The SV's out, VFR in.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by sv_rider1990

stuff

The standing quarter mile times, while not representative of road riding, show how close the performance is.

[Swin]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

The standing quarter mile times, while not representative of road riding, show how close the performance is.

apart from traffic light gp

There was a reporter for a magazine, long time ago, who went from a 750 to a 250 and found that it was just as much fun. Riding the 750 you are riding at 6/10 of it's capability and worrying about tickets, bricks in the road etc etc, whereas the 250 is more of a 10/10 effort, but still only just over the legal limits.[edit] This was a long time ago, even 250s shift like mad these days!
I guess the point is that it's horses for courses - if I were a "touring every weekend" man, I'd go for the VFR. As I'm a "commute into London and want a cheap bike to do it" person I go for the SV

[yorkie_chris]

Heh, so are you off to VFR forum to compare various merits of different pipe tobaccos then?

Advanced rider? you should be doing your duty to improve image of advanced riding by buying the most mentalist bike you can find, sticking some kneesliders on and seeing how many points you can accumulate in a week! Never mind all this sensible b0llocks

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

The standing quarter mile times, while not representative of road riding, show how close the performance is.

Because VFR is about 11 feet long

if I wanted a tourer I'd be looking at a teapot 1100, better bike than the viffer because they are so simple and cheap. And they can have some really serious poke if you want them to.

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

...
It has more top end for sure - 160mph on a good day. BUT on real roads riding it has very little advantage over the SV, ...

In just the same way as an R1, GSXR or Fireblade has minimal advantage in real world, legal(ish) situations on the road. But marketing's a powerful thing!

Originally Posted by Luckypants

the V-twin is more torquey than the V4 so tends to fire you out of corners faster. ...

Not sure I agree there, looking at the quoted figures. Would need to compare full traces to get the full story. Mainly though, I think the extra weight of the VFR is the problem: the lighter SV can hold higher corner speed.

Originally Posted by Luckypants

The standing quarter mile times, while not representative of road riding, show how close the performance is.

Shame there's no terminal speed noted, because I bet the gap would be widening.

BTW, I'm not picking on you Luckypants

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

...
if I wanted a tourer I'd be looking at a teapot 1100, better bike than the viffer because they are so simple and cheap. And they can have some really serious poke if you want them to.

Yep, I agree, but the VFR isn't a proper tourer - it's more a soft sportsbike that can tour pretty well. Bit like the SV really!

Able as I am to ride a pointy SV-S and pre-VTEC VFR back to back, IMHO the VFR is certainly noticeably faster. I am more conscious of how carefully I should wring the throttle on the VFR. However, the SV's no slouch by any means. It's just a different feel to riding the two bikes. To get the best out of 'em on the road you need to ride slightly differently.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Ruffy

I think the extra weight of the VFR is the problem:

Agreed

Originally Posted by Ruffy

the lighter SV can hold higher corner speed.

I beg to differ!

Originally Posted by Ruffy

BTW, I'm not picking on you Luckypants

never thought you were

Originally Posted by Ruffy

IMHO the VFR is certainly noticeably faster. I am more conscious of how carefully I should wring the throttle on the VFR. However, the SV's no slouch by any means. It's just a different feel to riding the two bikes. To get the best out of 'em on the road you need to ride slightly differently.

Well I have to admit it's been a while since I rode an SV in anger, but when I changed bikes I did not notice a big step up in performance. It is true that I don't just wind the throttle back on the VFR like I did on the SV, so perhaps there is more 'go' in it. Now I had the suspension sorted I am using more of the performance and so the bike feels quicker, but still not convinced it is that much faster than the SV. Anyone want to lend me their SV?

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I beg to differ!

You're probably right. Thinking about it, corner speed's more a function of lean angle and tyre grip/confidence. Maybe I'm finding that the weight affects the latter more on the VFR than the SV?