Suzuki GSX650F Forum - www.GSX650F.biz

As a rider of only 12 months, my beginnings were an experience in blatant fear. I saw my family begin to ride motorcycles, and to begin with, i never saw their appeal. I thought they made a stupid noise and were ridden by posers.....until i had my first bash on a little Honda CRF230 trail bike around my property, and after half an hour, i was introduced to something special. I booked in my learner training course the next day, and my dad handed me the keys to the 'spare' bike...a Sacks Express 150cc.

After completing my learner training and doing a little bit more practice on my property, it was time to launch out onto the open road, with a shiny new L plate, and a 150cc town bike. I alsmost had to change my pants! i couldnt corner, braked too early, didnt turn my head.....almost everything you can do wrong, i did it. As my moto-legs grew, i eventually rode that little bike everywhere, backroads, main roads, even freeways! (i dont reccomend being on a freeway on a 150cc mind you).

The next 9 months, after asking the bank for some monies, i bought an almost new 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250. The difference was amazing, i loved that little bike. The sound it made with a 2-brothers exhaust system without baffles brought a smile to my face every time. I put 10,000 kms on it, and used it to pass from my learners permit to P plates (teir 2).

Now that i've had a rant, the feeling from stepping up from my 150cc bucket to the ninja was surreal, and it's the same feeling i have with my new Fixxer-650. From the moment i turned the key and pressed the starter on the demo model i test rode, i felt at home. I had an instant attraction to that machine. It oozed quality, from the throttle response, cornering, and dashboard that is better than that installed in my car. Now time for the review....

If this was to be my first bike, i think i'd have never began to ride bikes at all. It's big, its heavy, and in the low RPM ranges it's mighty torquey. But for someone with a bit of experience under my belt, she fit like a glove. It's weight, for me at least, is a benefit. i'm not constantly being thrown around by the wind. Power is respectable, up until that magical 7000 RPM mark when the limiter kicks in, although i plan on buying an overseas ECU to correct this, shhh!. Braking is very friendly, it lacks a small amount of feel but is progressive, and if you need to do a hard stop, those twin front rotors have proven themself many times. As its my first ride on an EFI bike, the smoothness and responsiveness of that motor feels sublime, and is complimented by the light clutch lever (which are adjustable, big +++) As far as handling goes, im still not 100% confident on this bike. I have a primal fear of stock tyres, and have heard nothing but sh!t put on them, so i have a set of Michelin Pilot Road 2's on order, thanks to some helpful posts on this forum. My mods to date are Oxford heated grips, swing arm spools, and in the mail is a Scraming Demon MTGP-450 exhaust. I will post a review on the pipe once its installed. I love this bike, as im only 5'9, this windscreen and seating position is good for me, legroom is adequate and i can spend a few hours in the saddle before getting numb bum. im lucky to live about 50 kms away from work, so i get a good 2 hours riding to and from work daily. My only cons would be those crap stock tyres (obviously), and the tendancy for the throttle to shut abruptly, but this gets more manageable once you get used to it. If anyone is looking at a mid-capacity machine, this has to be on your list to try. The bike gets nothing but compliments from me, so go on, get on a Suzi =)

I'd like to thank those on this forum for their great advice, which has pointed me in the right direction on many occasions.

Happy and safe riding,

Marty

Whoa, sounds are awesome. Ride safe. You'll want baggage soon

Seems like a choice a lot of Canberra riders are making. I love mine as well and as you say it was a perfect fit. It's done everything and more that I need without any issues. I'm up to about 50,000kms on mine and still going great. Will be taking it to Alice Springs next month on the Black Dog charity ride in support of awareness of depression/anxiety (http://www.blackdogride.com.au). I've done some upgrades to extend it's usefulness but I'm saving up for the GSX1250F as we speak. I borrowed one a few weeks ago while my bike was being serviced and in spite of it being a bigger bike and a bit heavier it rode much better and cornered beautifully. I just couldn't believe it.

I work at the ANU if you ever want to catch up for a cuppa. I don't know if you've heard of http://www.canberrariders.org.au but there are a few GSSX650F owners there and they meet for coffee every Monday night. I haven't been there for a while and don't go on their rides but you might find it quite interesting.

Cheers.

Great write up Marty ,good for people looking at the bike to get a owners review.