Naked or Fairing?

After 30 years out of the saddle I want to get back into motorcycling. The SV650 is my choice but which one do I buy. I have read every article I can find on the internet but still can't decide. The salesman in the bike shop likes the naked bike but I like the protection from the wind with the S. My riding will be purely for pleasure and mostly on the open road. So the advantage of the naked bike in slow traffic is not an issue. How much of a problem is the weight on the hands with SV650S.

[fizzwheel]

Which one do you like best ?

The only way you can make your own mind up between the N and S is to test ride both and see which one you get on better with.

I have an S, it made my wrists and back ache for the first few days of ownership but once I got used to the riding position I havent had any trouble at all.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

I have an S, it made my wrists and back ache for the first few days of ownership but once I got used to the riding position I havent had any trouble at all.

I also have an S (5th day today), and have had the wrist thing.

But I am learning to grip the tank with the knees and only use the hands for actually manipulating the controls/steering.

No back problems tho.

I went faired for wind protection, and to be honest, the in traffic position is just fine - I do the A4/Central London both ways to and from work during rush-hour.

David

[Shellywoozle]

Naked all the way !

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Sorry if we are talking about bikes, I would have to opt for fairing. More protection for you and the bike and I think it looks much nicer (from a girlie perspective).

[northwind]

I think a lot of the people who have trouble with the riding position of the S models make it worse for themselves with lever position and with their riding style... I've got an S, with lower bars than standard and a higher tail, and also a knackered leg, and I'm still fine for an 8 hour day in the saddle, put it that way.

[Sir Trev]

If you opt for the naked, for the comfort of the more upright bars and lower pegs, you can always add a screen to it. Even the little bug screen I have on mine deflects a hell of a lot of the wind blast and makes high speeds a lot more tollerable.

Get the one that fits you best - as said already - and adapt the bike if needed. You'll be more comfortable that way and will ride better as a result.

i have had my 650s just over a week(1st bike) & i love it....i hve only done about 90min riding nonstop & no probs with wrists i am chuffed to bits with it

If you're just riding for fun and not doing long stints on motorways or similar, the naked is much more fun. The gearing is also better, as it's slightly faster accelerating than the S with slightly less top end.

As Sir Trev said, a small screen on the naked makes a huge difference, but I really only needed it for motorways.

Said it often on here..... I would have bought an SV650S K3 if it weren't for the riding position.

Preferred the Hornet 600 to the naked SV650K3, but that's a personal thing.

Naked bikes look like "proper" motorbikes to my mind, too*







*grenade launched, Jabba sits back to watch the fun*

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Nekkid

If you're just riding for fun and not doing long stints on motorways or similar, the naked is much more fun.

That's pretty personal, though. For faster riding I massively prefer the clipons to the naked's standard bars, for bimbling I'd prefer the handlebars.