“Does everything well. Lovely torquey engine. Steady as a rock at all speeds and all surfaces. This bike is an absolute pleasure to ride, I frequently go out on two to three hundred miles runs through the Highlands of Scotland and the bike takes everything in its stride. From the Bellach na bar to the A9 the bike behaves perfectly on them all.”
“Probably the best bike Iv owned. Starts every time, combined ABS is great very confident with them in all conditions, very strong engine pulls like a train in all gears. Two of my freands have since purchased the same model and their delighted too. If you want to lay on the tank, it's not the bike for you, but if you want something to sit on and enjoy a ride, it's worth a look.”
“I bought this bike in 2011 to replace a very shakey 58 plate XJR1300 that was a great to look at bike but no fun loaded up. As the budget was tight, the CBF1000 GT ABS ticked most of the boxes. I collected it from Manchester and rode it back to Warwickshire in the pouring rain. One thing I did notice was that it was good in the wet. Rode and stopped well and I managed to pretty much scrub the whole of the tyres in. The ride is pretty good but the lack of front suspension adjustment does slightly let it down. The rear suspension is a touch on the soft side too. Loaded and leaning round corners the centre stand grinds itself away on the black stuff. Brakes are brilliant and the ABS, although it has only kicked in once, is a great feature. I used it for a tour round spain and portugal in the july which was uneventful apart from the fact that it does tend to run hot. Nothing I like more than sitting in traffic in 40 degerees and then to have hot air wafted on my legs from a cooling fan every 30 seconds. Sense the tone :/ It also does that in the UK too. With the factory top box and panniers fitted and loaded to the hilt the bike is really stable apart from very slow speeds where there is a small amount of handlebar wobble. Another point to note is that when going at speed with the top box on, laden or not, it acts like a sail and causes the wobble if you take both hands off the bars so if that glove needs pulling up or zip adjusting... wait till you stop at the lights. Comfy for 300 miles a day but I personally couldnt go much further on it than that. After 3.5 years of owning this bike the only grumbles I have are with build quality and some of the parts fitted and also with my local dealer. The fairing brackets which are painted steel are going rusty and the lower fairings are pretty flimsy. Rattles are also common. The battery needs replacing already which I thought a little odd too. Overall a great handling bike with plenty to offer for the tourer on a budget. Given an extra 5 or 6k I would have opted for something a little more focused for touring, GTR1400/FJR1300/BMW GS, but I didnt as I couldnt. Downsides are build, parts and in my case... the dealer.”
“Good comfortable ride with plenty of power when needed. The adjustable seat made it good for someone with shorter legs. The brakes are also good.
It can be heavy when trying to move it in and out of the garage. The ABS is a good thing to have but the linked brakes are not such a good idea when on a new gravel road surface.”
