Suzuki GSX650F Forum - www.GSX650F.biz

I know, I know... I haven't been out on the road long, but being a "newbie" rider, I just wanted to throw in my feedback.

I've read a lot of skepticism lately if this was a bike that beginners can/should use. I went through the motorcycle safety course within the past two weeks riding Honda Rebels, Nighthawks and Suzuki "one-bangers" (looked like a dual-purpose bike). It was a fantastic learning experience and I would recommend it to anyone. It was also enjoyable and pointed out many situations or actions that I would have never thought of otherwise.

In any case, I bought the bike before I even started the course. I had read so much about it (hence how I stumbled upon these forums) and was so confident in it that I didn't even ride it first! Of course I sat on it, leaned a bit, noticed the weight difference compared to some of the other rockets, but still had my heart set on it. I finally picked up the bike and rode it around the parking lot to get used to it, how it shifts, friction zone, weight, etc. Then I drove it home from the dealership, on the best 6 miles of my life!

Granted, the speed on the way home never exceeded 45mph, but it was still just an incredible feel. There is no annoying vibration, a very smooth ride and when you're moving, the "heavy weight" just disappears. I think it's safe to say that above 5 or 6 mph I couldn't even notice if the bike was heavy! I avoided the highway because of the 6k rpm limit, but I did bring it to 8 or 9k and wow, this bike just wants to go! Being a brand new rider, I was actually surprised how the bike stretched out my arms and I was holding on instead of leaning forward! Not that I was in a position I couldn't control, but I was just surprised at the power

To make a long story short, I'm excited to become more experienced on this bike, I haven't been faster than about 60-65mph on it yet, but am following the recommended "break-in" period with the occasional "roll on the throttle" I feel very confident on it, especially after the MSF school, and just can't wait for work to end! I keep looking at the clock and I swear the second-hand is moving slower....

Dave - Congrats on the new bike - good choice. You will enjoy this bike for along time. This bike fits what ever mood of riding from calm commuting to full out criminal behavior

hehe, but it's hard to not commit this "criminal behavior" you speak of because I have limits I'm trying to respect

This sounds exactly like my experience. Commited to the bike prior to the MSF class, then picked it up the day after. 45 on the way home sure made me smile. I have done a little over 200 miles since, keeping under 6k rpm. I also have found slow speed manuvering to be fine at 4 - 5 mph. I start my commute on the bike tomorrow (all backroads) and I am looking forward to it. Even parked the blue looks fast.

Congrats on the purchase! Glad you could relate to my story, i've been adding chapters since that date! I have about 545 miles on it now (I know, still low) so i'm close to the first oil change and a little more slack on the rev limit

oh, and welcome!

On my second day of commuting and the bike is great for my hour ride each way. No pressure on the back or arms. The only frustration I felt was last night when I wanted to open it up a little on a fresh stretch of highway. I had to keep it under the 6K rpm....... Oh well. I should be past 500 miles by the weekend.

At two intersections I had people pull out in front of me. The MSF training was certainly valuable in both cases, as was doing 35 in a 35. No problems with manuvering this bike, and I could swerve very quickly.

--Larry

OK, so I've got about 50 miles on my bike now, bought it about 1 month ago, yes one month. So I haven't ridden it much, I have to admit I'm a little intinidated by the sensitive throttle. I spent about 6 months reading and researching all about this bike before I bought it and no where in any magazine review did I ever see any mention about the throttle issue. And I read many first impressions by quite a few riders right here in this forum and nothing about the throttle. What I'm talking about is: when trying to accelerate smoothly after shifting, it's very difficult because just a slight twist of the throttle and the bike lunges forward pretty aggresively. First I thought, ok, maybe it's just me getting use to a new bike.But I decided to do a search on this forum and found a few messages on the subject. So now I'm puzzled, there's hundreds of GSXF owners on this forum but only a few have mentioned this issue. Which leads me to believe not every bike is affected. I was hoping for a fix, but it seems like maybe I'll just have to get use to it. I rode a Ninja 500 before and a ZZR600 (which I'm still trying to sell) and I never experienced this on either of those. Don't get me wrong, I love this bike and want so much for this to be my perfect bike for the next 10 or 15 yrs. I'm just hoping I don't have the for sale sign on the wrong bike.

It is the difference between fuel injection and carburation. Good carbs are smoother than FI because they always have some fuel. FI is more economical. Haven't ridden the GSX, so can't comment specifically. The Yamaha FZ6 redid its FI in 2007 and this problem is much better, but it still feels like it lunges. It didn't happen with the NInja 500 that I had before too. Don't judge a bike by the first 50 miles....always ride it for a little while. Each bike is a little different and takes getting used to. The zzr is known for superb carburation which is one of the reasons it kept winning awards.

Yep, carbs are smoother feeling than FI and this is a budget bike, so it has budget injectors. You get used to it. Other than that it's smooth as hell.

I really dont notice the issue you are talking about in my bike. I find it to go forward very smoothly and there no sudden bursts forward. I have ridden kawasaki's, suzuki's and honda's before and think the GSXF throttle works almost the same as the ones i've ridden before.

I don't experience the sudden forward lunge when giving the bike a little throttle. I do experience it, when giving the bike too much throttle.

When working with my son as he learned to drive a car, I told him, on most cars, you don't push down on the gas pedal very much at all. In fact, you hardly push down on the gas pedal at all in order to gain speed. The same holds with the throttle on my bike. Itsy, bitsy, gentle inputs on the throttle and the bike goes forward smoothly. Ease off the throttle, itsy, bitsy and the bike slows smoothly.

I have a habit, perhaps not a good one, of having both hands half on the grips and half off, right to the ends of the handle bars. That way, once I am moving at a certain speed, half of my right hand can freeze the throttle in the desired position by squeezing the grip. It's much harder to do that when my entire hand is holding onto the throttle.

Sorry if I am resurrecting this thread, but I also experience the sensitive throttle from what geosam56 refers to. Ok, not while I am riding on a smooth surface, but only when I ride on a bumpy road. Say going across a piece of road that wasn't joined properly or something. The throttle is so sensitive that from the bumps, it makes me turn the throttle either a bit closed or open. It gets a bit annoying after a while, especially when the road is bumpy for most of the way! The bike then either slows down or speeds up. After a while I decided that when riding over a bumpy surface, I would either completely tap off the gas, or roll on the throttle until I'm off the bumpy road.

If I ride over a long stretch of bumpy roads I place my right hand with the pink on the bar end. This creates a steady point and there is no real issue with sudden throttle response because of the bumps. Only downside is that your hand is further away from the brake lever.

As you become more experienced you will learn to relax your arms and use your abdomen muscles to hold your body up and your legs to hold you to the motorcycle. It takes some practice but once you get the hang of it you will notice bumps will not effect your throttle control in such a noticeable fashion.

See your manual you adjust the throttle play ,or take it to a shop and get them to look at the throttle adjustment ,it will take someone 10 seconds to adjust it for you, it could be just the cable is to tight or loose.
You hear people say how good the bike feels after a service and 90% of it is just the throttles been adjusted correctly and air put in the tyres.

If your still having trouble ,see if you can swap with another 650f owner and both of you can see if there is any difference .
Or go to another dealer a take a test ride on another 650f.