It was a case of nip/tuck. Nose on the tank, toes curled round the pegs, throttle pinned. Watching the two identical bikes ahead for clues as to just how fast the next curve was going to be. Calculating where to apex to get the best run onto the following straight. I’d inch forward, maybe even make a few feet on the two guys ahead, momentarily catching the whiff of cheap aftershave as favoured in Peterborough’s environs, then, in the wipe of a nose, lose the tow again.
With over 11,000rpm on the tacho, in fifth, it felt sorely fast and a quick glance at the speedo showed 196. Only this was kilometres per hour, not miles, so in truth an imperial 120 or thereabouts. An illegal velocity in the UK of course (oh, and in France too I hear), but not entirely mental – almost ‘pony’ in a modern context. Yet when we pulled up some ten minutes later it was grins all round. There was the usual excited burn-up banter.
The talk was of fond memories, too. Some of us were likening this experience to our bad old days slipstreaming our mates on LCs, essentially flashbacks to our first sport biking experiences. All of which must have been happily observed by the Suzuki personnel. This new GSX650F – Suzuki call it an ‘all day sports bike’ (a hint of Little Chef menu there) – is a bike that will apparently suit the novice and the veteran rider alike. So, seeing as Suzuki had five seasoned journos genuinely enthusing about the bike while simultaneously dropping-in the yesteryear comparisons, well, they knew it was a case of mission accomplished.
It feels more than just a little awkward to be so enthusiastic about the GSX650F. It is, after all, little more than a Bandit 650 with a full fairing and some minor tweaks. And seeing as it’s only making a claimed 85bhp, then really this must be soft-sports at best. Yet the final execution, the performance, the handling – you can’t help but be impressed.
And while there’s no denying the Bandit heritage, Suzuki have gone to some lengths to individualise the new bike. While the engine architecture (bore and stroke etc) remains identical to the Bandit, a modified ECM, throttle bodies and injectors provide for a subtly more racey power delivery with more mid to top end. Equally the suspension has been given the makeover treatment, different part numbers revealing altered valving in the forks and the addition of rebound damping adjustment showing the rear shock to be a higher quality unit too.
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