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Hi Guys
Signed up for the forum yesterday, I am not yet an SV owner but have decided that for my first bike I'll be buying an SV650S probably second hand but not too old and with as low mileage as possible.
As someone who knows very little about bikes I was hoping for some advice on what to look for when buying used... Are there any issues that are common which should be checked/avoided when shopping around? When buying my first car I made the mistake of buying one that was 1000 miles away from a cambelt change which while not too expensive was an unexpected cost a month after shelling out the 4k for the car and was an experience I hope to avoid with buying a bike.
Matt-EUC
22-07-14, 10:10 AM
Buy mine. PM me if you're interested.
http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=210503
Sent via the medium of interpretive dance.
Hi Matt
Thanks for the offer but I'm looking for one of the newer shape models and ideally around 5 years (or less) old. It needs to be something that I can stick with for 3 to 4 years as I will be upgrading my car in between that period as well. There seems to be quite a lot going locally to me on autotrader and I have been looking mainly at dealers (I know I will pay a higher price) but the attraction of even a short period of warranty is winning me over at the moment
welcome to the mad house.
my advice is buy the naked version, if you drop it you wont do as much damage and they are better bikes to ride than the sport version. your first purchase (unless they are already fitted) should be R&G crash bungs then a scottoiler, after that it's just cosmetics like a nice exhaust.
when buying the bike look out for tell tale signs of crash damage like bent and scuffed levers, rearsets and paintwork rash. the late 2007 onwards are twin spark bikes and these are the ones you want to get.
Welcome to the forum. If I had my time again I would buy buy an SV which had the suspension sorted out as the stock suspension is terrible.
Other than that they are great bikes and very little in the way of common problems.
Hi Bibio, You are not the first person to advise me that, I know the plastics will damage easily even from the gentlest of drops. However... and please don't flame me for saying this. I'm not a fan of the look of the naked bikes and much prefer the half faired S model, I know it makes practical and financial sense to ride a naked bike for a while but I would struggle to fall in love with the look of it.
I have no problem driving around in practical utilitarian cars but for a bike I need it to be something that makes my heart skip a beat when I open the garage door ready to go for a ride. If that means running the risk of doing some expensive damage after a newbie mistake then that is a risk I am prepared to take, I do see crash protectors as a must have and if I buy a bike without them I will certainly have them installed very soon after.
no flame as its your choice but the sport version seating position is terrible and almost everyone who has a sport wishes the riding position was better. until you strengthen your wrists and lower back you will be in pain after about 30 miles. who cares what it looks like in the garage your riding the thing and thats what it's all about, grin factor :-)
TBH i think the SV650 a is fugly bike in both guises.
what ever you decide have fun, stay safe and keep it shiny side up.
hopefully being a (fairly) in shape 26 year old should help with that. I best start doing some more bar curls in preparation lol. As it will be my first bike and first time on the road on a bike unsupervised I will only be doing short journeys to start with anyway so I should be able to get used to it gradually before tackling any long rides
Matt-EUC
22-07-14, 11:55 AM
The best way to strengthen the appropriate muscle for riding, is by riding. The longer the better. When your wrists get tired, ride another 5 miles before you stop.
Sent via the medium of interpretive dance.
EssexDave
22-07-14, 03:14 PM
no flame as its your choice but the sport version seating position is terrible and almost everyone who has a sport wishes the riding position was better. until you strengthen your wrists and lower back you will be in pain after about 30 miles.
From someone who rode 600 miles in a day on a 2009 stock SV650sport, I completely disagree.
The suspension however, now that I do completely agree. Far too soft and some good threads on here about how to sort it. If you can find one with a rear shock already done, then front forks are pretty easy.
P.s. Welcome to the forum ;)
I'm nearly 50 and have no problems with the S comfort wise, I've ridden two 2000+ mile tours on it with no problems.
My curvy's 15 years old now, had it 4 years put 30,000 miles on it with no major issues so far and I'm off to Italy Friday for some more fun :)
Luckypants
22-07-14, 03:26 PM
Croeso! :cool:
I have read about the suspension being a bit wafty. Is it crucial to do to anything about it straight away? bearing in mind that this will be my first bike so will it be something that I will notice or something that I can live with until my skills develop a bit?
I have read about the suspension being a bit wafty. Is it crucial to do to anything about it straight away? bearing in mind that this will be my first bike so will it be something that I will notice or something that I can live with until my skills develop a bit?
You should be fine for a while as long as you're not a bit of a lump...
nope... still investing time and money into my beer gut but it's not quite there yet
Some people live with the suspension as standard and have no problems. I hated it and found it was restricitng my learning as I had no confidence in the bike at all.
EssexDave
22-07-14, 04:44 PM
The suspension will do you fine for quite a while, and also if you're not that fussed about going real quick it won't matter anyway.
It's just a bit soft, so the heavier you are, the more you'll notice it. I changed it and noticed a huge difference, but only after probably three years of riding.
I may add that I'm not a very good rider and slower on a new Fireblade than others on 10 year old SVs so it was probably just me :)
The Idle Biker
22-07-14, 09:44 PM
Welcome aboard. L3nny is right, he's pants.......and modest. ;-)
Modest in his pants even.
DJFridge
22-07-14, 10:26 PM
Welcome. All life is here, from the criminally insane to the just slightly damaged. I'm with you on the naked/faired thing. I much prefer the look of a faired bike and the riding position isn't that bad. If you can, ride both and pick your favourite.
I have tried a faired pointy and loved it, that's what helped me make up my mind. For me buying a bike is about buying something that I will love to ride and to look at, it may make sense to buy something that is less likely to damage from a drop but I just can't bring myself to do it. Plus if/when I do drop it there is a very good body shop a couple of doors down from where I work who offer a pretty good rate to us here at work so repairs should be cheaper for me than most others.
If I can slightly swing this topic back around to my original question... What sort of things should I be looking out for when buying a used SV? and at what mileage are major works needed?
Big service is every 15,000 miles when the valve clearances should be checked and, if necessary, adjusted. A garage would probably be £300 or £400 at a wild guess but it's all labour so if you can do it yourself it's pennies.
Other than servicing history, it's the usual stuff relevant to any bike/vehicle - general condition, crash damage, signs of neglect etc. The condition of tyres, chain and sprockets can be a bargaining point if they will need replacing soon.
that's probably not something I could do myself, my maintenance skills are basic at best, bulb and fluid changes are about my limit I'm afraid.
With chain and sprocket wear will there be a visible sign? i.e. worn teeth? corrosion etc?
In general, sprocket teeth worn to a sharp point or hooked mean it's time to change.
If you can, when you go looking, take someone along with you who knows a bit about bikes who can advise and maybe temper your enthusiasm :)
http://www.clarity.net/adam/buying-bike.html
cool that looks pretty good. I'll have a read of that when I get home tonight
thanks mate
The time has now come, I'm picking up my first bike on Saturday morning, it's a full faired SV650, 09 plate, 5k miles on it and came at a pretty good price. Before I collect it the dealer is giving it a service/MOT and will also fit a new exhaust for me, I have ordered a Delkevic DL10 carbon exhaust.
I will post up some pics once I've got it (and if the weather is good)
one question.... why does my post count say 2? Does it not count replies to threads?
maviczap
06-11-14, 11:44 AM
posts in idle banter don't count to your score
thanks for that, I had wondered why my count wasn't increasing... I best think of something useful to say in one of the other sections then.
Cheers
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