FAO - All SV650 owners

[huskie69]

Hello all you SV650ers

I'm looking at getting one of these very soon and was wondering how happy you'd been with yours. It will be my main mode of transport so is it a good all year rounder? How often do you need to maintain it (spending any length of time on it mechanically)? What's your MPG?

Basically any information you can give whether positive or negative to assist in my decision making - it's between this and an R6 at the moment.
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'10 Skyjet SJ125-23 - Crashed > '09 YBR 125 > '53 Suzuki SV650 - Died > 2010 Suzuki VanVan 125 > '87 Yamaha FZ750 Sold > VTR 1000 FireStorm - Sold > Honda CB1000R

[Slacker24seve...]

[huskie69]

The only reason for the R6 really is that I've got two mates who both went for the R6 (after going straight for DAS (combined with CBT - no riding prior to that) and they love the bike.
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'10 Skyjet SJ125-23 - Crashed > '09 YBR 125 > '53 Suzuki SV650 - Died > 2010 Suzuki VanVan 125 > '87 Yamaha FZ750 Sold > VTR 1000 FireStorm - Sold > Honda CB1000R

[huskie69]

Also, what's the significance in the different model numbers - i.e. K5 etc.
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'10 Skyjet SJ125-23 - Crashed > '09 YBR 125 > '53 Suzuki SV650 - Died > 2010 Suzuki VanVan 125 > '87 Yamaha FZ750 Sold > VTR 1000 FireStorm - Sold > Honda CB1000R

[Paxovasa]

K5 means it was a 2005 model. my bandit is a K3 = 2003 model.
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Suzuki GSF600 K3 (in the fastest colour, black).

[Slacker24seve...]

[Clanger]

Good site: www.650.org/ it will tell you everything you need to know about sv's, the parts, extras etc.

I had a Y reg curvey, naked version of the sv, bought when she was only 5months old and had 3k on the clock.

I initially took off the front forks and the exhaust system and had them cleaned and polished, and protected. As the fork lowers were already pitted.

I replaced the bottom yoke and all nuts and bolts to stainless.

I had progressive springs put into the forks, which helped with the spongy front end...and changed the tyres from Metz standards to Dunlop 207's (which at the time, I felt were better tyres).

I kept my bike for 9 years, made other cosmetic changes, and she was sweet. Did approx 135miles to a full tank, although reserve happily ran for a further 30 miles before I thought I'd better find a petrol station.

It was okay, it ticked all the boxes, was torquey, could easily carry two full panniers laden with beer and food and stove, 4.8kg tent, sleeping bag, and a roll bag on top of that.

I'm not a speed freak though, the fact she would easily pull 130mph was good enough for me...hope this helps!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Blau Zedong]

SV650 = boring rotbox.


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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[huskie69]

[Polarbear]

Clanger, I thought women always referred to their bikes as He's.

SV is a nice bike, just invest in lots of FS365 to protect it. Suzuki finishes are not the most enduring.
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Victory Cross Country American tractor.

[Clanger]

[I-Bunder]

hi mate the sv is a great bike fun and handles amazing had mine for two years the only prob was in the winter it hated it used to backfire and run very lumpy.





ben

[flumpy7]

I think the main question here is whether you prefer an inline four or a v-twin. Dont underestimate the radical differences between riding these bikes. Personally I like both, but many dont.

An inline four will give you loads of top end speed and acceleration, feel very smooth and on a sports machine will give you that race sound. The bike will perform better if you change gear at the optimum times.

A v-twin like the sv is more about midrange torque than top end speed. The gear that you are in is less important as the bike should have plenty of pull at lower revs. The sound is usually deeper and gruntier (on my old vtr1000 with twin blue flames i would describe it as a roar!) and the feel is not as smooth, the power delivery can be quite crude, but it gives you that manly motorbike feel.

[doggone]

They're a slim fairly light bike good for commuting and getting road sense if you just passed your test.
Not a lot else going for them really except relatively affordable to buy, insure, and run.
You won't get much better than 60mpg though which is a bit disappointing for something which is no rocket.
The Vtwin is torquey at lower revs so plenty of fun to be had squirting through traffic at lower speeds. Can embarrasingly run out of puff if you aren't careful - like trying to keep up with other bikes on faster A roads, especially with head wind or pillion.
If you leave it outside or don't keep the salt off it, rust will soon take hold.

[Tonka]

I like mine! However, I will expand on that with it's been my first bike after DAS and I've not ridden any other roadbikes, so not a great deal of experience to base my decision on! I didn't test ride anything first, as I was straight from nowt to DAS and really wouldn't have known one from another. As long as I could reach the ground and the bars I was good to go and have learned on the bike really. Also, I don't ride it year round, as I use the Serow when the weather is rubbish, so the SV is kept all lovely and shiny!

Mine was secondhand (K6), one owner, 2 years old with 900 miles on the clock when I bought it - so practically a brand new bike at second hand price. I was told it would be an ideal first big bike and it has been - very forgiving and I've thoroughly enjoyed riding it. Replaced the exhaust system and fully faired it once I knew I'd be keeping it, so it now looks and sounds the way I'm happy with too.

https://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr344/Tonkatoo_2008/th_DSC00478.jpg
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'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)