VOLUME 57 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 7, 2020 P73
in a bike weighing 'just' 485 lb all up—is
brilliantly controlled in any of the RBW
throttle's four different riding modes:
road, sport, rain (with a 100 bhp power
cap) and rider-configured. The Keihin
ECU restricts output in the lower gears
in all modes, and the bike is speed-
limited electronically to 138 mph, just
as the Thunderbird cruiser was to 130
mph.
This means that opening the throttle
at practically any revs is the gateway
to an almost irresistible and seemingly
implausible level of acceleration for
such a hefty piece of hardware—yet this
is delivered in an almost understated
way. It's totally effortless, with just a
nice little burble from the 3-1-3 exhaust,
which features two stylized slash-cut
exits in front of the rear wheel on the
right, and a single one on the left. But
then when you back off the throttle to
slow for a turn, the exhausts pop back
gently on the overrun, which adds a bit
of character to such a smooth-running
motor. And smooth it is, indeed—there's
absolutely no vibration even if you rev it
out to the hard-action limiter, so those
new counterbalancers do their job
perfectly. Cruising along at 100 mph on
the GT with the engine turning over at
just 3800 rpm, was practically relaxing!
Despite its telephone-number torque
and power figures, this is a true gentle
giant of the two-wheeled marketplace,
delivering those extreme engine stats
(Right L-R) Gone is
the droopy tail of the
old model. In its place
sits a much sharper,
slimmer unit. There's
163 pounds of arm-
wrenching torque
hiding in that motor.
Check out the massive shaft drive on the R!
