anyone had any experience with Kawasaki GTR1000s'? J the A.
I had a grey import GTR1000 (ex canandian concours), the only difference was a slightly less restrictive exhaust system (same as oz's original models). They are very reliable and if looked after will last for well over 100000kms. The early ones have a moderately lent forward riding position and that tall screen means no wind to take the weight off the wrists, the later ones have higher bars which are much better. Early ones have narrow 18 inch front wheels and pretty ordinary brakes, later ones have a 17 inch front wheel and improved brakes. Both early and late ones tend to scrub the front tread quite a lot... The tank is huge (28.5 litres) and I found that if I put more than about 20 litres in it the bike was very top heavy... this won't bother you if you are tall (say over 183 cm) but if you are say 175 or have short legs it will make it hard to move the bike around at low speed. The early seats aren't as stepped (or as comfortable) as the later stepped seats but neither are bad (the later one is just a bit better). I have had pillions with short legs complain that the panniers get in the way of the pillion pegs (worth checking if your regular pillion is a short arse). The centre stand will touch down first if you are loaded up (leaves a lovely trail of orange sparks too), but it doesn't usettle the bike much. Clearence is decent but not sports bike level. The panniers are harder to get on and off than BMW panniers, but are pretty solid and almost water proof. Summary? Good, Solid, reliable long term bike... with a bit of get up and go, better suited to taller riders. G-S
I had a GTR for 6 years - it was a great bike. Not flash, but a solid sports tourer with a bullet-proof engine and a real willingness to go. Good sized panniers and some fairing storage so it has good luggage capacity for long distance touring. Take the bags off, and it is a potent fun bike. The GTR is called a Concours in the USA and there is a ton of information at http://www.concours.org/ . My only criticism of the bike is that it is a little top heavy, with a full tank of fuel it is difficult to master at low speed but once you've become accustomed to it there's not problem. At speed it is incredibly well-behaved. Roadrider magazine had a review of second hand GTRs a few issues ago with some tips on what to look for - can't remember the details but the faults are very few. If you decide to get one let me know if you want to buy a shop manual! Cheers Rob
Sports tourer ? Woulda thought it was squarely in the tourer class meself. JL (hang on a mo' I'll just check with Hammo)
I had one for 3 months. Not a good handler, vibrate a bit but not a big problem. Wind buffeting over fairing can be pretty bad. Top heavy. If you are tall with long legs and arms they will be an OK fit, but if not you might find the reach to the bars too much. I did.
Kawasaki sold it as a sports tourer. I took mine to a Superbikes Cornering School once and one of the instructors told me it was the surprise of the day for him that it was so quick. The bike is not a sports bike but was probably the quickest of the touring bikes available at the time. [Now all the ST1100 owners will come out of the woodwork...] Rob
Having owned the GTR1000 and seriously looked at and ridden an ST1100 before I rode one... the ST has a _big_ flexy bit in the middle of the frame that the GTR1000 doesn't have. Having said that... the ST1100 has a much nicer (if not more powerful) motor. G-S
The air scoops are reversable and removable (I'd forgotten about them coz I kept mine in the panniers). For cold winter riding they can be used to direct the hot air from the radiator towards your legs. For in between seasons take them off. For summer reverse them to direct cool air in and hot air outwards. IMO the GTR1000 is bloody hot in stop start traffic no matter which way those little plastic things face... but to be fair that is hardly the job it's built for. G-S
Yep, only got rid of it because I got sick of it deciding to have a lie down because of the ducks disease. Comfort, pillion comfort, reliability, huge panniers, under 5k sedate tourer, over 5k kicks along amazingly. Cheers Goaty
*Fits 28.5L GTR tank to VTR1000 to create sports tourer* Postman Pat (and his intermittently reliable Transalp)
http://www.kawasaki.com.au/au/all_products/motorcycles/motorcycles_subcat_tourers/gtr1000/main.htm other than the URL its a 1000GTR. A friend has one a couple of years old that's actually badged as a "Concours", he bought it new here in Sydney, the dealer couldn't explain it either. Al
Seems that there are as many references to a GTR1000 as there are to a 1000GTR. My shop manual refers to it as a GTR1000. Also http://www.mcnews.com.au/NewBikeCatalogue/2002/Kawasaki/GTR1000/ Whatever, still a good bike. Cheers Rob
Concours is what it is sold under in the USA. Must have been a grey import. http://www.concours.org/ Cheers Goaty
Thats the strange thing Goaty, it was a new bike direct from a Kawasaki dealer, with OZ compliance plates. So it shouldn't be a grey. Dealer just reckons it must have been a stuff up when they built it. Al
Wouldn't surprise me. A friend back in the 70s had a "KiberleyP76"! It was an Austin Kimberley, but whoever was attaching the badge must have spelt it wrong, and then whacked a P76 badge in the remaining hole rather than redo the whole thing! Cheers Goaty
