GTR v Versys v GS Adventure

[Boomer]

Pretty = MV F4 1000, Ducati 916, Kawasaki Z1A, Yamaha XT500.
Plain = Honda CBR600, Kawasaki GTR1000/1400, Yamaha FJ1200.
Ugly = Bimota Mantra, Suzuki Hayabusa, ANY trail bike EXCEPT the XT500.

Sorry, trail bikes may be practical, but almost never pretty.
Scaffolding on wheels made worse by huge beaky mudguards, and stupid headlight designs.

[zedmeister]

A plumber's nightmare

used to spend hours with meccano now you can buy a model ready built. 

[Lonewolf]

used to spend hours with meccano now you can buy a model ready built. 

that's BMW for you, they think of everything.

[Robbieben]

Different classes of bikes but my 2p worth is that the GTR is without doubt a very accomplished tourer for one or two people, lacks some of the modern toys now available on many bikes and of course is a heavy old girl. Has plenty of grunt, cruises at 100+ in extreme comfort, handles very well on fast A or B roads, has good sized panniers. What's not to love about the bike...corrosion of some parts very early in it's life has disappointed me.

Versys is also very good, easier to move about than the GTR, comfortable and goes, stops, handles very well, I've not tried the latest but no doubt it has moved on from the one I rode in 2016. Lack of suitable luggage space for a two week tour for two puts me off to some degree, I'd be back to using my throw over panniers.

GS Adventure is a great bike for distance though IMHO too big and numb, ugly and top heavy, I prefer the GS over the GS Adventure and have ridden both on many occasions, both go reasonably well, handle very well and have plenty of luggage space, I don't see myself owning one although I have had the opportunity to at a good price on quite a few occasions, my good mate is a BMW Motorrad sales manager. I did own the S1000XR Sport for a short time but after having various issues and an engine failure at 6500 miles, lack of suitable pannier space was again a problem so I did not keep it that much longer and traded it in for the GTR.

[Lonewolf]

Robbieben, I have some extremely fond memories of numerous Scottish tours I completed on my GTR, both on my own and with Rusty from this forum.  The GTR is a very capable bike with looks to match and it has always surprised me that Kawasaki didn't consider fitting it with cruise control. Yes, the GSA is ugly by comparison but it's branding is unquestionable and has an immense following since the Longway Down adventures from 2004.
The two bikes are in different categories but both are equally capable of accomplishing the same feats. I'm not a highly skilled rider by any stretch of the imagination but I've felt confident on each bike in a multitude of situations.
Had Kawasaki supplied the GTR with heated seats, cruise control and a rear shock that didn't keep seizing I doubt I would have dipped my toes in the BMW pot.

[nightrider]

If you think that the gs is top heavy you want to have a go on a triumph 1200 adventure   on my mates and it felt like it was going to fall flat on its side every time I went round a slow corner ,,

[Rusty]

Interesting thread ! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as someone has pointed out ... thank goodness we are all different !
Thankfully I have never had any "problems" with any of the bikes I have owned since I was 18.
I always remember my naked Honda CB1300 to be a stunner .. great build quality and loads of torque but it had to go when I started my commutes to The Met. The GTR was just super for all of those miles, ticking all the boxes. I only moved to the dark side by accident really when a work colleague went on annual leave and asked me to take his GS home a couple of times to keep it ticking over whilst he was away. By the time I got to the other side of T Square I was hooked 

[Lloyd]

Pop in for a service today on the gtr and why it was being done the salesman was trying to sell me a versys ,and i must say at 15500 pounds with boxs and cheap looks i will be keeping the gtr

[Lonewolf]

Pop in for a service today on the gtr and why it was being done the salesman was trying to sell me a versys ,and i must say at 15500 pounds with boxs and cheap looks i will be keeping the gtr

I don't blame you. I genuinely do not know why Kawasaki stopped production of the GTR, it's an awesome machine and quite a head turner.

[O.C.]

The GTR  doesn't meet Euro 4 emission requirements

[Boomer]

So perhaps they need to release a GTR-S 1000 baeed on the H2 motor? 

[Lonewolf]

The GTR  doesn't meet Euro 4 emission requirements

And if/when we leave the EU would that negate the necessity for it to meet Euro 4 emission requirements? Serious question, I don't understand all this emission requirement stuff.

[Burchy]

I don't think so.  The UK market is small and they're not going to build a version just for us.  Kawasaki will just supply us with the Euro model

[Lonewolf]

Ah well, it was worth a chance. 

[evk]

ZZR1400 is sold in Europe and the Concours is still around in the US. Shouldn't be a big problem to bring back the GTR if they wanted to?