New to site and bike
 

Woo hoo! I'm picking up my 99 SV650s tomorrow morning. I'm stepping up from a Honda VT250 bike (learner legal in Australia).

I have never ridden a bike with an engine bigger that 250cc before.

Is there anything I should be carefull off with the SV? It weighs about the same as my old bike and I'm 6"2' so the bike is just the right size for me.

I'm also returning to riding after being taken out by a cager making a turn in front of me. Lucky I was going only 30kph (anticipated some danger). Apparently he didn't see me (lights on, bright leathers, helmet etc)

Well, some background on the bike. Its done 14000kms and has been serviced regularly according to the books. Its blue.

I'm filled in anticipation, hoping that it'll be easy to ride.

Welcome \:D/

Advice... Don't let the engine braking surprise you. Other than that, enjoy 8)

Hi and big welcome.

Top bike. Sure you'll love it. Great choice in old shape and blue!

So you're saying take care downshifting?

What are the brakes like on the SV?

Are there any horsepower peaks in the rev range i should be mindfull off?

The thing that worries me is power delivery . . . It does had 2x the power of my old bike.

Welcome to the site :D

Blip the throttle on the downshift. There is a lot of engine breaking. You'll get used to it. It also means brake pads last for ages.

Brakes are OK at best if they are standard. You can improve with some decent pads (Corbone Lorraines) and braided hoses.

No real "harsh" peaks in power, but it does pull harder from 6,500 ish.

Enjoy and welcome to the site.

I stepped up from a 500cc Kawasaki to the 650SV and found that 70mph came up alot quicker than I was expecting. Watch out for the cops!!!

I also went from a 500cc Kwaki. Was yours a GPZ by any chance?

70 came must faster than I was expecting, with much less gear changes...

I find the breakes great for road work - but then I don't really have any twisties to test them on properly. The back wheel can quite easily be lifted at lights (that shocked me, I wasn't trying to!)

The engine braking is phenominal! But then aren't v twins known for that?

All in all a great bike. I'm loving mine.

Stu

There's alot of ex gpz500 riders on here...

Myself and Amanda M are former gpz owners

:D

Welcome to the site