When I took my FJR in for the 20k service, the dealer asked if I would like a test ride on their new K1000GTL (In addition to Yamaha and Suzuki they are also a BMW franchise.)
I had someone coming to pick me up so I declined. I went in this morning to pick my bike up and asked if the offer was still available. He gave me the keys and said that if I was going to be gone longer than 2 hours to give him a call.
When I sat on the bike the first surprise was how low the seat was. I'm 6-2 with 34 inseam and the first negative impression was how much less legroom this bike had compared to my FJR.
I keep my FJR seat in the upper position.
I learned later that this bike had the optional low seat but the seat is not adjustable for height.
The throttle was set for dynamic which is supposed to give best throttle response.
The throttle was extremely light and resulted in huge revs on my first attempt to get under way.
After becoming familiar with the controls I headed out for a mix of city, slab and back roads. The temp was already in the 90's so I had the air vents opened up to channel fresh air to the rider. With the windscreen all the way down there was noticeable buffeting but nothing extreme. Raising the shield up high enough to stop the buffeting forces you to look through the windscreen. Due to the high temps and my preference for looking over the screen , I left it down for most of the ride and put up with the buffeting.
The seat locks you in to one position with most of your weight on your tailbone. My elbows ended up a little too close to my rib cage for my taste.
I could not find fault with the available power. It was always ready, willing, and smooth.
Dropping into 3rd for a pass produced amazing results. I also tried motoring away from 20 in 6th and there was never a hiccup or stumble. I really had to search for any vibration.
The most noticeable was when accelerating from 75-80 in top gear but it was in no way bothersome.
This thing eats up fast sweepers and straights in style, but when you hit the tighter stuff the weight and size really become a detriment. I suppose if you owned one you might get confident enough to push it hard on some tight roads. In my 2 hr ride, I did not.
I played with the electronic suspension adjustments a little.
I left it in sport mode mostly. Normal would probably be the choice for around town. It definitely took the edge off bumps and irregularities.
The soft setting really made it feel like a wallowing pig. Probably only good for choppy interstates.
When I returned the keys and got on my FJR, I thought, "Who shrunk my bike!"
The FJR now felt tighter, sharper and more agile than ever. Riding the BMW was like those weights baseball players slip on their bats when warming up. The FJR felt like a sports bike now. The GTL is probably aimed at Gold Wing customers more than FJR customers. I am not familiar with the current Gold Wings but I imagine the GTL will compare pretty well.
I did own a Suzuki Cavalcade for 10 years and the GTL seemed a lot closer to it than it was to my FJR.
I heard that most BMW dealers have a GTL demonstrator that needs a certain number of miles on the clock before they are sold. If you are interested, go for it.
I had someone coming to pick me up so I declined. I went in this morning to pick my bike up and asked if the offer was still available. He gave me the keys and said that if I was going to be gone longer than 2 hours to give him a call.
When I sat on the bike the first surprise was how low the seat was. I'm 6-2 with 34 inseam and the first negative impression was how much less legroom this bike had compared to my FJR.
I keep my FJR seat in the upper position.
I learned later that this bike had the optional low seat but the seat is not adjustable for height.
The throttle was set for dynamic which is supposed to give best throttle response.
The throttle was extremely light and resulted in huge revs on my first attempt to get under way.
After becoming familiar with the controls I headed out for a mix of city, slab and back roads. The temp was already in the 90's so I had the air vents opened up to channel fresh air to the rider. With the windscreen all the way down there was noticeable buffeting but nothing extreme. Raising the shield up high enough to stop the buffeting forces you to look through the windscreen. Due to the high temps and my preference for looking over the screen , I left it down for most of the ride and put up with the buffeting.
The seat locks you in to one position with most of your weight on your tailbone. My elbows ended up a little too close to my rib cage for my taste.
I could not find fault with the available power. It was always ready, willing, and smooth.
Dropping into 3rd for a pass produced amazing results. I also tried motoring away from 20 in 6th and there was never a hiccup or stumble. I really had to search for any vibration.
The most noticeable was when accelerating from 75-80 in top gear but it was in no way bothersome.
This thing eats up fast sweepers and straights in style, but when you hit the tighter stuff the weight and size really become a detriment. I suppose if you owned one you might get confident enough to push it hard on some tight roads. In my 2 hr ride, I did not.
I played with the electronic suspension adjustments a little.
I left it in sport mode mostly. Normal would probably be the choice for around town. It definitely took the edge off bumps and irregularities.
The soft setting really made it feel like a wallowing pig. Probably only good for choppy interstates.
When I returned the keys and got on my FJR, I thought, "Who shrunk my bike!"
The FJR now felt tighter, sharper and more agile than ever. Riding the BMW was like those weights baseball players slip on their bats when warming up. The FJR felt like a sports bike now. The GTL is probably aimed at Gold Wing customers more than FJR customers. I am not familiar with the current Gold Wings but I imagine the GTL will compare pretty well.
I did own a Suzuki Cavalcade for 10 years and the GTL seemed a lot closer to it than it was to my FJR.
I heard that most BMW dealers have a GTL demonstrator that needs a certain number of miles on the clock before they are sold. If you are interested, go for it.
:dribble: 
