DESIGN MACHT MUT(H)

Gather round, meine Damen und Herren, because we’re about to explore one of the most fascinating motorcycle backstories of the 1980s: how a Japanese company hired a German wunderkind to design a motorcycling icon of the Blade Runner era—Suzuki’s original 1982 GS1000SZ Katana.

The Katana was a shocker when it first appeared, a machine that stood out everywhere it showed up. And that was exactly what Suzuki wanted when it hired Hans Muth to create a look.

Muth was and still is an interesting character. Born in 1935 in Rathenow, just west of Berlin, he witnessed his mother being shot