the twisties , probably because of more favourable geometry and a more commanding riding position . Which one would be quicker ? Personally , I wouldn ’ t want to call it . I ’ d be happier on the GS , but a guy that loves his track days would most likely prefer the R1250R . On truly fast going the R1250R will have the edge except there is no screen wind protection ... so a small rider that can tuck right down will be happiest . Being tall I find it quite tiring to ride without a screen . The wind blast over the course of a day just wears me down , particularly if in a hurry ... And while talking about rider size , the standard seat height is 820mm with the option of a 760mm low and 840mm high seats . I found the standard seat height a little cramped , but not too bad . I am 190cm tall and did a seven-hour day during the test . Frankly I wouldn ’ t go for the higher seat because 20mm won ’ t ease my knees much and it would just expose me to more wind blast unless I fitted a screen . Each to their own , I guess .
+ Looks ; power delivery ; general rideability – Lack of wind / rain protection makes long days tiring and cold in winter
SERIOUS BRAKING The R1250R comes with serious brakes . Twin 320mm discs and four-pot calipers up front and a large single 276mm disc with floating twin piston caliper at the rear . Braking strength is strong with perhaps a little less bite initially than I ’ d like , but then they ramp up powerfully when required . At 239kg wet and with a quick engine , stopping power is important and these Brembo stoppers are up to the job . I read a spec sheet that says the lean angle sensitive ABS is disengageable , but honestly , I never tried that and I ’ m not sure I believe it in our PC world ... I ’ m guessing front ABS stays on at least . Sticky Michelin Pilot 120 / 70-17 front and 180 / 55-17 rear rubber gets the engine and braking power to the road and does a great job . They are reasonably long lasting too . Other tech features includes Keyless Start , Tyre Pressure Monitoring ( TPM ), excellent heated grips and seats , all LED lighting and Hill Start control ( HSC ) - which I hate and always disable ... all it does is mess up my take-off by holding the brakes on for a whisker as the clutch is released . It feels like a dumbing down , there ’ s a back brake after all . What else ? Oh yeah , as usual the large TFT screen clearly shows all options and changes made and current settings – this TFT is awesome , one of the best on the market . The fuel tank holds 18 litres which is a little small for distance work , but it does
66 KIWI RIDER