I have never been able to understand this …

Originally Posted by SV650Racer

So far in our race series that has been proven very very wrong ..

I work my butt off everyday..why not spend my money on my bike and make it as good as i can get it. I could bodge it and do it on the cheap...but why would i do that when i can make it as good as possible!

I wouldn’t say the alternative I am suggesting (just buying a GSXR etc rarther than spend shed loads trying to make a SV650 ‘faster’ or better looking) is 'bodging it' or 'doing it on the cheap' ... it is just buying a superior package to start with rather than trying to perform alchemy!!

Trouble is i think after one race Bemsee would rumble that my ultimate steed..the GSXR1000 isnt quite elidgable for Thunderbikes...

People modding their bikes and spending a "fortune" on them isnt any different to buying a heap to make good. Why do that when you can hunt around and buy one without the gaffer tape for the same money!. Because you want to...and why not!

Horses for courses...maybe its the reason why they make bikes in different colours!...personal choice.

I think its cool that people want to make their bikes their own..and individual. To heck with people saying..buy a bigger bike!. These people want the SV..and then just want to make it a little bit better but still have the SV.

Originally Posted by SV650Racer

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Trouble is i think after one race Bemsee would rumble that my ultimate steed..the GSXR1000 isnt quite elidgable for Thunderbikes...

You could always race it in Forza/Powerbikes (or whatever it is called these days!)!!

People modding their bikes and spending a "fortune" on them isnt any different to buying a heap to make good. Why do that when you can hunt around and buy one without the gaffer tape for the same money!. Because you want to...and why not!

Personally, I can’t understand that either, spending more than you could have bought 'good' for + all that time/effort really is nuts!!!

stuff

I don’t want any ‘better’ than my SV, it does all I need (commutes well, a bit of fun if I twist the tube, yet makes it hard work to go over a ton, so forcing me to keep more in check than a 180mph monster). But I wouldn’t spend £’000s on what is and will only ever be an SV … that is just illogical to me …

If everyone thought the same way..no one would be racing!.

Race powerbikes..ok take one GSXR1000 and spend equally as much on it..then go and race it in Powerbikes.

No..id rather take an SV and spend 1000's on it and race in Thunderbikes..sell it this season at a massive loss...then buy a GSXR600..spend 1000's on it and race that instead!.

Coolio!

Originally Posted by SV650Racer

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Race bike/racing is an anomaly in my argument here … nothing about racing makes logical ‘sense’, especially the financial element!!

I was actually meaning road bikes where you can legitmatly just buy a bigger/better bike and still use it, in racing you have to do the utmost to it to keep it competitive, regardless of class that is gonna ‘cost ya’ - so much of the illogical for the road is a must/logical for a racebike.

However as you bought it up, the spend you must have done on your SV you could have bought a year old ‘sorted’ GSXR1000 ‘package’ for that surely?

Building a racebike from a NEW roadbike is a money pit as you have to throw half of it away and start again!! However 2nd hand ‘packages’ are only worth a fraction of the original build price and if you have a limited budget, you will end up with a better final bike than starting from scratch and having to cut corners as spend is getting silly (been there - made that mistake before ). If you have the pockets for it, then why not though, it WILL be better than a year old one!!! It’s a bit like the buying a new ROAD bike and a 6month old one that has already taken the depreciation hit, its mor 'logical' to buy the 6 month old one … it is that effect, but magnified very many times with racebikes!!

But we digress ...

Remember that a bike doesn't make much sense either. A car is safer, drier and more luggage friendly. Why buy a bike in the first place then? There are usually other alternatives. If you can have a bike - why not? If you can completely transform it into your dream bike - why not.

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

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However as you bought it up, the spend you must have done on your SV you could have bought a year old ‘sorted’ GSXR1000 ‘package’ for that surely?

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I could of....but it wouldnt fit in with what i want to do.

If i had a road bike id still spend money on it. Id put an Ohlins in the rear..maybe 25mm kit in the forks..full system (road legal of course! ) and maybe some other bits...why?. Cause i have been spoilt riding perfectly setup bikes and stock bikes just arent quite the same.

But thats me..i am skint..but i work hard..pay myself every month just enough to keep the bank happy..dont do expensive holidays..and just like a blinged..nice to ride bike.

Ultimatly it would be a tuned GSXR750K7..for me..yubba yubba

I've spent a fortune on my SV. I never intended to, it just happened. I'd go to a bike show and 'oooh, shiney *buys*'.

I will always end up spending money on my bikes.

I dread to think what I shelled out on the Bandit, but then it was a decent price to being with, and a lot of parts were used on the slingshot project too...

Only just got the SV, and already there's things I'd like to replace...

[timwilky]

I have to agree with Blue, if you are logical, you take an off the shelf SV and your first thing is to sort the suspension even a little with stiffer springs/oil. Then you leave it alone. Anything else is a waste of money that you will never recover. unless you remove the trick parts prior to sale return to standard and flog your bits second hand.

Next issue, is all the mods you have made, nice new loud exhaust, a couple of BHP more for modding the fueling, a power commander etc. Have you then declared them to your insurer etc.

so you go down the same route of every other SV owner, you buy the colour co ordinated lowers, or belly pan, seat hump and spoiler, to make it look like, errr every other SV.

TBH I would rather spend the little money I have to run the bike on decent tyres, an oil change every 1500 miles and fuel to ride it. Do I want to be like they guy accross the road who spends £1800 on a set of carbon wheels for his blade, £600 on the zorst,PC and setup, god knows what on supension and steering mods, and moans he cannot afford to ride the thing.