First run out on SV.

Howdie - I'm new around here.......very new in fact :

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=177795

I passed my mod 2 on Thursday last week and my trusty steed arrived the same day. Good timing?! There's a pic at the bottom of my bike. Hope you like it!

Anyway, I did my first decent run (150 miles) over the weakend and thought I'd post my thoughts/experiences. Probably old news to a lot of people but it's new to me, and I'm like a kid before Xmas! Want to tell everyone but the Mrs, kid and the dog are bored hearing about it, so you lot are getting it.

I live in Scotland (Kirkcaldy) and my parents have a wee holiday home in Dunkeld. There's various ways of getting between the 2 but I wanted to combine a bit of motorway, twisty roads, roundabouts, junctions, etc to basically continue my learning from my lessons/test. Could have done it all twisty B-roads and could have done it all on motorway but opted for a combination of the two..........

http://g.co/maps/z38ks

Basically it was ****ING it down on Friday but the weather was decent on Sat & Sun so I went regardless. Varied between showers and downpours all the way up. Shock came when I turned on the A9 onto the wee road that goes to their place and there was 1/2 inch of snow on the ground! Proper crapped myself and had to go slow. Walking speed in fact. Nevermind - got there ok which is the main thing.

First impressions of the bike are great. I learnt on a ER6-N and whilst similar on paper, they are totally different. The SV has NO (and I mean NO) steering lock compared to the ER6. The first few junctions were interesting to say the least. No problems though - just not as easy as the ER6. By the time I got there and certainly by the time I got home I was fine with it. Might pop to an industrial estate though for a wee practice just to keep the basic skills fresh.

Secondly the riding position is proper different. On the ER6 I was sat up but on my SV I'm practically lying down. This is cool but my forearms and hands hurt a wee bit but the time I got up North. Nothing major though but something for me to think about before doing any really long distance stuff.

In addition, the fuel consumption seems really good. I filled on Friday with the light on and it cost me £18. I've done 150 miles and the lights still off. Great success!

Lastly, the bike is f*cking rapid compared to the ER6. Obviously I didn't nail it on the lessons but coming off a roundabout and getting up to 70 was radically different on the ER6 vs the SV. Sounds lovely too.

On Saturday I drove along to Crieff and back. Nice wee ride and it got me up to a decent speed on the bends. I'm still no racer but I'm now a LOT better than I was the day before. Easily keeping up with traffic and overtaking where appropriate. Much more confident. Route is here :

http://g.co/maps/ec4pq

Enjoyed the day. Very sunny and passed loads of bikes. Clearly a popular road. Loved it.

Today I came home and used the same route as Friday. However, with it being dry and my confidence/ability/bike familiarity being 100 times increased since Friday I opened it up a bit more and was flying really smoothly along.

Loved every minute of it. I personally think the SV is a PERFECT bike for someone like me. I'm just out of my DAS and am 31 so I don't want to ride a "kids" bike but am also aware that anything sporty is going to get me in bother. The SV looks the nuts. Very very aggressive and sporty but with circa 80bhp it's fun but not lethal.

I love it.

K

Nice one, sounds like you're enjoying the bike. I too went onto an SV straight from DAS & never for a minute regreted it. Still not bored of it 12 months on even after having commuted through the winter.
The bike looks like a cracker too

I am in a similar situation. Got the SV for my first bike and I love it.

Enjoy and ride safe mate.

[mep]

Nice bike, Good account of your rides. Enjoy. You'll be smiling for a while yet.

I agree about the steering lock, but you'll get used to it. Circa 80bhp though! More like 70bhp.

Originally Posted by mep

Nice bike, Good account of your rides. Enjoy. You'll be smiling for a while yet.

I agree about the steering lock, but you'll get used to it. Circa 80bhp though! More like 70bhp.

Says about 80 on everything I've read??

Either way - makes me smile so it doesn't matter. Could be 7 or 700 for all I care. It's enough for me.

K

150 miles to the fuel light! You must be being conservative with the throttle :P

Great bike - identical to mine which I got 2 weeks ago. As for the riding position - try to keep your arms/hands as relaxed as possible; this way you will reduce fatigue a lot. You were brave in the wet for a first ride - the bike is much better on the dry I've found. Don't you just love the way the power rolls on up to very decent speeds? Despite only 70bhp - the bike is very light and coupled with the V-twin engine, it will perform just as well as many IL4 sportsbikes. Aren't we lucky! I just can't stop riding mine - my other 2 bikes aren't getting a look in at the moment!

To be honest, I did my whole DAS in the rain so it was no big deal!

K