Any of you owned/ridden an SV1000?

[Taipan]

Find myself drawn to owning one of these at some point. Being a bit of a tall lump I do find my SV a bit cramped at times. Is the thou any bigger, physically speaking?

As its going to be my daily commuter I should consider if they guzzle fuel and shred tyres and chains, do they?

Any common faults to look out for?

What do you think of them?

[yorkie_chris]

Reasonable on consumables if you are smooth in riding style, if not they eat and drink.
Not sure if thou is much bigger TBH.

Nice torque and engine in general but completely different bike to the 650. Loses a lot of the nice nimbleness and chuckabout feeling.

[Paul the 6th]

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=129251

yeah the reach to the bars, seat, fuel tank etc. everything is basically the same size as 650 if my memory isn't totally buggerd.

Rear swingarm and wheelbase is different, and it's heavier, hence YC's mention about the handling being not as nimble as 650.

[ophic]

Dimensions and seating position virtually identical to 650, iirc. Wee bit heavier, obviously. Deceptively quick but a few more vibes through the handlebars.

[pookie]

No biggie on my sv1000 but had usual leaking hydraulic clutch seal and blown rear exhaust gasket. Less frugal than curvy have managed to get 50-55 mpg on 26 mile round trip commute. Tank range is 100 - 120 before light comes on
Very quiet with oem cans.

I'm over by lakeside if you want to have a look

[flymo]

Great bike to ride, more torque than you can use. Very comfortable and hardly feels any different in size to my previous 650.

Fuel wise, I wouldnt say that it was excessive when cruising around, you can do 70 with barely any revs in the right gear although a very slight blip and you are up there at well over a ton without much effort. You have to be wary of the speed as it can be deceptively quiet with the revs so low.

All in all I love it. Sounds awesome and looks great, even if it is ginger

[johnnyrod]

I thought it was a bit of a barge TBH compared to the 650. Not nearly as much as some big bikes for sure but not really a sportsbike.

[flymo]

Originally Posted by johnnyrod

I thought it was a bit of a barge TBH compared to the 650. Not nearly as much as some big bikes for sure but not really a sportsbike.

Mine felt the same when I first bought it, but since giving a proper service, new tyres, refresh the forks etc its nimble as ever. Not quite the race bike I had before but then I don't ride that way on the roads.

If I had test ridden mine before I bought it I wouldnt have bothered, but after setting it up properly I love it.

There's a great SV1000 forum at http://www.sv-portal.com/ which will tell you all you want to know, or answer any particular questions. I've had one for a few years and love it; changed a few things including the suspension and it goes and handles lovely. I've never ridden the 650 but mine feels nimble/light enough although it's shed a few kilos - I doubt you'd notice the difference once the suspension and handling is sorted, but you'd certainly notice the extra power/torque.

bit of a wobbly old barge imo, motor felt flat after my TLs, just all a bit 'soft'. more grunt etc than a 650, but like alot of 'different' bikes nowadays could have been so much more!