The Yamaha GTS1000‘s front suspension is from an era when bike makers were getting into wild experimentation to eliminate the shortcomings of conventional two-legged forks. Bimota spat out its interpretation with the Tesi, John Britten tried with the Hossack design, and Yamaha licensed RADD, Inc.’s design.
1993 Yamaha GTS1000 for sale on eBay
Before we go any further, it has to be said that the GTS1000 is way more sport tourer than sport bike, but its rarity and innovative spirit make it worthy of a space here. Needless to say, the buying public didn’t catch on to what engineers knew inherently, and bought bikes they could understand, which carried traditional front ends.
That left the GTS out in the cold, and few made it onto the streets.
The GTS you see here has, ah, been altered some from stock, and we can’t say that is necessarily a good thing. To each their own, we suppose. It also has been sitting for the last decade, and will need the maintenance that comes along with that.
From the eBay listing:
ORIGINAL OWNER, 18,000 MILES. STOCK EXCEPT FOR CUSTOM PAINT IN 1997. HAS BEEN SITTING IN GARAGE SINCE 2006, SO NEEDS A NEW BATTERY AND PROBABLY FUEL LINES. STILL TURNS HEADS. INCLUDES OPTIONAL YAMAHA SADDLEBAGS. HEALTH FORCES SALE.
Though the cosmetics are polarizing, they have almost certainly lowered the cost of entry of this rare beast, and these things will certainly become more desirable the older they get. For the right price, it could be well worth snapping this one up and embracing the weird while you decide whether to take it back to stock.
BMW K1300S owner here, Hossak or alternative concepts really make for advancement. Those in the know enjoy the hell out of them.
Hard to get a positive feeling about this bike given the ridiculous paint job. But…….single owner, stock, could be a cheap entry into unique ride.
Of course its been sitting for 10 years, the real disaster might be underneath the bodywork
That paintjob cracks me up. I remember seeing all types of neon custom wheels back in the day and wondering what they were thinking. But hey, to each their own! Too much of a sled for my taste but would like to ride one someday. Curious how these “alternative” front ends really feel. Would think it would feel heavy in corners but who knows…
Do the handling limitation of a sport touring mission profile really exemplify the benefits of radical suspension?
this on an R7 could have been very interesting. And on an FZR400, it would have got my $$.
Personally I like the separation of suspension and steering duty’s. Sure it slows down the response marginally, but the confidence and ability in braking is unreal, no dive, very planted, it also allows braking input to be added upon a corner while leaned and it’s not so inclined to stand the bike up. Like I said, those in the know appreciate the hell out out of them and they are impressive. I’m K1300S biased though
I wonder if you could strip it down and drop in a better engine, maybe end up with a “tesi by yamaha” true sportbike…probably cost more than it would be worth but a fun thought concept
Excellent point, and pretty much what went wrong for the GTS: a sport-touring bike doesn’t really take full advantage of the unusual front suspension. I’d also bet that the more conservative audience for that type of motorcycle was less eager to embrace something so wild.
I met a guy a couple weeks back who has a several of these, and he loves that five-valve engine! But maybe stripping one naked to save weight? That was Bimota’s trick with the YB11 anyway. I wonder if a GTS could be cool without the bodywork, or would it just look like a mess?