Fz6r vs ninja 650r


dodges

New Member
any opinions on these two bikes as ive looked on line and alot of ninja lovers out there but i will be hard pressed to give up my FZ6R just asking my freinds on the forum cheers
 

MNGreg

waiting out winter
Elite Member

Bradlockard

New Member
Two guys i ride with both have the 650r. One day me and one of the other guys speeded a little, i let off @134mph and i know that our speedometers are not right. He says he stopped at 136 way down the road, he's got it in his head that he beat me i don't know how he came to that notion. We gonna settle the issue this weekend. I think the two bikes driven by riders of equal skill are almost dead even in comparison, despite the shortcomings of the twin vs the i-4 and vise versa. To hell with kawis i've had two and both were pieces of junk. That being said any rider of better riding capabilities can easily outpace a lot of bikes on the 6r.
 

Nastybutler

Cynical Member
Elite Member

JSP

Super Moderator
any opinions on these two bikes as ive looked on line and alot of ninja lovers out there but i will be hard pressed to give up my FZ6R just asking my freinds on the forum cheers
Its not an upgrade if that is what you are asking... Insurance will most likely be more simply based on the "ninja" name as well.
 

Chevyfazer

New Member
Ninja insurance is WAAAAAAYYYYY more money than the 6R.
Not for the 650r they are in the same insurance group

But the only Kawasaki I'd ever own is the one I do own, a KLR650. Rock solid bikes, but every other kawi I've been on just felt cheep to me, they might have improved over the last few years but the older zx's I've been on just felt like Kawasaki cheeped out on every aspect of the bike other than the motor and tranny, the thing ran like a raped ape but over 80mph and all the plastics started moving in the wind.
 
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MistahT

Mistah T
Elite Member

danieljardim

New Member
Not for the 650r they are in the same insurance group

But the only Kawasaki I'd ever own is the one I do own, a KLR650. Rock solid bikes, but every other kawi I've been on just felt cheep to me, they might have improved over the last few years but the older zx's I've been on just felt like Kawasaki cheeped out on every aspect of the bike other than the motor and tranny, the thing ran like a raped ape but over 80mph and all the plastics started moving in the wind.
Here in jersey for some reason insurances companies nail you for the ninja badge.

FZ6r = $300.00 a year.
ninja 650 = 2000.00
ninja 1000 = 3400.00
fz1 = 600.00
ducati diavel = 690

That was one of the reasons I picked the 6r
 

FZ6Rob85

New Member
I got some online quotes from Progressive for the bikes that i've been looking at and here is what I came up with:

2009 FZ6R - 259.00
2009 Ninja 650 - 240.00
2006 FZ6 - 220.00
2003 SV650 - 220.00
2002 Bandit 600 - 187.00
 

travisH3

New Member
Ya i was debating the 650r because insurance was about 100 dollars cheaper or more over the fz6r for me.

The looks of the fz6r are more sleek I think and also I wanted the 4 cylinder vs parallel twin.
 

StarZero81

Member
Elite Member

amg14

New Member
With that said though, now that I have the 6R I absolutely would NOT trade it out for another 650. A Ninja 1000 perhaps, but not a 650. The look and feel of the 6R is far superior to the 650 imo. :D
+ 1

I bought my 09 fz6r a year and 4 months ago and have put on over 5k miles since then. its my first bike ever but i have been on enough bikes to know what some of the qualities of a solid, well designed bike feels like. not an expert by any means but i am super picky and i pay attention to fine details.

my good friend recently bought a 12' 650r that i have taken out for a few rides and i spent every second comparing the two in my head, because im a guy and my friend just bought the closest thing to my bike besides the suzu 650f and i want to know if my bike is better than his :)

it is my personal opinion that while kawi did a good job revamping the 12' 650r, the craftsmanship does not match that of the fz6r. not every bike is going to be great for every person, there are going to be differences in things like riding position, styling, 0-60 times, ect that people can argue about till the cows come home. but there are other more intangible differences that distinguish the fz6r apart from the 650r.

riding the 650r made me feel uneasy. i was not impressed with the controls and their inputs. im not talking about the handle bar positioning or the instrument cluster but rather the feeling that the rider has with their bike when they make it move and how closely those inputs on and to the bike result in trusting outputs. its not that i felt unsafe operating the 650r or that i wasn't use to how the bike functioned (controls, engine, chassis differences), i felt like i didn't have the same amount of control or trust on the kawi vs my fz6r.

maybe its not a fair comparison because i haven't logged as many miles on the 650r but i can distinctly remember learning how to ride on my fz6r and learning to trust in the bike to do what i told it to do. i did not have that same trust in the 650r. additionally, the ride of the 650r felt cheap to me vs the fz6r. i think that kawi designers had a lot of cool things they wanted to revamp with this bike but had their hand tied when it came to budgetary constraints. if i could conjure a real world comparison between just these two bikes, i would say that the yami fz6r is like a Mercedes Benz while the kawi 650r is like a Lexus. both manufactures offer a sense of luxury and a feel of class but there is no comparison between the construction of these cars and the resulting driving experience that has.

the 650r is a entry level 650cc sports bike with a relaxed riding position. its a budget bike that tries to do a lot of things well and because of the variety of things i can do, compromises have to be made; its the same with the fz6r and the Suzuki 650f. not just for me personally, but overall i think the fz6r does the best job producing a solid, all around sports-touring esq bike. take a look at the craftsmanship of the yami vs the kawi and suzuki. look at them closely. how the bikes were put together. if you can't notice the craftsmanship differences then you are probably not as anal retentive as i am and you should just go with what ever is most important to you (cost, looks, comfort, deals, insurance costs). if you can notice some differences then i can assure you that those differences will undoubtedly translate into riding differences that can be experienced first hand; i know that i did.

at the end of the day it is all about what makes you happy. go with your gut because otherwise you wont want to ride and your investment will be wasted. but remember this is a learning experience. yes you are going to have fun riding but ultimately you are going to go through a couple of bikes until you discover what you want specifically in a bike that leaves a smile across your face every time you get off that bike. i am sure you have met riders who are very passionate about riding and they will tell you the same thing.

if you have questions dodges about anything with regards to these two bikes PM me i will do my best to help. good luck.
 

RoadTrip

New Member
Suprised no one mentioned the sound of the I-4 (racey) vs the parallel twin (farty), that was one of the biggest factors for me.
 

BKP

New Member
No buyer's remorse at all with the FZ6R... very happy with it.

That said, Kawi's made quite a few upgrades to the 2013 650r... new swingarm, lower, narrower, seat, ABS option, and some awesome colors done MUCH more stylishly than previous Ninjas:











However... I'd *still* buy the FZ6R again...
 

Scott_Thomas

Insert title Here
Elite Member

BKP

New Member
I hear that... Not a fan of the parallel twin, either... Huge difference in the smoothness of the engine...
 


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