Quote:
Originally Posted by bdavison
The 650 would have been ok if they hadn't put those horrid handlebars and seat on it. It looks like someone let a harley rider in the kawasaki plant, and this was the bastard offspring.
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How in the world is the seat even remotely like an HD?
The new seat on the 650 is almost identical to the seat used on the 2005-2010 ZZR600. The shape, the cushion, the depth, just about all of it resembles the seat on those bikes and nothing from HD. The handlebars used are more like dirtbike handlebars than anything else, again, not much like HD.
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Having test road both a 2011 and a 2012 650 I have to say that the new model is a big improvement from the old. I was getting saddle-sore from just the 30min test ride on the 2011 due to the worthless banana seat. The new seat however would definitely allow me to ride virtually all day. I don't agree with it feeling lifeless and w/o character, but as was said, everyone is different. I also wouldn't call it smooth either. It is far from smooth compared to some bikes from Yamaha and Honda. I test road a FJR1300, a bike so smooth it felt like I was riding an electric bike with no vibrations and no clunking or clicking in the transmission between gears. The 650 is closer to the 250 (mostly the pregen, or closely to the stock newgen) than anything else in my opinion.