Despite all the rain I have managed to ride 500 kilometres on the GTR. An evening (urban) ride allowed a play with the headlight and getting a feel for the bike. A couple of hours on Sunday morning with only the occasional shower, added a few more kilometres.
A longer afternoon ride, via Beaudessert, Boonah, Aratula, Rosevale and back home tested out the wet weather behaviour, how wet I get with out putting the "wets" on (it was quite warm and humid so "getting wet" was not a real issue). The screen is, at this point, okay. I am used to big screened touring bike so the GTR screen is a little different. I think it will be fine. I just need a few more K's behind it. Backed the rear preload off a couple of turns at Boonah. This made the rear suspension more compliant. I am still playing with the suspension settings. Generally the bike suspension was set up a little hard for my liking. It is all new and needs to wear in.
Had a little explore on the dirt for about 10k's. Nice loose, but damp gravel, with a few tight bends. Had a little play with the traction control. Initial impressions are that it comes in early. The power is not suddenly and totally killed, causing rapid movement/lurching. By coming in early the computer systems still manages to maintain power (drive) but at a non wheel spinning level. Nice! The ABS worked quite well on the dirt as well. Many riders and 4WDrivers do not like ABS on the dirt. I am not one of them. I have ABS on our 4WD and on the GTR. Braking properly on dirt the advantages of ABS, in most (driving/riding) conditions, far outweigh perceived disadvantages. Nice to ride on this bit of dirt. Responsive to foot peg inputs, climbing in and out of wheel tracks in a steady and controlled way. No need to get up off the seat.
Mirrors. Views of the handle bar ends and panniers do occupy some of the rear view real estate. I am happy with the mirrors. They give very good rear coverage. Particularly the close in blind spots. Slight body movement to the right and left is required to sight directly behind if you have not been paying attention in city traffic. Mirrors are fine. I have had worse. The positioning is fine, they fall nicely within my vision with eye movement. Hand protection from wind and rain is good, though not complete.
Straight line stability is excellent. The GTR is firmly planted and deviations require solid rider input to handle bars and pegs. I still have much tuning to do to the suspension. I have not explored the low speed handling (too wet) and look forward to having a serious low speed play, at a quiet location, in the near future.
The brakes are excellent. Good feel and feedback through the front brake lever. The back brake lever exhibits fairly long travel and a slightly spongy feel. As the front and rear brakes are always linked, there are two modes, I like the long travel on the rear brake pedal. I have the linked system set in the mode that prioritises the front brakes and use my usual two finger front brake application only, urban braking technique. The linked brakes allow me to not be overly worried about applying rear brake for balance, if braking gets a little heavy. The power assistance, yet provision of good feedback through the front brake lever impresses. Assisted braking systems have a tendency to have a "dead" feel with little or no feedback. The GTR brakes are powerful and responsive. Early days but initial brake impressions. Nice!
The standard, OEM, tyres have to date, performed well. No "moments" in the wet, appear to have good adhesion levels and behaved fine on the dirt. Once again early days. I have a " jaundiced" view of OEM tyres on Japanese motorcycles. They are usually designed to address a handling/comfort issue, enhance or hide, with a emphasis on a initial and early ride impressions being positive (test rides of a longer nature and Journalist reviews). Some more distance is required and probably a replacement, non OEM set, when the originals are worn out. Tyres are one of the critical items on a motorcycle. I show little tolerance for those I perceive as poor performers. I am happy to sacrifice performance for kilometres.
Riding position. I am from a world of upright riding positions, so the GTR's forward leaning rider position, whilst not excessive, I find placing pressure on my wrists. I find myself with wrists cocked at a downward angle and some soreness developing even over short distances. As I know what the problem is (age and many years of throttle twisting, making for well worn wrists) I will address the issue in the next month or so.
The riding position, apart from the wrist issue, is comfortable. I find my boots being flat on the pegs, with, perhaps, a slight upwards tilt of the sole line. I like to ride with my boot toes pointed down, so that I can feel the ground and assess the lean angles, before bike bits drag. The rider pegs are set a little forward for my preference. Not uncomfortable though. I find myself not getting a clear shot at the gear lever end with my boot sole using the lever shaft, rather than the end for downshift. A familiarity issue.
Initial (500klm) impressions are positive. I am enjoying the GTR.
I leave you with the word CANBUS. Google the word. It changes what you can and cannot do with the GTR's electrics. Adding driving lights, as an example, may no longer be a simple and straight forward matter. If you own a CANBUS vehicle DO NOT cut into the vehicle wiring system. More about CANBUS and the unrelated, BLUETOOTH, soon.