Yamaha GTS 1000 | Central direction

Yamaha GTS 1000

With Ian Fallon

The demise of the telescopic fork had been predicted for decades but despite its flaws, it survived. Although the telescopic fork is alive and well, it has had to resist several attempts to replace it with a shaft-focused front end.

In the 1980s, French oil giant ELF sponsored an Endurance and Grand Prix motocross racer with a front swingarm and central steering set to revolutionize motorcycle design.

The culmination of a decade of development is Honda 500 of British racer Ron Haslam finished in a miserable 11th place in the 1988 World 500 Championship. Despite the ELF’s debacle, Bimota was confident enough to release Tesi supplied by Ducati in 1990. While all this is going on, James Parker in the US is quietly developing his RADD (Rationally Advanced Design Development) user interface.

After an unsuccessful approach to Honda, Parker sold his concept to Yamaha, and from 1978 to 1991 work on the development of the GTS was conducted in the US and Japan. But it’s not just a radical front that distinguishes the GTS.

When released for the 1993 Model year, the GTS aimed to create a new market segment; Advanced sports tourism. Although the chassis carries the landmark front end, the 1002 cc engine based on the Genesis FZR1000 is also equipped with technical improvements.

The five-valve cylinder head design now has a valve adjustment interval of 40,000 km and the four cylinders are powered by the Nippon Denso Electronic Fuel Injector. Power was limited to 100 hp and the GTS was one of the first motorcycles with an environmentally acceptable three-way catalytic converter.

But while there are plenty of other 100hp four-cylinder motorcycles out there, none have a horseshoe-shaped Omega frame that wraps around the engine and supports a conventional rear swingarm and a front swingarm. .

Technically it made sense to put the front suspension’s load lower into the rigid aluminum frame, and in theory the GTS should have set the bar for stability and handling.

The brakes are undoubtedly the most modern for 1993, a large vented 330 mm disc at the front clamped by an opposing six-piston caliper and a 282 mm disc at the rear. ABS is standard, the wheel speed samples the ECU at eight millisecond intervals. Details are also impressive, including a hydraulic clutch and an enlarged cockpit that includes two trip gauges.

The GTS’s weakness lies in its size and price. The dry weight was a remarkable 251 kg and the staggering price tag of $22,600 in 1993. Since it wasn’t endowed with excessive power, the GTS was a leisurely performer that didn’t seem to deliver much “sound”. wine is worth the money”.

Although hailed as the future of motorcycles, the press predicts a bright future for motorcycles that produce central steering systems, but the reality is far from the hype.

Forget the debacle of Bimota’s ELF and Tesi projects, like many of the new models that received rave reviews in the press, the GTS was a showroom disaster. Rumor has it that only 33 were sold in Australia and many of the ones intended here have been diverted to Singapore.

While the GTS is now more well-received, it ended up being too different and impossible to succeed in a conservative world. It may have been the only motorcycle with double odometer, but this was not enough and by 1996 it was completed.

The first year of replacement motorcycles

• Before the first hydraulic telescopic fork appeared in 1935 on the BMW R 17, beam forks dominated. Most beam forks lacked damping and the pinnacle of its design was the “Girdraulic” fitted to Vincents after 1949.
• The main link fork hangs the front wheel on the links, with a pivot point behind the axle. The most common use was on the first popular Honda 50.
• Earnie Earles has developed another type of main link fork that raises the front fork when braking, as opposed to a telescopic front fork. Although designed primarily for sidecar use, Earles forks were fitted to the BMW R-series from 1955-1969.
• BMW has always been open to experimenting with alternative front-ends, their most successful being the Telelever design that powers many boxer twins today.
• Another BMW alternative is the Duolever designed by Norman Hossack. Also used by John Britten, this separated the suspension from the steering.

Specifications Yamaha GTS1000