Here’s my grin factor
• filtering between very slow moving traffic – my mirrors go over the top of car mirrors. I’m high enough up to see pedestrians through the front window of a bus as I go round the outside. My steering lock surprised other road users (with how good it is) Other bikes, nutters excepted, cannot keep up. Lock-to-lock through the traffic and the bloke behind falls off his CBR trying to follow.
• Filtering in moving traffic is a joy. The big blue BMW, white crash helmet, yellow fluo jacket. The traffic just parts. I feel like Moses. My head is at Range Rover drivers height, I can see beyond the clown in front and plan my overtake easily. I have better forward visibility and all round awareness than on a sportsbike . Unless it’s postcode SE1. There the rules don’t apply.
• The badly surfaced City streets are a joy. I can solve speed bumps by going faster. I can overtake sportsbikes on speedbumps. The bollards have all been removed from the middle of some of the roads in SE1, but the resurfacing hasn’t been done yet. Doesn’t bother me. Straight down the middle, grin factor LARGE. Impossible / suicidal on sports bike. I can kick the back end of the bike out on the wet manhole cover at the end of the road. Makes me chuckle every time. When I get home, by neck, wrists and arse feel no pain.
• The brakes…..I love ‘em. Grin factor bigbigbig. Winging past a decelerating GSXR approaching a wet roundabout and then going past said GSXR in the outside lane / inside lane. Performance Bike? My arse. Get one of these mate, much funnier on a day to day basis. I can outbrake sportsbikes in the wet easy and probably in the dry too. Practice emergency stops from speed. Big grin, more amusing than full power acceleration.
• Little stoppies? Don’t let the ABS stop you. Sit forward, slow down and pinch the lever. Up she comes. (only on private road of course)
• Traffic lights…..Immediate turn left. At Vauxhaull junction in the morning, it’s only the GS (ok at the katoom)that can gun it away from standstill and turn through 90 degrees and get past all the other traffic before the bottleneck reappears. The bike just squats down and goes. The tourances give enough feedback to stop a spin. Meanwhile, the gixers are still flexing their leathers.
• Out of town. Smiles all the way. Journeys take on average nearly half as long as the car, even carrying the kitchen sink.
• Big A-roads. The GS was high up in bike awards for “best fun in corners”. I can see why. Knee down in first and second gear. With shortarse legs too. Enoooormous grin factor.
•
Power? Just think of how many orgasms Clarkson would have if he could get this performance and comfort at this price. 0-60 in what? So what if you can get from 120 to 160 in 0.5 seconds on you susawakonaki uberbike with asbopovic pipes. Go directly to jail.
• Off Road. 2 days in Wales with Simon Pavey. Say no more, just do it and (if like me no prior) be just about astonished at what these machines can do. Grin factor for weeks.
• Shaft drive. 6,000 mile service intervals. Insurance schemes. My GS12 costs me less to keep than my old CB500. Wallet Grin.
• Looks. For Pete’s sake, beauty is skin deep. Plus there’s the old adage about rough lookin wimmin giving better sex. Same rule applies to bike.
• Looks ugly, but puts out like you wouldn’t believe and with remarkably little effort.
Finally, why, why, why, do sportsbike riders insist on overtaking the GS on the 100 yard long stretch of road that’s smooth enough for the manoeuvre? All that happens is that I’m held up for the rest of the way.
SPORTSBIKES - get out of the sodding way and buy yourself a cricketers box - you know the fastest growing injury for sportsbike riders
99% of the time, on 99% of roads the GS is a quicker, safer, much “grinnier” bit of kit.
Swap my GS? I'd rather shove wasps up my arse. (see below)
End.
Plus the general level of decentness on this forum is quite ..er...decent (c) Austinpowersism
edit on reading another post
(pps, I'll send my collection of wasps to tentoone. his arse needs them
)
• filtering between very slow moving traffic – my mirrors go over the top of car mirrors. I’m high enough up to see pedestrians through the front window of a bus as I go round the outside. My steering lock surprised other road users (with how good it is) Other bikes, nutters excepted, cannot keep up. Lock-to-lock through the traffic and the bloke behind falls off his CBR trying to follow.
• Filtering in moving traffic is a joy. The big blue BMW, white crash helmet, yellow fluo jacket. The traffic just parts. I feel like Moses. My head is at Range Rover drivers height, I can see beyond the clown in front and plan my overtake easily. I have better forward visibility and all round awareness than on a sportsbike . Unless it’s postcode SE1. There the rules don’t apply.
• The badly surfaced City streets are a joy. I can solve speed bumps by going faster. I can overtake sportsbikes on speedbumps. The bollards have all been removed from the middle of some of the roads in SE1, but the resurfacing hasn’t been done yet. Doesn’t bother me. Straight down the middle, grin factor LARGE. Impossible / suicidal on sports bike. I can kick the back end of the bike out on the wet manhole cover at the end of the road. Makes me chuckle every time. When I get home, by neck, wrists and arse feel no pain.
• The brakes…..I love ‘em. Grin factor bigbigbig. Winging past a decelerating GSXR approaching a wet roundabout and then going past said GSXR in the outside lane / inside lane. Performance Bike? My arse. Get one of these mate, much funnier on a day to day basis. I can outbrake sportsbikes in the wet easy and probably in the dry too. Practice emergency stops from speed. Big grin, more amusing than full power acceleration.
• Little stoppies? Don’t let the ABS stop you. Sit forward, slow down and pinch the lever. Up she comes. (only on private road of course)
• Traffic lights…..Immediate turn left. At Vauxhaull junction in the morning, it’s only the GS (ok at the katoom)that can gun it away from standstill and turn through 90 degrees and get past all the other traffic before the bottleneck reappears. The bike just squats down and goes. The tourances give enough feedback to stop a spin. Meanwhile, the gixers are still flexing their leathers.
• Out of town. Smiles all the way. Journeys take on average nearly half as long as the car, even carrying the kitchen sink.
• Big A-roads. The GS was high up in bike awards for “best fun in corners”. I can see why. Knee down in first and second gear. With shortarse legs too. Enoooormous grin factor.
•
Power? Just think of how many orgasms Clarkson would have if he could get this performance and comfort at this price. 0-60 in what? So what if you can get from 120 to 160 in 0.5 seconds on you susawakonaki uberbike with asbopovic pipes. Go directly to jail.
• Off Road. 2 days in Wales with Simon Pavey. Say no more, just do it and (if like me no prior) be just about astonished at what these machines can do. Grin factor for weeks.
• Shaft drive. 6,000 mile service intervals. Insurance schemes. My GS12 costs me less to keep than my old CB500. Wallet Grin.
• Looks. For Pete’s sake, beauty is skin deep. Plus there’s the old adage about rough lookin wimmin giving better sex. Same rule applies to bike.
• Looks ugly, but puts out like you wouldn’t believe and with remarkably little effort.
Finally, why, why, why, do sportsbike riders insist on overtaking the GS on the 100 yard long stretch of road that’s smooth enough for the manoeuvre? All that happens is that I’m held up for the rest of the way.
SPORTSBIKES - get out of the sodding way and buy yourself a cricketers box - you know the fastest growing injury for sportsbike riders
99% of the time, on 99% of roads the GS is a quicker, safer, much “grinnier” bit of kit.
Swap my GS? I'd rather shove wasps up my arse. (see below)
End.
Plus the general level of decentness on this forum is quite ..er...decent (c) Austinpowersism
edit on reading another post
(pps, I'll send my collection of wasps to tentoone. his arse needs them
)
