Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

A press ride in Europe left reporters impressed by the Coneours' power, comfort and ability to travel fast on twisty mountain roads. Kawasaki's new Coneours 1 OOOGTRis aimed squarely at the sport-tourer niche previously claimed by the BMW K1 00. It fulfills its promise. BMW's approach to the big-bike market isn't an exclusive now that Kawasaki has launched its IOOOGTR. For although Kawasaki describes its new bike as a.sp or ts tourer, it's firmly aimed at the buyer of BMW 's top-of-the-range KIOORT, the rider who wants to be able to travel long dis- 18 tances in comfort, but who al so wants a machine that's lively an d agile enough for enjoyab le tourin g off th e in tersta tes. And th e I()()()GTR hits th e bullseye dead center. After ridin g th e bike over 500 miles through southern Ital y to Sici ly, I' m su re th at BMW shou ld be serious ly reco ns ideri ng ways in wh ich to ma intain th eir dominant posit ion as th e top tourin g manufacturer in Europe. The 10000TR is as comforta ble as yo u could wish, with a fairing offeri ng weather protect ion on a par with th e best of th e h ighway h eavyweights like the Honda Gold Wing. The bike also ha s im p ressive luggage carrying capacity with enough room in the ca ses for two helmets or touring gear for a couple. Yet with an engine bas ed on the l60-mph GPzlOOORX sport s bike , it 's quicker than any heavyweight tourer with a top speed of around 140 mph in good conditions. But incredibly that's not what makes the 10000TR such an enjoyable motorcycle to ride. Kawasaki'sengineers have retuned the water-cooled 997cc four-cylinder engine to give more power in the lower half of the rev range. Power is an ample 108.5 bhp at 9500 rpm compared to the lOooRX's blistering 125 bhp but peak torque is down at a more versatile 6500 rpm . With the addition of sha ft drive, the IOOOGTR will pull from almost n othin g in th e fifth of th e six gears yet still give sparkl ing acceleration. Sixth is effectively an overdrive that gi ves relaxed touring at low er revs than o n th e lOOORX. And in keeping with th e to uring image, th e IOooGTR has a massiv e 7.5-gallon tank. Even when speeds were ave raging cl ose to th e ton on th e Italian Autostra da del Sol . th e Kaw asaki could still average over 40 mpg to give a touring range of a lmost 250 miles. With more casu al spe eds , 300 miles to a tankful shou ld be a possibility. With suc h lavish eq ui pment, th e 1000GTR is more weighty than th e 1000RX, as yo u 'd expect. With a full tank it tips th e sca les a t ove r 650 po u n ds . But th e on ly tim e yo u notice it is when you manha ndle th e bik e o rr th e center sta nd. Steering and handling dis play a li ghtness th at are more like a bike of half th e weight. On the coast road west fro m Sa lerno , so uth o f Naples, to Sorrento wh ere th e co nti n uo us series of torturous ben ds mak es anyth ing over 35 mph al mos t su ici da l, th e 1000GTR cou ld be £l u n g abou t with suc h ease th a t even after a full da y's m ountain riding I felt fresh. The 1000GTR uses a frame based on th e GPz9OOR's with a tubular steel sp ine structu re in corp ora tin g part o f th e rear su bfra me and uses th e engine for support. On paper the long wh eelbase of 61.5 inches (two more than th e900R) and shallower steering head geometry would indi cate heavier steering. But Kawasaki are for the first time using Dunlop radial tires 'des~ed especially for the machine. Like Other radials offered by Pirelli and Midtdin, they are claimed to offer equivalent load ca paci ty to biased belted tires but with lower heat generation and wear rates. In combination with a' relatively narrow 18-inch front wh eel , the tires also deliver a del icacy in th e navigation th at's a revelation. And thanks to the use of a long swingarm , th e sha ft drive doesn't pogo the rear en d under accelera tio n or a trailing throttle. So th e bike stays sta ble through long bends. And it corners ,like a racer wit h more than am p le clearance. At speed, th e Kawasaki 's sta bi lity isn 't quite as arrow-li ke as I would have lik ed. The bike sta rts to feel elastic over 110 mph , en o ugh to inhibit really sp irited co rne ring. But to be fair, that wa s loaded saddlebags. Overall, and especi all y a t around 90 mph, the 1000GTR is a s refined a s you' d want. S us pensi o n is so ft er t h a n th e IOOORX with a broader ra n ge o f damping adjus tment for th e single rear air shock that allows loads up to 44 1 p ounds. There' s no anti-dive system on th e telescop ic front fork, nor is o ne needed . Bu t th e fork legs are co n nec ted so that a ir pressure adjustments can be co nve n iently mad e. The ride is smooth a nd a p art from occasional jolts at low spe eds in town from th e front fork , th e co mfort is luxurious. The ridi n g position verges on th e sporty side with a pair o f ' bars th at a re a bo u t two inches higher than th e IOOORX's. That gave me clear view over th e top of th e screen . But it didn't remove me from enough a ir blast to rattle m y visor. All it took was 'a sligh t crouch a nd even at an in dica ted 130 mph I was co m forta bly cocooned in a pocket of air. Slo ts in th e fairing direct a ir in side th e screen and for Europe, deflectors o n th e edge of the lo wer fai ri n g edges keep cold air from th e rider' s legs. And enough heat tri ckl es fro m th e engine bay to keep yo u r feet warm whi ch co u ld be troublesome in su m mer. For Am erica , spec ia l deflectors, wh ich are a Eu ropean model o p tio n , ca n be used to push co ld air o nt o th e rider. ' To m y surp rise, the IOOOGTR doesn ' t ha ve th e rubber moun tin g system for th e front of th e engine as on th e IOOORX. So with th e retention ofa double-engine-speed balance sha ft th e tourer vibra tes abo u t as much as th e 900R. It 's not bad, but th e IOOORX is smoother at speed. Fortunately, the engine is so flexible that along with a wider ratio gearbox it' s not necessary to buzz th e unit over 4000 rpm . The pleasantest band is about 90 mph in top gear where the 'bar-end balancers and wide , footrests virtually eliminate the buzz. Beyond 120 mph the grips vibrate enough to occasionally numb your hands, but the handling is ~ting flighty by then, and the bilce is mostly a tourer so that isn't too much of a problem. The controls are well set up with a light hydraulic clutch and slick gear change action . The switches are the sa me as the 1000RX's but the instruments, including an engine temperature ga u ge and fuel gauge, ar e new with a pleasing blue glow at night. The silly voltmeter in the tach dial has been dropped. T he brakes, slightly sma ller front discs than th e 1000RX 's a nd a larger rear (because it 's more en closed ), are worthy of note in that they main - tained co m posu re and less th an th e usual Kawasaki sn a tchiness, even after severa l hard mountain descents. Attention to details is sa tisfying, too. There's th e luggage ra ck wh ich ca n be encl osed by a small fairing when not in use and wh ich has fold in g bungee hooks. And the digit al clock; th e perfectl y positioned mirrors; or th e substantial front and rea r mudguards. So well is most of th e bik e's eq u ipment designed that th e standard lockable luggage cases literall y stick ou t lik e a sore thumb. Though th ey comfortabl y tak e masses of gear, th ey'r e very wid e, measuring 36 inches, and it was far too easy to nudge ca rs in den se traffic, Apart from BMW, no manufacturer has a tte m p ted to offer a good all-around bik e that ca n be enjoyabl e to ride yet do esn't suffer from th e inevi table compromises which are necessary. Heavyweight tourers ca n ' t cut it in the mountains and sports bikes fail on the counts of convenience and carrying capacity. The 1000GTR can be all th ings to most riders. Which is wh y th e bik e was a hit with practically all the riders present from a ll over Europe and America . The exceptions were the G ermans, and it's n ot difficult to understand wh y. The new Kaw asaki pitch es at BMW in a wa y th a t promises a tough battle in 1986. Kawasaki GTR tech The lOOOGTR Kaw asaki's en gine and transmission a re in effect a 997cc version of th e American market 's Eliminator 900, with a drivesh aft gra fted onto the wa ter -cooled engine's six-s peed gea rbox. The bottom half of th e en gine is virtually th e sam e as th e GPzlOOORX with a bore a nd stroke o f 74 x 58m m, n at-top pistons gi ving a 10.2:1 compression ratio and th e sa me four valves per cylinder . To improve Ilexibility for touring, th e ca rbu reto rs, exhaust system a nd valve timing have been changed. Boosting torque over the 1000RX figures are. smaller 32mm flat-slide Keihin C 'caihui-etors and sinaUerdiameter Stainless steel exhaust pipes, . down from !lB.l to 3 I.8mm. Valve opening duration is reduced from 290 to 275° and lift cut from 9.0mm to 8.4mm. While the claimed peak power is reduced from 125 to 108.5 bhp at 9500 rpm , more importantl y the peak torque of 72.3 lb.-ft. ha s been moved down th e rev range from 8000 to 6500 rpm . And usefully, the RX's nat spot below 4000 rpm has been elimina ted . Kawasaki claims th at its cooling system for th e 1000GTR, which is ba sicall y th e sa me a s for the RX, is (Contin ued to page 21)

• Cover