2010 Kawasaki Ninja 650 vs. 2009 Suzuki GSX650F vs. 2010 Yamaha FZ6R

[Administrator]

Original Article:
2010 Kawasaki Ninja 650 vs. 2009 Suzuki GSX650F vs. 2010 Yamaha FZ6R

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article 2010 Kawasaki Ninja 650 vs. 2009 Suzuki GSX650F vs. 2010 Yamaha FZ6R in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

[Dr_Sprocket]

Thank you to the author(s) who finally set down in pen the point that a 70hp bike might not a good choice for beginners. Long overdue!

IMHO, these are the bikes most riders should be riding.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by Dr_Sprocket

Thank you to the author(s) who finally set down in pen the point that a 70hp bike might not a good choice for beginners. Long overdue!

IMHO, these are the bikes most riders should be riding.

No way. These bikes are for poosies. 100hp is the minimum for today's hotshot newby with credit card or an indulgent parent. If you don't have the hot 600RRRRR then you won't be all cool and stuff. They are all experts before they start!!

[Kenneth_Moore]

Nice write up, Jeff. I like your discussion of what upgrades a new owner might be looking for on the bike.

Is a new Yamaha FZ6R on your Christmas list?

[mugwump58]

Heavy sigh... The 06 EX has 53K on it, expect 70 by the end of the year. Ya know with emulators and a custom shock it hasn't been to bad, still gotta work on the high speed compression damping in the back. Don't know if these bikes can run hard bags or run all the electrics, I imagine so. This nonsense of no centerstands though.... When I wake up from my KTM, Ducati, Guzzi dreams I'll probably be looking at the Yamaha or something like it.

[Jeff Cobb]

Originally Posted by Kenneth_Moore

Nice write up, Jeff. I like your discussion of what upgrades a new owner might be looking for on the bike.

Is a new Yamaha FZ6R on your Christmas list?

Thanks again Ken!

If Santa brings me the FZ6R with a high rear set kit, then maybe ...

[Jeff Cobb]

Originally Posted by Dr_Sprocket

Thank you to the author(s) who finally set down in pen the point that a 70hp bike might not a good choice for beginners. Long overdue!

IMHO, these are the bikes most riders should be riding.

Thanks! Actually this "sidebar" was twice as long originally, but the point was made in the cut version.

I started street riding as a teenager on a '75 RD200. It was slow by today's standards, and had special pogo stick shocks from Hasbro, with drum brakes that would have been avante garde in the USSR.

None of that stopped me from having a blast on it! It also kept me out of trouble, 'cause I have the need for speed, and lacked the discipline not to use whatever I could get my hands on.

[Duken4evr]

Nice article Jeff. It is good to see simple adjustability starting to come into the design of new bikes. Yamaha's seat and handlebar setup is pure genius.

I know a new rider girl who has a late model GSXR600. She would have been so much better off on the Kawi or Yamaha. Oh well. Aside from worrying about whether or not she will survive the 2010 riding season, I wonder if she will ever hit the powerband. Gave her the wise old guy riding on the street for a long time be careful, etc pep talk, it went in one ear and out the other

[Jeff Cobb]

Originally Posted by Duken4evr

Nice article Jeff. It is good to see simple adjustability starting to come into the design of new bikes. Yamaha's seat and handlebar setup is pure genius.

I know a new rider girl who has a late model GSXR600. She would have been so much better off on the Kawi or Yamaha. Oh well. Aside from worrying about whether or not she will survive the 2010 riding season, I wonder if she will ever hit the powerband. Gave her the wise old guy riding on the street for a long time be careful, etc pep talk, it went in one ear and out the other

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

Agreed on the value of simple stuff like adjustable this and that that does not cost a lot to R&D or manufacture, but makes bikes an easier fit for more riders. I gave Kawasaki credit also for the adjustable clutch lever.

Good luck on getting the new rider to carefully explore that machine she has, or to listen to your experience. Maybe she actually took some of it in, and if not, hopefully she'll hear the same from others. And maybe if we're really lucky, someone will convince her to get some training, or she'll meet young riders who do influence her in a positive way?

Perhaps also her caution is a saving grace, or at least the lesser of two evils. For example, what could happen to the rider with lots of testosterone and also won't listen to anything you say, and maybe has buddies who egg him on to ride over his head?

Last year I showed up at a gathering on my 98 R1. A 19 yr-old said he thought the bike looked really cool, and was thinking of getting an R6 or Hayabusa as his first street bike, though he has zero experience of any kind.

I told him to get a 250 Ninja, maybe a 500, and carefully, and diplomatically told him about realities. After my best effort, he replied, "Man, thanks, but you know, the more you tell me stuff about how dangerous it could be, and all that, the more I want to do it ..."

What do you say to someone like that?

[Kenneth_Moore]

Originally Posted by Jeff Cobb

I told him to get a 250 Ninja, maybe a 500, and carefully, and diplomatically told him about realities. After my best effort, he replied, "Man, thanks, but you know, the more you tell me stuff about how dangerous it could be, and all that, the more I want to do it ..."

What do you say to someone like that?

"Can I have your car when you're dead?"