Yes, you can track the R1300GS

[andy tims]

Did a track evening on Brands Hatch Indy on Thursday with spare parts on his R1250GS.

With it being an evening session there was just a Novice and a Fast / Inters group so we went in the later which did include several really quick guys. We were sharing a garage with two, by the sound of things, reasonably successful amerture racers, but we were certainly not the slowest.

It was wet to start but dried out by the 4th and last session.

Obviously outgunned down the straights, the bike was good under hard braking & can hold a tight enough line to be quite a lot of fun.

I do sometimes miss my old track bike (K8 GSX-R 750) and the M1000R I got rid of this year was really good on track, but the GS is good enough to do a couple of days / evenings a year on just to get that occasional fix.

We're hoping to do a full day sometime soon.

 

[digby]

Out of interest - how far can you lean the r1300gs ??

 

[andy tims]

I’ve had 47degrees numerous times on the road. Sometimes the pegs touch down (I have mine in the lowest position) and sometimes they don’t.

 

[Davey B]

I remember the first time I turned up at Cadwell in 2001 on my (new that Spring) 1150GS complete with topbox. (...as I'd ridden and stayed overnight in Louth) A hilarious wag shouted "Who ordered a Pizza?" to much laughter. I was never fast but the GS flattered and the joker was suitably humbled by just what a GS could do (he said as much)...I can pnly imagone how good a far newer/new GS would be.

 

[Flappytabs]

There used to be a regular trackday attendee on a ratty old Triumph Sprint RS with a matching topbox and he was always the fastest by far. Never found out who it was but he could hussle a bike round.

 

[Davey B]

There used to be a regular trackday attendee on a ratty old Triumph Sprint RS with a matching topbox and he was always the fastest by far. Never found out who it was but he could hussle a bike round.

A member on here who doesn't post much now went for a test ride on a new GS. As he was leaving the car park, he was guided toward another chap on a demo bike and told "Follow him". The fellow couldn't half ride...turned out to be David Jefferies

 

[theoneandonly]

you can " track" anything !
my 1150gs , had so much ground clearance , i only ever touched the pegs down once.
it was fitted with sw-motech crash bars , the bolt that joins the bar underneath to the crashbar , had to be changed after every trackday .
you look at it and think ??? how does that hit the ground ? but it does.

 

[andy tims]

There used to be a regular trackday attendee on a ratty old Triumph Sprint RS with a matching topbox and he was always the fastest by far. Never found out who it was but he could hussle a bike round.

We wanted to leave the top boxes on, but MSV said no.

 

[theoneandonly]

they don't like panniers , and shite blankets either .
35 years ago i tracked my "work" CX500 , with panniers and t/box , what they didn't like was the bungee , holding the t/box shut !

 

[tw99]

I've had my 1250GS on track quite a few times. Obviously lacked straight line acceleration compared to other bikes, but the braking power and stability is really great. I was easily catching people on sportsbikes just by being more confident on the brakes. I'm sure the 1300 is better suited to track riding, given the increased performance and handling.

 

[digby]

I’ve had 47degrees numerous times on the road. Sometimes the pegs touch down (I have mine in the lowest position) and sometimes they don’t.

Makes my recent 40 degrees look pathetic then…….

 

[littleade]

I th

I've had my 1250GS on track quite a few times. Obviously lacked straight line acceleration compared to other bikes, but the braking power and stability is really great. I was easily catching people on sportsbikes just by being more confident on the brakes. I'm sure the 1300 is better suited to track riding, given the increased performance and handling.

I think any boxer twin with the telelever front end will give your average sportsbike rider a shock through the bends. I often used to get them howl past me down the straights in Wales when I was on my R1150R, only to catch them up again through the twisties, which you could tell from their body language really pissed them off. Just for full disclosure, it was definitely the ABS and the way the bike handled and stayed rock steady through the turns and on the brakes that allowed this to happen, not my ungod like riding skills

 

[er-minio]

Makes my recent 40 degrees look pathetic then…….

Depends.
You really don't want to put the cylinder head to the ground. Trust me – it's no fun.

With boxers, body positioning helping the bike be a bit more upright is not necessarily a bad thing.


Very nice pics Andy!

 

[er-minio]

We're hoping to do a full day sometime soon.

There is a road bike magazine every once in a while at Brands, for plated bikes on GP circuit. That suits a GS (the older ones at least) and I normally saw I few of these there over the years.

In the last few years I've done more and more evening GP days as I find it a bit more relaxing than full days.
Took my GS (Hexhead Adv) a few years back and it was fun. It started getting wobbly towards end of sessions, but expected. 1300 completely different story I bet.