2008 SV650 Sport - First Impressions from a Bad Ass Biker!

[Wayluya]

Picked up my brand spanking new SV on Saturday :cool:

Thought I would add my first impressions here whilst they are still fresh in my memory.

"Bad Ass Biker"?? - Well me ass hurts bad :D and I have aches in me arms and legs, but that is more me than the bike - the riding position seems pretty comfortable and plus decent sized fairing (for a sports bike).

First a little bit of background, now just ;) over 40, and last had a "Big" bike in my late 20's (EXUP was the last and "best"). Ridden all over Europe and ridden smaller stuff for extended periods further afield, but never done any trackdays or racing. After a gap of a few years I returned to 2 wheels 7 years ago and since then have been commuting on a 125 4 Stroke Scooter.

Anyway........"My Review"!!

Picked the bike up at Lunchtime, dealer gave me a good run through on wots wot, it all seemed very familiar :p - but I was bit nervous nonetheless, mainly about slow speed control and being in traffic, given I don't have a clutch on the Scooter and of course no gear changes.

Didn't fall off outside the dealer! and got the bike straight home for a looksee and a think and a fag. Little while later went out for a short spin - A & B roads. But had stuff to do later, so bike went home after only 5 miles!

Today I added another 50 miles on A & B roads.

Initial Impressions:-

Fookin hell!.........overall it's GRRRRRRRRRREAT :cool:
I don't like the Speedo. It's Digital and a bit too low from my sight line (and why no KPH function? - or does it?!).
Design - looks good from a couple of feet away, but close up one can see that it is designed down to a price. A "parts bin special" would be a bit unkind, but it doesn't quite look 100% integrated by design - of course it is essentially a naked bike with a fairing stuck on! But IMO acceptable, especially given the price.
V twin - My first. Feels more like a big single than a 4 (no sh#t!) and it is taking a bit of getting used to at slow speeds - mainly because of my p#ss poor gear changes and gear selections - not quite pogoing down the road, but........:D
Performance - Grrrrreat!! Not had it flat out yet - or even close. But the low and mid speed roll ons (when I have the right gear!) are excellent, but more importantly to me also feels grrrrrreat!! Their is a certain agricultural feel to the engine which I love (either that or the valves are about to exit stage left!). Only been up to 80 MPH and that was from a rolling start - felt great and the fact that it doesn't then set off like a jet engine from 80 up to 120+ like my old EXUP is for me a plus - and is exactly what I was after as have never been good at self control!
Switchgear - cheap and tacky, and indicator is not quite in the right place - or so it seems at the moment. Hazard Warning lights on a bike? WTF??! :cool:
Slow Speed Handling - Traffic and setting off. Am still a bit wobbly:eek: And my clutch control needs to improve. But I am old enuf not to care about looking like a Tw#t! Bike seems short and tall (but seat height spot on for me) - I am guessing that the engine sits quite high, but no great stretch to the handlebars so a bit easier to hold up / control the weight with my arms than the old EXUP.
I travelled along some of my old favourite roads (A's and B's) - fookin hell, I am not far off the speed limits!! - but am happy as a pig in sh#t! Deliberately not pushing things on the basis the bike is new / new tyres and brakes and also I am aware their is lots I have forgotten and I am not yet "in tune" with this bike. Am only scared when I look at the Speedo and remember I used to travel the same places at twice that........or a bit more.
Cornering - Ummm.....I seem to have forgotten how to corner!! Sort of. With the Scooter (small wheels) I need to constantly correct the steering, which is easy enuf as steering is so light and quick (which is the problem!) the SV is of course very different, not affected by a slight gust of wind and to me is very very stable (later I will no doubt complain how slow steering it is! - like me old EXUP - but at the moment at my speeds it is as stable as a car!) - am looking forward to exploring the handling further:cool:
Mirrors are excellent - small? thing. But nice not to have to move my elbows to check behind.
Exhaust - I will probably get something a bit louder when at least a year into the Warranty - but to be honest sounds good to me even at the moment. Better than the old EXUP.
Road presence - Coming from an EXUP to a Scooter yer soon realise that other road users treat you differently. Why? fook knows! But SV looks like a big / proper bike and although early days seems to tick that box.
Lane Filtering - not done any yet! - But slimmer than my Scooter (which has Ape hanger style bars - at wing mirror height) and I am looking forward to muscling my way through traffic........once I get me clutch control sorted!!
Carrying capacity - This is where it really loses out to the Scooter, I had to walk :smt088 around to the papershop to pick up some lunch and the Sunday Papers.In conclusion I am well happy with the bike, seems exactly what I wanted of being slow enuf to keep me alive / my licence but fast enough to be enjoyable and delivers the performance in a way that does not feel slow.

I think the SV is one of those bikes that is greater than the sum of it's parts........of course I am not the first person to discover that am I? :flower:

BTW I have kept the Red Seat - next week dealer is giving me a black seat from an 07 model which he is 99% certain will fit. Will try it out for fit and looks........must charge me camera up and take a couple of pics / youtube.

http://forums.sv650.org/image.php?u=7934&dateline=1204398129&type=profile

[fizzwheel]

You can change the speedo over to KPH, have a read of the manual it'll tell you in there...

[Wayluya]

You can change the speedo over to KPH, have a read of the manual it'll tell you in there...

Cheers - also gotta change the clock!

[kd sweety]

i managed to change my speedo to kph, press and hold the adj button, think thats what i did

[kwak zzr]

good choice of steed wayluya, nice bike :)

[Wayluya]

i managed to change my speedo to kph, press and hold the adj button, think thats what i did

Press Adjust. I will never understand the logic of these Japanese chappies..........Me I press buttons a couple of times (Randomly!) and if it doesn't do what I want it's Broke :cool:.

Tommorow I will give this a go and possibly read the book.........

When I bought the SV I had half an idea of a trip to Europe but no plans - but am well impressed with the riding position so I think another trip this summer is on the cards - but not quite up for the Nurburg Ring!!

[Rhiwbina_Squirrel]

Happy new bike! Looks like a lovely bit of machinery:cool: I should imagine you've still got a rediculous smile on your face. Hahaha at the way you've blacked out the red seat ;)

[MiniMatt]

Good choice, but being on an SV650 site I'm kind of obliged by contract to say that :D

Personally had a similar route to you, gradual progression of tat-to-great-for-their-time followed by lay off as real life takes over, followed by return to bikes. Last proper bike was a Lav 750, technically a twin but an asthmatic engine made it feel like a broken (but sweet handling) four pot, so the SV's V-twin slow speed handling was equally suprising; quite lurchy, something you definitely just get used to but not as user friendly as reviews would have you believe.

As you start to "up your game" back to EXUP days one thing to be aware of is engine braking, you already know it's fierce but once you start pushing a little you'll find it'll *very* readily lock the back up on rapid downshifts if you don't blip the throttle. This tends to result in fractional rear lock ups rather that notable "oh, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be able to see the exhaust to my immediate left" slides - ie. the back feels light with a lot of weight over the front. Then you find the front is kind of the weak spot. To call it weak is a little unfair, it's not weak as such, just where the budget begins to show a bit. Most folks will say "stick heavier springs in" - I'd say "check your bathroom scales first". For my Japanese-esque physique the spring rate is actually fine, it's the damping that gets a bit strange, but heavier (ie. normal european) folks will definitely find an upgrade in heavier front bouncies.

Know what you mean about cornering, at low speed it's just odd as it takes a while to get used to the lumpy injection, and at mid-high speed, it's as if it turns in quick but then it sticks to that line pretty well, just don't try to change it too much mid corner.

What tyres are they sticking on the 08s these days? If it's still the Dunlop D220s then don't fret too much about the crap they get - they're certainly not brilliant sports tyres but they're not as bad as is made out, they're just designed to be long lasting everyday tyres for everyday people. Crucially, they take a good while to warm up and whilst they stick a lot better than folks would have you believe they don't seem to let you know that they're sticking. Once warm they stick plenty well (well, good enough to grind out pegs at Pembrey at any rate), but you never really know what they've got left.

Have fun, progress slowly to find the limits (esp at the front), blah blah, I'm teaching you to suck eggs, you already know all this :D

EDIT:

Oh, on the exhaust, I really would recommend a replacement. You'll get 0.0001 extra horsepower but the sound difference truly is unbelievable. You start getting addicted to pops, crackles, burbles and farps :D Dealers don't seem overly fussed about warranty implications on this. Push comes to shove, just lob your dealer an extra thirty notes to fit it for you and all warranty problems are gone. There's a whole exhaust sub-forum for your viewing delight here at the 'org, but I'll squeeze in a quick plug for Carbon Can Company products.

[Paul C]

Very good post, enjoy your new bike! Your impressions are pretty much on, I did not notice the switch gear problems as much, but am riding other Suzuli product som I guess used to them.

[Wayluya]

Hahaha at the way you've blacked out the red seat ;)

Actually that was done for me here!:cool:

[Wayluya]

Very good post, enjoy your new bike! Your impressions are pretty much on, I did not notice the switch gear problems as much, but am riding other Suzuli product som I guess used to them.

Cheers, no doubt my impressions will change over time as I explore the limits of the Bike and myself!

My first Suzuki - so hopefully the switchgear is just something I need to get used to.

[Wayluya]

Good choice, but being on an SV650 site I'm kind of obliged by contract to say that :D - thought I would be preaching to the Choir :cool:

Personally had a similar route to you, gradual progression of tat-to-great-for-their-time followed by lay off as real life takes over, followed by return to bikes.

I twigged that not everyone here was working their way up the bike tree. As I had a good read through this site before deciding to buy I thought I would add my thoughts, particularly for any others like me returning after a good few years and downsizing from "Back in the day" :cool:.

the SV's V-twin slow speed handling was equally suprising; quite lurchy, something you definitely just get used to but not as user friendly as reviews would have you believe.

Good to hear it is not entirely me at the moment. Only 90% me :)

As you start to "up your game" back to EXUP days one thing to be aware of is engine braking, you already know it's fierce but once you start pushing a little you'll find it'll *very* readily lock the back up on rapid downshifts if you don't blip the throttle. This tends to result in fractional rear lock ups rather that notable "oh, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be able to see the exhaust to my immediate left" slides - ie. the back feels light with a lot of weight over the front. Then you find the front is kind of the weak spot. To call it weak is a little unfair, it's not weak as such, just where the budget begins to show a bit. Most folks will say "stick heavier springs in" - I'd say "check your bathroom scales first". For my Japanese-esque physique the spring rate is actually fine, it's the damping that gets a bit strange, but heavier (ie. normal european) folks will definitely find an upgrade in heavier front bouncies.

Used to have a manky old XL500 (single) - Go down a gear too much and yer pretty much stopped! But the wheelies were soooooooo easy :). But no Electric Start :( and would never ever buy anything without a push button start!

I am interested in how the front end and rear suspension work out in practice given the comments and work folk have done on their bikes. I too am not "Big boned" (at 11 1/2 stone +/-). I suspect I will leave the suspension stock unless I really have to change things and just ride around any shortcomings in the bike / myself.....time will tell.

Know what you mean about cornering, at low speed it's just odd as it takes a while to get used to the lumpy injection, and at mid-high speed, it's as if it turns in quick but then it sticks to that line pretty well, just don't try to change it too much mid corner.

Kinda hard to accept no longer needing to constantly correct the steering when cornering (and in a straight line!) - I am quite sensitive to wind (:cyclopsani:) -partly cos' I am also a sailor, but also I have had to learn to anticipate on the Scooter.......I figure a matter of learning to trust the bike - and that will take more miles.

What tyres are they sticking on the 08s these days? If it's still the Dunlop D220s then don't fret too much about the crap they get - they're certainly not brilliant sports tyres but they're not as bad as is made out, they're just designed to be long lasting everyday tyres for everyday people. Crucially, they take a good while to warm up and whilst they stick a lot better than folks would have you believe they don't seem to let you know that they're sticking. Once warm they stick plenty well (well, good enough to grind out pegs at Pembrey at any rate), but you never really know what they've got left.

Certainly they are Dunlops. I will check exactly what they are. To be honest I am happy to trade ultimate performance for a longer tyre life (at least at the moment!) and most of the miles will be on a commute so not having a soft square tyre will be useful :)

Have fun, progress slowly to find the limits (esp at the front), blah blah, I'm teaching you to suck eggs, you already know all this :D

Yeah, slowly slowly catchy Monkey :).


EDIT:

Oh, on the exhaust, I really would recommend a replacement. You'll get 0.0001 extra horsepower but the sound difference truly is unbelievable. You start getting addicted to pops, crackles, burbles and farps :D Dealers don't seem overly fussed about warranty implications on this. Push comes to shove, just lob your dealer an extra thirty notes to fit it for you and all warranty problems are gone. There's a whole exhaust sub-forum for your viewing delight here at the 'org, but I'll squeeze in a quick plug for Carbon Can Company products.


Exhaust :cool: I picked up from here someone elso mentioning before that the warranty is not such an issue, but I do find this a bit strange given that surgery appears to be required......am not bothered about more power as I figure on the road their is more and easier speed available from simply opening the throttle a bit more / sooner......but I like a bit of Base on a bike! I will have a chat to the dealer in a few months.

I am quite taken with the Tailgunner Exhaust :smt070

http://www.tailgunnerexhaust.com/images/Blackout.jpg

IMO goes so far along the naff curve it becomes cool (in an ironic sort of way!).....but I appreciate that tastes vary! and I have no idea how loud or legal it is.

Here is one fitted to an SV650:-

http://www.truveo.com/Tailgunner-Exhaust-on-SV650/id/2921379722

[Rhiwbina_Squirrel]

Found this on youtube. Sounds pretty good IMO :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eltteW1zcSQ

[MiniMatt]

Tailgunner 'zorst :D Teehee :D Never seen that before, first reaction in "ouch that's so naff it hurts". But then my inner devil takes over, deep within the very core of my soul lies the beating heart of a giggling 12 year old school boy. And just as sure as my inner school boy KNOWS that flame effect paint jobs REALLY DO make bike go faster, I KNOW that the tailgunner 'zorst is too cool for words :D

[Wayluya]

Tailgunner 'zorst :D Teehee :D Never seen that before, first reaction in "ouch that's so naff it hurts". But then my inner devil takes over, deep within the very core of my soul lies the beating heart of a giggling 12 year old school boy. And just as sure as my inner school boy KNOWS that flame effect paint jobs REALLY DO make bike go faster, I KNOW that the tailgunner 'zorst is too cool for words :D

I know exactly how you feel!

Tailgunner :smt067:smt067:smt067

[Alpinestarhero]

Hazards on a bike - this is something I would like for filtering. Many bikes have hazards nowadays, even my dads GSXR750. Notice you cant turn the lights off completly; they had to use the spare button for something!

Switchgear feels good to me on my curvy.....

As for practicality...well...we all know what my answer is to that :cool: TOPBOX!!!!

Matt

[Stu]

Assuming you don't actually need KPH til you take you're bike overseas. 31 May???? I'll tell you how to adjust the clock. Press both buttons at the same time 'til it flashes then one button adjusts the clock & the other changes between hours & minutes, but I'm not telling you which is which :lol:
Oh & that red seat looks awful you'd best get rid of it ASAP, just send it to me & I'll put it on mine, I mean dispose of it ;)

[Wayluya]

What tyres are they sticking on the 08s these days? If it's still the Dunlop D220s

Yeah, just had a look Dunlop D220's.

BTW folks have just adjusted the Clock AND the MPH to KPH (and back again!) - thankx :flower:. Cool, now where is me passport?!

[iane]

Excellent review/write up !!!

only 14 days until i collect mine :D

[Wayluya]

Excellent review/write up !!!

only 14 days until i collect mine :D

Worth the wait :cool:

[zzrpilot]

I have had my SV650 Sport since August last year. I wanted a bike to ride to work everyday between Swindon in Wiltshire and Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. My other bike is a 95 ZZR1100 which is just too lumpy to play with traffic every day.First thing I got rid of after 1000 miles was the tyres. No grip anywhere in the wet and white lines were a positive hazard!! even after 45 minutes of fast A roads the rear was not sticking to the road at even moderate lean angles. So I talked to a load of people and now am using Avon Storm ST's front and rear. Improvement was imense with no problems all through the worst winter weather and handling has remained presise and predictable so far.Front forks (I am about 13 Stone in weight) are not great and there is a lot of chatter from the front so I will be getting some work done there for sure.not sure yet if I will go for just springs or a complete rebuild and road race tune up.Rear shock is great Solo the rear seems mostly to be well glued to the road but if I put my skinny daughter on the back (8 stone soaking wet) it struggles a lot so I may well get another unit in there when I do the forks Brakes were okay but I found that I could pull the lever all the way to the bars. Hel braded lines cured this and I now get good feel from the front brake, but I still think they could do with being a bit sharper but I am not complaining.Now I have had time to get used to the engine I love it, it has a nice power curve that realy suits fast curvy A roads and if you can get your head around the fact it needs to rev more like an inline 4 than a traditional V twin that redlines at 6K then it can realy get you moving with style. Engine braking is harsh though and I will be getting a slipper clutch fitted by JHS in Bristol as I dont want to replace another rear tyre through sliding round corners, as whilst it was fun and impressed the locals a lot it was not the safest way to go.Exhaust is naff and I have a Quill T3 Evo on order, in fact it should be here any day now so I hope that will improve the engine note a lot.I also had the bike fitted with a lowering kit and a lowering seat before I picked it up new from the dealer and found it made the bike a lot nicer to ride than the test machines I had taken out previously. ( I am short yes only 5' 6" tall)The only niggle I have is that rust has taken big bites out of the chrome nut atop the headstock. Oh nad the fact I dont get to ride it enough :)

[G]

Yeah, just had a look Dunlop D220's.



I was worried about these tyres after hearing alot of people saying bad things about them.

There is nothing wrong with them at all (in the dry anyway) I was going on the outside of plenty of bikes at the weekend on club corner and going flat out through abbey without any bad feedback at all.

Dont rush to change them thats for sure.

Dont get me wrong, I have next to no experience of different tyres, but if the D220 is suppose to be a bad tyre.....I can see how how a good tyre can improve cornering that much.

[Wayluya]

First thing I got rid of after 1000 miles was the tyres. No grip anywhere in the wet and white lines were a positive hazard!! even after 45 minutes of fast A roads the rear was not sticking to the road at even moderate lean angles. So I talked to a load of people and now am using Avon Storm ST's front and rear.

Improvement was imense with no problems all through the worst winter weather and handling has remained presise and predictable so far.Front forks (I am about 13 Stone in weight) are not great and there is a lot of chatter from the front so I will be getting some work done there for sure.not sure yet if I will go for just springs or a complete rebuild and road race tune up.Rear shock is great Solo the rear seems mostly to be well glued to the road but if I put my skinny daughter on the back (8 stone soaking wet) it struggles a lot so I may well get another unit in there when I do the forks Brakes were okay but I found that I could pull the lever all the way to the bars. Hel braded lines cured this and I now get good feel from the front brake, but I still think they could do with being a bit sharper but I am not complaining.

Now I have had time to get used to the engine I love it, it has a nice power curve that realy suits fast curvy A roads and if you can get your head around the fact it needs to rev more like an inline 4 than a traditional V twin that redlines at 6K then it can realy get you moving with style. Engine braking is harsh though and I will be getting a slipper clutch fitted by JHS in Bristol as I dont want to replace another rear tyre through sliding round corners, as whilst it was fun and impressed the locals a lot it was not the safest way to go.Exhaust is naff and I have a Quill T3 Evo on order, in fact it should be here any day now so I hope that will improve the engine note a lot.

I also had the bike fitted with a lowering kit and a lowering seat before I picked it up new from the dealer and found it made the bike a lot nicer to ride than the test machines I had taken out previously. ( I am short yes only 5' 6" tall)The only niggle I have is that rust has taken big bites out of the chrome nut atop the headstock. Oh nad the fact I dont get to ride it enough :)

I was wondering about the ZZR tag. Seems that I have a 20lb weight advantage over you :D and no pillions planned. Plus of course I have not pushed the cornering or braking. Yet. But my Plan A is to ride around any / accept any shortcomings - unless I really need to address them. if I'd wanted a "better" bike, I would have bought one.

Not been out in the wet yet (am not working at the moment - so no need :cool:).....to be honest unless I find the D220's to be attrocious in the wet / white lines I will stick with them until at least the rear needs replacing - from the comments on here I will probably go something else next (and replace the set) - not sure what, but I have a while. Probably should have spoken to the dealer before delivery.........

[Wayluya]

I was worried about these tyres after hearing alot of people saying bad things about them.

There is nothing wrong with them at all (in the dry anyway) I was going on the outside of plenty of bikes at the weekend on club corner and going flat out through abbey without any bad feedback at all.

Dont rush to change them thats for sure.

Dont get me wrong, I have next to no experience of different tyres, but if the D220 is suppose to be a bad tyre.....I can see how how a good tyre can improve cornering that much.

From past experiances an important part of Tyre performance is having complete confidence in them - and this can be lost for reasons that have nothing to do with the tyres themselves, including from listening to folk "who know" that XYZ is sh#te and Blah blah blah is the dogs b#llocks - not to say that is the case here (way too new and also ignorant!) - some tyres are better than others at certain tasks, but usually a trade off between easily warmed up and longevity.

Been out every day so far - slow speed control is now pretty much sorted. It helps to have learnt the right gears :D and Clutch control! Surprised how easy to ride in traffic - not too much weight on the wrists at all. Still running the bike in of course, but am well impressed that it goes exactly where I want. Sometimes this is even on a good line :rolleyes: - and that feels soooooooooooo good again :cool:

[zzrpilot]

From past experiances an important part of Tyre performance is having complete confidence in them - and this can be lost for reasons that have nothing to do with the tyres themselves, including from listening to folk "who know" that XYZ is sh#te and Blah blah blah is the dogs b#llocks - not to say that is the case here (way too new and also ignorant!) - some tyres are better than others at certain tasks, but usually a trade off between easily warmed up and longevity.



This is why I gave the tyres 1000 miles of road before deciding to scrap them. I had to get used to the bike and settle into a slightly different riding style from the big Z. Try and muscle the little SV round corners like I do the Z and I would be in a world of pain. But no matter what I tried the tyres just did not grip. (it is possible I had a bad rear tyre I have had bad tyres in the past and my first Avon front was egg shapped and got replaced by Avon as it was clearly defective).

Having ridden since 1979 (Yes I realise many here probably were not born then) I have found that no one tyre suits everyone for a given bike. I have also found that for some bikes 1 tyre stands out from the rest and others just suck. I used to use Dunlop slicks for track days and found them great. I just did not like the 220's on the SV.

Came home tonight down the A435 which has some great bends (and some badly damaged road) and I discovered why I like the SV so much as I crank it round sweepers and S bends at 85+ with it as steady as a rock and taking very little effort it was just so much fun to ride. I just hope everyone else can manage to have as much fun with the SV as I am :D

[Wayluya]

I nearly bought a ZZR1100 when they came out - interesting on this site how many "Old farts" have an SV650 as a second smaller / every day bike. I take this as a good sign! I still hanker after a GPZ1000RX (Mid 80'sfolks :cool:), but finding a minter........

This is why I gave the tyres 1000 miles of road before deciding to scrap them.

Fair comment on the Tyres.

I just hope everyone else can manage to have as much fun with the SV as I am :D

I'm trying.......and so far so grrrrrrrrrrreat :cool: