Long term update: The Millennium Falcon

There’s no greater feat of self-control than running a bike in by the book, especially when said bike has an analogue speedo that goes all the way up to 180mph. It’s like flying the Millennium Falcon without using lightspeed. Nevertheless I’ve been pretty good at keeping the GTR below the recommended 4000rpm limit. 

In reality, 4000rpm is equal to 90mph in top gear so I don’t ever need to rev any higher, but below 4000rpm the GTR feels a little flat. It’s still got a decent amount of torque, but just as I can feel all that power and torque start to build I’ve got to change up. There’s no doubt part of that is also down to me getting used to riding an inline-four again. It’s easy to get a little lazy when on big V-twins where I could use the low-down torque to easily overtake that car or squeeze through that gap.

I know the Kawasaki suits motorway journeys, having already travelled from Peterborough to Yorkshire twice, but I’m also keen to discover how it can handle fast sweepers, so I’ll be taking a long weekend on the best roads my home county of Yorkshire has to offer.

The first thing several people have noticed about the GTR is the length of the silencer – it’s monstrous. But I think I’ll be keeping the exhaust as there’s something amusing about really unassuming and quiet bikes that are capable of ridiculous speeds.

Having just about got to the magical 600-mile mark the GTR is ready for its first service. When it returns, lightspeed awaits. Punch it, Chewy!