GTR1400 Mini-review

Well, I've had it a while, I guess it's time for a mini-review.

It's big old heavy beast, and all of the weight seems high up. So high
up it decided to have a little lie down the other day. Borrocks. Ah
well, it was never going to stay looking mint in my hands, anyway.
Having said that, the finish and build quality seem top-notch to me.

So: Handling. Good. Like its ZZR11 ancestor it needs a good firm hand to
hold a line, but if you don't **** about it will do so very nicely
indeed. It's tremendously stable, and very, very comfortable (see
reference to the saddle later). It just seems to go where I point it,
unless I nod off for a moment in which case it can tend to understeer. A
return to the land of the waking and a good shove of countersteering
seems to sort that out. Big high wide bars help here, no doubt.

The mirrors are pretty. And not that great in use. They give a good view
of the panniers.

The instruments are lovely. Clear and full of interesting information
such as range, tyre pressures and average MPG. Which is 35.1 at the
moment.

Luggage is excellent. Easy to fit / remove and with loads of capacity.
The panniers are very vulnerable to getting scuffed by a boot as you
mount / dismount. They do a protective film for them, I'm waiting a
price on that.

The brakes are stunning. Bearing in mind they're ABS-equipped and given
the weight of the thing they pull the whole plot up in remarkably short
order. The journos muttered about fade, I've had none. I must ride like
a poof. The fact that the front brakes are radially-mounted is only
notable because it pisses Bonwick(m) off so much. Never a bad thing.

The gearbox is just a shade notchy. This may improve with miles, I
guess. 6th is a real, honest-to-goodness overdrive (and is captioned as
such on the gear indicator). At 70-ish in 5th you're pulling about 4,000
revs. Bung it in top and that drops to less that 3,000.

And then, and then... The engine. Oh yes. It's got one. And it pulls
like a train. The VVT probably does something, but I'm fucked if I know
what. All I know is that when you open the (1/4 turn) throttle it just
*goes*, making a most entertaining turbine-like noise in the process.
It's got that big-Kawasaki "Am I in a gear? Is the engine turning? OK,
here comes the horizon!" thing in spades. It's very, *very* easy to ride
very quickly indeed. "Why is all the traffic going so slowly today?"
<glances at speedo> "Ah... Oops...".

The adjustable screen can be used to vary the wind pressure in the
cruise to take the weight off your arms. Having said that, I think I'd
like it to be a tad taller (I have a long body). There is a taller
screen in the catalogue. I shall investigate.

The saddle is the (slight) weak point, in that my bum's the first thing
to start hurting on a long run. There is a "comfort saddle" option. Come
on Kawasaki! This is a top-of-the-line tourer. FFS, why not fit a comfy
saddle to start with?

For the first time in my life, I can look at the available new
motorcycles on the market, and quite honestly say that no one makes one
I'd rather own.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart)
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Honda ST1100 wiv trailer Norton 850 Commando
Kawasaki GTR1400

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Lady Nina

Hold that thought.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart)
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Honda ST1100 wiv trailer Norton 850 Commando
Kawasaki GTR1400

 

About time too.

Oh dear. What happened then?

Is that all? The Sprint ST has all sorts of info contained in the
computery thing-ummy-bob. I only ever have it switched to the clock.

The ST was really clunky in the early days. Nearly 3000 miles on it
and now it's better. Not 100% by any means but lots better nonetheless.

It's a Kwacker. They all do that, sir! Well, any of them of a decent
capacity, natch.

I love the Sprint ST. But very, *very* occasionaly, I miss the 9R.

 

I can see how better left-to-right weight transfer would make it handle
better, but how does front-to-rear help? Doesn't that just cause more
loading and unloading of the suspension?

 

I'd imaging the weight transfering to the rear on acceleration is a good
thing, as it'd keep the tyre firmly on the ground instead of spinning
up.. same goes for braking.

But Flibble wibble do, or whatever the phrase is.

 

So, in summary: it's a trade-off, as with most things in motorcycle
handling.

It's one thing knowing all that clever stuff, but how often do most
people get a chance to use any of that knowledge?

 

Do you think I could use "I work the sums out in my head every time I
approach a corner" as an excuse for being slow?

 

Shame he doesn't know what to do with it...

 

Oh, so that's why the CBX is so fucking nimble, then?
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..93550../..25068.../..31928.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 69 Pts:0960 Miles:3899

 

Stop being so modest.