The SV

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by gadget

Exactly that .... bang for buck ... pretty much unbeatable.
Fickle ! Would be a mild way of describing me with bikes, I'm more of a total tart! My SV probably weighs 5LB more in carnuba wax alone.

I owe mine money!

[dirtydog]

It's a cracking bike, I've had 4 now. I get bored then want something "better" then after a while I find I'm wanting an sv again.

Mine was bought by the other half new in 2001 then I bought her a Raptor and acquired the sv for myself.
Suspension sorted with gsxr750 sad front end and an Elka rear shock and just done a bar conversion as the clipons position where causing issues with my hands


It's a bike that has done everything I've needed it to, commuting, weekend fun and a fair few trips to Scotland and back

[shiftin_gear98]

I don't really miss my SV, maybe it was pushing it 10 miles one evening.
I'm still really glad I'd owned it for the 7 odd years I'd had it, and mostly enjoyed it. But by the end I'd really fallen out of love with it.
(And the fact all the bits of it are still in my garage are taking up too much room a year later!)

Now the GSXR makes me smile every time I get on it.

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by shiftin_gear98

I don't really miss my SV, maybe it was pushing it 10 miles one evening.

What did it die of?

I loved my Euclase Silver K6S, but a patch of diesel saw it to an early grave: unfortunately it smacked a kerb while sliding which took a bite out of the frame.

[STRAMASHER]

Sold my S-K3 for hard panniers!

Got the itch again when I got the nod for a S-K3 1000. Sold it within a year or two. Simply not as fun on the B-roads. A lot to be said for having a bike you can use nearly all its got, so bought a SpeedTwin. Like a geared down, nuclear powered 650 you can really fling about but with the same suspension limitations, for this fatty. A sleeper!

[R1ffR4ff]

My 99 Naked SV in it's 21st year is my only Automotive transport. Apart from my days out riding enjoyment and sometimes shopping trips. It's recently been my commuter bike. I've done around 500 miles for short term work 60 mile round-trip shift-work.
It plants itself solid on the on the Motorway and bends and purrs @ 70 mph/5,000 rpm ish but keeps creeping up to 80/85 mph as it likes those revs it seems so I have to keep an eye on the Speedo<grin>

The gearbox is so slick it's almost like having an automatic gearbox.

Even with stock suspension and cheap tyres and cheap R/R upgrade I have no complaints. Best bike I've ever owned and the Smiles-For-Miles factor is excellent

[redtrummy]

As a fellow naked 99er R1ff I concur fully. Dont use mine that much, got loads to do otherwise, but when I do get a chance to throw the leg over really enjoy riding it. Cost £3600 new - a great buy

[shiftin_gear98]

Originally Posted by Craig380

What did it die of?

I loved my Euclase Silver K6S, but a patch of diesel saw it to an early grave: unfortunately it smacked a kerb while sliding which took a bite out of the frame.

That evening it shed it's chain at slightly the wrong side of NSL.
That didn't kill it though - thankfully, I imagine it would have hurt like hell.
It started to drink oil, and one morning I forgot to check. It didn't sound too great on my way home from work.

[Bike27]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

The bike I had before the SV was a Suzuki DRZ400-SM it had pretty much the same power as the KTM 390 but only weighed 135Kg, it was a fun bike and handled really well ( the Super Motard has 17" road tyres ). Problem for me was the 37" seat height as I am only 5' 8" - and I could only ever get one tippy-toe down, that bike was a hoot to ride - but on the roads the SV is much better and you don't have to thrash it to keep up with faster traffic, and the lower gearing on the naked SV AL7 means it is like a rat up a drainpipe to 60mph...

From all that I've read (Manufacturer's claims and dyno charts) I think the DRZ is about 6bhp down. (39bhp at the crank for the DRZ, 45 for the 390 Duke). Thing is 6bhp is actually quite a lot when you are talking 350 to 400cc singles. I once owned an immaculate DR350SE (with a supposed 30bhp at the crank) and the performance out on a NSL dual carriageway was glacial. i know the DRZ was noted as a significant improvement over the DR - it would definitely need to be to have anything resembling performance . You've also got a much more tucked in riding position on the 390 Duke than a DRZ.

With electronic fuel injection, the 390 is a much more modern engine than the DRZ. It is an utterly brilliant design performance wise, but also one that (like alot of other modern small capacity engines) is built down to a price in a 3rd world country (India) using locally sourced components.........

Originally Posted by Dave20046

Maybe I don't ride enough modern bikes. I remember going from the SV to an SRAD and thinking wtf is this hippo I'm muscling round corners. My 1200 is about 100kg heavier too which probably tainted my point of view. I think if you compare it to similar tourers or powered bikes it would come up light though - bandit 600? Monster 900?

Another KTM (the 690 duke) has mid seventies bhp and weighs 20 to 30kg less (depending on which SV you are talking about).

Also unlike the 390, the 690 is still made in Austria, so there's a much higher chance of it getting to a 5 figure mileage before needing a rebuild. i would absolutely LOVE one, but am still worried that it would be very hard not to ride it like an idiot 80% of the time (which is pretty much how I used to ride the 640 Duke2 supermoto that still resides in my garage, as it is pretty much how they work best )

The fun factor on the little 390 is rather more "innocent" but no less infectious. If only they made them properly.....

I love mine got her 2016 the first AL7 great for commuting and a weekend blast, and sounds great with the pipework exhaust must admit could do with a spring upgrade for better handling but will do for now.