08 GSX 600F vs 08 Ninja 650R

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• July 22, 2008 at 5:05 pm #1758
  Anonymous

  Guest

  Hrm, I can’t really decide between the two. Does anyone have some pros and cons about theses two bikes against each other?

  I know the GSX is heavyer than the ninja, but I’ve read that you can barely notice it.

  This will be my first bike and I will be riding around town and mostly hwys. I’m pretty set on the GSX, but does it have the get up and go if needed?

  July 22, 2008 at 6:31 pm #9111
  megaspaz

  Participant

  If you’re a complete noob to riding, avoid the gsx. the 650r is a more noob friendly bike. p-twin engine with a less twitchy throttle.

  —
  If there’s anything more important than my ego
  around, I want it caught and shot now…

  July 22, 2008 at 7:24 pm #9118
  ShannonG

  Participant

  The GSX is a heavy bastid too.

  July 22, 2008 at 9:12 pm #9122
  CBennett

  Participant

  yup, I sat on my brother in laws GSX 600R just to see if I liked the seating position(BTW i HATED it ) but the one thing I did not like was the weight. I was like wholy cow thats heavy lol. So im thinking a 250 or hopefully a 500 for me. and something in a sporty looking bike but that does not “lay down/hunch over” so far as a GSX.

  July 23, 2008 at 11:42 am #9154
  WeaponZero

  Participant

  I think he’s referring to the new for 2008 Suzuki GSX650F, the replacement for the old Katana 600. I don’t know much about it, only that in reviews they say it still isn’t quite as good as an SV650S for sporty riding but has a more upright (tour-worthy) riding position and is more highway-stable. As far as its status as a beginner bike is concerned, I know quite a few people who started out on old Katana 600s (the bike it replaced). Understand that it is NOT a GSXR or in any way shape or form a racebike. ALL suzuki four-cylinder motorcycles begin with the “GSX” nomenclature. If anything it is more like a GS500F with (slightly) better suspension and 150ccs more of motor. Take that as you will.

  Suzuki designed the GSX650F as an alternative to people who were considering purchasing an SV650SF (the new fully faired SV650 that is probably the single best budget sportbike on the market) but wanted something more sport touring oriented, but simply want a more sport touring oriented ride. It almost seems as if Suzuki is trying to reposition the SV as a more track oriented bike in their lineup… Why else would they come out with a fully faired version of it the same year they finally released a replacement for the Katana 600 (which was still being built using the same parts it was in the 80s)?

  My only concern is that this doesn’t lead to a discontinuation of the unfaired/standard SV because there aren’t enough bikes like it on the market. Suzuki discontinued the Bandit 600 because the Katana 600 was essentially the same bike underneath its fairing and there wasn’t a reason for them both to exist. Let’s hope they dont start to see the SV650/SV650SF the same way when SF sales start taking off…

  July 23, 2008 at 2:43 pm #9164
  megaspaz

  Participant

  Yup. got that. the gsx650f, while replacing the katana, is basically a bandit mechanically. Still, being a complete noob, stay away from it. It is heavy, about 100lbs heavier than an sv650 and it’s an inline 4. IIRC, it doesn’t have the same linear power distribution you’d get from *-twin bikes, so goosing the throttle would be a real concern. Just search youtube, there’s plenty of examples of throttle goosing from noobs learning on their buddy’s inline 4 bikes… None of them turn out good.

  —
  If there’s anything more important than my ego
  around, I want it caught and shot now…

  July 23, 2008 at 3:00 pm #9166
  WeaponZero

  Participant

  When they say that an engine has been “tuned for midrange” wouldn’t that change its characteristics to be more “twin-like” in its power delivery? I mean I’ve never ridden a bike like the original bandit that was a “race-bred” 4-cyl thats been “tuned for midrange”.

  July 23, 2008 at 3:16 pm #9168
  megaspaz

  Participant

  I must’ve missed that. I don’t remember seeing the tuned for midrange in the mcn article i read. Couldn’t tell ya. I’ve never ridden an inline 4 tuned for midrange either, so at this point, I’d be loathe to say it’s exactly like a twin power delivery. maybe similar, but maybe still not the same range. couldn’t say.

  —
  If there’s anything more important than my ego
  around, I want it caught and shot now…

  July 23, 2008 at 3:59 pm #9172
  Matt

  Participant

  They are mechanically speaking, all incredibly similar bikes.

  The old 600cc Bandit was actually considered a decent starting bike in the same vein as the SV650 is now. Aka, borderline, do not go any bigger. But the bandit was “detuned” even form the Katana at that point. Of course, the best description I ever heard for a Bandit (the 400cc version) was “A Hyena on a leash”… If it wasn’t for the fact the 400cc bandit was so rare, I’d be grabbing one as my next bike

  Read a review of the Katana (or look at the sales numbers from the late 90s) and you’ll see that the Katana was a very popular every-day-sport-bike. It was not a track day special, but it was still a zero-60 in 3.5 seconds type bike. It was “the girl next door” of sport bikes: no one lusts over it, but when it came time to chose your partner for the long term, lots of people chose them over the prom queens.

  That does not make it a friendly bike to learn on, it simply makes it tolerable in everyday situations where super-sports aren’t.

  As stated, the bike weighs substantially more than any of the beginner sport bikes on this website.

  At my Experienced Rider’s course, I got to speak to a guy riding a newer Katana 600. He rode a GS500F for three years before moving up to the Kat, and still found the Kat very fast, and hard to ride at slow speeds. In our “high-speed” maneuvers in the parking lot, the Kat and a Ninja 900 (with frame sliders) were the two fastest bikes, by a wide margin.

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