nazdravanul
Dec 8th, 2006, 11:43 am
Dear Everybody,
I just did a recent back to back road test (I flew all the way into Germany for that), of a 2005 LT vs a 2006 GT ESA vs a 2006 RT ESA.
I tested all three bikes on a cold, windy, but shiny December day, on : twisty hill roads, small dirty and wet and bad tarmac roads, and highway.
For me the winner was (hands down) the RT. Far superior in terms of stability, handling, and even comfort. Let me explain myself, briefly.
First of all the RT found itself, to my absolute surprise, superior to the LT in absolute comfort due to the ESA, and far more stable on the highway. In times of moderate lateral wind the LT was dancing all over the place, and she was not handling too well the special paint traffic signs on the tarmac. The RT had none of these problems, and under the same conditions remained very confidence inspiring. The GT performed fairly decent, but I didn't feel very well pushing it over 200 Km/h, and even at that speed, it gave me the feeling of a fragile thin motorcycle, cutting the cold air at an excessive speed. The LT I had to stop pushing it at around 150 km / h. The RT remained calm and pleasant until around 210 km/h. The comfort of the GT was a pleasant surprise, but the RT was definitely better.
On twisty complicated roads, the RT did a far better job. Because you get maximum power output at lower rpms from the boxer, it is far more suitable for real traffic conditions. And the smoothness margin between the new boxer and the K engine is not that bigger deal, the difference is really small and insignificant in my opinion. I was riding along the BMW guy (who was riding a Fazer F1 (I don't know if it was an ABS version or not). With the GT I couldn't really keep up (probably because I was not feeling really comfortable with the engine), especially in the twisties, while with the RT I was efortlessly staying right on his tail, breading on his kneck (he was showing me the way, I couldn't pass him). The ESA maximized the comfort margin between the RT and LT, especialy in transiting through different kinds of roads. And the RT"s weather protection was definitelly superior to the GT (no surprise there) and a little bit better than on the LT (especially due to less wind buffeting behind the windscreen (for a rider my size).
I am now the prowd owner of a new dark graphite 2006 RT, with ESA, on board computer, heated sits/grips, chromed exhaust, mechanical cruise control (authorities model), standard engine guards and police crashguards, topcase with backrest, preparation for Radio CD with loudspeakers, to wich I will connect the Bluesonic Bluetooth comm unit from Schuberth (coming in from Germany in January (: - already ordered), and a Garmin Zumo 550 navigation system (: (: . I am a very happy bunny (: (:.
I just did a recent back to back road test (I flew all the way into Germany for that), of a 2005 LT vs a 2006 GT ESA vs a 2006 RT ESA.
I tested all three bikes on a cold, windy, but shiny December day, on : twisty hill roads, small dirty and wet and bad tarmac roads, and highway.
For me the winner was (hands down) the RT. Far superior in terms of stability, handling, and even comfort. Let me explain myself, briefly.
First of all the RT found itself, to my absolute surprise, superior to the LT in absolute comfort due to the ESA, and far more stable on the highway. In times of moderate lateral wind the LT was dancing all over the place, and she was not handling too well the special paint traffic signs on the tarmac. The RT had none of these problems, and under the same conditions remained very confidence inspiring. The GT performed fairly decent, but I didn't feel very well pushing it over 200 Km/h, and even at that speed, it gave me the feeling of a fragile thin motorcycle, cutting the cold air at an excessive speed. The LT I had to stop pushing it at around 150 km / h. The RT remained calm and pleasant until around 210 km/h. The comfort of the GT was a pleasant surprise, but the RT was definitely better.
On twisty complicated roads, the RT did a far better job. Because you get maximum power output at lower rpms from the boxer, it is far more suitable for real traffic conditions. And the smoothness margin between the new boxer and the K engine is not that bigger deal, the difference is really small and insignificant in my opinion. I was riding along the BMW guy (who was riding a Fazer F1 (I don't know if it was an ABS version or not). With the GT I couldn't really keep up (probably because I was not feeling really comfortable with the engine), especially in the twisties, while with the RT I was efortlessly staying right on his tail, breading on his kneck (he was showing me the way, I couldn't pass him). The ESA maximized the comfort margin between the RT and LT, especialy in transiting through different kinds of roads. And the RT"s weather protection was definitelly superior to the GT (no surprise there) and a little bit better than on the LT (especially due to less wind buffeting behind the windscreen (for a rider my size).
I am now the prowd owner of a new dark graphite 2006 RT, with ESA, on board computer, heated sits/grips, chromed exhaust, mechanical cruise control (authorities model), standard engine guards and police crashguards, topcase with backrest, preparation for Radio CD with loudspeakers, to wich I will connect the Bluesonic Bluetooth comm unit from Schuberth (coming in from Germany in January (: - already ordered), and a Garmin Zumo 550 navigation system (: (: . I am a very happy bunny (: (:.