Any Z650 owners on here?
Discussion
I had one for 4 months as a second bike, did about 2000 miles on it.
Nothing really wrong with them but in my opinion it is OK as a commuter or workhorse but lacks any excitement and you might get bored of it
I see from your other post that you are also considering a MT07 or a GSX8, I have only ridden a MT07 for a few days but quite liked it, perky engine, good handling and overall better than the Z650.
But I bought a GSX8s about two months ago as a second bike for fun round the Yorkshire Dales, the looks are very marmite but to me it is the best of the 3 bikes. Although it is a budget bike the engine, suspension and brakes are very good. I have done over 2000 miles so far including a trip to Holland and have rarely used my Triumph Street Twin since buying it.
I also know a young lady who has just passed her DAS and after a test ride of mine bought a GSX8r, the faired version, and loves it.
Nothing really wrong with them but in my opinion it is OK as a commuter or workhorse but lacks any excitement and you might get bored of it
I see from your other post that you are also considering a MT07 or a GSX8, I have only ridden a MT07 for a few days but quite liked it, perky engine, good handling and overall better than the Z650.
But I bought a GSX8s about two months ago as a second bike for fun round the Yorkshire Dales, the looks are very marmite but to me it is the best of the 3 bikes. Although it is a budget bike the engine, suspension and brakes are very good. I have done over 2000 miles so far including a trip to Holland and have rarely used my Triumph Street Twin since buying it.
I also know a young lady who has just passed her DAS and after a test ride of mine bought a GSX8r, the faired version, and loves it.
If it’s anything like the original z650 ( I had one ) you’ll get blown away by some mildly fast car and be changing it fairly quickly ..
I had 20 yrs away from bikes , I’m 63 so nigh on a newbie but already I’m wanting more speed / power , and mines supposedly 130 mph , high 3 ,s to 60 .
I’d try the z900 or zx1000 sx .
I’d test ride them , I struggle to think there much difference between a z900 , z650 .
I had 20 yrs away from bikes , I’m 63 so nigh on a newbie but already I’m wanting more speed / power , and mines supposedly 130 mph , high 3 ,s to 60 .
I’d try the z900 or zx1000 sx .
I’d test ride them , I struggle to think there much difference between a z900 , z650 .
Gas1883 said:
If it’s anything like the original z650 ( I had one ) you’ll get blown away by some mildly fast car and be changing it fairly quickly
The new one has 70 bhp at relatively low revs so easily accessible. Standing 1/4 in 12s and you’d need quite a serious car to be faster than one under about 80mph.Everyone told me I’d crash & die if I brought a 1,000, so I listened for once in my life and instead of zx10r , I brought the 40 , first few weeks / month it seemed plenty fast enough , but now it’s not , I want that instantaneous kick when you whack a 1000 open , head for the hills ,
It’s going to cost me a arm & a leg no doubt but you can’t beat cubes , I’ve had the z650 , 400 , but theyl never have the grin factoi of a fireblade , zx10r .
Don’t think I’ve helped you much but I’ve convinced myself !!
Sensible first bike but I’d forget about bikes for now and focus on the training.
As an aside, if/when you do pass, if you are mature and an experienced car driver I’d just buy whatever you fancy. If you buy a 600 you will potentially end up just chopping it in within a year and losing money.
As an aside, if/when you do pass, if you are mature and an experienced car driver I’d just buy whatever you fancy. If you buy a 600 you will potentially end up just chopping it in within a year and losing money.
I don't mind the sound of them, but someone who'd owned one reckoned the motor in the SV650 was more fun. They thought the Z650 parallel twin was a bit vanilla and got boring after a while. I guess if you want an engine that tractable and approachable while you learn to ride and get your eye in that's may not be a bad thing.
CoreyDog of these forums passed their test got a big bike and stacked into a corner doing some serious damage to an arm. Getting back on the horse and not giving up they got a Z650 Vulcan S or whatever they're called that have that Z650 motor in a low rider cruiser style bike. I think having done a few thousand miles on the Z650 Vulcan S they're now considering getting on a large capacity four cylinder machine again.
The Z650 and Z650RS are quite small so I like them from that perspective. I am not the most confident of riders and the garage I currently have use of is on a hill with unhelpful cambers and a shallow ramp to the garage.
CoreyDog of these forums passed their test got a big bike and stacked into a corner doing some serious damage to an arm. Getting back on the horse and not giving up they got a Z650 Vulcan S or whatever they're called that have that Z650 motor in a low rider cruiser style bike. I think having done a few thousand miles on the Z650 Vulcan S they're now considering getting on a large capacity four cylinder machine again.
The Z650 and Z650RS are quite small so I like them from that perspective. I am not the most confident of riders and the garage I currently have use of is on a hill with unhelpful cambers and a shallow ramp to the garage.
Edited by carinaman on Monday 19th May 10:55
I passed a year and a bit ago now and i'm still on my first bike, a 2011 Suzuki SFV 650 Gladius.
One of the bikes i could have changed to was a mates 2017 Z650 and i was very tempted (had many test rides of it over the course of a few weeks). It was nippy and definitely felt lighter to move and more nimble/flickable than mine on the road. I was very tempted. I also think they look really good. This was a white one with the green and black bits.
However, i'm 6ft 2 and 17/18 stone and the bike just felt a bit too small for me (the Suzuki is, too to be honest but it's slightly bigger than the Z650.)
Also, i do think there is just something 'more' to the V twin over the parallel twin on the Z. Just more...character...more of a meaty sound and feeling. The Z had a great sound from the induction side of things when throttling on...but nothing much from the (standard) exhaust (and you get more of a 'put put' at idle rather than the meatier sound of the V twin).
To sum up...i'd say.....the Z650 was immediately very fun and likable. I was laughing inside my helmet straight away which is a great sign. But on further rides when i got used to it.......i'd say...it felt a bit....one-dimensional. Where i feel the Suzuki just has a bit more to it. More depth, maybe.
Sorry for the waffle....just my thoughts.
I feel if i was shorter and lighter i would have snapped it up to be honest from the initial feelings i got.
One of the bikes i could have changed to was a mates 2017 Z650 and i was very tempted (had many test rides of it over the course of a few weeks). It was nippy and definitely felt lighter to move and more nimble/flickable than mine on the road. I was very tempted. I also think they look really good. This was a white one with the green and black bits.
However, i'm 6ft 2 and 17/18 stone and the bike just felt a bit too small for me (the Suzuki is, too to be honest but it's slightly bigger than the Z650.)
Also, i do think there is just something 'more' to the V twin over the parallel twin on the Z. Just more...character...more of a meaty sound and feeling. The Z had a great sound from the induction side of things when throttling on...but nothing much from the (standard) exhaust (and you get more of a 'put put' at idle rather than the meatier sound of the V twin).
To sum up...i'd say.....the Z650 was immediately very fun and likable. I was laughing inside my helmet straight away which is a great sign. But on further rides when i got used to it.......i'd say...it felt a bit....one-dimensional. Where i feel the Suzuki just has a bit more to it. More depth, maybe.
Sorry for the waffle....just my thoughts.
I feel if i was shorter and lighter i would have snapped it up to be honest from the initial feelings i got.
How big and heavy are you?
From 2017 the SV650 has something called 'clutch assist'. A serial SV650 owner on PH said they'd not really noticed that change or it wasn't relevant to them. As you release the clutch lever it increases the revs to try to prevent stalling. Stalling the bike at low speed or in second rather than first may lead to dropping the bike.
From around 2019 they changed the front brake calipers for ones with more pistons to address criticisms of the front brake and perhaps justify still selling what is an aged bike at a relatively reasonable happy shopper price.
The headlamp is dire. Swapping the bulb doesn't do a lot. If you want an SV650 with a headlamp that illuminates the road and offers some wind protection and is possibly better at dealing with the crater littered roads consider a V-Strom.
An SV650 is 40-50KG heavier than my previous bike and it feels a lot more planted on faster A-roads and NSL dual carriageways. I think a Z650 would feel more like my previous bike in that I could take liberties into and in corners. I can't worry about it when I get there on an SV650 like I could do on my previous bike and probably an Z650.
Pulling away from a KTM dealership on an SV650 may lead the rider to think 'Yeah, it's not a KTM, but today in this locale the SV650 doesn't sound too bad'. The SV650 is brap lite?
From 2017 the SV650 has something called 'clutch assist'. A serial SV650 owner on PH said they'd not really noticed that change or it wasn't relevant to them. As you release the clutch lever it increases the revs to try to prevent stalling. Stalling the bike at low speed or in second rather than first may lead to dropping the bike.
From around 2019 they changed the front brake calipers for ones with more pistons to address criticisms of the front brake and perhaps justify still selling what is an aged bike at a relatively reasonable happy shopper price.
The headlamp is dire. Swapping the bulb doesn't do a lot. If you want an SV650 with a headlamp that illuminates the road and offers some wind protection and is possibly better at dealing with the crater littered roads consider a V-Strom.
An SV650 is 40-50KG heavier than my previous bike and it feels a lot more planted on faster A-roads and NSL dual carriageways. I think a Z650 would feel more like my previous bike in that I could take liberties into and in corners. I can't worry about it when I get there on an SV650 like I could do on my previous bike and probably an Z650.
Pulling away from a KTM dealership on an SV650 may lead the rider to think 'Yeah, it's not a KTM, but today in this locale the SV650 doesn't sound too bad'. The SV650 is brap lite?
Edited by carinaman on Monday 19th May 09:58
Onelastattempt said:
I also know a young lady who has just passed her DAS and after a test ride of mine bought a GSX8r, the faired version, and loves it.
When the Ducati Mono whatever it's called single cylinder super motard come out I walked to my local multi franchise and a woman drove past in a van and by the time she'd parked up and alighted from the van I'd reached the Ducati and was taking in the details, she walked past me with a smile, she was younger than my initial impression from seeing her through the van window. A bit later I walked into the showroom and she was there taking photos of the recently released GSX-8R. I may've assumed she was taking pictures of it to send to a chap. Yeah, rap on the knuckles for me making assumptions and seeing what I wanted to see and being a bit Sid the Sexist.
I really like the yellow GSX-8R but I am blowed if I'll pay the limited edition prices for one. I don't want the other bits just the shiny yellow paint and I've heard that stacked headlight isn't much to write home about.
I had an '18 SV650X, the headlamp was excellent, travelling at night was a pleasure, especially travelling the old roads running alongside Motorways, having the road to myself and going just as quickly.
OP, you will be doing DAS on a bike similar to the Z650, see how you feel after that experience. As a returning biker I was very happy with my 650 for three years, only changed it as the wife look to coming on the back. There's plenty of poke in that size of bike up to licence losing speeds and any of them will be a lot better in the turns than you.
OP, you will be doing DAS on a bike similar to the Z650, see how you feel after that experience. As a returning biker I was very happy with my 650 for three years, only changed it as the wife look to coming on the back. There's plenty of poke in that size of bike up to licence losing speeds and any of them will be a lot better in the turns than you.
When I got back into biking in 2000, I fancied a Ducati Monster and went to look at a 600 near me. The salesman asked me why I specifically wanted a 600 not the 900, I told him that I hadn't ridden a bike for 20 years and wanted to ease myself back in, to build my confidence. He told me that he wouldn't sell me the 600... because I'd be bored after a couple of weeks, that I'd be begging him to buy it back, essentially that I was the one who decided how fast to go, it was my hand on the throttle and that it was perfectly possible to ride a more powerful bike relatively slowly until I was comfortable and confident.
So I bought a 1200 Buell
Still got it.
I've never forgotten his wise words, because he was 100% right.
So I bought a 1200 Buell
Still got it.I've never forgotten his wise words, because he was 100% right.
carinaman said:
Onelastattempt said:
I also know a young lady who has just passed her DAS and after a test ride of mine bought a GSX8r, the faired version, and loves it.
When the Ducati Mono whatever it's called single cylinder super motard come out I walked to my local multi franchise and a woman drove past in a van and by the time she'd parked up and alighted from the van I'd reached the Ducati and was taking in the details, she walked past me with a smile, she was younger than my initial impression from seeing her through the van window. A bit later I walked into the showroom and she was there taking photos of the recently released GSX-8R. I may've assumed she was taking pictures of it to send to a chap. Yeah, rap on the knuckles for me making assumptions and seeing what I wanted to see and being a bit Sid the Sexist.
I really like the yellow GSX-8R but I am blowed if I'll pay the limited edition prices for one. I don't want the other bits just the shiny yellow paint and I've heard that stacked headlight isn't much to write home about.
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