SV650 buying advice and thoughts?

[MARTIN T]

Hi, I am just about to do my bike test and I would love my first bike to be a V twin and a naked style of bike. I love the Ducati monster 620/720 but some of my work friends with bikes said I should look at a SV650.
Did they make many naked models? and is the 2003 on model a better bet?

Any views would be great

[danf1234]

Yes there are lots available.

The pointy v curvy (pre 2003) dates back to time began.

Both are great bikes and uber cheap to run.

Loads of info on here: have a look!

[Biker Biggles]

If you are new to it all Id get an older one for as little money as possible.Then just ride it and make all your mistakes on it.A few scratches and dents are neither here nor there on a cheap runaround but really p1ss you off on a newer smarter bike.
And yes there are plenty of naked SVs around.Id get a pre 03 curvy one but Im odd that way.

[toxic]

Get a post 2003 bike, the curvies are getting to old now and unless you can get a low mileage well cared fro model you'll spend your life on here moaning about all the problems.

Naked is best.

[andrewsmith]

there is more S (faired) models around than nakeds.
it depends upon your budget as the monsters are temprimental and don't like the rain much.

if you don't like a tinker and modernising a bike! buy a pointy post 2003 as my 2000 curvy has required a lot of routine replacements done (seals, fork internals, rear shock) and infrequent works.

[Biker Biggles]

there is more S (faired) models around than nakeds.
it depends upon your budget as the monsters are temprimental and don't like the rain much.

Monsters are Italian and dont like anything much unless it involves giving up the ghost and retreating.;)

BTW theres plenty of good curvys still about.

[toxic]

nakeds are cheaper than faired bikes, to buy and to repair ;)

[Geodude]

Naked curvy anything else is just an imitation ;)

[MARTIN T]

Monsters are Italian and dont like anything much unless it involves giving up the ghost and retreating.;)

BTW theres plenty of good curvys still about.
I have heard of some reliability issues on early Ducati's but some guys at work have them and say they are as reliable as Jap bikes if they are looked after.

[barwel1992]

I have heard of some reliability issues on early Ducati's but some guys at work have them and say they are as reliable as Jap bikes if they are looked after.

jap bikes are reliable most of the time weather or not they are looked after ;)

ps i have a k3 naked ...... naked are the best

[B1k3R]

I have heard of some reliability issues on early Ducati's but some guys at work have them and say they are as reliable as Jap bikes if they are looked after.

I love Dukes and was looking for an early Monster but they were going for silly money so got a SV. I have not been disappointed. Got a 2002 S (half faired curvy) for £1100 with under 12K on the clock and 2 owners. Great fun.

The joke is that Aprilla and Ducati say that they are the Italian Honda (Honda's have a history of being dependable and reliable) but they are not. If you do go looking for a Duke make sure you get proof of belt changes and servicing. A decent service including belts well set you back about £450 and you don't want to know what happens to the engine if a belt goes. So if you go for a Duke with no service history keep hold of that kind of cash to get it done.

[Biker Biggles]

I have heard of some reliability issues on early Ducati's but some guys at work have them and say they are as reliable as Jap bikes if they are looked after.

BB junior has a Duke 748 and it has been reliable but it isnt used and abused every day all year round.Its done about 25000 miles but you just know its not as robust as a Jap bike.Lovely bike,but it needss a lot of loving.

[-Ralph-]

Stop thinking and just do it, you won't go wrong with an SV. Better with a pointy, lowest mileage and latest model you can find in your budget IMO, obviously it needs to look like it's been looked after properly, new and low mileage means nothing if it's never been serviced and left outside to rot.

[Stonesie]

Get one, now is a good time to buy too because the weather is so bad, hence why my old 125 resides in the shed, will sell it in the spring :)

[MARTIN T]

I love Dukes and was looking for an early Monster but they were going for silly money so got a SV. I have not been disappointed. Got a 2002 S (half faired curvy) for £1100 with under 12K on the clock and 2 owners. Great fun.

The joke is that Aprilla and Ducati say that they are the Italian Honda (Honda's have a history of being dependable and reliable) but they are not. If you do go looking for a Duke make sure you get proof of belt changes and servicing. A decent service including belts well set you back about £450 and you don't want to know what happens to the engine if a belt goes. So if you go for a Duke with no service history keep hold of that kind of cash to get it done.
I know what you mean about Dukes going for silly money, I have seen a 2003 monster 620 with 13k on it, because of the time of year it has just been dropped to £2500:(, I could get a nice SV650 for that and if I get one in red and get twin carbon cans it may almost look as good as a monster:p. This may be a silly question but could I get a normal SV and just remove the fairing?

[andrewsmith]

This may be a silly question but could I get a normal SV and just remove the fairing?

Yes but is a lot of work for the change.

[lammypie]

its a good time of year to buy atm since its so cold atm. some bikes people want too much, there are plenty around so dont fall in love and be patient til you find one at the right price. i got my 07 with 6k miles for £2400. (faired pointy as standard) but id seen lots of 06/07/08s at the 3-3.5+k mark with more miles, some had aftermarket bits, but id want my own style there anyway.

be picky make sure its got a good service history. check the wheels for marks cos some of them have been raced. (prob not a naked one) ask to hear it running, no bangs and clanks etc.. look for oil where it shouldnt be, check the tyres, if it needs new ones thats another £200- ish, same with sprokets and chains, if it needs a new sproket youl want a new chain aswell. if your happy with a few scratches you can prob get more off the price but i wasn't willing to put up with that. check on ebay to have a rough guess what people are willing to pay for the bikes, and just look around. i spent over a month looking at ones all over the place, and found one 3 miles away from my house, so just be patient

Oh and most importantly run a vehicle check on it, might cost 2/3 quid but worth it, same as any vehicle really.


ps. ive thought of a duke but the servicing costs (and frequency) are quite steep with belts, i know the 748R needs new belts every 12 months think others are every 2 years

[Sid Squid]

Clearly if you have the financial ability to do so buy as young a bike as you can, that's just sense - a newer one is least likely to give trouble, which is most emphatically not to say that a Pointy is any better then a Curvy, 'cos they're not.
Naked/Faired? Conventional wisdom suggest that if you do the majority of riding in town naked bikes are a better choice, I have a naked and a faired bike and I'm not sure I agree. A faired bike is certainly better if you spend your time on a motorway.
There are more Pointies than Curvies and more naked Pointies than naked Curvies, that simply reflects the fact that the Pointy is in production for nearly twice as long now and that the faired bike has always outsold the naked by a significant degree. Which one do you like the look of? That's the only difference really.

Decide on your budget and find the best bike you can for the money you've got and don't fuss over whether it's a Curvy or Pointy. An '02 Curvy and an '06 Pointy are obviously different ages but the younger bike can be higher milage and poorer condition. The specifics of the individual bike are important not the exact model as they are just about identical to ride and neither has any significant advantage over the other.

Just for clarification:

Curvy = '99-'02, tubular lattice style frame, carburettors.
Pointy = '03 onwards, hollow square section frame, fuel injection.

[B1k3R]

...............This may be a silly question but could I get a normal SV and just remove the fairing?

Yes but is a lot of work for the change.

+1 on Andrewsmith's reply. Both the curvy ('02 and before) and pointy ('03 and newer) come faired or unfaired so no need to remove anything. There are big debates on what is best but make your own mind up. Dont buy one and try and make it look like a Duke, enjoy it for what it is, or just go and buy a Duke.

[MARTIN T]

+1 on Andrewsmith's reply. Both the curvy ('02 and before) and pointy ('03 and newer) come faired or unfaired so no need to remove anything. There are big debates on what is best but make your own mind up. Dont buy one and try and make it look like a Duke, enjoy it for what it is, or just go and buy a Duke.
I would never try and make a SV650 look like a Ducati monster as it never would, but a SV in red with twin exhaust cans would probably do the job for me;)

[mister c]

I have had 2 SV's now & love them to bits. Both Curvy (Mk1), both naked. As already said, dont think, go buy :)
I've bought a Triumph Daytona 955, but I have to say that I'm glad I've kept my SV. I have more fun on it than the trumper.
The only thing that lets the SV down is its build quality. If you do buy one buy the best that you can afford & pay particular attention to things like the brake calipers (esp the rear) & fixings which, just like all Jap bikes, rusts at the merest hint of winter weather.
Engine wise, they seem to be bullet proof. Both of mine came with no history whatsoever, but had no real problems to speak of.
I crashed my 1st SV & wrote it off & I just went and bought one exactly the same when I was nearly fit enough to ride again.
Plus, you have the wonderful folk of the .org who seem to be the nicest bunch of people on the internet. :)

[munkygunn182]

+1 on the org being the nicest bunch of people.

I've just bought an SV650S from one of the guys on the org about a month ago. Absolutely love the bike to bits, it's my first big bike, and it sounds like it's going to be your first too? Love it to bits, absolutely no complaints. I can't have mine on the road at the moment because the road's covered in fluffy white stuff, but that hasn't stopped me polishing it weekly. Buy one. Ride it. Clean it. Repeat.

[MARTIN T]

+1 on the org being the nicest bunch of people.

I've just bought an SV650S from one of the guys on the org about a month ago. Absolutely love the bike to bits, it's my first big bike, and it sounds like it's going to be your first too? Love it to bits, absolutely no complaints. I can't have mine on the road at the moment because the road's covered in fluffy white stuff, but that hasn't stopped me polishing it weekly. Buy one. Ride it. Clean it. Repeat.
Yes it would be my first big bike , I had never heard of the SV650 until the other day when I spoke to a friend that has a Ducati (because I like the monster) and he said another bike to consider is the SV650. I do love the monster but when a Ducati owner is saying look at another bike its not looking good. All he did say was the monster is a good bike if its LOOKED AFTER AND SERVICED and as I am an engineer at the railway he knows I look after things, but the SV will be a much cheaper bet in the long run, a 03 620 monster is around £2500-£3000 and a belt change is around £250-£300 if it hasn't been done.

[fizzwheel]

the monster is a good bike if its LOOKED AFTER AND SERVICED

But, you can say that for any bike. If you dont look after it, any bike is going to let you down. Somebody on here used to work with somebody who owned a Monster with big milleage on it and had never had a problem with it.

Sid Squid's post is IMHO the best advice to take and he is very well positioned / qualified to give it.

I know you want a naked, but if you were to consider a faired bike, then this one

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=160368

I can vouch for, both its current and previous owner and its not a huge distance from you if you were to take a look at it.

[andrewsmith]

All he did say was the monster is a good bike if its LOOKED AFTER AND SERVICED

As Fizz has said that goes for any bike.
The bike linked to is in v good nick and is being sold with all the extras needed for an SV.

Naked wise I can't think of any for sale at a reasonable price

[L3nny]

Not read the whole thread so sorry it this has already been mentioned.

Try and get an SV which has had some work done to the suspension. The SV is a good bike but the suspension IMO is rubbish and if it's your first big bike will really hinder the speed at which your rifing confidence builds.

A lot of people put GSXR front ends on which improves the handling a lot. You'll save a lot of money buying a bike which has already had this done rather than doing it yourself.

[MARTIN T]

Not read the whole thread so sorry it this has already been mentioned.

Try and get an SV which has had some work done to the suspension. The SV is a good bike but the suspension IMO is rubbish and if it's your first big bike will really hinder the speed at which your rifing confidence builds.

A lot of people put GSXR front ends on which improves the handling a lot. You'll save a lot of money buying a bike which has already had this done rather than doing it yourself.
My friend with the Ducati that said I should look at a SV also said do some work on the suspension if I get one as they don't handle like the monster 620

[boot]

I'm currently toying with the idea of listing my 2000 naked SV due to some unfortunate news we received yesterday, which may mean being bike-less for a year+. :(

I expect I'll get more for it if I wait until the spring, but cannot decide on what to do, or how much to let it go for either.

[Swin]

Test ride.

SV makes a very good commuter bike too - nice and light, agile. Personally, I don't see the point of throwing money at a bike putting a new front end on, if I wanted a GSXR front end, I'd buy a GSXR, but I do appreciate that some people want to personalise their ride.

Mine had some electrical problems, but they've been sorted now - the guy in the garage told me that SVs are Japanese handling with Italian electrics - I don't think it's as bad as that, but maybe he was jealous that my bike sounded better than his :)

[MARTIN T]

I'm currently toying with the idea of listing my 2000 naked SV due to some unfortunate news we received yesterday, which may mean being bike-less for a year+. :(

I expect I'll get more for it if I wait until the spring, but cannot decide on what to do, or how much to let it go for either.If u do sell pm me some info