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Lloyd, just get a remap. I'd say go for the Shoodaben Mountain Runner, but any decent remapped should do. No need to take the secondaries out, it'll transform the bike.

Hi Jason. And welcome

that was a nice test ride Kidderminster to Sussex   
As stated 2 inch risers seem to sort out quite a few on here me included and there is enough slack in the brake hoses if you fit them  enjoy your bike plenty of grin factor 

Yup, sure got the mettle of it by the time I was home...

Bars aren't an issue - they're the Horizon fully adjustable ones, I'm going to refine the bar angle a bit to get it perfect for my size. Brake hoses are Galfer ones long enough for the bars. One thing I liked about this bike is all the things I'd have done on my ideal GTR are done already... I can just get on and ride! 

Phew!

Just got back from a LONG day - drive from Sussex coast to Kidderminster and then ride back on my new steed. And what a bike it is. Feck me it flies! Got some fettling to do to get the bar positions right, and not sure about the saddle (it's a 16MY saddle on a 10 plate bike) but it just eats miles. It's Wildybeast's old bike, so has Horizon adjustable bars (and a host of other farkles too numerous to mention) but best of all it's had a Shoodaben map - oh yeah...

I don't think I got it much above 7k on the way home - it is soooo quick. Gonna have to seriously recalibrate my riding (previous machine was an old Evo Road King). Also the brakes are STUPENDOUS! So my thinking they were so-so on the other bike I rode was down to the specific bike and not the marque in general...

I think I'm gonna have some fun on this.

Picking up my new (to me!) GTR on Wednesday.  Excited don't even cover it...

Thanks for that Pete, I'm comparing it with my Harley Road King. It's a late Evo model, so only single pot brakes. Needs a fair handful to stop it, but stop it does. Locking the back brake is possible (quite a feat on a large machine!) and it'll stop with some authority using both, if your input is 'positive'!

I just expected the GTR to be in another league, and it wasn't. I have no yardstick to judge it by, but I expected a bit more two-fingers-brick-wall style braking, not needing a fistful to haul me down from not silly speeds. And the non-existent (or massively ineffective) rear was a worry. This on a 9700 mile 16 plate bike.

Hoping to compare with another soon.

Thanks all... it chimes in with what I've read on the US forum, most think they're great with a few thinking not so good. I'm going to test ride an older one soon to see how that fares. I'll report back!

That's what I found Nightrider - just underwhelming at round-town speeds, seemingly needing a haul to bring her to a halt. One corner on a B road that I went into a little hot, whereas normally I'd use a dab of trailing rear brake to bring the bike into line, this didn't work on the GTR. At all. That was a little worrying. I like a rear brake strong enough to lock up if I so choose...

Juts been for a test ride on a nice 16-plate GTR at a local dealer. Lovely bike - very impressed by it's performance, how well it handles, even it's near 'flickability' for such a hefty bike.

The one thing that put me off - well not put off per se, but surprised me, was the brakes. Lousy rear (barely unable to slow me at all, dragging my feet would've felt better) and the front was not what I expected. I was certainly expecting better than my old 1150GSA which was a barge but stopped well (non Servo before you ask). This just felt like a whole lotta effort for not a lot of reward. It stopped okay, but nothing to rave about. And I've heard a lot of raves about the brakes on these bikes. Tried it in both linked and unlinked modes.

Any opinions/comparisons? Am I expecting too much, do 'they all do that sir?' or might there be an issue with the bike? It looks like it has aftermarket discs (kind of serrated wavy) and I've no idea re pads. Bike has done a shade under 10k.

Ta!

Jason

Re seats. I've never had one for a GTR (as I don't own the bike yet!) but I had a Tony Archer seat for my 1150GS Adventure. Now that is one tall bike, but TA made the seat both more comfortable and, importantly, narrower than the stock one. So though, on comparison, it wasn't any lower, I was far more able to get my feet down by virtue of not having my legs splayed out so far. It's one alternate approach if you're feeling that a lower seat would be better from a handling point of view - narrower might be better still. Oh and his quality is very good indeed, excellent workmanship and reasonably priced.

Hi Barry,

Sorry to hear you're having to sell the bike - a difficult decision I know.

A nice bike at a good price, but I'll be looking for a Gen2 machine when I do purchase I'm afraid - i like the idea of traction control and a few of the refinements the later bikes offer. I'm sure yours will go quickly though!

Jason

Hi all,

Great forum! I'm in the market for a GTR as a replacement for my trusty (and gorgeous!) Evo Road King.  I love the big old Harley to bits, but a change in circumstance and needs means a more effortless, and slightly faster, distance machine is needed. I'd set my heart on a Beemer K1300GT, but finding one with the extended warranty is impossible, and buying one with out it seems like a game of Russian roulette. Too much electrickery...

Gradually the GTR has come into my sights - and I like what I see, big torque, smooth, legendary Kwak bulletproof build... it ticks all the boxes. So I'm hoping to bag one soon, when the RK goes to a new home. I'm keeping the ads peeled in the meantime.

Looking forward to joining the fray properly!

Jason