[rowdy]

I haven’t ridden any of my bikes for a while. I have a vfr400r, a triumph tiger 800, a bmw r850gs, and my sv650.
The sv has and probably always will be my favourite.

The reason I bought it in the first place, I had a go on my cousins Honda sp1, and loved the v twin. I bought the sv brand new without even riding one. It was when the pointy was just released, and I was offered a test ride but it was the curvy they had as a demo. I’d sat on the curvy but being 6’2” the tank was the wrong shape for my legs so declined the test ride as the riding position might have put me off. I had sat on a pointy in the showroom which felt more comfortable.

As soon as I picked it up and rode home any fear of disappointment having not tried one had vanished, and I was pleased, and impressed with my new bike. That was 20 years ago and I still have it.

A mate of mine bought a Ducati monster 696 and asked me to ride it back home for him. Being a Ducati, I was expecting it to be the definitive version of what a v twin should be. I’ll be honest, I was disappointed. The engine lacked character compared to the sv. In general the whole bike didn’t live up to its Monster name, and felt to me like a girls bike.