The GS works so well mainly because of the enduro heritage, also it is well large.
Let me explain:-
Most of us humans are not superbike championship material. Superbikes handle, period. To ride one on the limit you need to be very fit, hone your neuromuscular system into a very flat bundle of hysteresis loops, be possesed of good eyesight and have cojones of andalusian foothill proportions.
To get the same degree of perceived handling control for a mere mortal rider it is better:-
1. If the bikes geometry is off road derived. The GS is really just a large super-moto.
2. If the rider is carried high. Most of us are a bit blind compared to a superbike champ. Also we like to see a bit further ahead in anticipation that we need to set "the line" a bit earlier....usually we may not know the course!
3. The bike carries a lot of weight low down and as close to the axes about which it rotates as possible. In this position it is most useful for making the supension more "adaptable" to tuning whilst at the same time making the least contribution to oscillation moments.
Superbikes are designed to win races by being the faster than the rest of the field. The GS is based on a bike that was designed to be just fast enough to be a contender and then not have terminal wipeout for about a week. These enduro bikes are designed to avoid bad accidents...weird but true. This gives them a very "companionable" limit to their envelope. This makes it the sort of bike that one would be "happy to share a slit trench with". Superbike derived machines can't really get under your skin because basically they have no duty of care built into them.
I guess this means the GS..the very embodiment of of Grrr! actually has a bit of a feminine side after all. Blimey!
