What’s the down side to the SV650?

I'd say the biggest thing out of the box was the forks and that it can dive under hard braking... didn't see that as a problem until I tried a sportsbike with better forks and brakes
That can be fixed relatively cheaply though - I know JHS will take the bike in, fit the right forks and oil and give you the bike back for around £200 and I'd seriously consider doing this on the next SV... I didn't realise it could be improved so much... though saying that it's not as if it's terrible out of the box... for a budget bike it's still brilliant handling

The forks can be improved a lot just by changing the oil in them and dialing in the stiffness required by changing the amount of oil in them. You'll need a stand and jack to do it, but it's not very hard.

although the sv does have its downsides for what you pay for one you cant really go wrong

Front forks are a bit soft.
Original tyres aint the best for grip.
Not the best build quality.
Slightly jerky at low speed/revs.

But the pros massively outway the cons. And most of the cons can be fixed.

Also, don't bother trying to keep up with a 600 on a straight, it ain't gonna happen.

Up to around 100mph the sv wont be far behind a 600 sportbike. I quite reguarly beat 600s off the lights up to about 60/70.

I think the folks above have listed all the technical niggles, but in a way I think the biggest rawback is actually the biggest upside. The SV doesn't have that pose value of a gsxr or yzf, so people don't go out of their way to 'have a go' it means that you can get out and ride to your limits and come back with a big smile on your face without feeling pressured (yes I know you shouldn't, but back in the real world...) after a while you realise you can make just as good or better progress than those guys anyway

So in short it doesn't have a wallet slimming pose value.

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

Is that due to vibes? Hopefully as you get more experience and feel more comfortable on the bike you'll start to relax a bit. Chances are that you're gripping the bars just a little too tightly.

The throttle can be a little twitchy, but imo only at low revs in first gear. You can do things to improve this, though.

Your right there it is the vibes, I have been wondering if I have been gripping the bar to hard, I noticed it more this morning down the M1 because I could only see about two car lengths in front of me and I had the wife on the back too.

I guess I was a little tense and not relaxed.

Cheers

Rich

on a straight - SV's arnt very far behind me to be honest.

ive had a thou come past me on a straight - -but his bike didnt sound standard.

Originally Posted by rwoodcock01

Your right there it is the vibes, I have been wondering if I have been gripping the bar to hard, I noticed it more this morning down the M1 because I could only see about two car lengths in front of me and I had the wife on the back too.

I guess I was a little tense and not relaxed.

Cheers

Rich

Since your bike is relatively new I'm presuming. It just might be that the FI barrels need to be synchronized and that may take most of the vibration out.
Cheers!