GSXRADD

[Thundergod]

I rode the GSXRADD yesterday

Beautiful bike....Beautiful is a bad word for it...doesn't do it justice.

Maybe Inspirational....almost close to spiritual.

How do you ride a $150,000 bike.....VERY, VERY carefully.

[Sport-Touring]

[atypical1]

Wtf is a GSXRADD?

james

[1000lbs]

Maybe Inspirational....almost close to spiritual.

How did you get a seat on that???  

So, how exactly is the GSXRADD "feels" different from a telescopic fork...  It's a cool idea, but in a real world environment what kind of advantage does it really offer???

[GTS_Rider]

Haha, I missed your post before I sent my motogeek quiz. I figured everybody was busy riding home...
Forgot that you lived there  

Waiting for the closeup pics of the GSXRADD...

Did you get your swingarm signed by JP ?

[Ursus]

Wtf is a GSXRADD?

james

+1  

[mustang28027]

I GSXRADD is a  super-customized sportbike( GSXR) with an extended swingarm, very custom paint and lots of chrome added. Tons of farkles. In general, you take a decent sportbike and  destroy its real purpose and usefulness.

[bassman]

mustang28027: you're kidding right?

I'm not always a fan of JP's writing style, but I'll give him credit for deconstructing modern thinking on bike design and laying some light on the pros and cons of why we all think a particular design is inherently good or bad.  Mmmm, hub-center tasty!

[Rincewind]

A GSXR with ADD!   Sounds dangerous.  

Here's the latest article...  for those who aren't familiar with it.

[Thundergod]

Haha, I missed your post before I sent my motogeek quiz. I figured everybody was busy riding home...
Forgot that you lived there  

Waiting for the closeup pics of the GSXRADD...

Did you get your swingarm signed by JP ?

Rick-- WHERE WERE YOU?!?!
Yes, I now have an original Signed swingarm from James Parker.
Yes, I rode around the parking lot on a GSXRADD. It is truly a work of art. I wanted to take it on the highway for a stretch....but you just don't ask for more.
Parking lot laps on a 150,000 bike....thats enough for me. I was terrified over every little pebble!

The bike itself rides...almost floats over the surface.

[Thundergod]

Here are some photos....large files for better viewing.

GTS signed by James Parker. Now only 28 GTS's worldwide have his signature!


Here I am on the GSX- Posing in squidwear!


His 250cc Trackbike RATZ


The ONE OF A KIND, ORIGINAL GSXRADD


GSX-RADD system. Take note of the DUAL disc, hub centralized design.


GSXRADD Close Up. --OH MAMA!


GSX steering Knuckle (Red)

[heinee]

Parker's latest RADD design has to be his best. And the execution on the GSX-R is  

Thanks for the photos. I've been a fan of his designs since the first modified FZ750 that was the precurser to the all mighty GTS1000.

[Orson]

Parker makes a strong case for the end of the fork era, but the truth is, if any of the MotoGP teams thought they could win with it, they would toss their forks in the bin in an instant. The ELF team riders complained that their suspension lacked feedback. They couldn't feel what the front end was doing.

That said, for normal highway speeds, the RAD front end makes a lot of sense. Especially for sport tourers who put long days in the saddle and are looking for comfort. The only problem would be in getting the costs down and possibly weight?

What does the GSXRADD weigh compared to a normal GSXR?

[mustang28027]

I have no issue with a the Gsxradd style. It just isnt my cup of tea.   Why would I want to  invest  $150k in a bike that is destined to depreciate or not be ridden? I dont see the point. I love motorcycles.  Their style, physics, and feel  are like none other. But  to flip the coin, I know that I will still drive the damned cager as my primary mode of transportation. With that being said, I also dont want to spend a ton of money on the secondary mode of transportation, ie, the bike. I like my "cheap" FZ1 and  get along grandly on it. I can hit twisties, tour( when equiped) or cruise when I want at a minimal cost.  My view is that bikes are meant to be ridden( other than classics in a museum).  

[GTS_Rider]

...What does the GSXRADD weigh compared to a normal GSXR?

I think it's 22lbs *less*... or something close to that. Anymore questions?  

[Orson]

Anymore questions?  

 

[GTS_Rider]

Rick-- WHERE WERE YOU?!?!
Yes, I now have an original Signed swingarm from James Parker.
Yes, I rode around the parking lot on a GSXRADD. It is truly a work of art. I wanted to take it on the highway for a stretch....but you just don't ask for more.
Parking lot laps on a 150,000 bike....thats enough for me. I was terrified over every little pebble!

The bike itself rides...almost floats over the surface.

Wish I was there. Burned my vacation early this season, a week in Cabo doing basically nothing, but I did have a rented scooter for most of the week to go bar-hopping on. Then a week tour of California leading into Memorial Day weekend. It was all good, but still wish I could have made this one too.

edited to say: Thanks for the cool pics!

[GTS_Rider]

I have no issue with a the Gsxradd style. It just isnt my cup of tea.   Why would I want to  invest  $150k in a bike that is destined to depreciate or not be ridden? ...  

Dude, you so missed the boat on this post. 150k is the money spent on the 'proto-type'. If it were ever to be mass-produced it would be comparable to current moto-prices.

[Thundergod]

I think it's 22lbs *less*... or something close to that. Anymore questions?  

You are correct. James told us that his GSXRADD comes in 22pounds LIGHTER than stock....thats a HUGE weight savings. Most manufacturers feel happy
when they shave 10 pounds from model to model. This just comes from the front suspension!

The only reason this bike is $150K is that is the only one of its kind. Every piece is handmade....so 60K of that is Labor.
If this design was adopted by a major manufacturer it would drop dramatically....but still be in line with the high-end bikes.

If you notice the design uses the stock triple clamp. JP told us he wanted to use as much stock design as possible to highlight the differences in just the suspension and steering.
The front brakes were designed using COMMONLY available rotor sizes and caliper designs (GTSRIDER will know the "value" of using common rotors and calipers!)
...to easily feed into BREMBO or "your choice" of braking system.

Again, I was not able to ride this on the highway, but I can tell you that is took almost NOTHING to stop the bike with one finger. The brake design is STELLAR.
The steering was about as neutral as you could get it....it felt again like you were floating over the road. If you are use to a stock fork bike it may seem stange, but if you have
put anytime in the saddle with a GTS....you learn to love it. You can feel the road...just in a different way.

JP mentioned that out of the 9 riders that have tested it...
(by the way, look at the tires...they were not going easy on this bike..they were flogging it!.....all the way to the edge) only one rider had a problem with it....that happened
to be the Motorcyclist writer who ran off the track (the only rider to do so) after he experienced slight wobble/vibration in the handlebars— a problem that JP could not get other riders to duplicate, no other rider experienced this issue........(SOOO....come to your own conclusion on that), .......JP took his feedback and redesigned the steering..(the photos you see now)

.the other 8 riders told JP that without a doubt they could break harder and later in the corners with the GSXRADD over the stock GSXR they had at the same time for comparison.

[Snowbird]

Dude, you so missed the boat on this post. 150k is the money spent on the 'proto-type'. If it were ever to be mass-produced it would be comparable to current moto-prices.

Correct. To expand a bit, pieces that are machined from billet in the prototype would be done using mass production methods which are more costly to set up for individual pieces but the cost is spread out over thousands of copies. And if it's lighter, the material costs are less and weight savings can be spread throught the entire motorcycle.

I'm a fan of funky front ends. It simply seems there *has* to be something better than forks. BMW's telelever and duo-lever have the potential for real advantages for riders who put on lots of miles (no fork oil changes, just toss the shock and bolt in another) but unfortunately, BMW's small market share and high parts prices eat up the maintneance/cost advantages.

[schoon]

WOW! You are a one lucky man!