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Passenger Evaluation Of GTL Ride Would Be Appreciated
- Thread starter calmil
- Start date
texanrt
New member
My wife and I rode the GTL at the Bloomsburg demo. For me, the bike was very roomy -- so roomy that I couldn't tell she was riding back there. It definitely has more rider/pillion room than our RT and our HD. I understand that some people actually prefer the GT with a topcase so that rider/passenger are closer together.
From my wife's perspective (5' 5") ......
Getting on and off: the seat was easy to clear when stepping on and off -- swinging a leg over the seat was easy.
Foot position and pegs: very comfortable chair-like seating. The comfort pegs were a good size -- giving stability for stepping on and off. The knee angle was good.
Seat: very comfortable with ample seating area. The backrest was very comfortable -- as she explains, it sort of cups your back without crowding you in like a HD wrap-around backrest.
Seat height: the pillion seat was higher than she's accustomed to -- she could see somewhat over my helmet. While it provides better vision, it also exposes her to more wind. Lower windshield heights increased the wind and buffeting. It was too short a trip to say if that would be a problem on longer rides.
Security -- good hand holds, secure seating and footpegs promoted confidence in the twisties. "A very pleasant ride."
Bike -- although she loves our RT for short trips and twisties, she said the GTL feels more substantial and comfortable and after a few miles she knew it would have been a good stable and comfortable bike for the big miles.
She's got quite a bit of pillion experience having just traveled with me from FL to CA and back and she rode with me in the Bloomsburg 1000 IBA event on our RT.
From my wife's perspective (5' 5") ......
Getting on and off: the seat was easy to clear when stepping on and off -- swinging a leg over the seat was easy.
Foot position and pegs: very comfortable chair-like seating. The comfort pegs were a good size -- giving stability for stepping on and off. The knee angle was good.
Seat: very comfortable with ample seating area. The backrest was very comfortable -- as she explains, it sort of cups your back without crowding you in like a HD wrap-around backrest.
Seat height: the pillion seat was higher than she's accustomed to -- she could see somewhat over my helmet. While it provides better vision, it also exposes her to more wind. Lower windshield heights increased the wind and buffeting. It was too short a trip to say if that would be a problem on longer rides.
Security -- good hand holds, secure seating and footpegs promoted confidence in the twisties. "A very pleasant ride."
Bike -- although she loves our RT for short trips and twisties, she said the GTL feels more substantial and comfortable and after a few miles she knew it would have been a good stable and comfortable bike for the big miles.
She's got quite a bit of pillion experience having just traveled with me from FL to CA and back and she rode with me in the Bloomsburg 1000 IBA event on our RT.
She's got quite a bit of pillion experience having just traveled with me from FL to CA and back and she rode with me in the Bloomsburg 1000 IBA event on our RT.
Thanks for your response. The pillion rider's assessment will be an important detail for me as I ponder a possible purchase.
Thanks for your response. The pillion rider's assessment will be an important detail for me as I ponder a possible purchase.
If I got a K1600GTL, I would get the normal seat instead of the low one. For me, it's just too low. Also, the normal seat would put less of a step between rider and passenger. I've only sat on one at the dealer and I didn't take the opportunity at the rally to test drive, knowing the seat was low on all the demo's (at least those that I saw). Another thing, told to me by one of the demo guys at the rally, when I mentioned some had a problem with the trunk being too far back (a comment from InterMOT): You cannot order the GT trunk mount/hand rail instead of the GTL to overcome what some have said is too much space at the backrest, but that you have to order the GT trunk mount separately in addition to what comes standard on the GTL. Hopefully, in the second year of production, they will offer the option of choice.
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