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.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS