From the book of funny front ends comes this rare 1993 Yamaha GTS1000. Born of the James Parker “RADD” design and licensed by same, Yamaha added a bit of tour to the sport package and created a very interesting bike. In some ways, it is a bike looking for a purpose. It is clearly not a sport bike. It is clearly not a touring rig. It is a big, porky beast with a single sided swingarm front suspension. Is that, then, it’s purpose – to look different? By de-coupling braking and pitch moments from suspension, the swing arm front end promised greater suspension efficiency and better chassis behavior. And while the GTS1000 is a great bike – robust power and faultless handling – Yamaha took the cautious approach to what was ground-breaking technology. The fact that it worked as well as a conventional motorcycle was not enough; the GTS failed to sell and was limited to one year of production. Rarity is often a simple case of nobody being interested at the time (think factory Turbos, RE5 Rotary, etc). These bikes are getting difficult to find in decent condition, and with fewer than 9,000 miles this looks to be a great example of the breed. Not much in the way of pictures or text, but what is there looks clean. Good Luck!
1993 Yamaha GTS1000 for sale on eBay
From the seller:
1993 YAMAHA GTS1000
EXTREMELY RARE FIND! There’s nothing else like it . . .
In great condition with low miles
MI
Does ‘Omega Chassis Concept’ = ‘”the last time we’ll try that!” ?
Neat bike though.
From what I’ve read, these bikes are heavy, less power than you’d expect, and offer relatively “numb” handling. I was looking at buying one from NJ (?) that didn’t meet reserve at just under $4k. If you gotta have it, I understand, but I’m not sure there will be a financial upside..
Again, I have ZERO, (O), nada personal experience with these bikes, so please take my comments with a grain of salt.
I have this exact bike, and quite like it. It is one of 4 (varied styles) in my stable, and works great for a long distance sport tourer. I have replaced the seat with a custom one, added Givi V35 bags and geared it up for less revs on the road, and did a 3500km trip around BC this summer two up with my wife. They ride, and handle exactly the same as a gen II Busa, without the power. They make 100hp, but gobs of torque (for its age, but not as much as a Busa) and will quite happily travel at 130-140 km/h all day long without getting hot, or doing anything stupid. They handle well, but don’t stop anywhere near as well as something newer. Parts are also a bitch to find, and expensive when you do find them. I still get asked how I like my ‘NEW’ Yamaha, by guys who think they know bikes. When I tell them it is 21 years old, the conversation really begins. If this bike is in as good of condition as the photos show, it should bring between $4-6K depending upon interest. I would buy another one tomorrow, if something happened to mine.
Hi, I got a nice dark green example sitting in storage ready for a freshen up next winter (behind about 10 other projects….haha). Always been fascinated by the front end design, and relative rarity. I think there are only a couple of these in New Zealand.
I still think they are neat bikes & the front end configuration still looks so “space -age technology” . When the first prototype built by James Parker came out in the early/mid 80s based on an XL600 Honda with a CB1100F front fairing I thought it looked quite promising . However you look at the current race bikes now and they have cartridge style USD front forks …..so what happened to all that promising technology we were promised ? Still you never see these come up for sale very often . A big time sure investment , no . Something neat that people will always be giving you attention , compliments and asking you a million questions about for your 4-6 K investment ……. Yes !
It seemed like reports of the numb steering was directly related to separating the steering and braking forces. In other words, accomplishing exactly what it was intended to do.