Tourer Comparison: GTR vs FJR vs ST1300 vs R1300RT vs K1300GT

Stiff Upper Lips in Stiff Competition




















TourerGP: Has Kawa pulled off an upset against the mighty Honda?


Kawasaki just launched their high-powered high-tech 1400GTR tourer to go slug it out against the heavy weights of Honda, Yamaha and BMW. How does this new (big) kid on the block stand against the current market favours?

If you want to find out, go get the current issue of Bike Magazine from UK for the full story. The article is informative as well as entertaining.





















My favourite bike mag.

I'm not going to spoil the fun and the business of Bike by giving away everything the magazine commented on these 5 bikes. I would just give you some samples as appertizers and add my personal comments:

Kawasaki GTR1400 Review

Bike says:

Good points: - Bloody hell this is fast. Set the fastest 0-100kmh recorded by Bike (broken by the new Busa 3 days later).
- Most gizmos after the BMWs.

Weak points:
- Screen too low when at lowest; buffers head when at highest.
- Hard work to corner fast, mid and low speed.
- Firmest suspension and seat. Fast motor not really needed for the job at hand.


Endless says:

This bikes are all at the top of the pyramid. Every manufacturer got to give their best shot and can afford to because these bikes are not on budget. So there are no bad bikes here. And no best bikes. Rather, it is what kind of rider you are.

The 1400GTR is for those who likes all the power to ride very very fast, in a straight line eg: NorthSouth highway--but first got to change to taller aftermarket windscreen or your neck gets blown off by the windblast.
1400GTR is for those who like the idea that they are owning a bike whose got more horsepower than the guy next to him, with the highest top speed, fastest 0kmh to whatever kmh.
May appeal to a mellowed Hayabusa or ZZ1400 owner.



BMW R1200RT and K1200KT

Bike says:

Good points:
- Put them in 1-2 pole positions in this long-distance riding shootout (I can't believe this).
- Comfortable. Brillian screen and fairing.

Weak points:
- Clunky gearbox. Need to get used to the telelevel fork shit thing. Need to get used to the separate left and right turn signal buttons shit thing.

Endless says:

BMW must have gotten Bike bribed with the most advertisement money. Don't tell Bike or I'm going get sued. How else is there to explain that "Buy this BMW bike, even though it is so expensive, it's got a worse gearbox feel than bikes a quarter its price"?

Sorry, I am very fussy about the gearbox feel as I am not those type of rider that just sticks my bike to top gear and than ride straight and at constant speed all the way to my destination without playing with the gears and engine revs.

Ok, Ok, to be fair, the BMWs here are designed and built by a manufacturer with amongst the most experience in building tourers. So they have got almost all the chinks knocked out by decades and decades of listening to thousands and thousands of owners and new owners. These experience are intangibles that cannot be substitued by the lastest gizmo or highest specs or more horsepower engines.

It is like the best-tasting chilli crab is still the best-testing chilli crab, even though there are other stalls that offer bigger crabs, more chilli, better service. The BMWs are for owners who wish to own something different. And not just another japanese bike. And for those people where the BMW brand means more prestige than Japanese brands (Japanese brands in motorcycling don't mean anything? They haven't been watching MotoGP)



Honda ST1300 (STX1300) Pan European Review

Bike says:

Good points:
- The smooth, mellow flavour of the longitudinal V4 motor. Feels like a sportsbike.
- Can handle and corner like a much lighter Hornet 600.

Weak points: - Honda bland. Not outstanding in any one area.
- Looks like a scooter (it is not the Pan's fault. Those scooter builders went to build their scooters like the Pan.)

Endless says: I say exactly what Bike said. I love the V4. It is so relaxing when cruising in Singapore. And it grips the tarmac like a vice when cornering and accelerating. I also love the willingness of the ST1300 to corner.

The Pan is really very much like the BMW. Almost perfect and flawless as tourers/sports tourers like years of feedback from owners. If something is not there, you almost can be sure you don't need it, no matter how much you think you need it (eg: more horsepower).

People who go for the STX are people who trust the Honda brand for build reliability and design experience. And for those who go for finesse riding style over brute acceleration and top speed. And for comfort and refinement.



Yamaha FJR1300A Review

Bike says:

Good points:
- Sporty. Good engine
- Feels like what a proper motorbike should feel (versus the STX, a bike that accelerates but you can't hear the engine sound).

Weak points:
- Old tech.
- Screen a bit too low for long-distance touring.

Endless says:

I will put the FJR as a midway between the GTR1400 and STX.
It is for those trust the Yamaha brand. For those who likes to hear a bit of engine and exhaust sound from their bike. But some of those in the FJR camp may be attracted to go over to the GTR1400 camp because of the appeal of higher horsepower.



Conclusion

Touring and sport touring is one style of riding where higher horsepower, highest top speed don't mean as much. There is no one way of quantification that can measure a bike that is best for touring/sport touring, unlike pure sportbike. And for every strength, it necessites a trade-off.

Eg: To have more horsepower to ride at higher speed or accelerate faster, the suspension has to be firmer and harsher and less comfortable. The wheelbase has to be longer to give greater sense of stability at high speed at the expense of needing more effort to turn the bike.

So the conclusion is there is no best bike here. More like what is your style? What does your priority lie?

What someone else like may not be what you will like. Knowing yourself well is just as important as knowing the bikes out there.