New for 2008 in the Suzuki line-up is the latest incarnation of the GSX-F, this time in a 650 version, a bike that could easily be of real interest to the dispatch rider for a variety of reasons not least price and specification and low maintenance costs. It is also a bike that has style with an all-round practicality, at an affordable price, or as Suzuki put it ‘it is an all day sports bike’. Hence you get the style and colour scheme of the phenomenal GSX-R sport-bike range.The riding position though is relatively upright and comfortable, with good handlebar to seat to pegs relationships and the one-piece seat is well padded and comfortable. It has a relatively low seat height at just 770mm, which will help shorter people. The frame is a double cradle tubular steel affair with a conventional swing-arm at the rear and 41mm conventional telescopic forks at the front. These have pre-load adjustment, while at the rear the single KYB shock gets the addition of rebound damping to go with pre-load.
The wheelbase is a sensible 1470 mm and the there is just 26 degrees of rake to help give the bike a very neutral, stable feeling at all times. Bridgestone tyres in the shape of a 120/70 section front and 160/60 section rear are mounted on 17-inch cast alloy wheels and give credibility as well as handling. Sitting right in the middle of all of this, is the now well established liquid cooled, four-cylinder, across the frame, four-stroke motor with Suzuki’s Dual Throttle Valves (SDTV) digital fuel injection fuelling things. All of this is then enveloped in a fairing that very definitely has its DNA in their sport bike range. Stacked headlights and the gear indicator and the programmable shift light imbedded in the console reinforce this.
You sit in the GSX650F, it feels comfortable, the motor is smooth and willing and the bike feels right from the moment you turn on the ignition. The bike is well balanced at walking speeds and there is plenty of lock, ideal for heavy traffic. On the open road, the bike can be thrown around with consummate ease. If you are prepared to work it, you can have an awful lot of fun. Power delivery is very linear throughout and it is very hard to detect any power-band as such, but top speed is around an adequate 125mph. The fairing works well, keeping the worst of the blast at bay and gives good protection.
