[GoBlue]

On the subject of tires, it could be great to get stickier/quality rubber rather than bring price into the equation.

Tires/traction is what’s keeping riders alive/safe on motorcycles.

A lot of folks are happy with Metzeler M7RR / M9RR. If the riding style is aggressive while street riding (knee scraping ghat road leans), M9RR makes sense.

Otherwise the M7RR is a lovely tire overall - it gives 10-12k life on average.

If sourcing is feasible, Bridgestone’s Battlax S22 is another wonderful tire. Especially for bikes which came with that as the stock.

Vredestein may be cost effective, but why take chances with tires when riding bikes with this kind of power. Already many hazards exist on our roads which are beyond our control.

Plan a tire purchase 4-5 months in advance, buy the tire and store it. That way, availability would not be an issue.

Tire choices are subjective and depend on individual preference, however sharing thoughts from the perspective of rider safety.

[TRR]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

The Angel GT is exactly what it says it is a GT tyre

-snip-

but if I had a choice I'd take the Michelin Road 5(or 6 if it is available soon) over the Angel GT 3 (GT 2 has been replaced with the newer model iirc)

Thank you for the clarification. Your experience is more or less in line with what I have heard about the Angel GTs. More comforting to hear these words from a known BHPian than from a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend.

But yes, I think with your inputs in mind, it is better I take off the Angel GT 2/3s from my list. But one thing I find surprising is the life that you have run the tires. I was under the impression that these tires would last quite a bit longer (in the range of ~15,000 km). If the Angel GTs are good for 10,000 km, then the DR3s make more sense with the way they have performed for me. I expect at least another 5,000 kms out of my set (maybe I am too optimistic?).

My Pirellis have come 5,000 kms so far without any puncture so far (touch wood) and this includes driving in the myriad alleyways inside Bengaluru. Probably just depends on individual luck.

Originally Posted by GoBlue

On the subject of tires, it could be great to get stickier/quality rubber rather than bring price into the equation.

- snip -

Tire choices are subjective and depend on individual preference, however sharing thoughts from the perspective of rider safety.

GoBlue, what you're saying is absolutely right. No room for compromise on powerful bikes like these. But at the end of the day, at least from the reviews that I am seeing online (user reviews), including the one recently put out by fellow BHPian SnS_12 on his Hayabusa, I'm starting to think that there is no massive gulf between the Vredesteins and the imported brands. Again, this firmly depends on more long term reviews of the Vredesteins, but so far, they have been favourable.

A set of the Road 5s are going to cost me around ₹ 43,500, whereas the same person is selling a set of the Centauro STs for ₹ 25,000. I can effectively eat through 4 sets of the Vredesteins for the same price as 2 sets (+1 front tire of your choice, if we're being pedantic) of the Michelins/Metzelers/Pirellis. Gives me the option to throw out the used set of tires faster at 7,500-8,000 kms (if I wanted to, not that I would). Newer rubber will always be better than one used for 8,000+ kms, be it Metzelers, Michelins or Vredesteins. Always willing to hear otherwise.

Other updates

In the meantime, 2 small extras came in for the bike over the weekend:
- Raida SeasonPro Waterproof Bike Cover - Purchased this in XXL size for the bike based on the seller's recommendation. Turned out to be too big a size and should have bought XL instead. The quality is great with the seams feeling sturdy and long-lasting. It is excellent at keeping dust away from the bike. The bike was cleaned and covered with this for 2 days, with construction work going on next door. When we removed the cover, the bike had no dirt specks on it at all. Need to see how long the cover lasts though.



- Eazigrip Pro Tank Pads - As mentioned in the main posts, bought this to protect from belt buckles and riding jackets from scratching the PPF. The previous tank pads were removed while applying the PPF. They are very high quality and have that neat finish with smaller indents (I detest the large bubbly ones like the non-Pro versions of the Eazigrips). We slightly botched up on fixing it though and it ended up slightly misaligned (the angle in the photo makes it look worse than it is though). Nonetheless, quite happy with the product. Next up, trying to source the Eazigrip Pro Tank Grips for the sides.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by TRR

Thank you for the clarification. Your experience is more or less in line with what I have heard about the Angel GTs. More comforting to hear these words from a known BHPian than from a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend.

first-person reviews are always better no doubt.

Originally Posted by TRR

But yes, I think with your inputs in mind, it is better I take off the Angel GT 2/3s from my list. But one thing I find surprising is the life that you have run the tires. I was under the impression that these tires would last quite a bit longer (in the range of ~15,000 km). If the Angel GTs are good for 10,000 km, then the DR3s make more sense with the way they have performed for me. I expect at least another 5,000 kms out of my set (maybe I am too optimistic?).

Well, it is very much capable, the GTs are hard enough to last well around 14-15k kms. Per person, usability is the main factor that varies that number, typically on a Sport touring/Naked bike when ridden carefully and used well (what I mean by used well is making use of the full tyre typically a lot of curvy roads and such and not just straight highways which was most of my use case) the tyre will easily last you that much mileage.
In my case, I feel I could theoretically push it towards 13-14k but it'll be so squared out that the bike will be virtually impossible to ride in a stable fashion. This is directly attributed to my riding pattern, I haven't had the chance to hit a lot of twisties with the R1 yet(I know, it's rather embarrassing, but it is what it is). So for me safety-wise it makes more sense to dispose off the tyres once the squaring out starts becoming more prominent which I am guessing is 11-12k km of usage.

Also considering the brutal acceleration the tyre gets subjected to on the R1 I end up wearing out the center patch faster too. As compared to your usage where a good part is daily city commutes which are more friendly on the tyre, potholes and broken roads notwithstanding.

Originally Posted by TRR

My Pirellis have come 5,000 kms so far without any puncture so far (touch wood) and this includes driving in the myriad alleyways inside Bengaluru. Probably just depends on individual luck.

That could very much be the case, my bias comes from my and my close friend's experience, he also got Pirellis for his R3 and ended up with several punctures in a span of 2-3 months

Originally Posted by TRR

- Eazigrip Pro Tank Pads -Nonetheless, quite happy with the product. Next up, trying to source the Eazigrip Pro Tank Grips for the sides.

Have seen on Instagram that Redline racing in Delhi carries Eazigrip for a wide variety of bikes, a good chance that you can find them there.

Cheers
Krishna

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by TRR

No room for compromise on powerful bikes like these. But at the end of the day, at least from the reviews that I am seeing online (user reviews), including the one recently put out by fellow BHPian SnS_12 on his Hayabusa, I'm starting to think that there is no massive gulf between the Vredesteins and the imported brands. Again, this firmly depends on more long term reviews of the Vredesteins, but so far, they have been favourable.

A set of the Road 5s are going to cost me around ₹ 43,500, whereas the same person is selling a set of the Centauro STs for ₹ 25,000. I can effectively eat through 4 sets of the Vredesteins for the same price as 2 sets (+1 front tire of your choice, if we're being pedantic) of the Michelins/Metzelers/Pirellis.

When considering a bike we tend to prioritise a bike based on safety features like good/best brakes, traction control, stability and handling.

When considering farkles for the motorcycle, we want the best exhaust, windscreen, levers, tank bags et all.

While servicing we tend to want the best oil, air filter and brake pads.

When detailing the bike, we hunt for the best ceramic coats, waxes, shampoos and even brushes.

When changing tires however, we appear to be less discerning with the only part of the bike that is in contact with the tarmac.

Food for thought.

I would personally always encourage a motorcycle rider to consider THE BEST motorcycle tires without thinking about cost. It is undeniably the most important safety feature that there is on the bike.

The day a super-bike manufacturer starts giving Vredesteins as an OEM tire would be when their quality/safety can be considered to be beyond reproach. OEMs do invest a lot of effort and time into selecting a suitable tire which is adequate to explore the performance envelope of that particular motorcycle. I would personally depend on that simple outcome to judge Vredesteins by, and not go by feedback of an individual. Anecdotal feedback doesn’t work when it comes to personal safety.

Would love to see (India made) Vredestein prove their tire quality by having a Kawasaki/Suzuki/Triumph/Ducati (any superbike manufacturer of repute) using them as stock tire on production motorcycles.

[aravind511]

Originally Posted by TRR

Introduction:

Attachment 2258599

As a little kid, I was always fascinated by the big bikes that used to feature on magazines like Autocar and Overdrive. Something about the bright red bikes with big tires fascinated me to no end. As I grew up, friends changed, ambitions changed, hobbies changed, but the one of the few things that remained a constant was the dream of owning a superbike. As the superbike culture grew in India and in Bengaluru, the fascination just grew stronger than ever. I would drop anything I was doing and run to the window and look out if I even heard so much as a growl from a superbike.

Congrats on the bike buddy. This bike, 'Suzu' as we call it, was previously owned by a very close friend and was very well taken care of. If not for the aggressive riding posture it would have still been with him. We have had good memorable rides to Ooty, Wayanad and quite a few places near Bangalore. Sharing a pic from those good old days with 'Suzu'

[neil.jericho]

This is a very interesting discussion on tire choices! I could write 5,000 words on it but if I summarize my thoughts

- Dont skimp on tires if you have a big bike. I've seen Z800s with Timsuns and I wouldnt ride those bikes, even if you paid me to do it. Nothing against Timsuns, I have them on my Royal Enfield and I like them. But I would prefer a pair of proven and trusted tires from one of the biggies when it comes to middleweight bikes and above.

- And now, to directly contradict the above point, I also feel that everyone doesn't need to always buy the most expensive tire that they can afford to buy. Tires like the Angel GT2, Road 4 / 5 give you excellent life and grip. On middleweight bikes like the CBR650F, Street Triple 675, Z800 etc, these tires will easily last you between 17,000 to 20,000 kilometers. On the other hand, tires like the Diablo Rosso 3, Super Corsas, M7RR / M9RR give you excellent grip but will probably last you between 7,000 (Super Corsas) to 12,000 kms (the others) on the same middleweight bikes.

All the above tires are very good and will handle everything that Indian roads will throw at us. Will a sedate rider like me, notice the better grip that a M7RR would offer over a Road 5? Probably but it isnt going to be night and day. So, look at your use case and pick wisely. If you are a hard corner carver, get a Super Corsa and enjoy every kilometer that you can extract from it. If you are going to be munching highway miles and touring, get an Angel GT2 or a Road 5 and enjoy the long life that you will get from the tire.

Coming to the Vredestein tires, GoBlue makes some excellent points in his posts which are tough to argue with, based on facts, since the Vredestein tires are still relatively new in the market. Like some of the others, I too have seen great initial feedback from riders in different circles on these Made In India tires. Will their grip levels sustain when the tires are 8,000 or 12,000 or 15,000 kilometers old? That is to be seen. But as things stand, it looks like its a great tire option that also happens to be affordable (rather than the other way around of being an inexpensive tire that happens to be good).

I have one more point to add here, and to me, that comprehensively swings the needle in favour of the Vredestein tires at this point of time. And that is the scourge of restamped tires in the Indian superbike market. A riding buddy of mine picked up tires for his Tiger 800 from a very reputed tire dealer in Bangalore in December 2020. This dealer is especially popular in the Honda CBR650F/R community. Less than 12 months after the set was installed on his bike, the front tire developed cracks everywhere and the tire isnt really safe to ride with. I have personally inspected the tires and taken pictures of it. It is most definitely restamped. The dealer initially avoided my friends calls and it was only when my friend sent him a message with pictures, that he woke up and apologetically, promised to rectify the situation. Guess what? Its been over 2 weeks and the said dealer has ignored all the subsequent messages and calls from my friend. But when other potential customers approached the same dealer, he was very active in responding to them. That's hard earned money down the drain.

Assuming the Vredestein tires are at least as good, grip wise as some of the above mentioned tires, and offer a safe life of say 10,000 to 12,000 kilometers, I would strongly consider them over a pair of potentially restamped tires that are also exorbitantly priced.

[sandeepmohan]

When someone says they bought a large capacity Suzuki motorcycle, the first word to come to mind is a Hayabusa. That name is so hallowed that you forget everything else they make. There is GSX, V Strom, SV (Street naked) and DR (Supermoto) series. All are solid, simple and dependable motorcycles that will never let you down. Much like any other Jap machine. The GSX is the most sold of all the motorcycle series Suzuki sell. The one you have is tame enough not to kill the rider. It allows one to gradually progress or experience large capacity motorcycles from a riding perspective while not emptying your wallet (Agreed that these are still expensive steeds to ride and own in India).

Suzuki Motorcycle has never been able to take the fight to the other big wigs from the Jap camp such as Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki. They are present but its not the first brand that comes to mind when you are looking for a motorcycle. It reminds me a little bit about Nissan. After the legendary GT-R, that was the end of the road for them. Likewise, for Suzuki. After the Hayabusa, that was it. There was nothing iconic or a follow up to the original that shook the world.

I was surprised by the profile of this motorcycle. You'd never guess there was a 750 inline firing away.

Have fun and ride safe.

[bigron]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Likewise, for Suzuki. After the Hayabusa, that was it. There was nothing iconic or a follow up to the original that shook the world.

Have fun and ride safe.

That's actually not true. While the Hayabusa was achieving legendary status is the hyper class, Suzuki was also becoming the king of the hill in the 1000cc category.

Infact, the 2001 GSX r1000 was the benchmark that every other Jap manufacturer was trying to beat.
When they updated it again in 2005, it was referred to as the Godzilla by fans and critics all over the world. Nothing could touch it. With the iconic blue and white color scheme, it was so phenomenal, that BMW actually got hold of one to see what makes it so good when they were planning to come out with their own first gen s1000rr.

Then there was the Suzuki Katana from 1980. The name and the machine achieved iconic status much before the Fireblade and the Ninja. It was designed in Germany because Suzuki thought of visually bringing out something new and radical that would match the bikes fastest production motorcycle tag. It was a complete departure from traditional motorcycle designs before it.

Suzuki knows a thing or two about building bikes and the Hayabusa is just one of the feathers ( though probably the biggest) in its illustrious past .

[TRR]

An update on the GSX-S750 ownership

It’s been a while since I updated the thread. The odo is currently at 20,300 kms as of today, so I have put in 7,800 km since taking ownership of the bike. Has been a slow couple of months with the odometer climbing slowly since I was out of work for a bit. Even though I was on a personal break from working, I will admit that I haven’t been able to put together as many weekend rides out as I wanted to.

So here's a minor (long post alert though) update on the "Apex Predator" as Suzuki likes to call it. This update isn't in a chronological sequence and is just a collection of thoughts on life with the bike

The big milestone



In the months since the last service in December (which was just after the office commutes ended), I have stitched together ~4,000 kms on the clock and must say that the bike is chugging along quite nicely. There have been a few additions/mods to the bike in the intervening period and they have improved the riding experience in a very subtle manner.

First, the Eazi-Grip tank grips were fitted to the bike in the beginning of April. I placed my order for these with Retro Rides, located in Delhi, and since the tank grips specific to the GSX-S750 were out of stock, these were imported on order. Took around a month and a half to reach me in Bengaluru. They definitely aid in gripping the bike with my thighs, but the top half of the grips are useless to me since my thighs barely reach that height, even with me placing the balls of my feet on the foot-pedals and raising my heels all the way up. The below half is useful, however, and is perfectly located for my usage. I’m still getting the hang of riding and gripping the tank with my thighs constantly though.



I screwed up a bit while fixing the right-side grips and these air bubbles were the result. Thankfully though, the bubbles have since disappeared and the tank grips on either side are perfectly adhering to the tank surface.



Next, the bi-annual service of the bike was due. The bike had run only 3,500 kms since the last service in December, but I decided to take it in for its service in May itself, considering that I would soon have to report in to work at my new job and would rather not face the discomfiture of the downtime that a service would entail. As usual, called up Mr Hafiz and booked the service appointment for a Wednesday and rolled the bike in to Aerolex Suzuki.

This would be more than a routine service, since I wanted the chain-sprocket set replaced with the parts I had brought in from Europe. The service centre was thankfully empty and the bike was straightaway rolled in to the service bay. I couldn’t stay back to watch the process since there were some personal commitments I had to tend to, but Mr Hafiz ensured that I was constantly updated on the service progress.

The bike propped up on the service bay (the old oil was drained out almost immediately)





The stock air filter was due for replacement since it was dirty inside-out. I was told by the previous owner that a K&N filter was fitted in, but looks like that wasn’t the case. The bike still had the OEM filter in place and the SVC didn’t have new OEM filters in stock. On Mr Hafiz’s recommendation, took the call to replace it with the BMC air filter. Mr Hafiz himself procured the BMC air filter from his contacts for me at almost 25% lesser than the market price and in went the BMC air filter.

The clogged OEM air filter



The new BMC air filter



The new filter in place



The new chain and sprockets lined up and prepped for replacement



Couldn’t get any pictures of the chain-sprocket replacement process, but here’s a picture of the new chain-sprocket kit post the service visit



The rest of the service was routine, along with the oil and oil filter being replaced. Mr Hafiz recommends to stick with the Motul 7100 and I went along with his recommendation. Even though the existing oil was only in for 3,500 kms, it still poured out as a dark liquid (as seen in the pics above). Since a significant part of the bike’s usage pattern is inside the city, I think I’ll stick to an oil replacement interval of 4,000-4,500 kms. The total service cost me ₹9,500, with ₹3,500 of labour (of which ₹1,000 is towards the chain sprocket replacement). For the air filter, I reimbursed Mr Hafiz separately since he procures the stock from his own pocket. They tack on a ₹500 cleaning and polishing charge in the labour bill, which I don’t really require, since I make sure the bike is clean and polished at home. But frankly, the quality of service is exceptional and I have made my peace with paying this minor amount.

During my service visit, I also acquired all the bills of the bike’s entire service history (had only perused the same while purchasing it from the last owner). Will try to make a separate post with full details on the services done so far from the date of purchase. Should give a fair idea of Suzuki’s service costs for anyone looking to buy a big bike from this stable.

~~~

Next up, was a group ride in mid-March 2022 organized by the folks at Aerolex Motors. Since the showroom arranged the ride, the turnout was quite healthy with 35-ish Hayabusas, 20+ V-Stroms and 4 GSX-S750s (including mine) reporting in for the ride. The group started off from the showroom, regrouped at Indian Paratha Company, near Nandi Hills and concluded at the Marriott hotel inside the Prestige Golfshire campus near Nandi Hills. The ride was extremely well-organized and the riders were given a bit of freedom on the highways and not choreographed and herded at 60 kmph on the highways. The best part was getting to be in the presence of those 35 Hayabusas with almost 90% of them running full system exhausts. The sight and sounds of such a large number of these beasts was truly special.

The Aerolex folks had arranged for breakfast at the Marriott inside the Prestige Golfshire campus and the spread was sumptuous and vast. Post breakfast, we were all free to leave at our leisure and head back home. Every single rider was given a goodie-bag with a microfibre cloth, 3M helmet cleaner spray, 3M bike shine spray and an Aerolex Suzuki T-shirt. None of us paid a single penny for the whole affair. I can’t say enough about Aerolex’s excellent after-sales service. Organizing rides like these, combined with the excellent service centre, makes buying a Suzuki big bike a truly special experience.

The bikes at the meeting point at Aerolex Motors



The entire gathering at the final location



The V-Stroms all lined up together



The goodies given out to every rider who joined for the event



~~~

One thing about the bike ownership aspect that I have to revisit though is the heat management, especially in the summer. In cooler climates (with max temps < 30 degrees), the heat management is great. The coolant temperature never crosses 50% of the temperature range and I have no qualms of taking the bike out in peak traffic in such climates. But with this being my first summer (and a truly hot one at that) with this bike, I too had to experience the bane of every superbike owner’s riding experience. I had to ride out to Phoenix Marketcity in Whitefield from Banashankari (fellow Bengalureans will know the pains of this “cross-country” road trip) and had to endure the worst traffic pile-up at the Tin Factory junction exactly at noon. With the blazing hot sun out in full force and the traffic crawling at barely 1km/hr, the bike’s heat management system gave up and couldn’t hold the bike temperatures at the usual 50%, even with the radiator fan spinning at full speed. As I crawled on in the choc-a-bloc traffic for almost 30 minutes, the gauge rose all the way to the top. I became extremely worried as a shut-off was imminent with the overheat warning sign turning on. But the bike held out for the couple of minutes that was needed to break free from the traffic jam and as soon as my pace picked up, the temps started dropping quickly. Lesson learned, definitely need to avoid peak traffic in the summer on the GSX. I guess I grew overconfident in the bike’s capability to deal with the heat since I had so far only used it in the rainy season and winter. To the bike’s credit though, the heat thrown on me and my legs was not excessive even when the bike started to overheat. But seeing that temperature gauge climb up to full makes you sweat like a pig regardless.

Other than this, I have now switched jobs and have resumed the office commutes, which would be ~30km of riding a day. The bike continues to chug along quite nicely and the ownership experience remains as pleasant as it was when I initially wrote the review (fingers crossed that it stays that way)

Here are some parting shots of the bike in various settings:

Got caught out in torrential rain on my way back from work



Some pictures from some rural country roads on a ride through the Anchetty-Denkanikottai loop

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by TRR

An update on the GSX-S750 ownership
The stock air filter was due for replacement since it was dirty inside-out.

If the OE air filter has not been used much or is not very dirty you can clean it by blowing compressed air and use it again. Have done that on the Busa on a few occasions unless the guys advice me its better to change.

Originally Posted by TRR

As I crawled on in the choc-a-bloc traffic for almost 30 minutes, the gauge rose all the way to the top. I became extremely worried as a shut-off was imminent with the overheat warning sign turning on. But the bike held out for the couple of minutes that was needed to break free from the traffic jam and as soon as my pace picked up, the temps started dropping quickly.

Are you sure that the fan had not cut off when the temperature bar went all the way to the top? I have ridden the Busa in bumper to bumper traffic in scorching heat for close to 3 hrs straight and the bike was evidently getting heated up by the minute but the temp gauge never went up the halfway mark.

Understand you had changed the coolant and radiator fan previously maybe time to check if all is in order and do a coolant flush again? Just to be sure remove the reservoir and check if any sludge or slime has formed which is interfering with the coolant flow and cooling.

[GoBlue]

The GSX S750’s temperature gauge never went above the halfway mark during B2B city traffic rides in Pune’s 40+ degree summer heat.

Neither was there any excess heat around the engine area which could be felt (as being abnormal).

What you’ve experienced indicates degraded performance of the motorcycle’s cooling system.

[TRR]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

If the OE air filter has not been used much or is not very dirty you can clean it by blowing compressed air and use it again. Have done that on the Busa on a few occasions unless the guys advice me its better to change.

Is cleaning the air filter with compressed air really a good idea? I specifically checked with the service tech on cleaning out the filter when he called me for approval on the replacement, and he vehemently recommended against cleaning the OE filter. I even checked the owner's manual on this. And this is what it has to say -



Curiously enough, even BMC and K&N do not recommend using compressed air to clean or dry air filters as they state it can damage the filter fibres.



From this, I believe my service tech has followed the owner's manual to a tee by having the air filter replaced at the first service after the 18,000 km mark and at almost 3 years of the bike being on the road. I went through all the previous service bills and did not notice an OE filter being put in the bike in any of the 6 services before I bought the bike from the previous owner. I currently don't have the 4th service bill with me at the moment, but considering that I bought the bike at 12,000 km on the odo, I highly doubt that the OE filter was replaced prior to this. I have full faith on the guys at Aerolex and they have earned my trust by not ripping me off the numerous times that they had the opportunity to.

Even with the BMC filter, one of the reasons he recommended this filter is that this would be good for at least 4-5 years since they have access to an air filter cleaning and recharging kit specifically for these after-market filters at the service centre and he told me that this cleaning and recharging would be done as necessary when I give the bike for its services going forward.

Originally Posted by SnS_12

Are you sure that the fan had not cut off when the temperature bar went all the way to the top? I have ridden the Busa in bumper to bumper traffic in scorching heat for close to 3 hrs straight and the bike was evidently getting heated up by the minute but the temp gauge never went up the halfway mark.

I am definitely sure that the fan was running at full speed as I turned off the engine for a brief moment using the kill switch and could hear the fan going all out. Strange that you say this but. I brought this issue up with the guys in the service center when I went in for the service, since this event happened well before I scheduled the service. Mr Hafiz clearly told me that this overheating was expected given the kind of traffic we have here in Bangalore, especially on that specific route, and since this summer was abnormally hotter here this time. In fact, at the Aerolex meet, the other GSX owners I chatted with also told me of similar experiences when driving in Bangalore traffic in earlier summers.

Bengaluru traffic jams aren't really comparable to jams in Mumbai/Pune. Probably why the "Rants on Bangalore's Traffic Situation" thread is currently on its 1317th page with all other cities distantly behind

Jokes apart, I think the reason I haven't faced this before is that my office commutes were usually in the morning when the temperatures are cooler than at lunchtime and I had never commuted to office in the summer. My returns from office were almost always post 11pm in the night. Almost 95% of the times I got stuck in any traffic jam at all would be on weekend nights when ambient temperatures are a lot cooler.

The overheating incident hasn't re-occurred since that time, even though I pass the dreaded Silk Board junction on my way to office now. Possible reasons are that summer has now passed here in Bangalore and that my commutes are, once more, never at peak temperature times. The bike is back to holding the heat at 50% of the gauge at all times, even in B2B traffic. With this, I also doubt that there is anything functionally wrong with my bike's cooling system or that the system has "degraded" in any meaningful manner.

Originally Posted by GoBlue

Neither was there any excess heat around the engine area which could be felt (as being abnormal).

Not sure where you got this from. I clearly did specify that I never felt any abnormal or excess heat on my person from this incident. Apologies, if I misunderstood what you are implying here.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by TRR

From this, I believe my service tech has followed the owner's manual to a tee by having the air filter replaced at the first service after the 18,000 km mark and at almost 3 years of the bike being on the road.

18k replacement interval for our dusty conditions seems like a lot. With regards to cleaning with compressed air I said it I do that when the bike has not done much running or is not that dirty (did it mostly during lockdowns) My bike has done 10.5k kms and I must have gone through 4+ air filters till date.

On the K&N you can’t use compressed air as its design and function is totally different. I am using one on my Brio and clean it myself every 20k kms even though K&N themselves say 50k miles cleaning interval as its supposed filter better the dirtier its gets supposedly. But for our conditions and for my personally 20k kms is what I do even though I don’t see a drop in performance or filtration.

Originally Posted by TRR

Mr Hafiz clearly told me that this overheating was expected given the kind of traffic we have here in Bangalore, especially on that specific route, and since this summer was abnormally hotter here this time. In fact, at the Aerolex meet, the other GSX owners I chatted with also told me of similar experiences when driving in Bangalore traffic in earlier summers.

I am pretty sure this is not normal behaviour as then every liquid cooled engine on Bangalore road should have its temp gauge going beyond the halfway mark all the time.

Radiator’s have fan for this very purpose as in traffic there is no air going through the radiator fins to cool down the coolant. Out on the Highway if you’re doing required speed to maintain the airflow the fan will never come on. If you see the manual its says if the temp goes high you have to stop immediately and let the bike cool down and check the coolant level to see if it’s enough or below the required level. Other issues I can think off is:

a) Thermostat not opening early or enough.
b) Fan not staying on enough to pull out enough heat.
c) Air pockets in the system hindering the flow of coolant.
d) Coolant has degraded and not able to perform heat transfer as desired.

Above are just my thoughts but if you’re comfortable and convinced with the explanation you have received till date with what’s happening then its your call.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by TRR

An update on the GSX-S750 ownership

Mr Hafiz himself procured the BMC air filter from his contacts for me at almost 25% lesser than the market price and in went the BMC air filter.

With the blazing hot sun out in full force and the traffic crawling at barely 1km/hr, the bike’s heat management system gave up and couldn’t hold the bike temperatures at the usual 50%, even with the radiator fan spinning at full speed. As I crawled on in the choc-a-bloc traffic for almost 30 minutes, the gauge rose all the way to the top. I became extremely worried as a shut-off was imminent with the overheat warning sign turning on. But the bike held out for the couple of minutes that was needed to break free from the traffic jam and as soon as my pace picked up, the temps started dropping quickly.

Couple of points here.

1. BMC Air filters in India are set at very standard prices. For someone to offer you at 25% discount, its rather unusual, since that is pretty much the dealer margin. I do not think anyone will sell you an air filter at cost price or below market price. Did you visually inspect the air filter yourself and see it came from a sealed box or packet? Its standard practice in India for service techs to switch air filters from one bike to another and pass it off as new.

2. When a bike overheat light turns on, hit the kill switch and stop running the engine. Even if you keep running the engine for a few minutes more, the engine headers will expand in the heat and get warped. End result is engine replacement. It is a very common occurrence here in Delhi and a lot of bikes have this engine issue.

Agree with BHPians Goblue and SNS that something is not correct with your bike's cooling system. Most Japanese inline 4 cylinders are well equipped to handle India's heat conditions. The same bikes are sold in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, which have equally hot temperatures like India.

It is rare for the engine to overheat in the way you described.

As for Mr Hafiz telling you its normal for the engine to overheat - I would recommend him to go back and learn the basics of motorcycle servicing. It is downright absurd for a service tech to say such a thing rather than having a look at the issue. Please get a second opinion. I have ridden plenty of Japanese bikes in Delhi summer and sat in standstill traffic and never experienced what you have described.

[hiren.mistry]

On my Kawasaki Z900 the temp gauge shows a readout of the temperature in digits, we do not have a bar as such. Refer to the below pic for reference.



In normal riding conditions, the temperature hovers around 80 degrees Celsius. Only in traffic does that number moves upwards, I have seen the temperature readout exceeding 100 degrees on multiple occasions but then the fan kicks in. The temperature does get back into 80's once the bike starts moving.