Early every summer I try to escape for a week or so ride, up into New England. I did the ride in 2022 and my R6 started eating itself on the return leg. Being a Suzuki guy at heart I bought my 1st new bike- a GSXS-S1000 later that summer, spent the fall getting acclimated and tuning the suspension and so on. The bike shaped up well with a Penske rear shock and Bitubo JBH fork cartridge replacements and a few other odds and ends, so I went ahead with the trip in 2023- same idea as last year, no stops, no landmarks, just riding.
I started with a bit over an hour of highway grind from Baltimore up 83 to Harrisburg when I could finally get off the highway. I was concerned about comfort on the bike- the seat is not quite idea OTOH the posture is great, much less fatigue on it than on the R6- it make the ride a lot more pleasant. Downtown Harrisburg is very pretty- lots of classic old stone houses on the north side = my favorite!
A short distance north of town I got onto Rt 325 Clarks Valley Road which was amazing- long, sun-dappled road, open fields, no traffic. Since the bike was a lot more comfortable I could better enter that meditative space, taking in the entire moment for longer periods.
Picked up Rt 125 north of there and it got twisty- had some fun, the bike handling very well and less fatigue. The engine is a much better match for this kind of riding; more torque, less shifting. I found the bike corners very easily, perhaps not as quickly and effortlessly as the R6- its a heavier bike and a bit longer but steering is light and sure.
And later on 487, thru Bloomsburg and Catawissa the road opened up and got a bit faster. > 130whp makes for quick passes that don't need downshifts :)
I like to get in some dirt/gravel at least once on these trips, so at Lopez PA I picked up Dutch Mountain Rd which is paved about 1/3 of the way over to Meshoppen. It gets steep on the gravel, great fun and I learned a bit about the fancy ABS braking...kind of annoying when holding the bike back on a bumpy gravel road, but it all worked fine. The camera footage became quite jittery here so only one pic.
And eventually I made it to the motel- Skyline Motel in Tunkhannock. Its a plain old-school roadside motel, very clean, well-worn - cheap too- and the old wing has walk-out rooms so you can stay close to the bike.
This is the "F" model, unfaired as compared to the GT which is the same bike but with fairings and official luggage and a TFT display. The panniers on this bike are aftermarket. They are of reasonable quality though the bag mounting is not as robust as Givi- so I modified the mount to make them permanent. Being slightly smaller than my old ones I have to be less of a packrat, so thats helpful.
The 44L drybag is quite handy, but tiedowns will need a bit more practice to keep it from sliding forward into my back. OTOH the GSXS doesn't mind its weight at all- the R6 <hated> the weight back there, notable front end shake when decelerating between 65 to 50mph or so.
I started with a bit over an hour of highway grind from Baltimore up 83 to Harrisburg when I could finally get off the highway. I was concerned about comfort on the bike- the seat is not quite idea OTOH the posture is great, much less fatigue on it than on the R6- it make the ride a lot more pleasant. Downtown Harrisburg is very pretty- lots of classic old stone houses on the north side = my favorite!
A short distance north of town I got onto Rt 325 Clarks Valley Road which was amazing- long, sun-dappled road, open fields, no traffic. Since the bike was a lot more comfortable I could better enter that meditative space, taking in the entire moment for longer periods.
Picked up Rt 125 north of there and it got twisty- had some fun, the bike handling very well and less fatigue. The engine is a much better match for this kind of riding; more torque, less shifting. I found the bike corners very easily, perhaps not as quickly and effortlessly as the R6- its a heavier bike and a bit longer but steering is light and sure.
And later on 487, thru Bloomsburg and Catawissa the road opened up and got a bit faster. > 130whp makes for quick passes that don't need downshifts :)
I like to get in some dirt/gravel at least once on these trips, so at Lopez PA I picked up Dutch Mountain Rd which is paved about 1/3 of the way over to Meshoppen. It gets steep on the gravel, great fun and I learned a bit about the fancy ABS braking...kind of annoying when holding the bike back on a bumpy gravel road, but it all worked fine. The camera footage became quite jittery here so only one pic.
And eventually I made it to the motel- Skyline Motel in Tunkhannock. Its a plain old-school roadside motel, very clean, well-worn - cheap too- and the old wing has walk-out rooms so you can stay close to the bike.
This is the "F" model, unfaired as compared to the GT which is the same bike but with fairings and official luggage and a TFT display. The panniers on this bike are aftermarket. They are of reasonable quality though the bag mounting is not as robust as Givi- so I modified the mount to make them permanent. Being slightly smaller than my old ones I have to be less of a packrat, so thats helpful.
The 44L drybag is quite handy, but tiedowns will need a bit more practice to keep it from sliding forward into my back. OTOH the GSXS doesn't mind its weight at all- the R6 <hated> the weight back there, notable front end shake when decelerating between 65 to 50mph or so.
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I got the firmest pair of bicycle shorts they had which made a substantial difference. I'm going to find a better seat when I get home but this will keep the trip fun in the meantime.