not getting on with the sv......

Had my SV 650S for 3 weeks now and to be honest I'm not digging it like I thought I would. Living in London the riding position (albeit not extreme) doesnt seem to be suited to urban/ heavy traffic scenarios. Got higher rearsets on too which isnt helping. My hands knack after even 15 minutes. Plus the engine breaking is a bit irritating though its probs cos I'm not feathering the clutch correctly.

Think I may cash in my chips and get a something more suitable for city riding. Like a fire breathing Supermoto.

Will I get used to the sv?

[the_lone_wolf]

grip with your knees, it'll ache at first until your lega and back muscles catch up with you but it's worth it...

be aware that if you want a fire breathing SM you'll have to prepare for fire breathing maintenance schedules, like 300m oil changes and 1000m valve checks

I would say yes you will get used to it.
BUT, if it is just city riding you will be doing then, yes, there are better out there.
Stick with the SV and venture out of town a few times.
Have you been in touch with the Soho crowd, you might get lucky and manage to get on a rideout with them.

[jambo]

My daily commuter bike is a 2001 ZX6R and it does 15 miles each way into London and out everyday. You can commute on damn near anything, the key point is that the handlebars are control surfaces, not grab rails, try your best not to put your weight through them. Also check your levers are adjusted for you. Your wrists should be straight not bent to reach levers.

Jambo

Hi, you don't say if it's a pointy or a curvy.

Have you got the handlebar levers adjusted so that you can draw an imaginary straight line through your elbow,wrist and finger tips?

Also why not adjust the rearsets to a lower position?

I'll swap rearsets if you like......

Originally Posted by etuna

Had my SV 650S for 3 weeks now and to be honest I'm not digging it like I thought I would. Living in London the riding position (albeit not extreme) doesnt seem to be suited to urban/ heavy traffic scenarios. Got higher rearsets on too which isnt helping. My hands knack after even 15 minutes. Plus the engine breaking is a bit irritating though its probs cos I'm not feathering the clutch correctly.

Think I may cash in my chips and get a something more suitable for city riding. Like a fire breathing Supermoto.

Will I get used to the sv?

You will find that at first when you get on the SV it was the same for me, the first day I got my bike I did 80 miles and I was sore! But you will get use to it.

I bet your handing on life on the bars aren't you? As jambo said relax they are controls and should not be gripped as Sid Squid taught me, you should be be able to do the funky chicken and have totally movement in your arms elbow, you arms should not be straight be bent at the Elbow.

Yup you can have standard rearsets if you want!

I may go for ride next week some time, do you get week days off? If so PM me ect as I go out mid week for rides for fun, the roads are quiter ect.

You just need to use to your new bike, you are muscles that you don't usually use when you are riding, if you still struglle get down the gym and build your core strengh up. But its fine. As for engine breaking its great again your just getting use to it. Thats how I found it after having my SV for nearly year now!

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by jambo

My daily commuter bike is a 2001 ZX6R and it does 15 miles each way into London and out everyday. You can commute on damn near anything, the key point is that the handlebars are control surfaces, not grab rails, try your best not to put your weight through them. Also check your levers are adjusted for you. Your wrists should be straight not bent to reach levers.

+ 1

I commute on a GSXR and my other half commutes on a Ducati 749S both bike have a more extreme seating position than the SV does.

I felt uncomfortable for a few weeks at first, commuting on my curvy S. but after while, my body got stronger in the right places and I learnt to adjust how I sat on the bike to be comfy.

As for the engine braking, select a differant gear; I tend to chose a gear that keeps the bike under 5000 rpm if I'm riding along slowly, this makes the engine braking more managable. Your thorrlte control will come on, as will learning to slip the clutch better. Keep at it - the SV is an excellent bike for london riding

Matt

Give it a bit longer if you dont like it, get rid of it, no point riding a bike that gives you no joy at all.