with this modern tribute to an iconic '80s classic.

Our Bikesales Bike of the Year 'Retro' category encompasses both faithful recreations of classic models of yesteryear through to modern interpretations of same, so while even Suzuki itself doesn't refer to the new KATANA as a 'retro' as such – in fact it calls it a 'neo street sport' – it fits the bill for us for this category.

Just like the outright winner of the 2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year, the Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe, the new Suzuki KATANA isn't an all-new model as such.

Rather, just as the Kwaka is loosely based on the brand's Z900 streetfighter, the Suzuki KATANA is based upon Suzuki's GSX-S1000 streetfighter – a model which, in turn, is based upon the storming GSX-R1000 sportsbike.

As such, the recipe behind it is fairly simple – slot an in-line four-cylinder engine into a twin-spar alloy frame, then lay on the KATANA-esque styling – but the execution is superb, the KATANA offering near-effortless control and gobs of big-bore-four power.

The styling, while perhaps a little softer in line but more complex than the original penned by German studio Target Design, still pays homage to the '80s KATANA without the newcomer looking out of place among late-model siblings.

The Suzuki KATANA pricing of $18,990 ride away should also hold fairly wide appeal – in terms of new big-bore bikes it's a fair lump of hardware for the money.

Performance? How's 147hp (110kW) at 10,000rpm and 108Nm at 9500rpm sound? That's in a package tipping the scales at 215kg wet. Yes, there are more fearsome sports nakeds out there, but it's more than enough to get your weekend humming (and, without due restraint, possibly see your licence combust!).

Despite the sporty foundation, the addition of a handlebar versus clip-ons delivers fairly relaxed ergonomics that shouldn't trigger chiro visits even after longer day rides. It's a modest lean forward to grip the handlebar, which offers plenty of leverage and therefore requires little in the way of steering input.

Give that 'bar a shove, however, and the KATANA is eager to oblige – it's agile without being scary, and stable but a heap of fun through the twisties. The clutch and gearbox are as wonderfully light and precise as you'd expect of any big Suzuki and the brakes are well up to the task of washing off speed.

The 2019 Suzuki KATANA is available in Mystic Silver or Glass Sparkle Black – click here for more information.

Of course, Suzuki has moved the bar on a bit since the first KATANA hit the scene, and the newie blends up-to-the-minute tech with modern day manufacturing principles and processes. The suspension setup has seen a KYB monoshock (adjustable for preload an rebound) replace the original's twin-shock rear end and there's now an inverted and fully adjustable fork up front.

There's only the one (full power) riding mode, but you do get niceties including a slipper clutch, ABS, a one-touch start system and low-rpm assist.

For anyone who remembers the KATANA the first time around, the newcomer offers a modern twist with thoroughly modern performance, yet with plenty there to get the nostalgia flowing. Congratulations, Suzuki.

Indian-based manufacturer Royal Enfield has been charging hard in recent years, modernising its manufacturing and quality control processes and drawing on considerable domestic and overseas styling and engineering expertise to revamp its largely heritage-based line-up. Its new 650 twins, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650, represent we think the booming company's finest models to date, and the Interceptor – with its upright riding position courtesy of a flat handlebar, as opposed to the sportier stance of the clip-on-equipped GT – is a pearler of a machine for novices and experienced riders alike. It looks like it rode straight out of the late '60s, the build quality is up there and it's just a heap of fun to punt through the bends. It nearly won our 'Best Retro' category outright, but for Best LAMS Retro nothing else even comes close.