Which ones quicker and faster, SV650 or vfr400???

[riktherider]

its been confusing me for a little while, but which one is faster? i was riding with one the otehr day and it was keeping up quite well. is it me or is there something wrong with the bike, or are the vfr's tuned to the dogs ********

[Viney]

From the lights, the SV. Top end, probably about the same. Throught corners, depends on how each bike is set up and the ride i suppose.

I used to have a freind that had a 400, and we used to go out playing, and to be honest, there isnt that much in it. The SV is a bit more lazy, where the vfr screams its head off.

[riktherider]

yea the vfr was screaming loads, i was contemplating on getting one, but after seeing the pics of the sv faired bikie which has fairing damage, im glad i didnt.

[northwind]

If they made an updated version today I reckon it'd leave the SV for dead but it's knocking on now... I heard the new R6 is actually lighter than the RVF400, which if true is pretty amazing I reckon, shows how far we've come in a short time.

It's interesting that the VFR/FVR400s got slated as girl's bikes when they were launched and are now total biking icons... Now the SV fills the same role, how long till people are looking wistfully through the UBG for a mint K2 SVS with renegades? :)

[fizzwheel]

My brother has an RVF 400

I beat him off the lights, he then catches me up when he gets into powerband

I cant loose him on top end but he cant loose me either

I reckon they are about the same

[riktherider]

i think my main task is going to get the bike a lot lighter, and see if it can out run my mates. then i might take on an r6 :D

[simple simon]

I own an NC30 and a K3 SV650S, the Honda is heavier but smaller, needs the revs up - no guts till you hit the power band then waheeeeey.
The SV - well you all know about them...

Which is faster? To sit on the fence - it depends what mood I am in.

I disagree that the VFR was seen as a girls bike in its time - it was just (seemingly) way too expensive - would you now buy a 400 for more than a Blade? Course not, and that is why Honda only officially imported them for a long time.
Then they became cheaper and more people bought them as grey imports as the word spread.

Valid point though that the SV is seen as a bit of a light weight by some of the biking community - till you beat them on the brakes and into a bend.

The strap line on my NC30's reg plate is
Sorry - did I just pass you? 8)

Love them both! But omg what I wouldn't give for a single sided swing arm on the SV, that would be the nuts.

[northwind]

I disagree that the VFR was seen as a girls bike in its time

Well, OK, but it was a very common comment in magazine reviews of the time, and it's still a very common opinion among bikers... My cousin had one from new and he used to get an absolute slagging off his mates and other bikers. Wish he still had it... But he got a bit fat and had to buy an R1 :)

[Jp]

Love them both! But omg what I wouldn't give for a single sided swing arm on the SV, that would be the nuts.

Amen to that, just wondering, seeing as though its a 400CC IL4, what do those things rev to? It must be pretty damn high

[RandyO]

Love them both! But omg what I wouldn't give for a single sided swing arm on the SV, that would be the nuts.

Amen to that, just wondering, seeing as though its a 400CC IL4, what do those things rev to? It must be pretty damn high

the RVF is a V4 not an inline

[trick]

i think my main task is going to get the bike a lot lighter, and see if it can out run my mates. then i might take on an r6 :D

you wanna take on an R6? thats ambitous dont ya think you might beat it off the lights with a good start but anywhere from about 6grand on the R6 tacho and your toast

[northwind]

I dunno, the guys who're playing with seriously light race bikes across the pond have been able to produce some impressive results... Fire a 100+bhp engine in it and I reckon some R6 riders are going to wet themselves :) (until your crank dissolves)

[trick]

some of the JHS racing bike have almost reached 100 bhp, how much cash you gotta throw at an sv to make those kinda figures? what work you reckon they've done, and how much of it was on replacement rods and piston heads, hahaha

[goldengraemes]

If they made an updated version today I reckon it'd leave the SV for dead but it's knocking on now... I heard the new R6 is actually lighter than the RVF400, which if true is pretty amazing I reckon, shows how far we've come in a short time.
i sat on a new r6 in the dealer and it was lighter than my sv for sure felt as light as my old gsxr400 if not lighter it felt comfy to compared to the gsxr 600 which my knees hit the fairing when i put my feet on the ground(very poorly designed)
the gearbox on the r6 felt very good from a turned off position
the r6 would be my next choice

[A-jay]

I used to have an rvf400 before i got the sv a couple of months ago. I think the sv seems much quicker, might jus be because i'd never been on a twin before though. It does make sense tho, the sv only wieghs a few kg's more but has bout an extra 15bhp

[riktherider]

alot of the work to do on the sv to make it faster, is getting big bore kits, cam shafts, ect, which i think is cheating a bit cos your increasing the engine size a lot more.
i was thinking more along teh lines of getting lighter parts like forks, wheels, shock ect, and then playing with some power enhancements with the same engine size. if all else fails then i might try some nitrous oxide, but that would definatly be a last resort.
im also going to be putting a single sider on the bike, so if any knows of a vfr swingarm for sale i will be intersted as apparently they fit quite nicely.

[northwind]

There's a couple of viffer swingarms on Ebay at the mo... But it's a bit of a backwards step if you're going to lighten other things then throw extra weight into the rear end. Still, I think you should go for it and work it all out, then I'll nick your ideas and do it myself :)

[Sid Squid]

As said, not much difference in outright performance 'tween SV and VFR, but in the case of the VFR400NC30 the chassis is truly excellent, better than an SV, and will run rings round the 650 - in the right hands of course, which will need to be quite committed - only prob with NCs nowadays is that they're getting a bit old and the various bits of chassis are getting a bit baggy.

When right though, it's a better handler than an SV.

[Steve H]

One of the comments for the Kawasaki zxr 400 was that you might as well get off and walk unless you are doing 10,000 rpm!
mmmm,............No thanks! (Even if they are great looking bikes)