MCN Fleet: The GTR has been sorely missed

After spending most of the past three weeks riding various other machines for work, I’m back on the 1400GTR.

As frustrating as it can be to leave your bike tucked away in a corner of the work lock-up – I want to cover as many miles as I can on the GTR – a spell away always provides a good test of how well you’re getting on with a long-term test bike. 

For more on MCN’s 2015 fleet please click here.

After spending three weeks riding bikes of all shapes and sizes, from 1000cc superbikes to 125cc scooters, it was good to finally get back on the GTR. It felt like home, which is perhaps the biggest compliment I can give the GTR.

There’s always a worry you could return to your bike and find the clutch feels heavy and crude, the steering odd or the throttle response snatchy, but there was none of that with the Kawasaki. It took no more than a couple of roundabouts to get used to the bike again. The moment I sat on the saddle (which still isn’t as comfortable as I’d like) everything felt familiar and easy.

After a fast back-road ride with our Senior Road Tester Adam Child, I mentioned to him how the front felt a little flighty and had a tendency to weave, especially on the power out of bumpy corners. He suggested adding one turn of preload to the rear, which has made the bike much more stable on back roads. It’s also made the steering ever-so slightly sharper and has increased ground clearance too.

Perhaps, since the handling of the 1400GTR is the thing that has impressed me the most, it’s time to think about getting it out on track. I’ve certainly seen less appropriate bikes on trackdays.

 

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