Superb engine; do-anything capability;
great chassis package
Almost a little too good...
The GS is probably supposed to be used 90
percent of the time on road, and if you want
the more off-road friendly version, the GSA
has a 30-litre tank and other ride mods to
accommodate you, but that said, the GS will go
where you point it much of the time.
On wet, grassy slopes, and slippery dirt, doing
tight turns up and downhill, I found it quite a
workout. 249kg with traction control operating,
when one is attempting to use power and clutch
to control slipping, means that working against
the machine is futile and frankly terrifying. For
no other reason than dropping a fully specced
$34k motorcycle could be ‘droop-inducingly’
expensive, embarrassing to explain, and almost
impossible to pick up alone on slippery surfaces.
I achieved the test, and then moved on to
riding kerbs and banks, followed with a few km
66 KIWI RIDER
of gravel. All under the ENDURO ride setting,
which seemed to soften both the suspension
and throttle response. Again, the confidence
this inspired grew tellingly throughout the
experience.
But here we turn to electronic inputs and a
bewildering number of technical assists. It’s true
that I tried everything I could figure out, riding
modes, manual overrides for suspension and
traction etc, but I would suggest a day’s tutorial
getting around the array of options and their
best use, via the TFT and ring controller and
menus. I am a relatively quick study, but I often
found myself thinking about how to change
something for something else, and whether I
could do it on the move, or whether I’d have to
stop to engage it.