First Impressions

[mikeyw64]

SO today I collected my new (to me) GTR1400 and had an enjoyable little 65 mile ride back from Bradford to Bolton via a mixture of city traffic, open(ish) A roads and a touch of motorway, nothing too silly as she has a new rear tyre fitted ;)

So how does she compare to my Bird(s) ?

Well straight away you're (pretty obviously really) sat much more upright and for some reason she feels smaller. She certainly seems easier in traffic than the Bird but then again I've had Givi E41s fitted which are wider than the birds mirrors, at least on the GTR the mirrors (which incidentally are the second best of any bike I've ridden, the best for me are still the old ST1100 mirrors) are the widest part of the bike.

She also feels less "aggressive" than the Bird and almost encourages a more relaxed riding style although she can certainly pick up her skirts (did I mention a new rear tyre?) should you so choose.

I do like the ability to alter the screen depending on where you are and what you're doing. Mine has a Vario laminar lip fitted and I found most of the time it was best in the fully down position with the lip in a mid position. Just let enough air hit the shoulders (I'm about5'10" with a 32" inside leg)  whilst not giving any helmet buffering at (ahem) motorway speeds :)

That said taking the screen to about halfway took the air of the shoulders & arms and would probably be my preferred position for rain riding although this did increase helmet noise (but still no buffeting).

Luggage wise I knew the panniers had less capacity than the E41s but pleasingly they did contain the fitted bags. She also has the Kawasaki (rebadged Givi monolock) 39l top box fitted which will be fine for daily use but i think will probably get replaced with a larger item for longer trips.

Handling wise she felt nice & stable at all times but then again did I mention she has a new rear tyre on 

Overall my first impressions are very favourable and can , for me at least, be summed up as more touring than sport when compared to the Bird.

I like 

[O.C.]

congratulations on your new bike, now you can farkle away.

Where did you buy your bike from ?

[mikeyw64]

congratulations on your new bike, now you can farkle away.

Where did you buy your bike from ?

Bradford Motorcycles

[PRD]

You are going to love it.

[pross]

You are going to love it.

I found the grin factor never disappears 

Enjoy the bike and this nuthouse 

[O.C.]

Bradford Motorcycles

I wondered if thats where......is Paul Wilkinson still there ?

[mikeyw64]

I wondered if thats where......is Paul Wilkinson still there ?

No Idea sorry, I was dealing with a chap called Alec, been there a while (was there when it was a Kawasaki dealership apparently)

[Lonewolf]

OC, Paul left sometime ago. Chez senior and Chez junior run it now.

[Kylinski]

I've clocked up a staggering 140 miles on mine already! . . . Not all at once I hasten to add   

[O.C.]

OC, Paul left sometime ago. Chez senior and Chez junior run it now.

Ahhh Right...well Paul had probably had enough, I use to deal with him and Chez when they were on Manningham Lane in the early 90s     

[mikeyw64]

I've clocked up a staggering 140 miles on mine already! . . . Not all at once I hasten to add   

Errm I had to go fill up today. Fuel low Keval started flashing at 155 miles. Brimmed it at 158, took 18.8 litres. By calculator that works out at  38.2 mpg whilst the dash (which I did zero when I picked her up) was showing average 40.8 mpg (after I changed it to real mpg instead of colonial!!!)

[Kylinski]

Errm I had to go fill up today. Fuel low Keval started flashing at 155 miles. Brimmed it at 158, took 18.8 litres. By calculator that works out at  38.2 mpg whilst the dash (which I did zero when I picked her up) was showing average 40.8 mpg (after I changed it to real mpg instead of colonial!!!)

I've never bothered about mpg on a bike. Probably cos it's not my daily commute 

[O.C.]

Same here...ride it... fill it......ride it....fill it   ......ride it........fill it........................

[Lonewolf]

Mikey you should be able to get at least 50mpg out of the beast. Obviously that depends how you ride it but I used to frequently get 55mpg although my bike was standard, standard can, no power commander etc.

[mikeyw64]

Mikey you should be able to get at least 50mpg out of the beast. Obviously that depends how you ride it but I used to frequently get 55mpg although my bike was standard, standard can, no power commander etc.

Like I stole it usually