GXS650F Advice.

Am after a little bit of advice concerning the GSX650F. My partner currently rides a Yammy 650 V Star But we both think she will enjoy her riding more on something in the sport touring mode. I like the GSX650F, and we have looked at one in a shop. My question is , how easy is it to lower the seat height, and will it make a huge difference to the handling ? On the std GSX she is on her tip toes, so I'm guessing it would have to come down 30-50mm. Jan probably weighs in at about 60kg. Geeez I dont know ! The other model I sorta like is the Yammy FZ6S which seems to have a nice low std seat height. Cheers.

A late ZZR600 is a far better bike.
The Suzy 650 is too heavy and under powered although it will last forever.
Just my opinion.

Not sure you could really chop a lot out of the 650 seat and you can;t lower the suspension much especially in the front or it'll have dire effects to the front mud guard. I would expect the Yamaha is slightly lighter too which is normally the better side to lean on for smaller riders. The 1250 is only a touch heavier than the 650 and has heaps more balls

Anyone else got a lowered 650/1250?

2wheelsagain wrote:A late ZZR600 is a far better bike.
The Suzy 650 is too heavy and under powered although it will last forever.
Just my opinion.

Will check that out. Ta.

GSX650F is easy to lower. 1/2 - 1 inch no real probs IMO.
Get the right length dogbones and push the forks up thru the tripples.
If you want to go lower then you may hit some hurdles (not insurmaountable ones tho) but I have read of some that have lowered more than one inch.

have a look at the GSX650F forum and the GSXF-UK forum (you'll need to register for this one) for info as well.

If lowering isn't your cup of tea then shaving the seat may be the way to go. Easy to take the cover off and shape/shave as you need and then recover. Or you can take it to an upholster place and ask them to do it. Take the whole bike in if you go this way as they can see what needs doing and where. Will probably cost around $150 or so for someone else to do it for you I reckon (rough guess that probably isn't even close).

The Holeshot Corbin I have on my 1250 will (I believe) fit a 650 and lower it by an inch, then you could go an additional inch on the suspension (as detailed by Dhula) but...I would go the Yamaha as I believe the suspension (I think they are just damper rod forks on the Suzuki) and brakes (Yamaha monobloc calipers) are better and the GSX650F is a heavy puppy (for its capacity). There's my 2c.

The 650 Baby Bandit does seem a bit porky for its capacity. Your partner wouldn't want to have to pick it up off the deck, and even if it didn't come to that, she might not want that much weight for slow, tight stuff (be it carparks or roundabouts or tight roads). The 400 four Honda might be a better bet - don't see many complaints from people who but them (except the purchase price - ouch!).