SV's - The Dogs or What?

Hi
Just out of curiosity, what do other, non-SV riders think of our lovely SV's? Are we all extremely biased in here towards them? What do Kwacki's Honda's, Yamahah, Harley owners etc really think of our prize much loved machines? Do they laugh at us? Do we have status in the biking fraternity? I need to know.

I've never been on a 'meet' or 'ride out' and don't get to talk to that many other bikers.

Jon from Bristol.



Ps. A very nice man in Fowlers of Bristol will do a 'good as new valet' for £15...well, thats what he told me. I might give him a go.

Alot will have you believe its a girls bike

Although everyone i've spoken to loves the looks of my blue pointy and are a little jealous of the noise it makes with a race can :P

[Sid Squid]

You have to be realistic about this, lots of riders have no experience of the SV and, on paper at least, it's not exactly going to set anyone's trousers alight. But then it really is a damn fine bike - anyone who rides one and isn't numbers obsessed will realise this very soon.

There is also the 'novice' element. The SV is seen as an easy first bike, which it is of course, but it also has much to offer if you're sensible and grown up enough to know that you probably don't really need a hundred and fifty horsepower* to bull**** about in the pub.

The SV is truly great, I first encountered one a long long time after I started riding and it's shone immediately, it's definately brilliant - certainly a bike that can be described as far more than a sum of it's parts.

*That you can't use.

I know or meet lots of bikers who ride other bikes and everyone seems to have a positive view of the SV650. I often get people say "they're brilliant them", or tell me to get a replacement exhaust because of the impressive sound these bikes make with a louder pipe.

I met a bloke the other day who has a shed full of bikes, he described himself as "bike mad", and had owned both a curvey and a pointy in the past, and he thought the SV to be a great bike he especially likes the engine.

Ive just recently joined the SV owners fraternity so I might have a balanced view.

I have only been riding for a few years and only had two previous bikes but Ive been fortunate enough to ride a variety of bikes and Im a person who can forge his own opinions based on what he thinks and not someone else.

I previously owned a 2000 reg CBR six.

Before I even contemplated getting an SV I had an average view of them, like has been expressed here. Cheap, novice first big bikes that were available everywhere. I also dreaded the thought of buying a second hand Suzuki (I actually swore I would NEVER buy a second hand one) but that was fom looking at my mates bandit and the constant repairs, not to mention the pile of rust it was rapidly becoming. The attraction to the SV for me was simply its price. At a little over 4K brand new, with a warranty, it was an attractive prospect. Speaking to people at work I got a bit of a hard time. They seem to believe it as a bland boring bike that I will be sick of in a few months time. I also had comments like 'Get a real twin' and some even called it a glorified garden rotivator!!

Now I own one and I can understand why you people are devoted to the SV. It is actually a good bike, but only when in context. Its an excellent pound for pound machine that punches way above its weight for both its running costs and its original price. I had a hornet on hire for 3-4 months and if they both had been the same price new I would have opted for the inline six Honda. Having looked at some parts of my new bike they have a very distinct 'budget' feel, and Im worried about the longevity of some of the shinier parts. The ride and handling are fine, very flickable and has been a good friend to me considering its my first bike since a big off. The power at first seemed to be very little after stepping down from a 100hp machine, but I thought Id wait it out until my 5000rpm limit was off before making my decision. Now I have 8250rpm to play with there feels like a bit of power is there but it will never put a smile on my face like the CBR did.

I think suzuki have got it right with the pointy though, Ive never had anyone go out of their way to tell me that the CBR was 'a bonny bike' etc. I think that even I underestimated the SV, the downside for me is that I used to have more power and what I think may prove to have been a more reliable machine. I ride 365 days a year so I will be impressed if the SV makes it through winter as well as the honda. The honda also needed a new cam chain tensioner in 14,000 miles and 18 months of balls out thrashing ownership, nothng else, again if the suzuki can manage this without any breakdown then thumbs up.

had my sv for 5 years now. was recommended when i passed my das. bought it and loved it. became observer for IAM and everyone there loved my bike and commented on how good it sounded on the track. my ex hubby has had cbr6, fazer, blackbird and blade. he used to love going out to play on my sv when i wasnt looking. wasnt so keen when i took the blade out though.

lovely wee bike and so easy to ride

ive been riding now for 10years and have own'd quite a few il4 sports bikes with more bhp and and top speed than an sv, to cut a long story short i just love the sv or should i say i just love the v twin engine.

The good thing about SV ownership is that you have no illusions about the strength and weaknesses of the bike.

It is a Suzuki...light, little V-twin.

[northwind]

You get very mixed reactions... I'm going to counter some stereotypes with some of my own Riders of Supersports 600s and big twins tend to have the absolute least respect for the SV, in my experience.

There may also be a correlation- the more needlessly sticky your tyres are, the more likely you are to slag an SV These are the guys convinced that they need all that grip because they're just that damn fast- what do you mean, you've got Roadtecs on? You must be very slow. I've got Rennsports. What do you mean, it only makes 70bhp?

Funnily enough, if you take an SV to a trackday you tend to get the most positive reactions from owners of litre sports bikes, again just in my experience of course. The fairly useless guys on teh 600s are the ones that don't even speak to you. Maybe because you challenge their manhood by being faster on a girl's bike.

But lets be honest... A lot of us have a pretty inflated opinion of the bike as well.

It's a girl's bike, strap your handbag to the pillion seat with pride