GSX650F Gripes

[FloridaKat]

Well, did the first scheduled maintenance today and noticed some things that really frustrated me. All comparisons are made to my 2005 Kat 750.

1. The oil filter can no longer be accessed from the front of the bike. For some reason, there is a cross member on the exhaust that is a direct line of sight to where an extension bar for a ratchet would go nicely. This gave me a chance to take the fairings off that would lead me to #2.
2. Why all the push-pin style connectors (belly)? They are problematic, at best, and see no advantage to having them as compared to hex head screws.
3. Getting the oil filter out (and putting the new one in for that matter) is an exercise in geometric studies. There is basically one way to get the filter in/out.
4. Has anyone actually adjusted the rear spring load (not rebound) on this bike? Maybe I'm missing something, but this is extremely difficult to get good leverage with the supplied tool without spending gobs of time in dismantling.
5. The front pre-load adjustment knobs are ridiculous. The stems have difficult access and there is not an easy tool to make this adjustment easier than the flat head screws on the Kat.
6. There has to be some use of the fake air intakes. I would like to re-route a hose (2X) to either the radiator (exit in front of for more cooling capability) or somehow into the airbox (MUCH more challenging).

On the positive side.....this bike is a blast to ride. Extremely forgiving ride. This is a ton of bike for the price. Glad to go with another Suzuki than the Ninja 650R or the Yamaha FZ6R.

[artyboy]

I got my filter off without removing the fairings. It's a bit of a pain but I got the oil changed in about 20 minutes. I used the Suzuki oil filter tool and an OEM filter. When I did get around to removing the fairings the push pin connectors were pretty easy to deal with. They're cheap to replace if you screw them up but I can see how that could be frustrating to have to do in the first place. I haven't bothered adjusting the suspension although I'd like to get around to it sometime. It's not bad but I feel a lot more bumps in the road than I'd like to. As for the intakes, I think that you can pretty much write them off as decoration only. I've never had the bike come close to overheating so I'm not sure why you'd want to go out of your way to make them functional in the first place.

[GSXfs600]

How is the power of the bike? more or less than the 750? is it more or less buzzy?

Originally Posted by FloridaKat

Well, did the first scheduled maintenance today and noticed some things that really frustrated me. All comparisons are made to my 2005 Kat 750.

1. The oil filter can no longer be accessed from the front of the bike. For some reason, there is a cross member on the exhaust that is a direct line of sight to where an extension bar for a ratchet would go nicely. This gave me a chance to take the fairings off that would lead me to #2.
2. Why all the push-pin style connectors (belly)? They are problematic, at best, and see no advantage to having them as compared to hex head screws.
3. Getting the oil filter out (and putting the new one in for that matter) is an exercise in geometric studies. There is basically one way to get the filter in/out.
4. Has anyone actually adjusted the rear spring load (not rebound) on this bike? Maybe I'm missing something, but this is extremely difficult to get good leverage with the supplied tool without spending gobs of time in dismantling.
5. The front pre-load adjustment knobs are ridiculous. The stems have difficult access and there is not an easy tool to make this adjustment easier than the flat head screws on the Kat.
6. There has to be some use of the fake air intakes. I would like to re-route a hose (2X) to either the radiator (exit in front of for more cooling capability) or somehow into the airbox (MUCH more challenging).

On the positive side.....this bike is a blast to ride. Extremely forgiving ride. This is a ton of bike for the price. Glad to go with another Suzuki than the Ninja 650R or the Yamaha FZ6R.

[FloridaKat]

Originally Posted by GSXfs600

How is the power of the bike? more or less than the 750? is it more or less buzzy?

Based on feel, there appears to be more available torque through a larger RPM range than the Kat. I would say it is at or slightly above my older 750, but again, that's for a given RPM range.

I'm not sure what you mean by "buzzy", but if you are implying that it has a higher tone/pitch, then I say yes.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with this selection. The bike is a perfect balance of comfort and handling for a great price point.

[Psycho1]

I think what GSXfs600 meant by "buzzy" is vibrations felt in the bars and footpegs while cruising at highway speeds.

[GSXfs600]

Originally Posted by Spraguepsycho1

I think what GSXfs600 meant by "buzzy" is vibrations felt in the bars and footpegs while cruising at highway speeds.

yep! my 600 is buzzy as heck.

[The CyberPoet]

Originally Posted by FloridaKat

The oil filter can no longer be accessed from the front of the bike. For some reason, there is a cross member on the exhaust that is a direct line of sight to where an extension bar for a ratchet would go nicely. This gave me a chance to take the fairings off that would lead me to #2.

Congrats! I did the initial oil change on the ZX yesterday...
I had to get the belly fairing out of the way for it's oil filter as well (and for the fumoto install), but figured out that an universal-joint adaptor right at the oil filter socket would let me do it in the future without removing the belly pan (note that my main 3/8" wrench already has a flex-head pivot).

Originally Posted by FloridaKat

Why all the push-pin style connectors (belly)? They are problematic, at best, and see no advantage to having them as compared to hex head screws.

I don't love the use of them either, but they do have the advantage of having more "play" and thus less likely to damage fairings if there is wind-distortion or other stresses induced on the fairings. I'm sure they're also a lot cheaper to ship around the globe...
I've debated finding Druz fasteners and using them instead...

Originally Posted by FloridaKat

Getting the oil filter out (and putting the new one in for that matter) is an exercise in geometric studies. There is basically one way to get the filter in/out.

I'm lucky in that sense - the ZX's filter doesn't sit behind nor above the headers, which curve away from the filter towards the other side (the down-pipes meet/merge/curve laterally earlier than the Kat headers I'm used to).

Originally Posted by FloridaKat

Has anyone actually adjusted the rear spring load (not rebound) on this bike? Maybe I'm missing something, but this is extremely difficult to get good leverage with the supplied tool without spending gobs of time in dismantling.

Did you slip the extension tool over the shock adjuster tool? Note that I'm talking out my butt here since I haven't tinkered with the GSX650F, but if it's like the Kat in that sense, there's a sleeve-tool that goes over the shock tool to give it more leverage.

Originally Posted by FloridaKat

The front pre-load adjustment knobs are ridiculous. The stems have difficult access and there is not an easy tool to make this adjustment easier than the flat head screws on the Kat.

There ought to be aftermarket preload adjusters that will work with those forks (there are for most adjustable forks). Most look something like this:

Originally Posted by FloridaKat

There has to be some use of the fake air intakes. I would like to re-route a hose (2X) to either the radiator (exit in front of for more cooling capability) or somehow into the airbox (MUCH more challenging).

My original guess is that they were there because the fairings were also used on some other product that actually had a ram-air design... But on further consideration, I would now venture a guess that they are used for behind-engine-block air induction for cooling purposes, based on item 13 on this fiche file:
http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/2/Make/Suzuki/YearID/49/Year/2008/ModelID/8044/Model/GSX650F/GroupID/382608/Group/AIR_CLEANER_


Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

__________________________________________________ ________
CyberPoet's Katana Maintence and Upgrade Parts Offerings
The Best Metal Steel Aluminum Motorcycle Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[noodle]

On the ZX oil filter, is it the old element type? There is a Bergman Engineering spin-on adapter for it that I keep thinking of buying for my ZZR1200.

I rode the 600F about three times last year at Bike Week and Myrtle Beach and just loved it. The bike handles good and is tame when you want it tame and you can crank it up to make it go fast! It's not in the same class as the GSXR but we all know that. It shines in it's area of expertise and was just fun to ride.... I almost bought one but ended up buying the ZZR instead.

Another winner for Suzuki... and a better bike than the Ninja or Versys 650, though they are very good also. I just like four-cylinder bikes.

[The CyberPoet]

Nah, the ZX-14's is a can-style oil filter.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

__________________________________________________ ________
CyberPoet's Katana Maintence and Upgrade Parts Offerings
The Best Metal Steel Aluminum Motorcycle Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.