1993 Yamaha GTS1000

[WIDELOAD]

Originally Posted by OConnor

Didn't someone race one of these in WERA or something? I seem to remember they called it Shamu or something.

Found a pic of a GTS racer...

As can be seen from the name on the fairing it was raced by Steve Linsdell. A similar machine with the same rider and sponsor was ridden to 8th place in the 1994 F1 TT race (for those who care the average race speed was 112.83 mph)

[slartidbartfast]

Put about 150 miles on her today (twice what she's done over the last 4 years.)

First impressions:

• A nice ride, very stable at high speeds
• Corbin seat is most comfortable and bars are at a good height (I feel like they could be a touch higher but then I am used to a BMW GS and DR 350 so it could be just me getting used to it)
• Engine very quiet but my helmet is right in the noisiest part of the slipstream. Need to do something about that
• Mirrors give a clear, blur-free view at all rpm - shame it's a view of my elbows!
• There is almost no storage space. Will have to add a rack and top-box or something if I'm going to carry more than the factory toolkit and a sandwich around with me
• Getting access to the rear brake fluid reservoir and the front bleed nipple is a pain in the ass! - Requires removing bodywork - I've never had to do that before
• Rear brake pulses like it has a badly warped rotor. I mistook this for the ABS working when I test rode it. While flushing the brakes this morning, I cycled the ABS and it does not appear to function correctly
• Slightly high idle and a bit snatchy at very low throttle - could be a function of old, stale gasoline
• Rear Michelin Macadam is like new but front is badly cupped, noisy and a slight vibration at high speeds seems to indicate it's out of balance. Thinking a new Pilot Road might be going on there soon.
• The bike had been stored with alcohol-free fuel and stabil in the tank but I am pretty sure it can't have had more than a couple of gallons added in the last four years. Now on second tank of Chevron in 24 hours but I haven't put any injector cleaner in yet
• Everybody who saw it was very impressed - hard to believe it's not new
• Apparently nobody cares that I'm riding around with no license plate. I must have passed at least a couple of dozen police today and none of them paid any attention

[omnivore]

One of my dream bikes. Not enough money or garage space though.

[slartidbartfast]

Getting on well with the old girl. Around 500 miles so far. She's now fully legal with a license plate and all.

Ride is like a magic carpet - very smooth and the power delivery is almost perfectly linear. She's not blazing fast but certainly deceptive. This would be an easy bike to get a ticket on. Had a nice ride out with friends on Sunday. Starting to get comfortable hustling her round corners but 1998 front tire was not inspiring confidence so a Pilot Road 2 is now installed.

Clutch slave is leaking slightly and piston looks corroded so that's another chore. Engine, however, is oil and coolant-tight and is not making any smoke or strange noises. Idle and pick-up getting smoother with each tank of fuel. A bottle of injector cleaner no doubt helped here.

Have to go and finish putting the bodywork back on now, so I can take her out again to scrub in the front tire

[OConnor]

I seem to remember some high wear items on the front suspension. Bushings or something.

[slartidbartfast]

I think there is one bushing that gives trouble - but mainly to the Europeans because they actually ride their GTS's in the rain. If you keep it lubed it's not a problem - and the bearings are cheap anyway.

The guy I bought this one off said people had called and lowballed him, using the cost of a new front rotor ($800) as an excuse. This one is barely worn and most owners don't seem to ride much anyway so that's hardly a good reason. Also, compared to an exhaust system or other major component for just about any modern superbike, $800 ain't too bad. Besides, it's not as if that wouldn't be the same concern for EVERY GTS and factored into the price/value from the start.

Biggest "problem" to me is difficulty of access to the engine and ancilliary bits. Now that I've removed most parts of the fairing (cowlings in Yamaha-speak) and realized it's not quite the chore I had feared, that concern seems to be receeding.

[Süsser Tod]

It seems that there is a Macadam 90 in the front, those were known to cup badly... There was only one thing you could do to avoid cupping, park the bike and forget about it Michelin came out with the Macadam 100 shortly after that...

[slartidbartfast]

You've got good eyes!

The 13-year-old Macadam has gone, replaced by a 120 section Pilot Road 2. Noticeably quicker turn-in and generally lighter steering. It certainly inspires more confidence but the 80+ vibe is still there. I'm also noticing a very slight shimmy in the bars if I take my hands off at about 40mph.

While having the front tire fitted, I had the shop check balance on the bare wheel. The wheel was about 1oz off and had a slight deviation at the rim (I'd estimate about 5 or 6 mm) but no runout or damage discernible. We checked several times to be sure, reseating the wheel on the balancer between each. It took 0.5oz to balance the wheel with the tire fitted.

I'm going to pull the back wheel (which has an unworn 5-year-old Macadam on it) and check the balance on it before I start getting concerned. The vibe is very slight and I could certainly live with it but the bike is so smooth otherwise, I might be looking for a replacement front wheel if the back checks out ok.

[devonrider]

I've owned two of these in the past.
They are a great bike.
Loathed by the press when introduced, and a sales disaster for Yamaha but now a sought after rare classic.
The problem in the early days was it's high price tag, and the fact that as a sports tourer, it wasn't a significant improvement over it's already ageing stablemate, the FJ1200.
The fact that the engine was toned down to 100bhp from the original Exups (same engine) didn't help it's cause either.
Just one thing to bear in mind.
Most cosumables are still available off the shelf. but that front brake is unique to the GTS and not shared with any other model.
The single front disc, is actually two discs welded together and the front brake caliper was borrowed by Yamaha from a car manufacturer and adaped to fit the bike.
I know this because I was in the GTS club of Japan and spoke to one of the people involved in the project.
Yamaha no longer produce the discs.
Also don't crash it as the panels are also no longer produced

[slartidbartfast]

Everybody talks about this unobtainable (or ridiculously expensive) front disc yet it doesn't seem to be a high-wear item. In the US I'm not sure most people are putting enough miles on their GTS's for it to matter much.

Regardless, I am going to switch to kevlar brake pads as I understand they are much gentler on brake disks (rotors).

Off to get the rear wheel balanced - See if that might be the source of the irritating high speed vibe.

[refractor]

Unique ride.
My 92 FZR1000 made it to 30,000 miles before one of center intake valves recessed so far that I couldn't get a thin enough shim to set it right. I checked it every 6,000 miles.

The exhausts never changed in that mileage but the intakes and particularly the center ones kept getting tighter.

[devonrider]

Originally Posted by slartidbartfast

Everybody talks about this unobtainable (or ridiculously expensive) front disc yet it doesn't seem to be a high-wear item.

Make no mistake, the front disc will need to be replaced at some point because as with any other vehicle, it is a consumable.
I know someone who currently has his GTS laid up as it's failed it's annual road worthiness inspection, (MOT) on a worn front disc and he cannot source another as Yamaha now have none in stock.
It's an issue but I'm taking nothing away from the GTS as a great bike.
I've owned two of them over the years, and covered about 50,000 trouble free GTS miles.
Well nearly trouble free.
My water pump failed in France on a touring holiday but that could happen to any bike.

[omnivore]

Originally Posted by devonrider

Make no mistake, the front disc will need to be replaced at some point because as with any other vehicle, it is a consumable.
I know someone who currently has his GTS laid up as it's failed it's annual road worthiness inspection, (MOT) on a worn front disc and he cannot source another as Yamaha now have none in stock.
It's an issue but I'm taking nothing away from the GTS as a great bike.
I've owned two of them over the years, and covered about 50,000 trouble free GTS miles.
Well nearly trouble free.
My water pump failed in France on a touring holiday but that could happen to any bike.

Time tot ake the stocke rotor off the carrier, and have a machine shop emulate it, and save the CAD files. They could then become the only retailer of replacement rotors for the GTS.

[lagcam]

Originally Posted by OConnor

Didn't someone race one of these in WERA or something? I seem to remember they called it Shamu or something.

If I remember right, Shamu was raced by Brian Catterson of Motorcyclist magazine. It seems like he wadded it up at Road America during a Team Extreme event, but I could be wrong. Been a long time ago...

[devonrider]

Originally Posted by lagcam

If I remember right, Shamu was raced by Brian Catterson of Motorcyclist magazine. It seems like he wadded it up at Road America during a Team Extreme event, but I could be wrong. Been a long time ago...

It was also raced by Steve Lindsell at the Isle of Man TT.
He came in 6th in the formula one main race in 1995.
That year I took a trip to his motorcycle shop to see the bike, and it bore no real resemblence to the factory bike.
For a start the original engine had been junked in favour of the YZF750 lump, and the frame and front swing arm were specially made.
In fact, virtually nothing of the original GTS was present.