...another test ride.
So I left my K1300r in for a service yesterday and took the toilet for a run. Had the 09 GS but it suffered badly from a couple of hard winters and whilst I enjoyed it, could leave friends on an R1 and Blade on the twisties, it just always felt a bit, well, wheezy for anything top end. Yes yes, I know, it wasn't designed to be that kind of bike, hence the change to the K as a mix of power and comfort, but I quickly realised why the GS is/was as good as it is all round. Anyway, took the LC for a run and here's my tuppence...
Hopped on, felt reasonable - I'm about 5'8 and whilst I never struggled with the previous GS (seat high at front, low at back), I was on the balls of my feet again. The LC doesn't feel significantly lower, but easier to manoeuvre. Weight not as apparent, clutch pretty light with an early biting point and a very sensitive fbw throttle. Seat was broad, actually a bit firmer than the seat on my K, but comfortable. Heading off and I immediately felt the difference in the lightness of the front end, both from memory of my GS and the K, and the throttle was very light, very sensitive. Slotting into 1st was easy, smooth as were all selections from there on, no clunks, false neutrals nor anything agricultural about the gearbox. The biggest surprise was how the engine spun up. For those of you who have ridden it, I headed out to Larne then took the coast road to Cushendun, then Torr Road to Ballycastle. Winding on, the torque was great, with the only annoyance being the change up indicator on the display. If anything, however, it proved just how torquey the engine is, pulling from just over 2000rpm in 6th and with a good kick in the arse. Once I got onto the coast road and getting back into the GS headspace of just how far the bike can lean, I decided to explore things a bit further. Speed builds surprisingly quickly and the engine revs very very freely - a total change to the previous. Getting above 5000rpm introduces a bit of a rush which just doesn't feel like it'll fall away and that was to, umm, 'good' speeds. Gearbox was great and that was with a good variety of use.
The ESA feels very different too to the older model. Nowhere near as noticeable in the differences between soft, normal and hard but still effective. Despite the weather giving me rain, wind, standing water, patchiness and dry stretches, Road mode was great and Dynamic just introduced a greater immediacy to the already sensitive throttle. Great great fun. I didn't bother with Rain mode tbh. The front end has a much lighter feel, but pushing it felt no less stable, even though the wide bars give a very immediate, almost twitchy sense when pushing on. No weaves or tankslappers experienced. I did get a few vibes around the 4500rpm mark which brought on an occasional numbness but I think I suffer from a bit of CTS as I've found this at times with almost every bike I've owned.
Screen was good, no need to raise beyond base setting, clocks were fine but a bit cluttered with unnecessary info and I'd agree with others the speedo figures could be larger. Switchgear was good, solid, no issues with the indicators coming from the K though I noticed the cruise control didn't engage after the fuel light came on - I'm presuming that's in the design to prevent folk from inadvertently cruising on until empty. Motorway run back was fine and again torque in 6th was great for overtaking without need for a change.
Would I trade the 13R for the new GS? In a word, yes, if I had the money. Has the immediacy I missed, a good top end, comfort, pillion friendly, the capability to carry a stack of luggage and it put a smile on my face. It's the GS I imagined it could be two years ago.
Time to start saving
So I left my K1300r in for a service yesterday and took the toilet for a run. Had the 09 GS but it suffered badly from a couple of hard winters and whilst I enjoyed it, could leave friends on an R1 and Blade on the twisties, it just always felt a bit, well, wheezy for anything top end. Yes yes, I know, it wasn't designed to be that kind of bike, hence the change to the K as a mix of power and comfort, but I quickly realised why the GS is/was as good as it is all round. Anyway, took the LC for a run and here's my tuppence...
Hopped on, felt reasonable - I'm about 5'8 and whilst I never struggled with the previous GS (seat high at front, low at back), I was on the balls of my feet again. The LC doesn't feel significantly lower, but easier to manoeuvre. Weight not as apparent, clutch pretty light with an early biting point and a very sensitive fbw throttle. Seat was broad, actually a bit firmer than the seat on my K, but comfortable. Heading off and I immediately felt the difference in the lightness of the front end, both from memory of my GS and the K, and the throttle was very light, very sensitive. Slotting into 1st was easy, smooth as were all selections from there on, no clunks, false neutrals nor anything agricultural about the gearbox. The biggest surprise was how the engine spun up. For those of you who have ridden it, I headed out to Larne then took the coast road to Cushendun, then Torr Road to Ballycastle. Winding on, the torque was great, with the only annoyance being the change up indicator on the display. If anything, however, it proved just how torquey the engine is, pulling from just over 2000rpm in 6th and with a good kick in the arse. Once I got onto the coast road and getting back into the GS headspace of just how far the bike can lean, I decided to explore things a bit further. Speed builds surprisingly quickly and the engine revs very very freely - a total change to the previous. Getting above 5000rpm introduces a bit of a rush which just doesn't feel like it'll fall away and that was to, umm, 'good' speeds. Gearbox was great and that was with a good variety of use.
The ESA feels very different too to the older model. Nowhere near as noticeable in the differences between soft, normal and hard but still effective. Despite the weather giving me rain, wind, standing water, patchiness and dry stretches, Road mode was great and Dynamic just introduced a greater immediacy to the already sensitive throttle. Great great fun. I didn't bother with Rain mode tbh. The front end has a much lighter feel, but pushing it felt no less stable, even though the wide bars give a very immediate, almost twitchy sense when pushing on. No weaves or tankslappers experienced. I did get a few vibes around the 4500rpm mark which brought on an occasional numbness but I think I suffer from a bit of CTS as I've found this at times with almost every bike I've owned.
Screen was good, no need to raise beyond base setting, clocks were fine but a bit cluttered with unnecessary info and I'd agree with others the speedo figures could be larger. Switchgear was good, solid, no issues with the indicators coming from the K though I noticed the cruise control didn't engage after the fuel light came on - I'm presuming that's in the design to prevent folk from inadvertently cruising on until empty. Motorway run back was fine and again torque in 6th was great for overtaking without need for a change.
Would I trade the 13R for the new GS? In a word, yes, if I had the money. Has the immediacy I missed, a good top end, comfort, pillion friendly, the capability to carry a stack of luggage and it put a smile on my face. It's the GS I imagined it could be two years ago.
Time to start saving
Still haven't lost her yet
