Hi all,
My first trip into here so be gentle with me!
I recently hired a bike in Malaga for three days....I wanted a Gs really, a 800/1200/GSA ....but all I could get was a K1600GTL!
It wasn't really the bike for the routes I had planned, or for the roads I went on, but I hired it nonetheless.
First impressions were that it was very comfy, very low (compared to my GSA), and packed with gizmos!
Riding it it seemed long, with a sort of tendency to 'tip in' on bends unless you were constantly on the power through the corner. I began on Road mode, and comfort setting, but quickly changed it to normal setting.
I found all the gizmos a bit of a distraction. Using the turn dial on the l/hand bar to was both easy, and ridiculous. It worked well enough for most of the basic function...but to use it to scroll through the artists with the iPod connected meant frantically spinning the dial to go through the alphabet (unless there is an easier way described in the manual?
) like you were winding a broken watch!
I never really got the point of the radio/iPod either....you had to drive relatively slow to hear it, or on full blast when on the go..and still it wasn't really clear. I bored with it after a while, and just took my iPod off to stop me from being tempted to fiddle with it!
I also felt with your hand on the l/h bar, fingers covering the clutch lever, it was almost impossible to stretch your thumb around the turn dial to alter/cancel the indicator switch. With your hand just gripping the bar it wasn't a problem though.
The actual motor was a dream...it always seemed to sound like it was racing, but a look to the rev counter saw that it was barely near its 8k redline, and was normally well within 4k and just ticking over.
I did find that the engine would search some times though...like the mapping wasn't set up properly?...but I'm not sure if that's common?
The biggest revelation was when I switched it to Dynamic mode!...what a change!!! The bike was transformed into a stable, nimble, rocket, eager to power into corners, and power out of them too. Everything seemed to improve. So much so that I couldn't ever imagine knocking it out of that mode...apart from in the rain.
So overall I was impressed with the bike...it's a lovely luxury tourer, and if you were travelling two up I can see that it would be hard to beat. But for me it was just too much bike than what you really need. An Rt1200,a Pan European, or a Triumph Trophy would have been just as good, if not a lot better.
I loved....
..the seat, it's amazingly comfortable.
..the brilliant motor
..the general quality of the displays
..the two wind deflectors on the fairing. Although they look a bit flimsy, they work brilliantly.
..the nice touches like the light in the top box, and the central locking.
..the more than ample luggage capacity, that still manages to look fitting to the bike and not overly bulbous.
I didn't like...
..the centre stand. I found it a nightmare to get it on it!
..the screen. I found that if you looked through it there was always a distortion, no matter at what position. And down, the turbulence around your head was quite severe.
..the radio. I just didn't see the point.
..the fact that although my bike had only done 5,000 miles, the iPod function was already malfunctioning, and on several occasions had a life of its own!
..similarly the hazard lights didn't work already either!
..the size of the bike just seemed a bit unnecessary.
Overall I liked the bike, but would never buy one. It's just not my sort of bike. And to be honest I was one of those who drooled over it at shows, and at dealers, when they came out!
It's a lovely luxury tourer, brilliant two up I'd imagine, with a beautiful engine. It's well put together from what I could see, and it did look impressive. It's just not the complete, sorted, ultimate tourer that I imagined it would be. It has faults. It certainly wasn't as daunting on the third day as on the first though, and I can imagine why somebody would grow to love them.
That's an honest opinion, and I hope that's not offended too many owners. It's a fine bike, just not for me
My first trip into here so be gentle with me!
I recently hired a bike in Malaga for three days....I wanted a Gs really, a 800/1200/GSA ....but all I could get was a K1600GTL!
It wasn't really the bike for the routes I had planned, or for the roads I went on, but I hired it nonetheless.
First impressions were that it was very comfy, very low (compared to my GSA), and packed with gizmos!
Riding it it seemed long, with a sort of tendency to 'tip in' on bends unless you were constantly on the power through the corner. I began on Road mode, and comfort setting, but quickly changed it to normal setting.
I found all the gizmos a bit of a distraction. Using the turn dial on the l/hand bar to was both easy, and ridiculous. It worked well enough for most of the basic function...but to use it to scroll through the artists with the iPod connected meant frantically spinning the dial to go through the alphabet (unless there is an easier way described in the manual?
) like you were winding a broken watch!I never really got the point of the radio/iPod either....you had to drive relatively slow to hear it, or on full blast when on the go..and still it wasn't really clear. I bored with it after a while, and just took my iPod off to stop me from being tempted to fiddle with it!
I also felt with your hand on the l/h bar, fingers covering the clutch lever, it was almost impossible to stretch your thumb around the turn dial to alter/cancel the indicator switch. With your hand just gripping the bar it wasn't a problem though.
The actual motor was a dream...it always seemed to sound like it was racing, but a look to the rev counter saw that it was barely near its 8k redline, and was normally well within 4k and just ticking over.
I did find that the engine would search some times though...like the mapping wasn't set up properly?...but I'm not sure if that's common?
The biggest revelation was when I switched it to Dynamic mode!...what a change!!! The bike was transformed into a stable, nimble, rocket, eager to power into corners, and power out of them too. Everything seemed to improve. So much so that I couldn't ever imagine knocking it out of that mode...apart from in the rain.
So overall I was impressed with the bike...it's a lovely luxury tourer, and if you were travelling two up I can see that it would be hard to beat. But for me it was just too much bike than what you really need. An Rt1200,a Pan European, or a Triumph Trophy would have been just as good, if not a lot better.
I loved....
..the seat, it's amazingly comfortable.
..the brilliant motor
..the general quality of the displays
..the two wind deflectors on the fairing. Although they look a bit flimsy, they work brilliantly.
..the nice touches like the light in the top box, and the central locking.
..the more than ample luggage capacity, that still manages to look fitting to the bike and not overly bulbous.
I didn't like...
..the centre stand. I found it a nightmare to get it on it!
..the screen. I found that if you looked through it there was always a distortion, no matter at what position. And down, the turbulence around your head was quite severe.
..the radio. I just didn't see the point.
..the fact that although my bike had only done 5,000 miles, the iPod function was already malfunctioning, and on several occasions had a life of its own!
..similarly the hazard lights didn't work already either!
..the size of the bike just seemed a bit unnecessary.
Overall I liked the bike, but would never buy one. It's just not my sort of bike. And to be honest I was one of those who drooled over it at shows, and at dealers, when they came out!
It's a lovely luxury tourer, brilliant two up I'd imagine, with a beautiful engine. It's well put together from what I could see, and it did look impressive. It's just not the complete, sorted, ultimate tourer that I imagined it would be. It has faults. It certainly wasn't as daunting on the third day as on the first though, and I can imagine why somebody would grow to love them.
That's an honest opinion, and I hope that's not offended too many owners. It's a fine bike, just not for me
but I found it really hard, and find the GSA much easier to get onto, which I was surprised at.
