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Hi everyone ,Sled here from Sydney OZ ,seen you guys were kindly enought to make a GSX650F section ,there is not many owners yet and a spot of new owner to share tips and tricks ,is a great help .
Here is a review I wrote ,and I'll see you guys around the forum. ....
I'll "try" to give a review .
My riding history ,1 year on a GS500F ,1.5 years on a boulevard cruiser {don't ask} .
I can't ride for **** and guys that have been riding for 1 year ride rings around me but I'll give you my thoughts on this bike ,I won't give you roll on numbers but I'll try to give you my 1c.
The bike is real easy to ride ,a few times I have read about others people thoughts on this bike and it was 100% the same that I was thinking
,""it makes a bad rider look good and know what their doing in the twistys"" .
Like I said its realy easy to ride for a learner with a little idea how to ride
,it won't bite you if you stuff up a little ,I read alot on the net about this bike or that bike and the comments of "this bike is very forgiving" ....well I understand what that means know [ .
The ride position is alot more learn forward then I was expecting and you do get that sports bike feel not like a naked bike with a fairing added.
You can get down and playing the twistys with the big boys and get that sports bike buzzzz or just sit up a little a do a 700km+ day.
The bike looks fantastic and I get great comments of how good and big it looks and the amount of bike you get for the money, there very good value here in OZ I got mine for $10,300 ...to give you an Idea a GSXR600 ,Is $15,000+ ,and normally we pay %20 more then other countries for stuff.
Coming for a 800cc V twin with grunt ,this is my first In line 4 and its got grunt down low to mid and the takes off at 6000rpm+.
The is no hesitation at all in the rpm range just power on and away you go.
You plod along at 4-5000rpm all day long and its happy there no buzz or vibes ,it get buzzy if you are in a lower gear up around 8000rpm.
{red lines at 12.500-14,000.}
8000rpm is the top I have reached as I'm still running the motor in.
And its still very stable at 150kpm ,that's as fast as I have had it and it had alot more.{top speed is 240kph ....so I read}
The fairing is GREAT ...I MEAN GREAT ,coming from a cruiser you would think that anyone is good but it's perfect for me ,no wind buffering ...
I'm 180cm ..5.8 feet.
The bike is a little taller then I'm used to ,you can flat foot it just and the balls of your feet at the traffic lights ,its a little hard to push around with your tip toes ,which had to do with the weight of the bike.
The "weight" 216kg DRY. I read a 1000 people bag this bike about its weight and not one of them had even seen one.
Don't listen to the Internet experts ,read the PRO reviews buy the bike mags , the weight don't get a second thought ,the words Bike of the year and this bike have been said in the same breath.
OK OK ,You think I got fogged over eyes "my bikes the best" .
But really we know its not a 165kg race replica ,this is a all rounder and the weight is low and you don't notice it ,except when pushing it around a angled car park on your tip toes.
The service intervals was some thing I was interested in and its 1000km..6000km..12,000km..............and so on ,and the big service is 24,000km ,so the dealer services are pretty fast 2.5 hours and cheap.
Under seat storage is not great ,but I have a tire repair kit and a few odds and ends ,just to get me by if needed with the bikes tool kit.
You can fit a rain paints in if you are riding local and not to worried about carrying the extra tools .
So its not to bad.
The seat is hard so far and I get numb bumb at the first fuel stop ,so 300km ,till a rest is needed or till the seat softens up ,but at this stage I'll need a seat cover for 300km+ days.
This might be just me ,but my cruiser seat was hard ,but it never bothered me ,just every other owner with that bike.
The tires are great no problems and should last along time.
The bike has alot of little things that surprised me when you consider the price of the bike.
Gear indicator ,gear change light , fuel gauges...with reserve trip timer adjustable leavers .......basic stuff ,but added bonuses .
Digital GSXR speedo .
Its basically got a 2005 front fairing and gauges ,from what I read and its looks FANTASTIC in red at night ,I tried to take pictures of it but can get it to be a clear picture ,just turns out fuzzy.
Brakes are very good and has no problems stopping it ,might not be the best in the business ,but plenty enough for this bike weight and average top speed. {but I miss the engine breaking of the V twin ,I got to learn to ride this in line 4 ,properly yet.}
I "try" to give you some roll on and cruising numbers .
Cruising along a freeway at 120kph ,you sit on around 5000-6000rpm.
This is its sweet spot and its got plenty of grunt from 1000-rpm up and then it wasn't to play over 6000rpm.
You can roll on power from any traffic speed in any gear and it will pull good.
Over take in 6th gear on a freeway and its good ,but if you want to zipp by real quick ,just drop it to 5th and hold on.
Quick notes..
Mirror are great and very clear.
The bikes SMOOOOOOTH.
Fairing are good for keeping wind and rain off.
Good 300km tank.
This bikes motor is 1 year old and no problems from the donor bike ,it gets its motor from ,so its tried and tested.
Sports pipes ,are available already from major brands.
Factory panniers available and top box for touring.
Shocks and suspention ,YEAP it has then front and back ,and are ajustable ,but for me I wouldn't know good from bad ,you just point and aim the bike and it goes around the bumpy corners ok.
The pipe is HUGE and it gets weird looks ,but I love it ,like my wife says big is always better. .... then she tells me she wished she married the guy before me.
I'll admit I have never ridden a GSXR600 and this bike to a Gixxer owner might feel a few years old or gutless .
But it has plenty of go in it and is fun to ride and ,I'm sure they would still have a grin at the end of a twisty road . , as the pro reviews said.
The other bike I considered where the Fazer 6s and its really buzzy and you need to dance around the gear box to keep it going and you need to rev it ,not good for ME and riding around the city.{this is IMHO}
And the ER6F or ninja 650 ..and it was small and quiet plan looking again {IMHO}.
The SV650S ,was a close contender ,but to sporty for what I wanted.
The new hornet 600 ,was at our bike show and ,it didn't have a faring and from what I read ,its a little disappointing for the hype it had.
So ,I wanted a full fairing and bike that I can ride on the weekend and ride to work and go away on ,a sport all rounder.
And I'm very happy and I know I will have a good few years before I REALLY need to up grade again.
If you want to see some thing on the bike or ask a question ,I'll try to help.
Disclaimer ....like I said at the start I tried to give a review and its just my thoughts and 1c.
Cheers and Beers
Sled.
Sorry about the spelling mistake and grammer ,look me an hour to write and all I can see now is ,a blur.
Here is a video with a camera mount I made ,you can sorta hear the sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orn6uLgP4nE
Here is a video of the bike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWced_oiq0
Here is some pictures.
http://rides.webshots.com/slideshow/562012901sRFjQd;jsessionid=abcyDk4l_xPhEbQQq5RFr
Here is a review I wrote ,and I'll see you guys around the forum. ....
I'll "try" to give a review .
My riding history ,1 year on a GS500F ,1.5 years on a boulevard cruiser {don't ask} .
I can't ride for **** and guys that have been riding for 1 year ride rings around me but I'll give you my thoughts on this bike ,I won't give you roll on numbers but I'll try to give you my 1c.
The bike is real easy to ride ,a few times I have read about others people thoughts on this bike and it was 100% the same that I was thinking
,""it makes a bad rider look good and know what their doing in the twistys"" .
Like I said its realy easy to ride for a learner with a little idea how to ride
,it won't bite you if you stuff up a little ,I read alot on the net about this bike or that bike and the comments of "this bike is very forgiving" ....well I understand what that means know [ .
The ride position is alot more learn forward then I was expecting and you do get that sports bike feel not like a naked bike with a fairing added.
You can get down and playing the twistys with the big boys and get that sports bike buzzzz or just sit up a little a do a 700km+ day.
The bike looks fantastic and I get great comments of how good and big it looks and the amount of bike you get for the money, there very good value here in OZ I got mine for $10,300 ...to give you an Idea a GSXR600 ,Is $15,000+ ,and normally we pay %20 more then other countries for stuff.
Coming for a 800cc V twin with grunt ,this is my first In line 4 and its got grunt down low to mid and the takes off at 6000rpm+.
The is no hesitation at all in the rpm range just power on and away you go.
You plod along at 4-5000rpm all day long and its happy there no buzz or vibes ,it get buzzy if you are in a lower gear up around 8000rpm.
{red lines at 12.500-14,000.}
8000rpm is the top I have reached as I'm still running the motor in.
And its still very stable at 150kpm ,that's as fast as I have had it and it had alot more.{top speed is 240kph ....so I read}
The fairing is GREAT ...I MEAN GREAT ,coming from a cruiser you would think that anyone is good but it's perfect for me ,no wind buffering ...
I'm 180cm ..5.8 feet.
The bike is a little taller then I'm used to ,you can flat foot it just and the balls of your feet at the traffic lights ,its a little hard to push around with your tip toes ,which had to do with the weight of the bike.
The "weight" 216kg DRY. I read a 1000 people bag this bike about its weight and not one of them had even seen one.
Don't listen to the Internet experts ,read the PRO reviews buy the bike mags , the weight don't get a second thought ,the words Bike of the year and this bike have been said in the same breath.
OK OK ,You think I got fogged over eyes "my bikes the best" .
But really we know its not a 165kg race replica ,this is a all rounder and the weight is low and you don't notice it ,except when pushing it around a angled car park on your tip toes.
The service intervals was some thing I was interested in and its 1000km..6000km..12,000km..............and so on ,and the big service is 24,000km ,so the dealer services are pretty fast 2.5 hours and cheap.
Under seat storage is not great ,but I have a tire repair kit and a few odds and ends ,just to get me by if needed with the bikes tool kit.
You can fit a rain paints in if you are riding local and not to worried about carrying the extra tools .
So its not to bad.
The seat is hard so far and I get numb bumb at the first fuel stop ,so 300km ,till a rest is needed or till the seat softens up ,but at this stage I'll need a seat cover for 300km+ days.
This might be just me ,but my cruiser seat was hard ,but it never bothered me ,just every other owner with that bike.
The tires are great no problems and should last along time.
The bike has alot of little things that surprised me when you consider the price of the bike.
Gear indicator ,gear change light , fuel gauges...with reserve trip timer adjustable leavers .......basic stuff ,but added bonuses .
Digital GSXR speedo .
Its basically got a 2005 front fairing and gauges ,from what I read and its looks FANTASTIC in red at night ,I tried to take pictures of it but can get it to be a clear picture ,just turns out fuzzy.
Brakes are very good and has no problems stopping it ,might not be the best in the business ,but plenty enough for this bike weight and average top speed. {but I miss the engine breaking of the V twin ,I got to learn to ride this in line 4 ,properly yet.}
I "try" to give you some roll on and cruising numbers .
Cruising along a freeway at 120kph ,you sit on around 5000-6000rpm.
This is its sweet spot and its got plenty of grunt from 1000-rpm up and then it wasn't to play over 6000rpm.
You can roll on power from any traffic speed in any gear and it will pull good.
Over take in 6th gear on a freeway and its good ,but if you want to zipp by real quick ,just drop it to 5th and hold on.
Quick notes..
Mirror are great and very clear.
The bikes SMOOOOOOTH.
Fairing are good for keeping wind and rain off.
Good 300km tank.
This bikes motor is 1 year old and no problems from the donor bike ,it gets its motor from ,so its tried and tested.
Sports pipes ,are available already from major brands.
Factory panniers available and top box for touring.
Shocks and suspention ,YEAP it has then front and back ,and are ajustable ,but for me I wouldn't know good from bad ,you just point and aim the bike and it goes around the bumpy corners ok.
The pipe is HUGE and it gets weird looks ,but I love it ,like my wife says big is always better. .... then she tells me she wished she married the guy before me.
I'll admit I have never ridden a GSXR600 and this bike to a Gixxer owner might feel a few years old or gutless .
But it has plenty of go in it and is fun to ride and ,I'm sure they would still have a grin at the end of a twisty road . , as the pro reviews said.
The other bike I considered where the Fazer 6s and its really buzzy and you need to dance around the gear box to keep it going and you need to rev it ,not good for ME and riding around the city.{this is IMHO}
And the ER6F or ninja 650 ..and it was small and quiet plan looking again {IMHO}.
The SV650S ,was a close contender ,but to sporty for what I wanted.
The new hornet 600 ,was at our bike show and ,it didn't have a faring and from what I read ,its a little disappointing for the hype it had.
So ,I wanted a full fairing and bike that I can ride on the weekend and ride to work and go away on ,a sport all rounder.
And I'm very happy and I know I will have a good few years before I REALLY need to up grade again.
If you want to see some thing on the bike or ask a question ,I'll try to help.
Disclaimer ....like I said at the start I tried to give a review and its just my thoughts and 1c.
Cheers and Beers
Sled.
Sorry about the spelling mistake and grammer ,look me an hour to write and all I can see now is ,a blur.
Here is a video with a camera mount I made ,you can sorta hear the sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orn6uLgP4nE
Here is a video of the bike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWced_oiq0
Here is some pictures.
http://rides.webshots.com/slideshow/562012901sRFjQd;jsessionid=abcyDk4l_xPhEbQQq5RFr
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