Took it out for its first ride yesterday, My main concern was geometry change, Im pretty good with suspension setups from my club racing days.
I run the GS pretty firm compared to what normal GS feels like. total travel is 200mm rear and 190mm front. With that in mind I run 40mm(aprox) of rider sag front and rear, to achieve this I had to wind on the front spring preload a couple turns as there was more weight on the front that previously. my rear spring preload is back off almost all the way to get the right sag.
This is with just me riding, so theres plenty of rear preload adjustment for when touring 2 up with luggage I can always get 40mm sag front (doesn't change much when adding rear weight) and 40mm rear by hand turning the preload adjuster. with my wife and luggage it sinks to closer to 60mm sag, which is still perfect for the GS.
Handling wise, first impressions, excellent turn in! not snappy, just feels great and stable, correct sag is the key! normal sized tyres make the bike feel more planted to/
Brake wise, now this may not be just the upgraded Brembo MC, but a combination of the smaller front wheel and the MC. but holly crap does this thing come to a stop with some force now! and not force at the lever, what a massive upgrade, I always felt the brakes where ok on the GS, but not great. The feel with the 19x18 MC is fantastic and the smaller wheel must be adding to the braking effectiveness to.
Couple wee niggles left are readjusting the handlebar position, bleed the brakes again as still a little spongy, and one of the fork seals is leaking, so ill replace that.
I also after the messages here, took of the final drive to inspect the drive shaft, there is no contact with the newly installed grease nipples. all good
