Iv'e been commuting on my 2022 a bunch, and few longer rides further afield. The rear at 42 psi and factory shock settings was god-awful, but reduced tire pressure and 0 preload got it rideable until my Penske shock arrived, which was a huge step forward in suspension behavior. I'm in the slow incremental adjustment zone for it now, the front end is clearly where more attention is needed. I have a set of Bitubo JBH cartridges on the way for the front which I just can't quite get to the right feel. Sag and travel as measured by a tape and wire tie is reasonable but the front is still too stiff; the damping adjustments don't seem quite effective enough. I'm hunting for feel like my old R6 had- not plush but compliant and only the fastest and sharpest bumps would be harsh. The rear is getting there.
The shifter has grown on me quite a bit, its taken a bit of road time to get used to how it wants to shift- the gearbox is really nice when shifted how it wants to be, its also breaking in so likely has gotten smoother with miles. The brakes bedded in well though I have a set of Vesrah pads to go in once the originals are used up- not in a rush to replace them since they've not gone wooden and only squeak a very little. The tires are fine, not great but entirely reasonable, I'll wear them out too.
I just put sw-motech risers on, have to do something about longer ride comfort. The bike reminds me a bit of my old Bandit wrt being uncomfortable in the seat in the default setup- it needed risers too which got me into a reasonable comfort zone. I never ended up getting an aftermarket seat on the Bandit, we'll see what the risers do for this bike... maybe the stock seat will end up OK. I can see hints that long rides will be comfy once this is figured out. 4-5hrs was my safe limit on the R6- I could easily do 7 on the Bandit. Even a 2hr ride on the gsxs with this seat and posture is less tiring than on the R6.
My 600 mile service went fine- checked bolts after I did the oil/filter and all were tight. I <really> like the oil filter in front, I had to take the bellypan off my R6 for the oil/filter change... tedious.
The bike is great in traffic- not talking about lane splitting but when grinding along in the stop and go, its easy to balance for brief stops, it happily chugs along in idle in any gear; cools off fast when speeds pick up, maneuvers easily and doesn't want to fall over. Its funny to like a bike so much for low speed chugging around but the R6 was lousy in that kind of riding; engine, gearbox, balance, posture were all difficult below 30mph- the gsxs is vastly more pleasant. Out on the recreational rides, steering is reasonably light and accurate- not R6 quick but it likes definite turn-ins off reference points and doesn't make riding a lot of work. The R6 was so quick that it tended to make everything into sweepers- that was nice in a way but I prefer the definite turn-in style. Maybe on track the R6 would want that too, in reasonable street riding conditions it was mostly coasting around I guess. Going fast the R6 was amazing.. the GSXS is getting there.
