About to order a GT+, have a couple of basic questions

There are printed and pdf versions of the service manual- the usual printed version is black-and-white only, which is fine but makes tracing the harness a bit more annoying.

OEM brakes are adequate, as are the tires. Replacement of pads with your choice of the usual sorts of replacements will likely help.. I find them good enough to wear out before putting in the Vesrah's I have ready. Same with the tire- will replace them with Q3+'s this fall maybe. I can't abide the OEM Suzuki levers, replacing them with CRG's as soon as I could order them. I'd suggest experiencing the brakes before throwing money at master cylinders. Braided lines can help a bunch too...

Parts are largely compatible, aside from fairings obviously. The GT and F are more alike than different- though the GT has the fancier display.

Vibration-wise I find the bike at least as smooth as my old R6, and the transmission is significantly better. OTOH my R6 was pretty old and engineering has matured a fair bit since.

The increase and torque and HP is f'ing wild compared to the R6, there usually isn't enough road to really lean into the gsxs.

The big thing the bike needs is better suspension; aftermarket rear shock and some kind of fork upgrade for sure. I found the OEM suspension really harsh and the settings didn't affect much- the only thing making it rideable for me was decreased air pressure until I got the hardware upgraded. Having done that and settling on the adjustments its a good ride.

Horgh said:

Thank you so much, that actually helps a ton! I was definitely going to try the brakes before I did anything with them, I just like to do my research ahead of time and I may be waiting a few months for delivery of the bike. As for tires, I think I'll probably upgrade those right away because I like to maximize my traction when possible. I'm thinking Road 6 since I haven't tried those yet. I don't know if the regular Road 6 or Road 6 GT is right for this bike, though. And yes, once I rode it, I figured I'd be getting the front suspension redone and probably getting a new rear shock. Part of the investment into a bike I'd likely keep a long time.



Are there? Then I must not be finding them, do you know what brand? I was going to call up K&N and Sprint and ask.

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In my opinion, the Road 6 GT is absolutely not necessary for this bike. The bike has a GVWR of 935 lbs and the OEM tires will provide 1325 lbs of load capacity if they are fully inflated to the max psi on the side of the tires. Even if you run at a reduced tire pressure like I do, how often will you ever be up to 925 lbs including the rider, a passenger, bags fully loaded and a full tank of fuel. The point is, the GT tires are for heavier bikes than this one is, especially since you now know that the GVWR of the bike is 925 lbs.

And as far as the OEM brake pads, I too decided to try them out and draw my own opinions on them before switching to an aftermarket pad. I spent a lot of years on the track both doing track days and then 7 years as an Instructor/Coach. Believe me, I know good brake feel/performance, and that is what I was/am accustomed to. So I'll just say this...the OEM pads will do the job required of them....but, there is not much in the way of initial bite on them and the required pressure to bring them up to hard braking is considerably more than what I like. I ordered a set of Vesrah RJLs and installed them yesterday, but have not rode the bike with them yet. I'm confident in them performing well though, as every single one of my several track bikes over the years ran the Vesrah RJLs of some variation. The last bike, which was a GSX-R750 with full K Tech suspension front and rear, an R6 radial Master, braided lines and the RJL-XX pads was just hard braking heaven. The plain RJLs are not as extreme as the dash XX pads, but they will certainly do the job for both very aggressive street riding and on into moderate pace track days, with no fade and...they come up to temp very quickly. Hope this helps.

triplethreat said:

In my opinion, the Road 6 GT is absolutely not necessary for this bike. The bike has a GVWR of 935 lbs and the OEM tires will provide 1325 lbs of load capacity if they are fully inflated to the max psi on the side of the tires. Even if you run at a reduced tire pressure like I do, how often will you ever be up to 925 lbs including the rider, a passenger, bags fully loaded and a full tank of fuel. The point is, the GT tires are for heavier bikes than this one is, especially since you now know that the GVWR of the bike is 925 lbs.

And as far as the OEM brake pads, I too decided to try them out and draw my own opinions on them before switching to an aftermarket pad. I spent a lot of years on the track both doing track days and then 7 years as an Instructor/Coach. Believe me, I know good brake feel/performance, and that is what I was/am accustomed to. So I'll just say this...the OEM pads will do the job required of them....but, there is not much in the way of initial bite on them and the required pressure to bring them up to hard braking is considerably more than what I like. I ordered a set of Vesrah RJLs and installed them yesterday, but have not rode the bike with them yet. I'm confident in them performing well though, as every single one of my several track bikes over the years ran the Vesrah RJLs of some variation. The last bike, which was a GSX-R750 with full K Tech suspension front and rear, an R6 radial Master, braided lines and the RJL-XX pads was just hard braking heaven. The plain RJLs are not as extreme as the dash XX pads, but they will certainly do the job for both very aggressive street riding and on into moderate pace track days, with no fade and...they come up to temp very quickly. Hope this helps.

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Thank you for that feedback as well. I certainly don't have the experience you have, but I've been riding the last 18 years, numerous bikes, so I think I at least have a vague idea of what good street brakes feel like. I'll likely do the pads too, but my OCD will also feel better if I get braided lines. I just never replaced lines on an ABS bike before (have on direct brake ones), and I know some require a special bleeding procedure. That's why I was asking about the service manual. I also like knowing all the various torque values for the bike. I found a local suspension shop I plan to call to see what they could do to the bike. Keep in mind Suzuki may never even deliver the bike, so I'm just living in a dream world for now

FreePenguiny said:

I will rewatch videos later I swore he found an filter that fit I’m unable to do so at moment or I would skim his videos

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The one I saw, he said that the filter he bought didn't fit and he stuck the OEM back in. But maybe you saw another one? I'll probably call him once I actually have the bike to get his take, since I'll probably have him tune it. I'm only 5 hours from his shop so I may even go there in person.

Braided lines are not needed. 80% of your front lines is hard line. The rears are rubber but you will need to remove the rear shock to get at the fittings. A set of SBS RS or RST (new formulation) pads are all you need to vastly improve initial bite and braking power. If you want sublime lever feel and control upgrade to a Brembo RCS19 master cylinder too. I would start with just the pads. They are so good you may not feel the need to upgrade anything else. I ran a set of the RS and now have the RST pads. Braking feel is identical, but the RST pads make a very slight howl from about 5 mph til you stop. above 5mph they make no noise. SBS says the new RST formula pads last a bit longer and are easier on rotors. RS pads lasted me about 10K miles and still had plenty of life left but one side was wearing uneven. I decided if I was going to clean the calipers I would replace the pads a bit early. I also replaced the OEM m/c with the Brembo. My brakes are ridiculous now. More than two fingers on the lever is asking for trouble.

Supercharger said:

Braided lines are not needed. 80% of your front lines is hard line. The rears are rubber but you will need to remove the rear shock to get at the fittings. A set of SBS RS or RST (new formulation) pads are all you need to vastly improve initial bite and braking power. If you want sublime lever feel and control upgrade to a Brembo RCS19 master cylinder too. I would start with just the pads. They are so good you may not feel the need to upgrade anything else. I ran a set of the RS and now have the RST pads. Braking feel is identical, but the RST pads make a very slight howl from about 5 mph til you stop. above 5mph they make no noise. SBS says the new RST formula pads last a bit longer and are easier on rotors. RS pads lasted me about 10K miles and still had plenty of life left but one side was wearing uneven. I decided if I was going to clean the calipers I would replace the pads a bit early. I also replaced the OEM m/c with the Brembo. My brakes are ridiculous now. More than two fingers on the lever is asking for trouble.

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Thank you for the additional recommendations. I definitely plan to try the brakes before I go messing with anything, but this is just part of my up-front research so I know what my options are. Since you replaced your master cylinder, what was the bleeding procedure with this ABS bike like? Do you have to actuate the pump somehow?

CaptainSlow said:

Just keep it stock and save yourself the money and effort. The stock tires are good, as are the stock brakes, the stock shock, etc. I just did 700 kms yesterday and never felt like the bike was lacking in any aspect.

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First of all, bonus points for your name, I'm a huge Top Gear / Grand Tour fan. Second, you're of course not wrong and I tend to ride a bike stock for a bit to figure out what the engineering team did with it at the factory. However, it's in my nature to modify everything I have and try to squeeze some more performance out of my vehicles. I tend to keep my bikes and cars a while, so the initial investment is worth it over the time I use it. The three areas I always try to square away are engine tune (don't like a lean engine and I despise emissions laws), suspension and brakes. A properly tuned suspension is also a safer suspension, and I like to know I can stop fast when needed, especially since this bike has ABS. So to me those investments are worth it. Just another perspective

CaptainSlow said:

Yes I definitely recommend putting a decent amount of mileage on it first before swapping out anything.

I watched all the reviews before I bought my bike and heard all the complaints about the bike's shortcomings, and then when I got the bike I realized those shortcomings either didn't exist or they didn't bother me.

I agree the front brakes lack the initial bite that you'd expect on a sport bike. I think this was intentional to make the bike more touring friendly but some people don't like it. Personally I don't mind the way they feel so I'm keeping mine stock. You mention you wanna upgrade the brakes so you can stop fast when needed, but I really don't think upgrading the pads, lines or master brake cylinder will enable you to stop in less distance than the stock brakes. It would probably improve feedback if that's important to you, but if you think you'll be safer on the road after spending a thousand bucks on the brakes I don't think that'll be the case.

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I'm not going to spend a thousand bucks on the brakes. I bought a set of Vesrah RJLs pads for the front, pads that I know and trust and have used for 17/18 years. If I wanted razor sharp braking performance, like my track bikes had, I would upgrade the lines and get a radial master for the front, but the bike is not a track bike....I just want better bite and some feedback from the front end on the brakes....they are too "wooden" feeling and honestly, I don't like that. I too watched a lot of the videos that are out there and read the reviews before purchasing the bike, so I knew that a correct for me set of front pads would fit the bill for the type of riding I do on the street. And I will wholeheartedly disagree with you on not being able to stop faster with upgraded brake pads. I've got enough years of experience, both on the street and the track to tell you that you are off base with that perception of not making any difference. Anytime you can get the braking action going on sooner, rather than later, will help with stopping distance. And as far as Suzuki maybe intentionally putting the brakes that they did on there to make it more "Touring" friendly, I doubt it...it's all about the money and what it costs them to build the bike vs. what they can sell them for. There's a lot of folks that don't know the difference between a great set of brakes and just average brakes.....I'm not one of them. So I'm the one that gets to decide how good or bad the brakes are, as you do. And the bottom line is that if you are comfortable with the OEM brakes, that's what it's all about. I'm not, because I've had way too many bikes that have had excellent braking (not from the factory though), I know exactly what it feels like and I'm not willing to settle for less than what I like/want on the bike.

I also read how terrible the OEM tires were that came on the bike, and I have certainly been on better tires, but they aren't terrible, especially when the inflation numbers are reduced from the Suzuki suggestions of 36/42. Right now, I'm running the OEMs and doing 32F/34R and they don't feel too bad, and I'll probably keep them until they need to be replaced. I know they have a lot more limitations than what I have experienced with better tires, but then again, this isn't a track bike for me and I won't be pushing it nearly as hard as I did on the track

Suspension is another area that I am spoiled with, having had some perfectly setup track bikes over the years with Ohlins and K Tech suspension components. I haven't felt the need to replace any of the suspension stuff yet, but who knows what will happen when we start riding it two up and hitting some twisty stuff and riding at a "spirited" pace. Being planted, having good feedback and compliance on the suspension is something that is hard to give up. But again, I'm not riding it as a track bike and so it will not require as much of precise setup and control. Having said all of that, it comes down to personal choice and what matters or not to the individual owner. We all have different levels of experience, likes/dislikes/ funds for upgrades/etc.....so as long as you, me, whoever is happy with the bike, that's what counts. Happy and safe riding.....

CaptainSlow said:

I'm just stating the facts. You can believe you're safer all you want with your vesrah pads but you're not.

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You are stating what you think/believe, ....not facts. Here are the facts. Getting a vehicle stopped from a given speed involves several factors. The mass or weight of the vehicle, the reaction time between perceived danger and the actual time that the brakes are being applied, and of course the actual braking power of the device that is doing the braking. The coefficient of friction of the pad material on the rotors, in the case of our motorcycles, plays a significant part in the effect of slowing the motorcycle down. So let's say that the motorcycle's mass is the same with two different bikes. Let's also say that the two bikes are traveling at the same exact speed....60mph. At 60 mph, the two motorcycles will travel 88' in exactly one second of time. Let's say that both riders start applying the brakes at the same instant of time. One of the bikes has the OEM pads that has a coefficient of friction of XXX amount. The other bike has pads that have a higher coefficient of friction...by some amount more than the OEM pads. So if both bikes weigh the same, both bikes are traveling at the exact same speed, both riders apply the brakes at the same exact time......which bike will start slowing down at a faster rate of time. And remember, both bikes are moving at 88' per second at the instant the brakes are applied, so the faster that you can reduce that 88' per second of travel time, the more quickly one of the bikes will stop. Do you think it will be the bike with the OEM pads and a lower coefficient of friction??? Or do you follow common sense and say that it will be the bike with the pads that have a HIGHER coeffficient of friction pads. Just as an arbitrary number, let's say the bike with the OEM pads travels 15 feet further before it comes to a complete stop. What if that 15' of extra travel is just the distance need that causes you to hit the side of the car that pulled out in front of you.....or the deer that darted across the road....or maybe the difference between getting the bike stopped or going over the side of the mountain up in the twisties. Yea, we aren't talking miles of difference here, but we are talking some unknow distance, and that distance might just be the distance that saves you from being in an accident. And THAT ^^^^^ is the Facts

Having said all of that, when both bikes get to the point in time that the brakes are being applied hard enough to cause the ABS to intervene, then it's pretty much a moot point regarding the coefficient of friction of the pads, and more a determining factor of the ABS intervention. Where the difference lies, is in the initial bite of the brakes and their ability to get to the ABS intervention point of time, and the difference of speed reduction, thus overall stopping distance, of the bike with the better brake pads. It's a known fact that a bike with ABS will normally not stop as quickly as a bike without it. So why not take advantage of of getting that initial rate of speed reduced more quickly with better pads and create a shorter stopping distance?