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Naked Motorcycles

1981Suzuki GS 650E

28 fields on record

The 1981 Suzuki GS 650E is a Japanese roadster powered by a 673cc air-cooled inline four making 73 hp and 57 Nm. It has a 5-speed gearbox and a 16-litre tank.

Capacity: 673.0 ccm
Engine: In-line four, four-stroke
Gearbox: 5-speed
Dry weight: 217.0 kg
Seat height: 780 mm
Power: 73.0 HP (53.2 kW) @ 9400 RPM

⇄ Compare with another bike ＋ Add to garage All model years

Other years 1981 1982 1983

How it rides

Editorial estimate from the spec sheet - not lab tested

Off-road & trail10%

Cornering65%

City riding55%

Daily riding55%

Touring30%

Two-up35%

Track45%

Best for: Naked bike built for its class - everyday, practical use.
Built for: A naked bike from Suzuki, built around a 673cc engine - a real production model, but this profile is formula-generated from its class and spec sheet rather than individually reviewed.
Not ideal for: Not for serious performance or off-road use.

Scores are derived from the spec sheet using the same model across every bike, so they compare like for like.

Will it fit you?

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Your height

Inseam (optional)

Units

At 780mm, a rider of 68.9" with a 31" (estimated) inseam will reach the ground with both feet flat on the 1981 Suzuki GS 650E, with a moderate knee angle of around 105 degrees and a forward-leaning riding position.

Assumes about 30mm of suspension sag once seated. This is an approximation from category-typical geometry, not a measurement of this bike or of you - sit on one before you buy.

More bikes at 751-820 mm — Middle Ground →

Find bikes that fit your height →

Reliability & safety

Bike Reliability score, safety recalls and owner complaints

Bike Reliability

How the score works →

out of 100Below average

The Suzuki GS 650E passed its annual roadworthiness test first time 80.3% of the time, 3.3 points below expected for bikes of the same age and mileage. That beats 36% of models.

This covers every year of the model.

Test records don't say which version a bike is, so this covers Suzuki GS 650E / Suzuki GS 650 G Katana together.

80.3%Passed first time

11.2%Failed outright

8.5%Fixed during test

33,000Typical miles

1,506Tests

Pass rate by miles ridden

0-10k

77.5%

10-20k

87.7%

20-30k

80.1%

30-40k

76.6%

40-50k

76.7%

50k+

83.6%

All years of this model.

Against its rivals · ranks 3 of 6

#	Model (all years)	Score	Tests
1	BMW R65	53 Average	7,835
2	Suzuki GSX 750	43 Average	40,936
3	Suzuki GS 650E	36 Below average	1,506
4	Honda CB 750 C	31 Below average	126
5	Suzuki GS 550 L	28 Below average	1,048
6	Kawasaki Z 750 LTD	17 Poor	246

Rivals are the most-viewed bikes on MotorcycleDB in the same category and engine size, from within three years of this model.

From British annual roadworthiness tests, 2005-2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (DVSA MOT test data, Great Britain). How Bike Reliability works.