Suzuki GSX650F Forum - www.GSX650F.biz

Hi,

I just got myself a new (6000km ridden) 09 GSX-F bike and have rode it now almost 2000km after purchase. I must say its a very nice bike after my kawasaki Zephyr 550, but there are some serious issues (at least to me): The bike tends to oversteer like hell!

When I go around 80 km/h on a turn which goes left the handlebar starts to steer very hard on the left which I have to counter steer back in order to keep the bike go smoothly on the turn and not cut it even harder.

If I go around 100 km/h the same thing happens to the handlebar but now I really have to use brute force to steer the bike more to the curve as the handlebar itself turns "automatically" to the heading of the turn which is very very frustrating. After a 200 km ride both of my palms ache from the forceful pushing and pulling I need to do in order to get the bike go where I want it.

I newer had to do this on my kawasaki, it just let me counter steer on the curves and turns without needing to resort to any kind of force while steering.

The front tire is slightly worn and has started to show a bit V-shaped form but its definitely not worn-out yet and has about 3mm depth on its grooves. The tires both are stock tires that are suggested in the handbook of the bike.

Is there anything that I could do to lessen this behaviour on the bike as it starts to really annoy me - somehow I don't think it should be like this or should it?

Got to be your tyres ,if it turns by its self.

I kinda get what you're saying, but I don't think the issue is THAT bad unless you DO have squaring/pressure issues up front. Make sure you're at 36psi...
Remember you're gaining about 30Kg in weight over the Zephyr, and most of that gain feels like it's over the front wheel - to counter effectively, you'll need to bend your back a little and have your forearms parallel to the ground as much as possible; this will give you the most efficient steering input, rather than wasting your power trying to push the bars down...

I bought my '08 with a few thousand miles on it, and with crappy Dunlops. Bike performed like crap compared to my '08 Yammy FJR 1300. I put Michelins PRs on the Zuk, and all is well again!! Tire make a big difference.

I'm now at 39psi on front and back. The weight gain and actual riding with the bike feels quite good but the curve behaviour is not right in my mind. Even if I go 50 km/h on a slight left curve the front tire starts to turn heavily to left which demands strong counter streering just to keep the bike go normal in the curve. If I now want the bike to lean more on the left curve I really have to use force to counter steer even more so I can get the bike go towards the ground.

This is not really a fun way to drive the motorcycle. The best road would be straight motorway with this behaviour...

My rear OEM tyre was squared off and the front "looked" fine to me .
I went to get a new rear and was told to get Pilot road 2 ,front and rear ...when I left the shop and went around the first corner I almost fell off as it tiped in so easy .
I thought the front tyre was fine ,but felt the differnce straight away I was just used to fighting the front.

If you believe the tyres are ok & are not the problem you could also check what the preload settings are front & rear. If the front is extremely soft & the rear high it will tip in very quick & dive into the corners. Oil height in the forks could also be low which could reduce the compression in the front forks, resulting in it dropping the front too quickly. This may or may not be the case but I have tinkered & played around with a few different settings on the front of mine (valving & oils) & found with thinner oil at different heights it wanted to dive & tuck into the corners. It felt like it wanted to drag the bike around the corner & drop which sounds like what you have described.
Also check if the top of the forks are flush with the top triple.
Worst case should be a new front tyre & fork oil change to bring it back to normal.

Al.