Buying a sv650 k5

[steveg]

Hi looking a buying a pre reg K5 SV650S
Is £3799 on the road a good deal ?
Gonna get a test ride on a sv tomorrow to see if I like it .
Only had 4 cyl bikes before .
recent bikes include a fazer 600 & a zxr750
the fazer is approx 95 bhp & zxr750 120 bhp.
To be honest could not use all of the zxr750 on the road , but could use the fazer's .
The fazer was a great bike however had very poor ground clearance .
Whats the sv's ground clearance like ?
Also do 15 k miles a year , is the mill strong to take say 50 k miles ?

Cheers Steve

3800 sound like a good deal to me.

Don't read to much into what the sv looks like on paper its way down on horsepower on its il4 rivals but IMHO makes up for it with better midrange grunt.

My brother had a fazer for a while and although i may be biased i would give up the top end power for more midrange anyday. The ground cleanance on the SVS (sorry never ridden an unfaired) is better than the old style fazer as well.

[steveg]

took bike out for an hour & did about 40 miles

The bike was very easy to ride , engiine was good but when I rode it and thought right I give it some it was at 10k revs already .
The forks bottom out & make a knock noise over bumps & the brakes were not great .

The bike with some mods would be great , however as std it needs some work.

Cheers

[steveg]

Just a thought I rode a naked sv650 I guess the gearing is different for the faired one ?

cheers Steve

Sounds like a good price.

Yeah shorter gears on the naked. I find 6th on mine is plenty long enough.

I too am not impressed with the forks knocking but then they are nice and comfortable on normal roads where as I'd imagine a sports bike would give a harsher ride?

I've not had an issue with the brakes. I never use them but I guess when I have to stop in a hurry I will find out. I only use them lightly at the moment and they work fine with two fingers.

I think the bike will feel slow after the 750, I'd rather have a Supersports 600 or 750 as I know they are better bikes without having to ride them. I can afford them but what I can't afford is the insurance so for now I am stuck with the SV.

The SV isn't slow though as if you get it on full throttle you are well over the speed limit in a few seconds.

[steveg]

found a local dealer with a faired sv hope to give it a go tomorrow.

The more I think about it the more I recon I could learn to love a sv

So it does not have the top end of a sportsbike , but it is fast enough for saine road riding .

Due to insurance woes can't afford a sportsbike premium for a while

And for 3800 OTR with 2 years servicing it is a bargain.

Never bought a new bike before what's the manufacterers warranty like , eg I do 15 k miles a year & say rear shock is shagged after 20 k would it be replaced under warranty ?

Cheers Steve

I tried two SV's and got a knock when going fastish over abrupt bumps too! Is that just the design of the bike? Is it doing the bike harm?

i always owned il4's and when i got the sv i wasnt a happy bunny!
i too found that i was hitting the red line at every gear change but the problem was ME! u have to learn how to ride a v twin, it took me a good few months to get used to using the torque and not the revs @ 9k its all over for the sv but put it up a few cog's and ride it between 3k and 8k and it pulls like a train! ive had a cbr,zzr,and a gsxr and they are different ways of riding. personaly i prefere the relaxed thump of the v twin and my next bike will be another v twin but more cc's.

[steveg]

you could well be right , all the fours I had I had to wring its neck , last bike zxr750l1 power was 8-12 k
I loved the relaxed pull of a twin but as you say a bigger twin would be great ( like a sv1000)
However not prepared to take the hit on the higher insurance ......

The main thing that concerned me was the knocking noise from the front forks over bumps .
Are the forks actually bottoming out ? If so it could be dangerous ...

Cheers Steve

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by steveg

The main thing that concerned me was the knocking noise from the front forks over bumps .
Are the forks actually bottoming out ? If so it could be dangerous ...

The all do that Sir

Seriously every SV I've ridden has done this, we've talked about it on here a few times and not had a conclusive answer as far as I am aware as to what causes it.