Advice needed please

Right don't know if this is right place to post or not(if not sorry feel free to move it)

I currently have a 1999 Sv650S and i have been thinking for a while whether to buy a new bike or not. So went into Shirlwas Suzuki (Aberdeen) today price on a new SV650S is £4600 and trade in value of old bike is approx £1300.

My bike has done 30000ish miles and trying to decide what is the best thing to do financially. My current bike is in need of new tyres, major service( i think as the 30000mile mark), tax, mot and new shocks(maybe, from stuff i have heard on here they tend to go at about the 30000 mile mark). I approx these costs at £180 new tyres, £250-300 major service and approx £100-150 for tax and mot and shocks no idea on £. So what i am looking for is suggestions what would be the best thing to do? How long is my current bike got left, dont went to go shelling out lots of money only for the bike to break the next minute. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Aaron(sorry for long post!)

Hi mate,

I recon you should do what you'd like to do.....

Biking is not about the head, it's about the grin!
What would give you the bigger grin?

But, for arguements sake lets look at it this way:

8 year old bike,
Needs the shock either rebuiding or replacing,
Because your spending money on the back, you'll have to spend money on the front suspension, because you'll realise how knackered it is with the new/rebuilt shock,
8 years of British weather takes its toll on every aspect of the bike, so fasteners, wiring, etc are not going to be in a great state.
How much wear does 30,000 miles do to not only the engine, but every other moving part on the bike? And how much of that will need replacing in the next 2-3 years?

£1300 sounds like a good trade in, see if you can barter......
Or maybe look at a 2nd hand pointy, or dare I say it a different bike......


Remember the GRIN

(my post was longer than yours!)

[Stu]

Forget about paying the full RRP of 4600 on a new one - have you seen the weather outside?
No more than £4K if you do want a brand new of the same.
Only you know if you want the same bike or something better (Street triple for little over £5K (but a waiting list))
I would go for a 2 year old SV about £2500. should be able to sell yours for at lesat £1K.
The £1300 is a tempting offer but not when you have to spend £4600.

I like your idea, just dont have much money as usual so wanted to do the best thing in the long run. Think the new bike would certainly give bigger grins (certainly after change exhaust). Maybe should have said i am still on restricted licence to 33bhp for a year and Sv650 is nice restricted and insurance is good.

[Biker Biggles]

My advice----Keep your current bike at least until your restricted time is up.A new one will not be significantly better and will cost you loadsa dosh you havnt got.
Learn how to do basic servicing yourself and save masses of money.
Your bike needs oil and filter changes and a few basic checks and adjustments,and may need the valves shimming which is the only difficult bit.
MOT costs about £30 and tax you have to buy on any bike.
Tyres you need to buy.
You dont need to spend huge amounts to keep an old curvy on the road.

Basic servicing oil, sparks i have done and am happy to do. Why i say needs major service is needs carbs balancing i think. just with everything coming along all at once Servicing, tyres, tax, mot, etc was just wondering whether to bite the bullet and fork out extra money to save it(sort of) in the long run

[Biker Biggles]

TBH I dont think carb balance is very important,apart from a slightly lumpy tickover.The one thing your bike needs that you probably cant do is the valves.Checking them is easy if you have a feeler guage,and if they are within limits you are in the clear.The biggest problem you will face if you buy new is depreciation.Your new bike will cost you about £1000 as soon as you ride it out of the shop.then as its new you might feel obliged to pay the shop to service it and howe ****ed off would you be if you damaged it?
Incidently shocks are pretty cheap for curvys and your forks probably need nothing more than a change of damping oil.

Thanks for your replies, so what sort of mileage are we talking about where have to start seriously replacing things. Did a search on high milleage and Grinch said he had an Sv with high mileage and was just wondering what else should i budget for replacement. Thanks

[jambo]

How long's a bit of string?

At 30,000 miles the motor should have plenty of life in it, no major worries there, though a major service, if due, should be carried out. Not terribly difficult if you've got some tools and time though.

The shock's probably past it's best but ebay has standard low milage shocks turn up for little money such as here, You can sort fork oil and check brakes over too.

The main unexpected costs tend to be bearings that have never been greased giving up I guess.

Some bikes with 30,000 miles on are shagged, some have another 50,000 trouble free miles ahead