Pick your brains??

Morning All

Just wondered if I could pick your brains.

I passed my full test in August last year, and have been riding around on an ER5 since then. I now feel ready to step it up a gear and move onto something a little more substantial, yet dont want to bite off more than I can chew. Being a novice, I need something easy to ride, light, and not to giddy but with the scope to develop my riding skills.

I am torn between the SV650 naked and the ER6. Upright riding is more comfy for me as I have a disc problem. Have test ridden the ER6 and didnt find it a huge difference from the ER5 to be honest. Very nice and all that..

What are the differences I would find, ride wise between the SV650 and the ER6...I found the ER6 very smooth, nippy, predictable..very easy to ride. Its also very light and compact.

Also... what would be the max to pay for a naked sv650, 04 plate, very low mileage, immaculate...private sale?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Took an ER6F for a test ride, settled on the SV650S. Found the ER6 to be fractionally better in pretty much every regard. They certainly seem to be slightly easier for short folks - it's odd, the engine should be wider being a parallel but it felt narrower and was defininitely a teensy bit shorter. I think the nekkid ER6 definitely looks a bit better than the nekkid SV, that 'zorst and shock just looks fantastic, particularly with the cherry red frame variants. Honestly, whilst I found the ER6 just fractionally better, I couldn't justify the cost difference (still v. hard to find second hand ER6's). Put five hundred odd miles on the SV in the last fortnight and don't feel bad about the SV at all

As for prices, immaculate nekkid K4 - guess about 3K top whack dealer prices, 2.8K private?

I was in a similar situation last June. I had an er5 and was trading it in towards either an er6 or SV. I test rode both and yes, I did like the er6 but the one I rode had about 5000 on the clock and looked a bit tired already. The SV (S version) wasn't too comfy at first but I put that down to the fact it was a totally different riding position and I should get used to it if I went for the SV. I suppose that the er6 was just a bit too similar to the er5 for me. Why would I trade in a well looked after er5 and be out of pocket a couple of grand for something that was pretty much the same as what I had already !!
I opted for the SV S version and do not regret my choice in any way. 8500 miles under my belt on it now and the riding position became comfortable more or less straight away. A few deciding factors for me were:
Sportsbike characteristics for a reasonable insurance price, I live in West Drayton and insurance is a pain in this area.
The distinctive V twin sound and feel.
Tried and tested looks and components.
It just looks a nicer bike all together.
The things that put me off the er6 were:
Too similar to the er5.
Comfortable but "boring" ride.
The nice shiny coloured frame and handlebars had the colour worn on rub areas on the tester I had.
It was "new" but was it a bit gimmicky with the side mounted rear suspension and unusual exhaust position.
I suppose that the bottom line is what do you want from your next bike. I wanted to progress from the er5 not spend loads and still have the same bike but with a facelift.
The choice is yours at the end of the day and only you will know what is right for your next bike.

[Sid Squid]

Which one do you like the look of? Which do you fit on better? There's really no advantage to either on paper, they really are very similarly targeted bikes, so unsurprisingly there's little to choose between them. I like SVs, but realistically the ER6 is an ever-so-slightly better bike, this is no surprise, it's a new model that has had a couple of years more recent development.

I was also umming and ahhing about an ER6F or an SV650S last year for my second big bike (passed DAS in June).

For me it came down to the availability of used ones. There weren't many ER6's on the used market at that time but plenty of pointy SV's so more chance of getting a good one (which I think I did!).

Admittedly I didn't test ride the ER6 but when I tried one on for size at the bike show (by which time I had already bought the SV) it just felt tiny! I also wasn't keen on the upright position, it felt less sporty. So I was happy I had made the right decision.

But is an SV650 forum the best place to get an unbiased opinion I wonder?

[Viney]

Ride both and buy the one that makes you smile.

i had the choice last year and i was buying new, both had 0% finance offers on, both were priced similarly. I looked at the kawasaki and on first glance it looked well made, and pretty swish. On close inspection it was tiny! and the components looked really shabby. Having a parallel twin made a fair bit of difference, and the reports of all the problems put me off the er6f. YOu won't regret your decision either way.

Originally Posted by MiniMatt

Took an ER6F for a test ride, settled on the SV650S. Found the ER6 to be fractionally better in pretty much every regard. They certainly seem to be slightly easier for short folks - it's odd, the engine should be wider being a parallel but it felt narrower and was defininitely a teensy bit shorter. I think the nekkid ER6 definitely looks a bit better than the nekkid SV, that 'zorst and shock just looks fantastic, particularly with the cherry red frame variants.

FFFFFFWHAT?

ER6 better than a naked sv

Better get down to specsavers mate!

ER6 = falling out the ugly tree and landing on a bag of spanners!

SV Naked = your favourite supermodel starkas in your bedroom!

Ggggggrrrrrrrrr.

I had an ER5, then chose an SV650. It made me grin the most! A lot better, but not crazy better. A good choice!

same as most, I had the choice last year, sv or er6f, liked the look of both, but after doing a lot of reading from tinternet and mags, I finally opted for a sv650s.
Why, well that is simple, found that a lot of people were saying that the sv650s was a lot more fun, even if the er6f handled minutely better.
I've only been riding for about 6 months but I still have a cheesey grin everytime I ride ( newbies, tut! ).
At the end of the day a test ride is best, you will know instantly which one you prefer.
Good luck