New SV650s

[SvNewbie]

I passed my test last Thursday and this Saturday I put a deposit down on a pre-registered 0 mile SV650s in white with the blue stripe. The dealer has fitted the OEM lowers fairings (I know how much everyone wants these!).

Can't wait to get everything sorted and make it my own! Only got a chance to sit on it as they didn't have a demonstrator but it felt really well proportioned compared to the CBR600F I tested a few days before. Which by comparison felt a little awkward, the mirrors too far away and the fairing added as an after-thought (great looking bike from any other angle except on top of it, sweet gearbox and awesome engine!).

[Skybaba]

That's MINT!!!
How soon are you getting it?

Congrats on the test!

[SvNewbie]

Waiting on my works Motorcycle loan scheme to write the cheque and then up to 10 days for it to clear :(

Still, good things come to those who wait. Gives me time to cry myself to sleep about how much the insurance is going to cost me!

[lordra]

How old are you? I'm 25 and it cost me £450 with the whole load of mods. Just follow the tips at Money Saving Expert and whittle the cost down as much as you can. It will take a lot of time, but its worth it.
Mine came down to £450 from £850 after shopping around and applying those tricks on the site. Link is here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/

[SvNewbie]

I'm 27, no accidents, no points, car licence for 10 years. Everything else is pretty dreadful as far as insurance is concerned. New bike licence, living in London and the bike is going to be kept outside. Honestly if I can get insurance on the happy side of £1000 I'll be delighted!

[Skybaba]

Waiting on my works Motorcycle loan scheme to write the cheque and then up to 10 days for it to clear :(

Still, good things come to those who wait. Gives me time to cry myself to sleep about how much the insurance is going to cost me!

Ha ha, that can be painful :-)

My bike was en-route to my place while I was heading back home after passing my test so I didn't have to wait that long........probably an hour; but my, it felt like a lifetime :-D

All the best matey!

[Geodude]

Welldone on passing your test and welcome to the org. Ride safe and above all have fun :)

[WeegieBlue]

Congrats on the bike test and the excellent choice of bike too! Have fun on the forum!

[Runako]

Congrats! I know what its like to have it new and the feeling of being the only person to do anything and everything to it. A bit of a downside is the breaking in. Most frustrating experience ever and perhaps why some people chose not to buy 0 miles. Having broken mine in I'm happy I did buy it, but there were times (especially on the motorway) when I almost regretted it.

Also, the manual says to break in one way, every man and his dog says to break in another way. The reality is you only have one go at it so do some research in the meantime before you get your bike, it might make the process easier.

Last bit of friendly advice I'd give is to get to know the bike as much as possible. Even though its 0 miles doesn't mean its perfect out the box. There are things you can change straightaway (I'm sure you're already planning to anyway) but particularly prior to and at the 1st service - 600 miles - I got the impression that they (dealer/garage) do very little for the cost. Should be no problems if its broken in properly anyway but, still, its good to know your way around so you can check yourself if so inclined. My bike was sat around for a little while so there were little things that should have been checked that weren't, like the battery prior to delivery!

Anyway, welcome, good luck with it and enjoy immensly :D

[Pete7]

Looks like white is this years colour, bike looks very nice :driving:

Just adding to what Runako said, get the dealer to add some crash bungs. There are some tearfull vids on You Tube of peeps dropping brand new bikes as they ride out of the show room. Mate dropped his new Triumph doing just that, tarmac made a right mess of the fairings and it wrecked his day.

Pete

[Nobbylad]

Get these fitted by the dealer before you ride away if you can.

http://www.rg-racing.com/browseBike/Suzuki/SV650_FullFaired/2011_(L1)/CP0124BL.aspx

[Fallout]

I've never had crash bungs but would definitely get them fitted if I had a new bike like yours. I've never dropped a bike, but I've been damn close a few times. I've just been lucky. Almost everyone else has, so if you don't want to be crying in a few months looking at your fairing smashed up on the road, do as Nobbylad suggests! :)

As Runako said, breaking in will be frustrating but don't take it too seriously. There are many schools of thought and the line I keep hearing all the time is a bike that is thrashed at some point during the break in period actually lasts longer. It's all about heat cycling and many people know far more than me and have done much more research (I remember Owenski making a thread fairly recently). So it's worth looking into. Personally if I had a brand new bike I'd be taking it easy, but I wouldn't be obeying these silly "Keep it under 5000 rpm for the first 1000 miles" rules and all that. I'd be opening the throttle all the way every now and then. :)

Worth searching around the forum for break-in related threads.

[SvNewbie]

Get these fitted by the dealer before you ride away if you can.

http://www.rg-racing.com/browseBike/Suzuki/SV650_FullFaired/2011_(L1)/CP0124BL.aspx

Thanks for the advice. Crash bungs where indeed first thing on the list. Are the R&G ones significantly better than the OEM offering? According to the Suzuki site the price is as close as makes no difference and I think it would be easier to get them to fit the OEM ones.

Second thing on the list is security. I'm looking for a disc lock, probably without an alarm (don't want false alarms waking the neighbours) which fits under the rear seat. Doesn't have to be the strongest disc lock in the world, its just really to stop some scrote breaking the steering lock and pushing it down the street when I stop for a coffee.

I will probably buy a Almax chain for home security as its the only one I've seen convincingly standing up to a 42" pair of bolt cutters.

[SvNewbie]

As Runako said, breaking in will be frustrating but don't take it too seriously. There are many schools of thought and the line I keep hearing all the time is a bike that is thrashed at some point during the break in period actually lasts longer.

Yeah, I'll be sticking mostly to the book for the run in. Can't be a bad thing as I'm still very inexperienced on a bike so I don't want to go rushing to the scene of an accident. I definitely will be cracking the throttle all the way open when I get the chance, but I'll be aiming to short shift at approximately the maximum recommended RPM.

I think modern engines are fairly unlikely to suffer badly from all but the worst of treatment during the run-in period (bouncing it off the rev-limiter unloaded :S). How many people have bought ex-demo bikes without having any issues that could be run-in related? Those certainly would not have been babied.

[Elliott]

Anyone seen a dyno break-in? Completely the opposite of what a dealer says and apparently it increases BHP created by the block.

Anyway congrats on the bike mate but take your time getting used to the Vtwin power band. You'll be glad you chose a twin!

[Fallout]

Yeah, I'll be sticking mostly to the book for the run in. Can't be a bad thing as I'm still very inexperienced on a bike so I don't want to go rushing to the scene of an accident. I definitely will be cracking the throttle all the way open when I get the chance, but I'll be aiming to short shift at approximately the maximum recommended RPM.

I think modern engines are fairly unlikely to suffer badly from all but the worst of treatment during the run-in period (bouncing it off the rev-limiter unloaded :S). How many people have bought ex-demo bikes without having any issues that could be run-in related? Those certainly would not have been babied.

Yeah exactly, and at the risk of sounding like a nob, you'll probably be moving on long before any longevity issues rear the head.

To be honest though it really is worth reading around. I've heard that using the correct run in procedure won't just improve engine longevity but will actually give you noticeable power increases (edit: What Elliot said above!). It's all about sealing those rings and the better the seal the more power. However I really can't give any advise since the only engine I've ever broken in was an RC monster truck! :D

All I know is if it was me I'd want to know about all schools of thought before I started breaking in, so I could choose the one which seemed to be the more respected and resulted in the best power. I'm sure the ones laid out in the manual are simply the tried and tested standard techniques which Suzuki wouldn't want to veer away from because they work.

For interest sake when I was braking in that RC truck it was something like this:
- 20 x 1/4 throttle runs from a stand still for 5 seconds then decelerate to a stop. Switch off and cool engine.
- 20 x 1/2 throttle runs from a stand still for 5 seconds then decelerate to a stop. Switch off and cool engine.
- 20 x 2/3 throttle runs from a stand still for 5 seconds then decelerate to a stop. Switch off and cool engine.
- 20 x full throttle runs from a stand still for 5 seconds then decelerate to a stop. Done!

Nice and simple. Truck is still running 10 years later. I remember half way through the full throttle runs something 'happened' and the truck went mental and started popping wheelies and flipping over onto it's back like no tomorrow. I guess that was the magic point at which the piston properly sealed and the little puppy was ready for some thrashing. :D

[Runako]

Nice and simple. Truck is still running 10 years later. I remember half way through the full throttle runs something 'happened' and the truck went mental and started popping wheelies and flipping over onto it's back like no tomorrow. I guess that was the magic point at which the piston properly sealed and the little puppy was ready for some thrashing. :D

Lmfao, mate you're nuts :D

[Fallout]

Too much time in front of this screen mate. Tis slowly driving me mental. :D

[chris8886]

I'm 27, no accidents, no points, car licence for 10 years. Everything else is pretty dreadful as far as insurance is concerned. New bike licence, living in London and the bike is going to be kept outside. Honestly if I can get insurance on the happy side of £1000 I'll be delighted!

make sure you check out soho massive group section! we meet every friday of the year pretty much, there'll be someone there who'll greet you with open arms!

[SvNewbie]

Thanks Chris, will definitely check it out. Half tempted to come along before I get the bike just to ogle the other SVs :)


Thanks for the advice. Crash bungs where indeed first thing on the list. Are the R&G ones significantly better than the OEM offering? According to the Suzuki site the price is as close as makes no difference and I think it would be easier to get them to fit the OEM ones.


Any opinions on OEM vs R&G crash bungs?

[Runako]

Thanks Chris, will definitely check it out. Half tempted to come along before I get the bike just to ogle the other SVs :)

Any opinions on OEM vs R&G crash bungs?

Can't say too much about OEM but I had R&G's fitted before it left the dealership. For a long time I wondered why two bits of plastic sticking out from the fairing was worth £80 or £90 (can't quite remember). It was only after crash 1 did I realise that they had removed the fairing bracket and installed a very robust engine bar to which the sliders attach. It is mainly this peice that you're paying for and is designed to minimise damage to the engine after the bungs themselves take the hit.

After 3 crashes of varying degrees, I've only had damage to the lower fairing and this has been patched/repainted so they must haave done the job. I've obviously replaced the bungs and had to change one mounting bolt but other than that, its held up quite well and paid for itself.

[SIII]

Welcome!=D>

Wish I had got the R&G's from new. Would have saved a lot of cash and tears after my 1st and only drop. Looks a fair bit of money for two bits of plastic but the solid supports are worth it.

Disc lock - get an alarmed one - when you forget to take it off before you ride away (and you will!!) - that beep will hopefully give you a warning before it hits caliper / forks and tips you off and tests your new R&G's! Have a look at Xena disc locks. Sod the neighbours:smt098 - bike is way more important.

I didn't mind the running in, gets you used to a big bike and when you have 1st service - run home is excellent.:smt045

[SvNewbie]

Thanks guys. The R&G ones certainly look bigger in the photos but its hard to tell. Think I'll go with them, though that may mean getting it home before having them fitted, just feels like tempting fate!

At home I have to paddle it though a gate to get out onto a pedestrian area before the road, so hopefully that will help prevent issues with the disc lock. On the other hand the Xena disc locks definitely look the part and if I have trouble with false alarms I guess I can remove the battery.

Slightly silly question, but what is the biggest lock pin which will go through the holes in the discs? 14mm seems to be the beefiest you can buy, but the holes in the photos of the bike don't seem that big!

[Runako]

Slightly silly question, but what is the biggest lock pin which will go through the holes in the discs? 14mm seems to be the beefiest you can buy, but the holes in the photos of the bike don't seem that big!

My advice is for stuff like disc locks and chains, don't rush to buy everything at once (unless you have already declared security devices on your insurance). Read the reviews for general products then visit your nearest bike store to check them all out with your bike.

I have a basic disc lock, very strong but no alarm, which fits through the disc perfectly fine. It lives in my rucksack as its only for easy use when out and about. When staying away from home, its used in conjunction with a Bulldog chain and another thin steel braided cord to link front and back wheels. At home its chained to a fixed point off the road. My security is based on where and how I park the bike.

Before I moved to my current place, the bike was parked outside & people used to mess with it. But the biggest deterrent by far was when I got a ride on motorcycle cover. Then, people seemed to leave alone what they couldn't see.

Ironically, the biggest difference for insurance purposes (other than a Datatool/Thatcham Alarm or Tracker - which I don't have) is the Alpha Dots. Hell of a lot of good that will do in the event my Bike's stolen, but it made a noticeable difference in reducing my premiums every year.

[SvNewbie]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I'd heard that about bike covers, I was going to get one before the bike. That should hopefully help with targeted theft (they can't see what is under the cover) and idiots just messing about with it.

I do want to declare the disc lock, as I intend to use it whenever I'm parking the bike away from home, so getting it before the bike unfortunately is probably the best option. If I'm not mistaken should the bike be stolen while you are having a coffee somewhere nice and you haven't got all the security devices you declared I expect the insurance would do a fair job of avoiding paying out.

I am going to get a strong chain, probably an Almax, which I can secure to a sturdy metal fence in my front garden while its at home.

[Gareth]

Congrats. Best colour

[Skybaba]

I see you got your bike today........and rode all the way to Brighton, nice :-)

Enjoy the experience man!!

[SvNewbie]

Thanks man!

Yeah, I'm suffering for it a bit now! My wrists hurt from the riding position and my thighs hurt from griping the tank and taking some of my weight on the pegs to reduce the weight on my wrists. How long does it take to get them used used to that?

But, yeah, the bike is everything I hoped it would be. Plenty fast enough and looks great.

It took me a while to get used to the engine braking, you practically don't need the rear brake! Also, the engine is distinctly unhappy below 2.5-3k RPM. With the run in period having a limit of 5k that meant quite a bit of foot work! Also found I have to use quite a bit of clutch as the engine was happier doing 15mph in first at that rpm.

Also, West London Suzuki threw in the R&G crash bungs for free so they are most definitely in my good books!

[Skybaba]

Yeah, I'm suffering for it a bit now! My wrists hurt from the riding position and my thighs hurt from griping the tank and taking some of my weight on the pegs to reduce the weight on my wrists. How long does it take to get them used used to that?


Yeah, my wrists used to hurt because I used to hold on for dear life. When I learnt to relax my grip on the bike the pain went away.
I've only started to grip the tank recently (I'm a new rider too), so I still feel the pain.


It took me a while to get used to the engine braking, you practically don't need the rear brake!


Yeah SV engine braking is powerful, it takes some ml getting used to.


Also, West London Suzuki threw in the R&G crash bungs for free

Definitely a good thing to have. I don't have any on my bike yet.

Safe Travels matey!

[Mr Farley]

Thanks man!

Yeah, I'm suffering for it a bit now! My wrists hurt from the riding position and my thighs hurt from griping the tank and taking some of my weight on the pegs to reduce the weight on my wrists. How long does it take to get them used used to that?

But, yeah, the bike is everything I hoped it would be. Plenty fast enough and looks great.

It took me a while to get used to the engine braking, you practically don't need the rear brake! Also, the engine is distinctly unhappy below 2.5-3k RPM. With the run in period having a limit of 5k that meant quite a bit of foot work! Also found I have to use quite a bit of clutch as the engine was happier doing 15mph in first at that rpm.

Also, West London Suzuki threw in the R&G crash bungs for free so they are most definitely in my good books!

Angling the brake and clutch levers down as far as they would go helped me when I had my GSXR, and riding on the balls of my feet to take the weight of my back. But you do get used to it.

Congrats on the bike.

[SvNewbie]

Angling the brake and clutch levers down as far as they would go helped me when I had my GSXR, and riding on the balls of my feet to take the weight of my back. But you do get used to it.

Congrats on the bike.

Cheers, I'll see if I can get them to angle them down at the first service and maybe increase the free play on the clutch lever so its biting slightly nearer the bar.

Saying that, done another hundred miles or so today. Just as I got home my clutch hand was ready to give up (in the same way when you need to go, you REALLY need to go when you've got the toilet in sight!) but it wasn't really the weight on my wrists more the actual clutch action so I think I'm getting there.