not getting on with the sv......

[etuna]

Had my SV 650S for 3 weeks now and to be honest I'm not digging it like I thought I would. Living in London the riding position (albeit not extreme) doesnt seem to be suited to urban/ heavy traffic scenarios. Got higher rearsets on too which isnt helping. My hands knack after even 15 minutes. Plus the engine breaking is a bit irritating though its probs cos I'm not feathering the clutch correctly.

Think I may cash in my chips and get a something more suitable for city riding. Like a fire breathing Supermoto. :rolleyes:

Will I get used to the sv?

[the_lone_wolf]

grip with your knees, it'll ache at first until your lega and back muscles catch up with you but it's worth it...

be aware that if you want a fire breathing SM you'll have to prepare for fire breathing maintenance schedules, like 300m oil changes and 1000m valve checks

[FG1]

I would say yes you will get used to it.
BUT, if it is just city riding you will be doing then, yes, there are better out there.
Stick with the SV and venture out of town a few times.
Have you been in touch with the Soho crowd, you might get lucky and manage to get on a rideout with them.

[jambo]

My daily commuter bike is a 2001 ZX6R and it does 15 miles each way into London and out everyday. You can commute on damn near anything, the key point is that the handlebars are control surfaces, not grab rails, try your best not to put your weight through them. Also check your levers are adjusted for you. Your wrists should be straight not bent to reach levers.

Jambo

[petevtwin650]

Hi, you don't say if it's a pointy or a curvy.

Have you got the handlebar levers adjusted so that you can draw an imaginary straight line through your elbow,wrist and finger tips?

Also why not adjust the rearsets to a lower position?

[FG1]

I'll swap rearsets if you like......:)

[metalmonkey]

Had my SV 650S for 3 weeks now and to be honest I'm not digging it like I thought I would. Living in London the riding position (albeit not extreme) doesnt seem to be suited to urban/ heavy traffic scenarios. Got higher rearsets on too which isnt helping. My hands knack after even 15 minutes. Plus the engine breaking is a bit irritating though its probs cos I'm not feathering the clutch correctly.

Think I may cash in my chips and get a something more suitable for city riding. Like a fire breathing Supermoto. :rolleyes:

Will I get used to the sv?

You will find that at first when you get on the SV it was the same for me, the first day I got my bike I did 80 miles and I was sore! But you will get use to it.

I bet your handing on life on the bars aren't you? As jambo said relax they are controls and should not be gripped as Sid Squid taught me, you should be be able to do the funky chicken and have totally movement in your arms elbow, you arms should not be straight be bent at the Elbow.

Yup you can have standard rearsets if you want!

I may go for ride next week some time, do you get week days off? If so PM me ect as I go out mid week for rides for fun, the roads are quiter ect.

You just need to use to your new bike, you are muscles that you don't usually use when you are riding, if you still struglle get down the gym and build your core strengh up. But its fine. As for engine breaking its great again your just getting use to it. Thats how I found it after having my SV for nearly year now!

[fizzwheel]

My daily commuter bike is a 2001 ZX6R and it does 15 miles each way into London and out everyday. You can commute on damn near anything, the key point is that the handlebars are control surfaces, not grab rails, try your best not to put your weight through them. Also check your levers are adjusted for you. Your wrists should be straight not bent to reach levers.

+ 1

I commute on a GSXR and my other half commutes on a Ducati 749S both bike have a more extreme seating position than the SV does.

[Alpinestarhero]

I felt uncomfortable for a few weeks at first, commuting on my curvy S. but after while, my body got stronger in the right places and I learnt to adjust how I sat on the bike to be comfy.

As for the engine braking, select a differant gear; I tend to chose a gear that keeps the bike under 5000 rpm if I'm riding along slowly, this makes the engine braking more managable. Your thorrlte control will come on, as will learning to slip the clutch better. Keep at it - the SV is an excellent bike for london riding

Matt

[neio79]

Give it a bit longer if you dont like it, get rid of it, no point riding a bike that gives you no joy at all.

[etuna]

Cheers for the feedback - I shall persist for a bit but as neoi79 says there are loads of alternatives as long as I stick to two wheels :)

[21QUEST]

Give it a bit longer if you dont like it, get rid of it, no point riding a bike that gives you no joy at all.
Ditto


Ben

[custard]

slightly devils advocate.

i started off with a hornet and loved it. then got a CBR600f and hated it, most people rave about them but i just couldnt get on with it. The seating position just didnt suit. sold that and got another hornet and was like a pig in the proverbial again.
now have a naked SV1000 and the hornet and you just try and stop me from grinning like a loon!

i prefer to be sat upright with a nice wide set of bars that allow massive leverage on the bars. could be the same, the only way to find out is to try something else.

ps. i would reccomend a hornet to anyone. awesome town bike and enough to annoy people on sportsbikes on track.

[Toypop]

I had a Bandit N before the SV650S and I found it (the Bandit) was more comfortable and also the IL4 was much more docile and less "on/off" for commuting in heavy traffic. Plus it had better steering lock.

That said I didn't have a problem with the SV.

[dizzyblonde]

You don't say how long you've been riding either. Is it your first bike, have you tried others and are experienced.

f its your first big bike.....you need to stick at it, I've not heard of many folks that haven't liked the SV. Also depends on how tall you are too, as a few tall lads on here occasionally have a prob with that.
I'm not sure how pointies are for riding as all I ride is curvies, but, you need to relax more, as I occasionally have sore wrists and hands, but its all because I am tense and riding like the bars are bulls horns and gripping for dear life!

If its not your first and your experienced, then only you know the style and type you like to ride, and yes, perhaps the SV isn't for you.

[Durbs]

Sort out those rearsets first, the standard pegs are way too high as they are and i feel unfomfortably cramped after a period of time so i hate to think what higher ones feel like in traffic.

[northwind]

Neio's right, but then so is almost everyone else in the thread :D For most folks discomfort on a bike is about riding position, not neccesarily about the bike- weighting your wrists up will kill them, as will having a big twist on them. Adjusting the levers so that you get an almost straight line from the lever along your forearm can help, for instance because it removes the need to bend at the wrist to use the controls.

Mine is a fair bit more "extreme" than a standard SV- weight's pitched forwards and the seat's high, and it has rearsets fitted- but for me it's more comfortable than standard, for some reason- I can do all day on the bike and it's fine. everyone's a different shape and size, so one bike doesn't fit all, you might find that you never get used to it. But do give it a go!

There's various comfort options like higher clipons, flat bar conversions etc.. Personally I'd sooner get a bike that suits me than modify one that doesn't, but it can be an option.

[Nobbylad]

I've had my K8 since 4th July, have just clocked over 1,100 miles on it and the 1st week was a real nightmare as I loved the bike for short runs, but my 90-100 mile commute was a real pig (plus it was pi**ing down for most runs).

I'm really getting used to it now, the numbness/pins & needles in my hands is going as I've become more relaxed, I vary my riding position during my journey, not just to help boredom but also to suit the different speeds I get up to. Filtering is a piece of the proverbial and obviously requires you to be upright more (well for me anyway).

The only real problem I have at the moment is protecting the old crown jewels....by the time I've done half an hour on the bike, I'm desperate for a set of traffic lights so I can pull em out of me stomach and get comfy again....although maybe that's because I still don't grip tight enough with my knees?

I hated riding at slow speed at first as I got used to the balance and responsiveness of the SV, my clutch feathering has become miles better (out of necessity!) and the engine braking is a real positive in my eyes as it avoids you having to really give the brakes loads (which I'm always loathe to do).

I've done a fair few miles with a pillion as well and must say the bike grows on me more and more each time I get on it!

[mr.anderson]

Neio's right, but then so is almost everyone else in the thread :D


Yup, he is. I am far more comfartable on my ZX (same as Neio's) than I ever was on my SV. I just like the bike more. Next bike (in 3 years) will be a 1000N of some sort.

[Durbs]

and the engine braking is a real positive in my eyes

Yeah, same here, its a big++

[stuartyboy]

"Persevered" with mine and put up with the pain for nearly 10k from new. No matter what I tried the bike was just not for me. I've ridden, 600f's zx6r's ducatis, blades and now a 600rr. All of which were more extreme than the SV but none of them gave me a single uncomfortable ride. SV was vibration for me. Just couldn't do more than 50 miles without the pain kicking in. Best get a bike that suits rather than make the bike suit. HTH

[tonyt]

swap it in for a Naked.. much more comfortable..!!

[instigator]

Same as most posters, you can commute on anything, you just have to give it a bit of time to get used to. That being said, if you're 60 and commuting in on somehting like an R1, I doubt you'd ever get comfortable on it!

I commute in to Kings X on my blade albeit it's a very short commute - took me a while to get comfy on sportsbikes but once I got there, they're now comfy as can be.