There's something about exhaust pipes and shining chrome. Motorcycles with inline-six engines (Honda, Benelli, kawasaki) have always fascinated people. You just can't walk past one, you have to admire the engine.

It was the massive six was the first thing that caught my interest in the Suzuki's concept bike, Stratosphere as well. Yes, the rest of bike looks good as well, futuristic but not too far-out. It actually looks like it could be a new, revisited version of the classic GSX-R1100S Katana. With a liquid-cooled 1100cc inline-six. The concept bike was first shown at the Tokyo Motor Show, October 2005.

There are always rumors weather Suzuki's concept bikes will be put in production or not, and this time it couldn't be such a bad idea. The bike looks "normal" enough to be created a mass-production in mind and would find its buyers, no doubt about it. I know everyone doesn't like the style. Not everyone liked the original Katana either. You can't please everyone, no matter what you do.

Most of the bike-loving people would agree at least that the 1100cc, inline six-cylinder engine is beautiful. The raw figures are 1100cc, 24 valves, 180 horses and a motor reportedly turbine-like smooth, an engineering masterpiece compared to the miniaturized sophistication of a Swiss watch.

I'd bet that there's plenty of Suzuki riders that would buy the bike just for its engine, no matter how it looked. As I mentioned before, there's something special with an inline-six motorbike engine. Suzuki has never produced one, is the time right for it now?

What else has it got? Nothing really special; aluminum fairing, electrically adjustable windscreen, four LED headlights, adjustable handlebars, built-in GPS navigation, that sort of things. Hi-tech, but not science fiction. Attachable saddle-bags with normally invisible attachments, that's a really cool option! Suzuki wants to tell that the bike is meant for riding, not just for showing off...

It could be mass-produced. It could be a really cool bike.
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