BMW SV650 beater!

First I've heard of this but saw an article in MCN this week. It seems that BMW are testing out a sports twin somewhere in Spain that is designed to compete specifically with the SV!

Could this be the ultimate accolade for the 650?

I do think BMW are re-inventing themselves somewhat. I mean that K1200R (the naked thing) should be awesome.......should we ever see one.

I saw a similar story. Possibly a belt drive too. Conventional forks tho. Now a telelever would be interesting. I think they are supposed to be Aprilia engines too arnt they?

Still no BMW 600 supersport tho. Tough market to get into I guess. Although imagine a shaftdrive, telelever, ABS version of a Gixxer 600...

Thinking about it is could be a clever move to tap into the mid 30's-40's new rider or born again type market. IF and IF it performs ok and its cheap to insure your midish 30s bloke might be thinking BMW or Suzuki..... , rightly or wrongly of course. But I can see the thought process, possibly. Then from there its straight to a K or R series and possibly a customer for life.

[rictus01]

I think in order to be credible as anything "sport" orientated, they would have to enter the racing world, much as all their smart suspension stuff is no doubt good on the road (not for me, I've tried it) and with the trademark shaft-drive, I just can't see that happening.

Plus I don't think BMW will ever compete on price, so will remain a niche market share.

Cheers Mark.

Yes I read that today in MCN . The beemer looks good; They could be on to something. Sink or swim perhaps.

However, the SV's price won't be beaten and that makes it attractive particulary to us who are after a reasonably priced first big bike which is a lot of us .

SV has already proven reliability, so there is litle chance for BMW to play this card.
The price of the SV is usualy one of the most important factors that the customers take into account .. and BMW doesn't have any history here.

One move they could make is to put a 'cool sound' exhaust on it from factory, then people might get confused .. otherwise, I don't know.

Thing is tho there is a preception, which is most likely a misconception (at least in the non large tourers market) of BMW 'quality'. Also not everyone buys just at the cheapest price. Combine those and they will suck a few customers in no doubt. Whether it gets the reviews etc the SV does or gets anywhere near as good as the SV who knows.

Rictus, of course it hadn't occurred to me that in the supersports end all this gadgetry might make things worse Those R1150S things were never that popular I suppose.

I would buy something like the SV from BMW even if it was of a higher price for the following reason.
Nice sounding Can,
Decent front suspension,
Decent rear suspension,
Lower/comffy seat.
Naked model.....

Anyone got a pic?

anyone got a price?

The only "budget" bike BMW do so far to my knowledge, is the FJ650 which you either love or hate. From what I hear its pretty good at what it does.

Most of the complaints about the SV seem to be around its build quality and for the serious enthusiast, by the time you have upgraded all the lower quality components you are probably pushing the sort of price BMW will be asking. Although from what's been said here it sounds like this bike will be BMW in name only...

Originally Posted by Nick762

The only "budget" bike BMW do so far to my knowledge, is the FJ650 which you either love or hate. From what I hear its pretty good at what it does.

They make two "budget" models - the F650GS and the F650CS. The former of a trailie type thing and the other is a "funky" street-bike aimed and the young or girlie rider. Both use a single cylinder 650 engine of around 50bhp. The GS is chain-drive and the CS has a single-side swing arm and belt drive.

My mate Dave has a GS and likes it, but I think the lack of power is beginning to get to him. It really is slow compared to my Hornet and the SV650.