PIcked up my new SV yesterday.

This is my first SV.

Well I got my new shiny K5 SV650S (fully faired in blue). The showroom had a new K5 in stock which was aboiut £400 cheaper than the K6 so it made perfick sense. After a brief ride yesterday through some snow and an early morning commute down the M25 this morning I have noticed a few things.

1. The riding position puts a lot of strain on the wrists. After about 20 mins my wrists were quite sore. I'm hoping I'll get used to it.

2. The seat is rock hard and very uncomfortable. Again I only noticed this today after a 40 minute commute but I cannot imagine at this point doing any lenghty rides. I'm sure I will get used to it though as I've been riding a comfy and soft zephy 550 for the past 6 months so my butt has been spoilt.

3. Throttle snatch. When riding on an uneven surface I find the throttle to be a little snatchy. I've noticed this on many fuel injection bikes though so it's something I'll have to get used to.

Now for the oh so good points:

The noise. Even with the standard can on the engine roars into life at the touch of the starter button. I was sat at some traffic lights last night and I revved the engine a few times which got the attention of many passers by.

That engine. I've owned a V-four before but never a V-twin and I've heard many stories of them being really lumpy low down. Well I can say thus far I'm really impressed at how smooth the engine is, even at low rpm. And then of course there is the amazing acceleration. Even while I am running the engine in I can see some great potential in the engine and look forward to getting my 600 miles out of the way so I can utilise the rest of the rev range, should take me about a week or so. I remember the words of the salesman who said I can use 7'500 rpm in top gear while running it in, which I did this morning. TO my horror I looked at the digital speedo which read over 100mph! It didn't even feel like I was doing 70. This bike makes riding fast very easy so I'll have to watch out for that.

Handling. Approaching my first bend, bearing in mind it was snowing slightly, I leaned into the corner ready to bully the bike around the long sweeping left hander. So when the bike dropped into the corner like a prize stallion I was somewhat worried and exhilerated. This bike just WANTS to corner quickly. I've been so used to the sit up and beg counter steer method for a while that at first it flet like the front end was getting awayf from me. A few miles later and I was leaning off the bike abit and just letting the bike dip into the bend. Absolutely marvellous. I cannot wait until the roads are a bit drier so I can really see what this baby can do.

So while I bought this bike for commuting I can see many hours of fun ahead and some weekends on the track too. Amazing amount of bike for the money.

Dan

if its a new bike with no miles on then the run in is first 500 miles upto 5000 rpm (in top this was giving me just over 70mph), 600 miles first service and the next 500 miles upto 7500 rpm. Once you've done the 1000 miles the hand book says you can use the revs upto 10500rpm

Damn Suzuki salesmen! I guess there should be no harm done as I've only covered 80 miles and was not doing 7000 rpm in every gear only the top gear. Strange that they tell you this which seems to contradict what is written in the manual. Mind you in the manual it also says never go above 10'500 rpm at any poin in the bike's life. I'll keep it at 5000 rpm until the 500 mile mark then. Cheers for the info. Right think I'll re-read the manual.

Dan

Originally Posted by sv_dan

Damn Suzuki salesmen! I guess there should be no harm done as I've only covered 80 miles and was not doing 7000 rpm in every gear only the top gear. Strange that they tell you this which seems to contradict what is written in the manual. Mind you in the manual it also says never go above 10'500 rpm at any poin in the bike's life. I'll keep it at 5000 rpm until the 500 mile mark then. Cheers for the info. Right think I'll re-read the manual.

Dan

I was told some thing similiar when i picked uup my K5.
They said not to worry about blipping the throttle up to about 7000RPM every now and again, for overtaking and stuff but just don't hold it up there for any length of time.

I ran mine in like this and nearly 10,000 miles later the engine feels great.

[fizzwheel]

Theres a school of thought that says taking it over the 5000rpm rev limit slightly a few times very gently whilst running in wont actually do it any harm, in fact it'll actually loosen the bike up a little more which means it'll make more power later on in its life.

I know Liz didnt stick to the running in instrutions in the manual and her bike feels alot more eager than the other K5 SVS's I've ridden

As for the seat and the sore wrists, you'll get used to it, just build yourself up slowly and gradually build up the miles and you'll be fine.

Welcome to the site BTW

Congrats on the new bike and it sounds similar to mine

I personally have had no prob with the seat but then again i ride a mountain bike with a hard seat and am used to that so the sv is a luxury chair for me

I undid the clutch and front brake levers and moved them forward so my hand does not have to snap back at an awkward angle and the hand and wrists sit in line with ly lower arm. Works much better and also got new gloves as my others were tight on the wrist and this also helps. U should also close your knees against the tank to take pressure of the wrists. Being a new bike u may be holding on a lil to tight due to nerves so ease of a bit

i found i had to use a lot more clutch control so the bike dont snatch like it first did on me

welcome to the world of sv ownership.

1. you will get used to the riding position/wrists.

2. the seat is quite hard. i got hold of a gel seat (from USA) which seems to make it a bit more comfy, but not dramatically so.

3. you'll also get used to the snatchy throttle - i also found that the engine braking was quite extreme, a free-er flowing exhaust solves that, and obviously releases a lt more v-twin noise.

Thanks guys. I was gripping the tank a bit with the thighs but as my butt was so sore (from the seat!) I found it difficult to grip them for too long. I remember when I had the Ninja ZX-7R a similar feeling and I soon got used to it, even though the seat did seem a little softer on that. So would one say that I could maybe increase the breaking in rpm ever so slightly, never had a 'new' bike before so it's a bit of an alien concept. Really having to tame my throttle hand!

I also plan on buying a Remus Revolution can and a K&N filter too. I'll wait till i've run the engine in first though.

Originally Posted by sv_dan

I also plan on buying a Remus Revolution can and a K&N filter too. I'll wait till i've run the engine in first though.

Good choice of can, i have one on mine and it sounds awesome.