Testing New Tires on the Kawasaki 1400GTR

With commitments hampering my riding opportunities, February was a quiet month for the Kawasaki 1400GTR.

Having had a new set of Dunlop Sportmax tires fitted at around 12,300 kilometers, however, I was eager to see how these compared with the original Bridgestones. With so much highway riding, especially in the latter months, these had become considerably squared off, although plenty of tread was still left on them.

Next day – a quiet and sunny 1 March – I set off on a 450 kilometer trip from Bangkok to Khon Kean to see a possible secondhand off-road / enduro motorcycle.

Straight away, a bright red warning light came on informing me that there was only 32psi in the newly fitted front tire. Within a kilometer or two the figure had grown to 33psi, and then the light went out completely – presumably because the pressure had now reached 34psi and that was considered all right. The rear tire sensor was indicating 47, so I adjusted the pressures to the recommended 42psi for both front and rear at my first fuel stop.

The new tires have certainly made direction changes much slicker, and give a really comfortable ride. The more I ride the Kawasaki 1400GTR, the more I love it. That initial intimidation wore away months ago, and the bend-swinging has become sheer, unadulterated pleasure.

My girlfriend joint me as a passenger to Khon Kean, and she always complains if we ride faster than 120km/h. I cannot begin to describe the sheer boredom of it all, and the only good thing about it was a slightly improved fuel consumption.

Taking it easy for once, though, further demonstrated the luxurious comfort of this sport touring icon. A glance down into the big mirrors gives a superb view of the road behind as well as a useful check on the panniers and, shaft drive or no, apart from an obvious clunk as first gear is engaged, the six-speed gearbox is one of the sweetest you'll find.

The next thing I'll have checked will be the front brake pads. Although still powerful, they seem to have lost just a little bit of their original bite...

P.S. The off-road / enduro motorcycle we went to see was an absolute disaster, not registered – fake plates... disaster.