Furthermore, except for one camchain tensioner, the engine is as it came out of the factory. I bought the bike off a mature owner who I knew personally. He was the kind of meticulous chap who spent 2500 miles running in the four cylinder mill. Kawasaki's do take more running in than other makes, with the obvious payback for those who put in the effort.
The bike had 7000 miles on the clock when it fell into my hands and was better than new. Stood there shining in the summer sun, gleaming plastic and the odd bit of glorious chrome. I'm on the hefty side, had to turn the suspension up to its higher settings when it didn't sag down on to the stops. Suspension is air adjustable at both ends, can be set up to suit most riding tastes and is still there after all this time - the quality shines through! It's very important to get the suspension right because the GTR isn't endowed with an excess of ground of clearance and will dig in if it's too soft, although it goes a bit harsh at its maximum settings.
Muscle's needed on the handlebars, especially at low speeds when it's dead easy to get it wrong and end up with 600-odd pounds of Kawasaki battering the rider into the ground. I'm long of leg, able to get both feet firmly on the ground - I wouldn't like to think about some short-arsed wimp losing it all on the GTR. The bike is very wide, both at the front and rear (I kept forgetting about the panniers) which with the heavy steering takes some adaptation in town. However, it's also very imposing and fitted with non-standard air-horns - put the GTR in the middle of the road, make a lot of noise in second gear, with the odd blast on the horn, and it's quite surprising how quickly the cars will part! Helped along by the bike having a pearl white paint job! I even had a bike cop give me a wave! Don't buy the grey one, though, because it merges with the tarmac at speed great for avoiding the cops but the cagers will run right over you!
I found an extra 3-4psi in the front tyre gave much quicker steering in town but it made the bike too twitchy above 50mph! On normal tyre pressures, the payback for the slow, heavy steering was surprisingly excellent directional stability at speed. It'd hold its line over rough going and sweep through long, fast curves without any weaving or wallowing. I had a few rides on the pillion when the bike was still owned by my friend, was astonished by how secure it felt - it's quite a good way of testing out bikes as a squirming back wheel or vibrating engine are immediately apparent.
The GTR's water-cooled four cylinder motor does vibrate at certain revs but I soon got used to it and the vibes haven't increased to any noticeable extent. The bike's smoothest range, when everything settled into the groove, was 90-110mph. Behind the fairing, 100mph felt more like 70mph and I often blitzed along at 120mph without thinking about it until I wondered why ail the cars were going backwards. There was a bit of turbulence off the screen that might annoy some riders but crouching forward slightly got me out of it.
The 110 horses were more than enough for me. Some have accused the engine of being revvy but I didn't really notice any lack of go in top gear roll-ons and it would run along with less than 2000 revs on the tacho without any hassles. Certainly, blasting through the gears would leave my heart rate pounding away and eat up the tarmac like there was no tomorrow. It was dead easy to slam up to corners 20-30mph too fast, which meant a workout on the triple discs they always seemed merely adequate against me avaliable speed and mass.
The brake calipers were an excess of hassle after 25000 miles, needing constant fettling. By 49000 miles I'd had enough and bought some nearly new stuff from the breakers off a later model. Much better, still there with only a few rebuilds. I got about 7000 miles out of front EBCs and almost twice that from the rear disc. For no clear reason, braking in the wet was predictable and safe. The only frightening moments on damp roads came when the tyres were down to 2mm (bad enough to make me head for the nearest tyre shop pronto) and when I messed up the gear change. Then, and only then, did the directness of the shaft drive intrude, making the back end hop and skip; giving the Uni-Trak rear end a workout. The latter needed new bushes every 50000 miles or so!
I was soon used to the slightly notchy gear change. I had a brief affair with a BMW R80, which was a horror story as far as shaft drive reaction went. I think it's the fact that the crank was aligned with the shaft rather than having it at a right-angle like on the Kawasaki. The latter's not as efficient but it seems to damp out most of the shaft's potential nastiness. Any minor irritants in the GT's driveline were more than made up for by the lack of maintenance compared with a chain. Once experienced, you don't want to go back.
I did change the shaft's oil every 20000 miles, which worked out as the service interval for the engine. The valves were still within limits, just, a couple needing a little tweak to get them back on the optimum clearance. Engine oil and filter were done every 5000 miles with no apparent effect on longevity. Really, you could probably do 50000 miles with just the oil changes and not blow this motor up. When the camchain tensioner went it did so with lots of clattering and rattling, much amplified by the plastic, so plenty of warning. From cold, that plastic made the engine sound like it was on its last legs but after five minutes of warming up all the nasty noises went away as the clearances tightened up.
The clutch also rattles a bit at low revs but that should go away as the revs rise - if it slips it's a sign that some hoodlum has ridden the bike in wheelie mode. Because many GTRs were bought by mature riders who looked after them they often fall into the hands of hoodlums looking for some cheap speed kicks - and suffer accordingly. Also long distance despatch riders are keen on the bike, buying something with 20000 miles on the clock and running it into the ground over the next 50000 miles. The finish does go off if they are neglected and thrashed, especially the wheels - if you find an old one still shining brightly then chances are that it has been well looked after.
I'd say anything with less than fifty thou on the clock is worth a look. Higher milers may well need a lot of work to the chassis (bearing life has varied between 26000 and 60000 miles) and brakes but the engine's good for lots more miles. 100000 miles all in a day's work for this well designed four. It does need a bit of muscle on the controls but once mastered it's a pretty safe bike to ride rapidly. I prefer it to BMWs, no dispute there. The latest Honda NTV650 with its decent fairing and relative lack of mass appeals, although I'd have to get used to the lack of power. I wouldn't pay up for a new one. The kind of money I can get for my high mileage GTR, there's nothing worth buying. Which means? I'll probably keep going, see if I can blast through the 200000 mile mark!
Gary Watkins