I ran one for 40,000 miles. Bought it used 20,000 miles to commute UK to IOM. Incredible machine so stable. One of the few bikes I could commute on and then hack around the mountain course, braking into bumpy bends holding a perfect line the old tank could hold its own with sports bikes. Yes you are dead right once you have ridden the GTS you never come across another machine that is so stable.......but so heavy! Once your moving its fine and deceptively quick to change lines. BTW build quality exceptional and remove the covers below each handlebar for the most amazing blast of hot air that means you can tuck and ride in summer gear all winter round as the radiator is where the head stock should be. Up date dec 2022 ha just come back to this video after being gripped by the Electric bike revolution riding a Zero SRF oh and aquired a Hercules W2000 rotary since I first posted this, clearly Im nuts and only like stuff thats weird and yes Im not interested in any of the rinse wash and repeat thats on offer out there but Id have another GTS anyday.......genius machine.
Great vid. A few comments based on my 15 years of ownership. There may be something wrong with your brakes as the GTS brakes are phenomenal. One of the outstanding features of the bike. Has recorded 89 feet stop from 60mph, still a record as far as I'm aware. Sure the play and feel at the lever is not like a modern bike but that big 6-piston calliper and 330mm ventilated disc combined with the solidity of the swing arm connection to the frame, provides just amazing braking when you are hammering. Two things you did not mention at the beginning when talking about the ground-breaking technical aspects - ABS and 5 valves per cylinder. The std fairing screen causes a LOT of buffeting. Can be fixed. The OEM Dunlop tires were atrocious and did not endear the bike to the magazine bike testers. Handling is much improved with modern sports tyres and 120 profile front instead of 130 original fitment. Beware, handling is very sensitive to worn tyres, steering gets very heavy. But with new tyres it's very neutral. Bottom end and midrange torque is excellent IMO. Roll on times are very good. The thing is so smooth it is easy to run the revs down so low that it will not pull well but this is rider error.
@RoadcraftNottingham, went for my first real out of city commute today, and thanks to some of your videos twas an enjoyable day, and 270kms of winding mountain roads in far North Queensland Australia, I'm still in one piece! Cheers mate!
Blast from the past! I remember this bike mainly because of a TV ad here in the States that will go down in history as the most concentrated Nineteen Ninety-Three that has ever been made :) Apologies for not discovering this video sooner!
About the same weight as my Cbr1100xx, which I have absolutely no problem with, and in fact prefer it when on a 4-lane huge truck infested freeways, maintaining about 90 mph.
Great review Russ. Vyrus, an Italian company, are manufacturing and experimenting with center-hub steering and Bimota also released a few models that implemented CHS, cost the price of a few kidneys however. Anyway telescopic forks will always win out in the looks department.
In the day when a friend bought one new, we used to take the .... and laugh because it was such an expensive monstrosity (that still admittedly went well around corners) I only bought it to play on for a while then sell but have decided to keep this baby for myself. It has such an addictive personality. You'll know how that feels no doubt?
I remember when it first came out there were lots of positive comments about the hub centre steering, but also disappointment over the 100bhp engine and the chain final drive. Like the proper sports-tourer that it was, it should have been fitted with Yamaha's excellent shaft drive.
I remember looking atthis in my dads motorcycle magazines from days gone by. I think the weight would put me off but what fantastic design. I like the look of the old bmw tourers as well ! built like a tank;)
Really enjoyed this video, as the bike is amazing. Glad the new owner is a biking enthusiast & well known legend. Wishing you many happy hours riding this beauty.
Just great to see older motorbikes on the road. This "vintage" technic is proofed by age. Not all new things are better then old. Greetings from Holland.
Nice review! Great Birthday present! Always liked the GTS and was a bit baffled when it disappeared. As for it's looks, compared to other 1000cc sports tourers of same age it does not fare too badly.. Kawa GTR1000, ZX-10, Honda CBR1000 and even the early Pan European all had the look of having a bathtub somewhere in their early ancestry. Always hoped Yamaha would develop it into the Morpho II prototype.. (search for Yamaha Morpho here or dailymotion for vid might want to turn down music..)
I got total feel from the GTS, I can't remember feeling either way with telelever suspension, maybe it wasn't in the front of my mind at the time. Not sure how weight would have affected it but it felt spot on.
Seen this so many times Ros & it stands out because the design was revolutionary. People or the MC press forget the boundaries it pushed. Hopefully, look forward to you doing a few more video's of it & some engineer in Yamaha or elsewhere see the benefits of progressing with the design in an affordable 21st century motorbike. We are allowed to dream.
Thanks, I read that a Fireblade at the time was about 7k and the GTS was over 10k so that would have put people off. Also, it isn't the prettiest duckling in the bunch is it? lol. Positive thing now is there's a following for these bikes and an owner's club. Nice to know these won't go down in value.
Bloody lovely!!! Such a beautiful thing and a Yamaha too! Love the single sided swing arm as well. I have a Yamaha cruiser (Stratoliner S) and love the quality and retro look and the way it handles on the road...I bet this thing drives smooth and firm! Congrats and if you ever want to sell it, let me know! Cheers!!
I do want to own one of these someday. Much like the Triumph Rocket 3 the modern one on a engineering standpoint it's very interesting to me. As well as the Honda NR 750. I very much loves motorcycles that are unique and have unique engineered designs that stray from the norm. It's just funny that motorcycle doesn't have much more horsepower than my 1982 Yamaha Maxim and the GTA has a Genesis engine there must be a way to unlock some of that corked power in there.
It's advanced thing, he'd overtaken whilst I was overtaking earlier so I thought I'd let him know I was coming. TBH, I don't care if I annoy someone, at least they've seen me. That's what the horn's for. :-)
Great video and it's good to see more from you Russ. I see you were still wearing gloves with knuckle protectors, thought you went off those following your spill? What on earth was the brick Barry had on his helmet, an older version of the Drift?
I was walking around York a couple of days ago and saw one of these "monstrosities". I was wondering how many were out there. Looked nice & clean, it might have been even this bike, the colour matches.
Nice review. Thanks! Barry violated the Rule of Breath Mints. If someone offers you gum or a breath mint, it is safer to assume you need it. Never turn them down. Ha.
Excellent stuff, it was my matw Steve Lindsel from Flitwick Motorcycles that ran it in the TT had reasonable success as I remember.....Steve was convinced the Design would suit road racing. Sadly Steve despite being a Yam dealer for donkeys he never got any support from the Factory so his racing career was self funded. Ollie his son now races & has just got back from IOM......
Everything is relative. You say that 250kgs is "ridiculously heavy" but it's a lot lighter than your Pan European, and even a Suzuki Burgman 650, which weighs 280kg, and which I'm a big fan of! Glad you liked it to ride. I think it looks great. (And, FWIW, I did my best to explain the GTS's steering system back in 1992 when the director of Top Gear said "You've got 30 seconds to explain hub centre steering". The whole test is only 2 minutes, including Clarkson's intro and outro and Chris Goffey's road ride!
Great ride. I'm still on the fence about motorbikes atm. Last bike I had was a Honda 50 but I used to ride it around the back yard until I passes my car test and never got around to doing bike stuff.
Interesting film. I think the bike looks great in a butch kind of way. I rode the Bimota Tesi 1D with hub centre steering back in the '90s for the purposes of a magazine article. The steering did exactly what you expected it to do, it was neutral and well-planted but a racer probably wouldn't like it because you couldn't really feel what the front wheel was up to. The Ducati 851 engine made its presence felt by the fact that it did nothing below about 5,000 rpm, and then took off like a scalded cat. It was a nice bike, I found lying on the tank to be the most comfortable riding position. Like all alternatives to telescopic forks, cost would probably inhibit the return of hub centre steering. Otherwise I'd like to see it on a new GTR1400 (with cruise control this time). Cheers!
I had one of these with the panniers in red. Heavy beast, under powered used about the same in oil as petrol but great to ride. Went to the NEC bike show on it and got some right funny looks. Still thinking of getting shot of the diavel for the TV4:)
At the risk of sounding pedantic, the GTS does not utilize hub-center steering. What you, and others, are essentially saying is that the GTS has something other than telescopic forks. Hub-Center Steering is really "a thing" and the terminology is precise, the components that define the steering axis must be located within the hub of the wheel; within the wheel bearings. The Bimota Tesi and designs by Jack Difazio are examples of hub-center steering. I have owned and ridden a GTS for 20+ plus years and love it, to me it was not a failure, we just failed to appreciate it.
Yet another super review Russ. Apparently, these bikes are were and still are, very heavy on front tyres. They also have reputation for drinking oil, abs units seizing and ignition shorting out. The bike was ahead of it's time, but unfortunately poor sales and it would appear, poor design / build quality led to to a premature end to it's production life. It's a pity that Honda didn't take the baton, it could have been a world beater.
I remember seeing something made by Bimota with similar tech... pretty cool that it's already been done nearly 2 decades ago! I wonder if it's possible to have both front and rear single sided swing arms too... :)
I've only gone and bought a second GTS1000! I found one with less than 1100 miles on the clock and couldn't resist. The tyres are original and obviously past their best, although there is some hysteresis left. What is clear though is how much difference there is in handling with different tyre sizes. With the original 130/60 front and 170/60 rear (Dunlops I think), the bike feels rather clumsy at low speed. With a 120/70 front and 180/55 rear (Michelin Pilot Road 2) it's much more pleasant.
That is a beautiful , beautiful , bike. I like the single side swing too , it does seem to make a huge difference , even just looking at the camera. I don't see the little movements you normally notice on the telescopics. And when you are talking about the 100hp , it doesn't make that much of a difference. The Vstrom 650 , the 2012 version , apparently weighs 214 kg and it only has a tame 60 something horses. Ok , it's a 1000 , but for what you are getting , I think that is about right.
Wow - even looked awesome from this side of the screen. The side go-pro camera showed no bumping around at all - you sure that thing isn't a hovercraft? :)
Great video -- low-mount cam shows how level the center of the chassis stays. Re the ABS, I'd hope you can get that working. I was the guy who rode the red bike years ago. The combo of ABS and the unique front end make for really controllable hard braking. You just hear a rapid chu-chu-chu-chu-chu from the rubber as she squats down. Almost like engaging ABS in a car. -- Paul
Must have watched this 6-7 times now. Can't work out why I find this bike so attractive. Maybe, it's due to an inbuilt loyalty because the Japanese gave us so many fantastic, affordable bikes over the years & when I started biking. Can't help feeling though, it is something deeper, akin to liking a work of art. How about you?
Good video please continuo doing test rides on old bikes it is interesting - also could you ride the Vstrom Suzuki ? I have one and I would like your opinion on it
Happy birthday bud! That's a super nice bike, a little beauty and a little beast :D Please DO NOT take it to the track ;) Glad to see you've recovered nicely, has the Aprilia recovered yet? Take care and God bless!
To me, it seems like it would be a good touring bike here in the states. The extra weight of the bike would help with the cross winds we get out here in the West. I think the bike still looks good with the styling. A little dated, but not bad. Very functional. I don't think I have ever seen one.
Personally i always liked the look on the GTS it's kind of futuristic (or it was back then). I remember back in the day, that the hardest thing to get used to by the reviewers was the fact that wen you brake, the front end wouldn't "sink" like it was "supposed to" on the regular bikes, but after they got used to it, they loved it, and only complained mostly about how heavy it was! Personally i think older bikes have a certain mystic that is somewhat lacking on the newer ones :)
I found the hardest thing the neutral handling. I'm used to quick steering where this is slower and more definite. Still loving it btw. Thanks for the sub. :-)
Considering how far motorcycle engineering has come in the last 20 years I'm pretty sure modern designers could come up with a lighter and more agile machine. :)
Just a little suggestion. Get your bike on bad surface and use the ABS. As former early pan rider that had both ABS units non operational I say the key to maintain them are new brake fluid once a year an regular hard braking to get them kick in. Best regards, M.
Interesting vid! I remember these coming out and they were considered a bit of an oddball even then. Performance Bikes did an article on one that someone raced at the Isle of Man, or it might have been one of their project bikes. I'll have to have a look through my bike mag collection...
Very interesting video. I didn't realize there were any mass produced front single arm bikes like that. Maybe I just never noticed. I've seen custom bikes made that way still today, but they cost a pretty penny.
ONLY DONE 10 THOUSAND MILES!!!??? my 09 street triple R has done more then that! hell ive done more miles then that yamaha i was born in the same year as it! always love your vids man ride safe :-)
Also, considering this was sat in a barn, practically untouched for up to 10 years, it's out-lasted and looks better than one year old Chinese bikes! (that should get the fans going) ;-)
Popped in to Flitwick MotorCycles yesterday & had a chat with Steve. He still has the original TT Prepped GTS all be it in pieces, he also made a lightweight version using the original chassis. He knew the guy who did the initial testing for Yamaha & said it was a considerably different bike when it hit the showrooms, not for the good. Steve suggests tyre choice & condition play a big part in front end stability on the GTS! if you need any more info give the guys at Flitwick a shout ;)
I feel I don't need more than 100 horses, it delivers it in a beautiful, linear way, no surprises but if I want more power, simply take the revs higher.
I sort of agree with you, some people need to concentrate more on the road but that doesn't cover all vloggers. It's an individual "distraction" thing.
5:29 " The brakes aren't brilliant" You need to service them, that front disk will do stoppies and about -1.2g. 6:27 If the bike was lighter, you'd definitely give a modern sports bike a good run, I still do over bumpy ground, but the weight of it is definitely felt when you start to hustle. Forget leaning, just pull on the bars. Nice video, well done ...enjoy your new addition. :D
The way I heard it, the forkless suspension was just way too expensive. Certainly at that time. I remember these bikes costing an arm and a leg back then. Yamaha decided the weren't commercially viable and stopped production. But you are right, I think today, they could get them back on the market. I would still like to ride one some day.
Thanks, I took a gamble buying it. I wanted one but never actively pursued it. Then this came up on Ebay and I was at the test centre, bored. 5 seconds to go I impulsively put a bid in on my mobile phone in a bad signal area and it went through-lol. Fate telling me to have a play. I thought "what have I done?" until I rode it then all that went away. Being honest, I really don't think the looks are that bad either, Linz does though. :-D
He had the brakes serviced before I picked the bike up. Bear in mind I'm used to 2 finger Tuono and CBR600RR brakes so it's understandable there's no comparison. My Pan 1100 brakes on the other hand aren't as good as the GTS
