If you were a motorcycle-loving teenager in the 1980s, chances are you had a poster of the Suzuki Katana on your wall, right next to other eye candy such as the Lamborghini Countach and Olivia Newton-John. 

When it was launched in 1981 the Katana looked like it had just zoomed in from outer space with its futuristic styling. With a design as sharp as the Samurai sword it was named after, it helped set a new template for motorcycle design, a transition from the square and classical bikes of yesteryear to what have become today’s super aerodynamic superbikes...