The SV

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by Bike27

With electronic fuel injection, the 390 is a much more modern engine than the DRZ. It is an utterly brilliant design performance wise, but also one that (like alot of other modern small capacity engines) is built down to a price in a 3rd world country (India) using locally sourced components.........

You can get kits to raise the DRZ output to over 50 ponies - but having ridden a standard one it didn't need messing with, main problem was the awkward position of the choke control on the carb.

The Jury is still out on the performance of carburettor vs Fuel injection. Sure EFI can get emissions down ( which is the biggest aim of modern engines ) and is more convenient because no pesky choke to worry about. RR had looked at fuel injection for Merlin before the war and decided that carburettor had advantages over fuel injection because the way the carb works uses the fuel to cool ( by evaporation ) the charge going into cylinder, which means that it expands more when the charge gets ignited. Remember that for comparable power output the Merlin was only 27 litres and the German DB engine in the Me109 was 36 litres, the extra capacity arguably needed to replace power loss due to Fuel injection, The RR Merlin turned into the Griffon which IIRC was fuel injected. But for capacity the Merlin with carb punched well above its weight - helped by higher octane fuel than the Germans had.

https://www.griffonmerlin.com/2010/0...uel-injection/

[Bike27]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

The Jury is still out on the performance of carburettor vs Fuel injection. Sure EFI can get emissions down ( which is the biggest aim of modern engines ) and is more convenient because no pesky choke to worry about......

Fair comment. I suppose I was just thinking back to the era when F.I. started to become more common on car engines (e.g. Golf Mk2/Scirocco 1.8 carb 90bhp / or 1.8GTI 110bhp). However, I dare say VW could have got the same power output with a performance orientated carb feeding each cylinder instead, so I agree there would have been other factors at play (as of course there always are) such as emissions / fuel economy / driveability / cost of manufacture etc. etc.

Originally Posted by SV650rules

The bike I had before the SV was a Suzuki DRZ400-SM....... that bike was a hoot to ride - but on the roads the SV is much better and you don't have to thrash it to keep up with faster traffic......

Originally Posted by SV650rules

You can get kits to raise the DRZ output to over 50 ponies - but having ridden a standard one it didn't need messing with.......

Hmmm......so on the one hand your DRZ didn't need "messing with" yet on the other you had to thrash it to keep up with faster traffic, something you presumably might not have needed to do as much, had you messed with it

Certainly once I had "messed with" my 390 Duke (by fitting a Powertronic Piggyback ECU and freer flowing air filter) it hugely boosted the mid range torque (where it ran pretty lean as stock for noise / emissions considerations I believe) and it never really felt like I was thrashing it. I remember thinking that if it had felt that good straight out of the showroom it could have harmed sales of the much more expensive 690, as people would have seen much less need to upgrade.

However much or little more actual perfomance a 390 duke can claim over a stock DRZ, I'm confident it would certainly feel faster in a straight line due to you being sat about 4 or 5 inches closer to the ground. I'm not the only one to consider that the little KTM evokes some of the spirit of the RD350LC, by being a small light bike capable of (at least) giving the impression of a surprising turn of speed, something that even a tuned DRZ is probably less likely to do on account of it not really being small in the same sense (it's that seat height again) even though it is indeed light. Whereas the 390 duke has a 125 road bike chassis, a supermoto is a somewhat different animal (I should know, as that's my other KTM ).

Certainly for me these days, I feel it is the sensation of speed just as much as actual speed that tends to help in making motorcycling a fun pursuit and a 390 Duke really delivers in that area (on the right roads).

Anyway, all that said things have moved on for me since I first commented on this thread........

Originally Posted by Bike27

I lost interest in my SV once the new bike novelty had worn off, as despite
it handling nicely and having a lovely motor I missed the fun of the KTM. However it is partly my own fault for adding about 8kgs worth of weight at the bike extremities (rear rack and crash bars). So I'm now putting the SV on a bit of a diet and hopefully I'll like it again.

I realise now that I never really gave my SV a chance to properly shine last year. The previous owner fitted a Nitron shock, but was probably a lot lighter than my 100kgs, so it was set way too soft for me. By the time I'd sorted that out, I'd already added the crash bars and surprisingly heavy renntec rack which (with the massive benefit of hindsight) was never going to help win me over coming from the super light 390.

I've put the SV on the above diet as promised, ridden it for 250 miles and yeah, I can't really fault it - it's pretty great !

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by Bike27

Hmmm......so on the one hand your DRZ didn't need "messing with" yet on the other you had to thrash it to keep up with faster traffic, something you presumably might not have needed to do as much, had you messed with it

I rarely, very rarely went on 70mph roads on DRZ, that is not what a bike like that is for - on B roads ( and there are plenty of those in Shropshire ) it handled like a dream and had an unburstable engine - I often wish I had kept it as well as getting SV I have now, but never been a bike collector, and the very high seat bothered me. The main problem on 70mph roads was really that it needed a 6th gear, i was not the only DRZ owner who kept trying to 'change up a gear ' when in 5th.

[Bike27]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

The main problem on 70mph roads was really that it needed a 6th gear, i was not the only DRZ owner who kept trying to 'change up a gear ' when in 5th.

16 years since I last rode it, but I seem to remember having the exact same issue on my DR350. On the more potent DRZ, perhaps it could have been worth experimenting with slightly taller gearing? Still I guess buying the SV comprehensively solved the issue

[Balky001]

I got my new K3 SV650S the day I passed my test (I was a late starter at 35!). It was a bargain and looked great in blue. The Remus can used to echo off the building in London and I loved the back end, tail tidy and Ermax undertray with intergrated indicators. Did my first track day on it after riding for 7 months at Brands Indy and shocked people weren't passing me with their SS600s and 748s. The Ohlins suspension and brake upgrades might have helped though .

As the first year of the pointy, I used to get stopped and asked about it all the time. It was a great bike. If it hadn't had bit the end of my thumb off when I was stupidly cleaning the chain with it running (yes, we all know not to do that now) I might have kept it but it had to learn its lesson! I get stopped now on the Bonneville by the slightly greyer crowd (me being one of them) who like to reminisce their youth. Not the same!!

The SV will always be special to me but my GSXR600 K2 will be my favourite purely as the best track memories were on it, quite a few with people off this forum, Weazel, Luke Miller, 30MPHMax, ROB_SV, Dicky Ticker (came to watch, lovely lovely man), Blue_SV650 (he was super quick, fast group at Silverstone!) and quite a few more I can't remember now. Good times

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by Balky001

I got my new K3 SV650S the day I passed my test (I was a late starter at 35!). It was a bargain and looked great in blue. The Remus can used to echo off the building in London and I loved the back end, tail tidy and Ermax undertray with intergrated indicators. Did my first track day on it after riding for 7 months at Brands Indy and shocked people weren't passing me with their SS600s and 748s. The Ohlins suspension and brake upgrades might have helped though .

As the first year of the pointy, I used to get stopped and asked about it all the time. It was a great bike. If it hadn't had bit the end of my thumb off when I was stupidly cleaning the chain with it running (yes, we all know not to do that now) I might have kept it but it had to learn its lesson! I get stopped now on the Bonneville by the slightly greyer crowd (me being one of them) who like to reminisce their youth. Not the same!!

The SV will always be special to me but my GSXR600 K2 will be my favourite purely as the best track memories were on it, quite a few with people off this forum, Weazel, Luke Miller, 30MPHMax, ROB_SV, Dicky Ticker (came to watch, lovely lovely man), Blue_SV650 (he was super quick, fast group at Silverstone!) and quite a few more I can't remember now. Good times

Bloody hell. I was telling someone about your thumb incident the other day - didn't realise it was you but knew it was a forummer!

Blue-SV650 , I forget his name , was he the bloke that whizzed about with a fag on the go in his flip front lid, scraping his pegs? He was fast, he poss lowsided on a rideout onetime.
Blast from the past

[Balky001]

Originally Posted by Dave20046

Bloody hell. I was telling someone about your thumb incident the other day - didn't realise it was you but knew it was a forummer!

Blue-SV650 , I forget his name , was he the bloke that whizzed about with a fag on the go in his flip front lid, scraping his pegs? He was fast, he poss lowsided on a rideout onetime.
Blast from the past

Yep that was me

The Blue I remembered did some track videos. He also did a very funny get your knee down vid using a model bike and a doll. Unfortunately some members Took offence at his commented and humour and got him banned. He was seriously quick. Think he was from Portsmouth way

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by Balky001

Yep that was me

The Blue I remembered did some track videos. He also did a very funny get your knee down vid using a model bike and a doll. Unfortunately some members Took offence at his commented and humour and got him banned. He was seriously quick. Think he was from Portsmouth way

Well, I still spread your cautionary tail. I can now name you if you like.

Ah no , I think that was the 'other' blue_sv , I recall now.

[Balky001]

Originally Posted by Dave20046

Well, I still spread your cautionary tail. I can now name you if you like.

Feel free I have met quite a few people that have done similar since. One guy lost his middle 3 fingers as had grabbed the chain Had a thumb brake installed

[Dave20046]

Ouch

This is exactly why I don't clean my chain