Hi all, Colin (Flatfour) here posting a few words as requested by Olde Coney following my reply to the enquiry regarding attendance at the BMF Tail End this weekend. I've just bought a 2012 registered GTR 1400 in green (the colour that I really wanted, after riding Kawasaki's in the 70's) from Seastar in Newton Flotman, Norwich. My previous tourer was a BMW K1200RS (as you might guess from the "Flatfour" name that I use). Before that, I had a Ducati ST2. I came close to buying a BMW K1600GT, but after trying the GTR found it much lighter and more manageable.
I normally ride around 4,500 miles ayear on the tourer, often in France or Spain with my daughter, who owns a Honda NC700X. We always try to visit the Coupe De Legende at Dijon in May (a fantastic spectacle of 1950's, 60's & 70's racing machinery and riders) as well as making at least one other trip. My wife will not ride on the bikes, so I use the motorcycle holidays as a recce trip before returning later in the car with her!
In addition to the tourer, I have a small collection of 1970's Japanese machines, all retored to factory fresh original condition.
I live in Norfolk (near to Watton) and look forward to meeting you all on the road!
Welcome FF. Hope you find the Forum useful. It is a very friendly place and a great source of information together with a fair amount of banter. I am sure you will enjoy the bike, we like pictures on here so post a few of your P&J when you get a chance.
Quote from: flatfour on September 14, 2012, 01:47:31 PM
In addition to the tourer, I have a small collection of 1970's Japanese machines, all retored to factory fresh original condition.
:185: Colin, its always good to have new members on board, and thanks for the detailed introduction, I'm sure that you will love the GTR its a spectacular machine.
I'm interested about your small collection of Japanese machines as I have a couple myself....yours wouldn't be Two Stroke with three cylinders would they ?
Japanese classics presently on the road are a Yamaha YR5 (1970 350 two - stroke twin, red/white) and 1974 Honda CB500/4 (gold/black). Also have a Honda CB350/4 not in use at present, roadworthy but I restrict the machines in use to three at any one time, so that they are all ridden. (i.e. GTR for distance/two - up, CB500 for visits to classic shows etc; YR5 for short local runs & Friday night gathering.
I have tried to post a picture of the GTR but seem to have failed. When I have sorted this out, I will post pictures of the others that are here (the 350/4 is stored elsewhere, as four bikes in my workshop makes access difficult and increases the liklihood of damage).
Picture of GTR as requested.
Nice one Colin.....and good to see that you have the best, fastest, and classiest coloured GTR :clap:
Pictures of your classics would be good to see. :yes:
Have tried to send pictures of the older bikes, but they keep bouncing back as "failed security checks"! All are photos taken by me from and stored on my own computer, so at a loss for the moment!
Quote from: flatfour on September 14, 2012, 06:01:25 PM
Have tried to send pictures of the older bikes, but they keep bouncing back as "failed security checks"! All are photos taken by me from and stored on my own computer, so at a loss for the moment!
Have you got a photobucket account? Easy and quick to download all your photo's and post on here
Welcome BTW (http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_0500.gif) (http://www.desismileys.com/)
Bryn, forgive my ignorance, but I have no idea what a photobucket account is! I have tried to re - post using a different computer, on the offchance that it may be some sort of campatibility problem with my own, but to no avail. It seems strange, as the picture of the GTR went through using the same computer and was from the same file.
I will ask our I.T. advisor for help when he returns from holiday next week.
No worries, just search for photo bucket and have a look..it's a free photo hosting site.. I post all my pictures using it, as there's no need to re-size. :smiley:
Colin, :185: to the GTR forum. Here's a link to how to use photobucket with simple step by step instructions.
http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,1756.0.html (http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,1756.0.html)
Quote from: olde coney on September 14, 2012, 04:41:49 PM
Nice one Colin.....and good to see that you have the best, fastest, and classiest coloured GTR :clap:
Pictures of your classics would be good to see. :yes:
How anybody could say green is the fastest colour when we all know black is beyond me.
Her indoors reckons black is best :mfr_lol:
Alan
Quote from: BigAlan on September 14, 2012, 10:08:13 PM
How anybody could say green is the fastest colour when we all know black is beyond me.
Her indoors reckons black is best :mfr_lol:
Alan
I'll speak to you later Alan.........
Now go and sit on the naughty step :mfr_lol: :mfr_lol:
Hi colin and welcome. iam colin and live in Stoke ferry my daughter lives in Saham Toney i have had mine since may 08 and use Seastar for servicing etc.planinng on going to the BMF but not till Sunday if you would like to meet up anytime PM me
Thanks for the tips on Photbucket, I'll get on the case.
Stoketim, we also live in Saham Toney, if you're here to visit your daughter at anytime, please let me know.
Hello Flatfour and welcome ... even more so as your chosen steed is GREEN ! :smiley:
I have just ridden home from work in the pouring rain and I just love my Gtr ... I am sure you will too ... enjoy ! :laugh:
Quote from: BigAlan on September 14, 2012, 10:08:13 PM
How anybody could say green is the fastest colour when we all know black is beyond me.
Yup, especially given that the Green is a 2012 colour and thus limited (as are all 2010 and later models) to 155Mph (250Kph).
The 08-09 models are limited to 186Mph (300Kph) so we KNOW that Black/Silver is faster. :clap: :banana: :yes: :punk:
Quote from: Boomer on October 08, 2012, 03:32:38 PM
Yup, especially given that the Green is a 2012 colour and thus limited (as are all 2010 and later models) to 155Mph (250Kph).
The 08-09 models are limited to 186Mph (300Kph) so we KNOW that Black/Silver is faster. :clap: :banana: :yes: :punk:
My 2011 is certainly not limited to 250Kph !!!!!
AND - it is BLACK :mfr_lol:
Deon
- welcome welcome !!
.
Quote from: Boomer on October 08, 2012, 03:32:38 PM
Yup, especially given that the Green is a 2012 colour and thus limited (as are all 2010 and later models) to 155Mph (250Kph).
The 08-09 models are limited to 186Mph (300Kph) so we KNOW that Black/Silver is faster. :clap: :banana: :yes: :punk:
Actually George the Mettallic Green is a 2011 colour
2012 colours are Candy Arabian Red and Metallic Midnight Sapphire Blue
Both colours are 'limited' and obviously slow :mfr_lol:
Whatever the colour the 2010- are limited to 155Mph.
How they measure that 155Mph I have no idea.
I do know that at that speed the speedo over-reads by quite a lot.
My speedo momentarily peaked at around 165 on my last Autobahn blast.
I'd be amazed if that translated to 155Mph real speed.
Quote from: Boomer on October 09, 2012, 02:40:01 PM
Whatever the colour the 2010- are limited to 155Mph.
How they measure that 155Mph I have no idea.
I do know that at that speed the speedo over-reads by quite a lot.
My speedo momentarily peaked at around 165 on my last Autobahn blast.
I'd be amazed if that translated to 155Mph real speed.
275 Kph on GPS
Deon
Quote from: Boomer on October 09, 2012, 02:40:01 PM
Whatever the colour the 2010- are limited to 155Mph.
How they measure that 155Mph I have no idea.
I do know that at that speed the speedo over-reads by quite a lot.
My speedo momentarily peaked at around 165 on my last Autobahn blast.
I'd be amazed if that translated to 155Mph real speed.
Very true.......my speedo consistently reads about 2-3mph faster than my GPS which I imagine is more accurate.
Had an interesting trip round Northern France recently - they have sections where speed cameras relay your speed back to you.
In about 10 "zaps" my Garmin 550 was spot on 8 times and 1kph optimistic twice, although on one occasion it quickly changed to the right speed. So I quickly stopped paying any attention to my speedo whatsoever
I've previously measured the accuracy of a Tom Tom sat nav against a Vascar unit in the works car and it was 100% accurate. Needless to say the speedos in these cars are calibrated too so they all matched.
However in my own car or on the bike as you increase speed the difference of the two readings between sat nav and speedo can increase significantly also.
:stupid: :agree:
They are spot on.
The faster I go the bigger the difference between the Zumo 550 and the speedo.
I'd say the speedo is about 10% optimistic. I rather believe the GPS is spot-on, though.
They are.
"Vascar Uni in the car" ... Steve ... you ARE showing your age !! :mfr_lol: :mfr_lol:
They've just had them installed, we used to use a stop watch and tape measure! :mfr_lol:
Sorry to jump onto an introduction but readinthe post about the 2010 model being restricted has raised a question - how do you derestrict it ? :help:
Who cares if they are restricted to 155 mph or not?
You're not allowed to go that fast on a public road except for some stretches of Autobahn in Germany anyway.
And even there the traffic is so thick most of the time that you can't safely go that fast either.
And who would want to take a GTR on a track, if you can find one with a straight long enough to get it up to that kind of speed that is?
And once you go over 110 the GTR becomes quite thirsty too.
So if you belt it on the Autobahn over more than a few km you have to stop more often and you don't get any faster where you're going.
And it will cost you a lot more at the prices they charge at the services over there.
With panniers, bag on the back seat and top case I had mine up to 140mph according to my GPS (the speedo showed close to 160) with still plenty to spare and that is more than fast enough for me. :biker3:
Quote from: mecki on October 11, 2012, 01:12:31 PM
Who cares if they are restricted to 155 mph or not?
You're not allowed to go that fast on a public road except for some stretches of Autobahn in Germany anyway.
And even there the traffic is so thick most of the time that you can't safely go that fast either.
And who would want to take a GTR on a track, if you can find one with a straight long enough to get it up to that kind of speed that is?
And once you go over 110 the GTR becomes quite thirsty too.
So if you belt it on the Autobahn over more than a few km you have to stop more often and you don't get any faster where you're going.
And it will cost you a lot more at the prices they charge at the services over there.
With panniers, bag on the back seat and top case I had mine up to 140mph according to my GPS (the speedo showed close to 160) with still plenty to spare and that is more than fast enough for me. :biker3:
Hi all,
for once I agree with Mecki, I have also seen similar speeds to Mecki and cant see why you would ever want more from this type of bike
Coman
Quote from: mecki on October 11, 2012, 01:12:31 PM
Who cares if they are restricted to 155 mph or not?
You're not allowed to go that fast on a public road except for some stretches of Autobahn in Germany anyway.
And even there the traffic is so thick most of the time that you can't safely go that fast either.
And who would want to take a GTR on a track, if you can find one with a straight long enough to get it up to that kind of speed that is?
And once you go over 110 the GTR becomes quite thirsty too.
So if you belt it on the Autobahn over more than a few km you have to stop more often and you don't get any faster where you're going.
And it will cost you a lot more at the prices they charge at the services over there.
With panniers, bag on the back seat and top case I had mine up to 140mph according to my GPS (the speedo showed close to 160) with still plenty to spare and that is more than fast enough for me. :biker3:
Bravo, absolutely spot on :clap: The current model GTR is a better bike than most of us ever will be as riders ...oh yessssss
Thats all very unhelpful. I didnt realise I'd asked for advice on what I should do based on your view of life.
I know its a great bike etc so why limit its performance ?
Hi Half-man half pie,
I am not telling you how fast you can or cannot go, I just dont think the GTR would be safe at much above 150mph, I also have a ZZR 14 and can understand the desire to ride that to (and beyond the restriction)although havn't been above 170 myself
Coman
Quote from: half man half pie on October 11, 2012, 03:56:27 PM
Thats all very unhelpful. I didnt realise I'd asked for advice on what I should do based on your view of life.
I know its a great bike etc so why limit its performance ?
Well, first of all so far only one person who doesn't even own a post-2010 GTR claims that this restriction exists.
While others who actually own one claim they have done higher speeds on their steeds so it might not even be true.
So first of all we should find out if that with the speed restriction is true at all.
Then we can try to find out how it may be done to restrict the speed.
My guess would be that it would be hard coded into the ECU software and then you would obviously need a different ECU or re-program it.
So then comes my question why would anyone want more speed on the GTR anyway?
I am sorry that I skipped the first couple of steps and offended you by asking that question.
But you can probably tell us under which circumstances did you first notice the speed restriction and how does it affect your riding experience so badly that you would be willing to spend a lot of money to 'derestrict' your bike?
Sorry, I'm not offended. It was a case of type, send then read a week later. My response was poor.
There are times when the bike is missing bit of grunt especially with me and my son onboard.
Some posts talk of exhausts and power commanders as a means of small power gains.
I wondered if the restriction was reducing power but having read some foreign forums, some are of the opinion that the electronics limit the speed by relating the revs to the speed.
I'm not after turning the gtr into a big zzr, just a bit more urgent sometimes
You're not a million miles away from Hilltop Motorcycles Earl Shilton... Geoff there works his electronic magic with BSB bikes and also re-maps a lot of BMW GS's with good gains....
I've known Geoff for a few years now... and I'd imagine he'd be able to plug a GTR in , Dyno it and get it running better than stock :cool:
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=hilltop%20motorcycles&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hilltopmotorcycles.com%2F&ei=z118UIH9NujZ0QXa4YDoBw&usg=AFQjCNFOXAXk44PJ6pSm_yEi7Qb_tJXouA
I understand what you are saying.
But the felt lack of 'grunt' is not due to a top speed restriction.
Fifth gear will run out of revs before you even reach 155 and in overdrive there isn't much acceleration anyway.
I think it is more due to the gear ratios and the fuel mapping for better economy.
The bike is designed to 'eat miles' and get you 240 to 270 miles on one 22l tank of normal unleaded fuel.
If you want her to perform like a sports bike you have to ride her like one and switch down a gear or better three. :yes:
But it will cost you. She'll get quite thirsty and she'll eat tyres as well. :oops:
Quote from: mecki on October 15, 2012, 08:06:56 PM
I understand what you are saying.
But the felt lack of 'grunt' is not due to a top speed restriction.
Fifth gear will run out of revs before you even reach 155 and in overdrive there isn't much acceleration anyway.
I think it is more due to the gear ratios and the fuel mapping for better economy.
The bike is designed to 'eat miles' and get you 240 to 270 miles on one 22l tank of normal unleaded fuel.
If you want her to perform like a sports bike you have to ride her like one and switch down a gear or better three. :yes:
But it will cost you. She'll get quite thirsty and she'll eat tyres as well. :oops:
And she will get a bit wayward as she is a big old girl
Cman
Each to their own, and if you want more "grunt" then I agree with Mecki...Change down a few gears.
The bike is a bloody missile, and I've had some seriously fast bikes in the past so I do know.
Gill and I set off to Cornwall two up with full luggage, massive Givi Top Box, (which was crammed) and a Tank Bag, I never at any time felt like the bike lacked "Grunt"......the GTR is plenty fast enough for me :yes:
Likewise OC .. last year in France, fully loaded but no wife ... it was really quick .. hot dry weather, roads to die for and car drivers that go out of their way so as to give you room .... :yes: :yes: