Suzuki GSX650F Forum - www.GSX650F.biz

Thinking of getting a 650F, and was wondering who has wrecked their bike. I just wanted a general idea of percentage of people that have wrecked, and how many of you got injured ? I plan on driving the bike safely,aand i know there are risks involved, but even driving the bike safely, i know sometimes stuff can happen,but i don't want to miss out on getting a bike and regretting it later in life. I'm 35 years old, but havnt rode in 20 years. I live in florida, and plan to use the bike for fun,etc.. not as a commuter, so traffic, road conditions will be good most of the time.

The type of bike has nothing to do with getting hit or whipping it out. Thats all on the rider.

That being said, the bike is fantastic especially of you have been off one for awhile. tons of power (not close to a R though) and very easy and enjoyable to ride short or long distances. I don't think you would be disappointed.

thanks alot. I'm just hesitant on getting one because I don't want to get hurt. I know I'm not going to ride it carelessly, or do tricks,etc.. or even try to lean the bike LOW at corners(and spill it). It just scarees me to read posts about people that drop their bikes or wreck while turning etc.. Do the majority of people that ride cautiously not fall or wreck, IN GENERAL ?

That's the exact reason I'm getting a bike that a little more upright & a 650(not too much power). I'm also gonna keep the power(throtle)lower anyway. I'm going to read up on alot of tips / safety / etc . before getting the bike.

If you cant rent a bike 1st for a week or so this may be a better bet for you. Sounds like you have a lot of apprehension about riding which really concerns me. Caution and focus on safety is good but a certain level of comfort/confidence can make the difference between riding home a getting a ride home. I might even suggest a more standard/cruiser bike 1st since even though the GSX650F is a very nice upright there are many more bikes like Bonnies and others that react a bit slower and would probably give you a confidence boost.
Sport bike (even this one) just react a bit quicker and might require a bit more experience. I sound like some gramps but I really like my fellow riders staying right side up.
Good luck with your decision.

I dropped my bike 3 times early on within 4 weeks of buying it. Third time was a 2 or 3 mph mishap in my own driveway, a bad conclusion to a great ride. Cost me a bunch a money to fix the right side fairing and right side turn signal. Earlier two drops had no damage. Gravel and grass are not the best surfaces to "turn" on.

I have had some near misses with other vehicles. High school girl pulled out in front of me near the school. I was already preparing to stop, since she never even looked to her left before driving across the street. Quick easy stop for me. On a different ride, "target fixation," almost caused me to ride into an approaching car, and on the same note, I was riding impaired, not having eaten breakfast or lunch. That lesson is often not learned twice. Once I swerved to pass around a vehicle that inexplicably stopped dead in the street in front of me. No turn signal, nothing on the road in front to stop for (no dog, cat, squirrel or debri). Some old codger, driving toward me on a city street, in my lane. He must have thought he was on a one way two lane street. Easy to make that mistake where I live. I was doing it right. And finally, some dingleberry at the end of a long line of cars coming the other way on a straight stretch pulled out to pass SIX CARS. He finally saw me flashing my high beams, and doing some weaving. He pulled back into line, forcing another car half off the road. Could have been ugly.

Take a riding course and you will know by the end if you want to be on a bike or not. And if you choose to get on one then you'll have a good foundation. I also suggest a smaller bike if you are scared as the gsx has allot of power. My first was a honda shadow 750 ace. Was a great starter. get them used too for next to nothing.

take the MSR class.. It will give you the skills (or refresh them) that you will need to build on.

You can drop any bike you own if you make a mistake. It doesn't matter if it's a 50cc scooter or a busa.

I picked up a nice brand new black GSX650F for my wife about a week ago now. I rode it 500k's home and found it a nice little bike that handled well enough for what it was.

I gave it to my wife about 3.00pm that afternoon, she loved it. Now my wife has just got her L's then P's and her black licence over the last month or two as they are about to change the licencing laws in NSW which would have resulted in her having to ride a 250ish machine for the next 3 years. We got the GSXF to tour Tasmania next year.

Anyway, she was pumped and decided to take it for a ride straight away, too excited to put gloves on and grab her mobile phone, long story short half way up the local look out on a hairpin the gearbox fails to engage 1st and she has a stall / drop, takes out the blinker, clutch and gives the LH fairing a couple of scratches, along with the engine case. She was devestated, unharmed but devestated she just damaged her brand new bike before she had even taken a photo of it.

I had noticed the gearbox was missing first but it was getting much better as it run in. I have a set of dog bones for it which may have helped her stopping it from hitting the deck, they will go in during the week, too late maybe but hopefully will give her back some of the confidence the little off took away from her.

schybrid I think I'm a lot like you. I bought the 650f as my first bike with no experience beforehand whatsoever. My mother is a nurse who takes care of a brain injury patient (motorcycle accident) and that was my only knowledge of the consequences of riding. I started out riding extremely cautiously and have found that a major part of your safety comes from being able to use some of the bikes more aggressive qualities, like using that throttle to get out of the way quickly. When I was more timid on it I found that I was often drifting to the wrong side of the lane and other "cautious" habits that caused oncoming traffic to be unable to see me.

My lessons learned so far: make yourself visible (lane position and proximity to others) on the road, and even if you feel your in a corner all wrong, lean into it. In normal riding circumstances the 650f will always be able to lean further than you expect. The only to get good at it is practice and repetition. Cheers and have fun

I recommend the book "Total Control" by Lee Parks. Read the book cover to cover. IMHO the best book for anyone beginner or experienced rider. I had not ridden a motorcycle for over 10 years when I bought my 650F. Using the techniques in the book are fairly easy to understand and easy to practice. Good luck.

Hi,

I have crashed my bike some two weeks ago and it was purely my mistake.

I think one's riding style and safety very much reflects what goes on inside one's head. So if you KNOW, that you are a calm person with strong self-control and you KNOW that you wont be tempted to try to push your limits, than you will have much smaller probability that you will crash your bike.

On the other hand, if you actually are afraid of crashing - this could seriously affect you riding in a negative way. Don't get me wrong, nobody wants to crash (except for those 20-years old crazy guys I met last weekend - who enjoy showing off their scars and crashed bikes) but you should always be able to apply full throttle to get away from dangerous situation as Posser says, sometimes you really need to lean as far as it goes (if I have done that, I would not crash) to avoid crashing ... and sometimes you have to put yourself to a certain danger to avoid other (greater) danger ...

.. and you also have to show your confidence to other people on the road or else they will eat you alive ... so over-cautious riding style may be less safe than you maybe think ...

It is all in your head, the choice of bike is secondary ...

Take the MSF rider course and gear up.
good full face helmet, boots gloves etc.
always assume the clowns in cars don't see you...
(they usually don't)
and enjoy...

Some idiot runs a red light hits you ,you die game over ,thanks for coming.
Oh ..but you were not on a bike ,you were walking ,riding a push bike ,rollerblades ,in a car ....shit happens every day .
But you still ride a push bike ,walk across the road ...etc ,every day and don't think twice about it.

Riding a bike is dangerous ,but there is alot of reason for the storys you hear and the reasons they crashed .

Your not riding today ,so you not going to get hurt on a motorcycle.
so your 100% safe from being hurt riding.

But ,do a MSF ,course ..
If you seen the car about to run the light ...now your done the course ,your got 100% more confidence to hit the brakes with care ,....look for a way around it ..or now you know how to scan the road for trouble ....your 50% better of then someone that hasn't done a course.
{well thats the way I felt after doing an adanced course }

Ok you stuffed up and the car hit you .
Your got good riding gear on ,Helmet ,gloves ,jacket ,pants ,boots. ,your safer then the guy with shorts and a T shirt on.
So we'll call that another 100% safer from being hurt with road rash .

Your 35 years old with 18 year of road time ,so your 80% better at reading traffic then all the young peoples posts or storys you read or heard about ,your got a good idea when some ones going to change lanes in their car or if their lost etc ,just by the way they are driving.

Your mature and not going to ride straight over to your mates house to show off your new bike and do a wheelie . {save that for week 2}
Your going to take your time, say a week, to get to know your bike and your limits and spend time on your bike just local on streets you know ...so your 50% better off then the {some }18 year olds with no brains ,thats got on the bike and hit the freeway to his mates and crashed ,like 50% of the storys you read and heard.

Go with some one you trust and get them to show you the right lines to take on corners ....read a book and see what they say about road position ..where to start a turn and exit .

There is alot you can do to stop ,becoming a statistic.

You do all this and the percentage of you coming off or being hurt ,is decreased.
Its up to you if you want to ride ,but its up to you how safe YOU make riding.
And don't read the I crashed posts ..it just makes you nervous for someones elses stupidity %50 of the time.

I remember reading an article that reported that the majority of motorcycle accidents do not even involve another vehicle, i.e. they are entirely the riders fault. I find that easy to believe judging by the riders I see everyday.

I have had one accident in 16 years of riding everyday and it was my fault (tailgating while speeding behind a truck). I think that if you are sensible and cautious (and it sounds like you are) then you will be fine.

Actually, statistically, a little over 50% of motorcycle crashes are caused by another vehicle hitting the rider.

The MSF teaches you more than just how to ride a bike....it teaches you how to Search ahead for potential problems, Evaluate what to do if a problem should occur and then Execute a plan to avoid the problem should you have to (SEE).

You can avoid a LOT of potential "accidents" by being acutely aware of what is going on around you and adjusting your ride to account for the idiots on the road....it is quite easy to avoid getting hit by simply not letting yourself get caught in situations that make it possible. Yes, the occasional one gets you when you are not expecting it or in a situation where you just can't do anything about it, but you can limit those circumstances quite a bit.