2nd hand GTR vs Bed Pan

[kurt535]

Just curious if anyone can give me any feedback on either of the bikes above and why they chose one over the other?

I only ever buy 2nd hand and have realised the Pan budget looks like it will go to an '09 with quite low miles whereas, the same money looks to buy a '12 plate GTR, again low miles.

Anyone with either bike who has trod the same road i'd appreciate what influenced your final choice and whether you have been happy?

Ty

[kurt535]

Thank you both!

[kurt535]

5 inches wider? that's a lot. hell of a lot....didnt consider dimensions as i did intend using it around a city too!

[kurt535]

milleplod said:

Back in the day, we started to swap our work ST1100s for 1300s - these were all 'authority' spec, single seat, with a hump over the rear to house perhaps 5-6kg of radio packs and the like. Usual routine for new bikes on the fleet was for the driving school instructors to have them for a week or so to try them out, then hand them over to us for patrol work. There was no test-riding done by us prior to purchase btw, the bikes we ran were all HO approved for use, Fleet Management made the decision to buy based entirely on cost, we got what we were given!

Anyway, the instructors had no issues with them at all, the first 3 got handed over and we were good to go. The first issue cropped up when one was being ridden down a local dc at around 110mph. Rider was very experienced, weighed in at around 13st.....he reported a front wheel lightness as he took a sweeping left hander, then a very scary weave that he didn't have the bottle to ride through. It shook him up a bit! Over the next couple of weeks, other riders had similar issues. Honda UK sent a rider and a tech guy out, they stayed for a week or more but never managed to recreate the problem. They convinced Fleet Management there was nothing wrong, but the guys who'd experienced the weave invariably took out the RTs or FJRs afterwards. I never had a problem, even though I was always expecting it to rear its head.

Enough riders did experience it though - reports were submitted, once it was committed to paper, the bosses bottled it for fear of liability issues should the worst happen. Honda wouldn't have the bikes back. Fleet Management wouldn't/daren't auction them off - 6 of them were dismantled, the frames cut into small pieces and the major components sold off bit by bit!

I'd have a 1300 tomorrow (in fact, I'm looking for one at the moment to replace my R1200ST) - ultra comfy for a full shift, great fun at speed, even round the twisty bits, and operators who hung on to them claimed reliability on-par with the 1100 (my last work 1100 racked up 85k miles in 3 years, it never missed a beat).

Pete

Pete, as I understand it, the weave was eventually solved so later bikes its not an issue?

[kurt535]

milleplod said:

kurt535 said:

Pete, as I understand it, the weave was eventually solved so later bikes its not an issue?

Our 1300s were definitely early-ish ones (my last 1100 was an '03 plate, so its replacement was issued in late '06) - I think you're right re the problem being resolved later, but I can't recall Honda ever releasing much (any??) info on it. Was it something to do with them sorting the fitting tolerances relating to the engine being a stressed component, that sort of thing? It wouldn't bother me buying an early one tbh, I bottle it early on these days anyway!

Pete

somewhere i read they alleged it was to do with chassis bolts i think...there was a recall and subsequently not much else was heard. clearly the problem has blighted the bike though but as legions appear not to have crashed, seems to me all'sl fine and dandy!