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I'm used to big jap sports 4's & I still love my sv650s . Its like a breath of fresh air .
Its way cheaper to run than a big 4 sports bike for a start.
It brings the best out of your riding , as you have limited go , you have to conserve speed & position spot on for over takes etc , rather than just twisting the throttle any time .
Ok Straight line speed is not amazing , however there's enough for the road, to be honest straight line speed does not really do it for me I have done 170 on a big sports bike & it was easy .
Was out yesterday with friends on big jap 4's and led no problem keeping between 90 - 120 ish , ok at 120 there was not much left , but its plenty for the road .
The only crap bit is the dunslips , which let go twice for no apparent reason ....

However saying all of the above the gixxer 600 is a great bike .....

I would go for a gixxer 750 if you can afford one .Done the sportbikes bit , must be getting old but the little sv does it for me at the moment .
Also like the look of Aprillias Falcos which you can pick up for a great price / also got to be worth trying a SV1000?

Cheers Steve

I'd say thats because you are a quicker rider than them, not because your bike is quicker than their's round corners.

Most SS600's handle better than an SV and go quicker in a straight line.

Yeah you aint kidding that the IL4 sports bikes are quicker around corners. I can go into corners at speeds that would scare me on the SV and find I have to adjust my line mid corner because I am turning in too sharp. In comparison the SV is resistant to turning and just wants to go in a straight line.

I don't think there is much difference in 0-60 time because you can only go so quick and keep the front down. In fact I could probably launch off the lights quicker on the SV simply because I can use full throttle in first gear whereas I haven't got the balls to find the limits of that on the IL4 - I tend to launch slowly then hook 2nd before opening her up.

Over 60 though and the IL4's go absolutely ballistic and keep pulling like a train right up to the SV's top speed.

The SV is not designed to "compete" at over 70mph... A number of cars (and almost all (but not every) IL4 600) will beat it on roll on, even when dropping a gear.

While the SV handles well and can keep up with the pack in twisty bits, a well ridden SS600 is more than a match through the tighest bends as the latter has superior suspension and power.

For some the SV is enough, others want to experience more, and as the owner of a FrireBlade (and past owner of a Gixxer 600) I can understand why. Who ever bought a bike and keeps to all the speed limits anyway ?

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Do you reckon the step up to a litre IL4 is worth it?

I am still not satisfied and would like a ZX10R but aside from not having to change down a gear when I want to go quick I wonder if I could realistically ride it any quicker?

what about something like a VFR ?

or an RSV ?

to be honest, i recon i would get bored of an SV after a while.

read in ride mag, that you can pick up a brand new bandit 12 for 5k

or what about the SV1000

i like the twins, my mates buell xb12r is brilliant on the open roads but in town its a nightmare! i was reading quiffs post about his new tyres i'll prob do that for this summer its cheaper :wink:

Absolutely... Though I'd say it's easier to ride the SV reasonably quick on twisty roads than a modern IL4, since the inverior handling is well balanced against the ease of use. Most riders don't use the handling potential that's there, so the total perforance is les of an issue- but it's much easier to give yourself a scare on teh throttle of an IL4 than an SV, for the simple resaon that there's twice as much power there than you can scare yourself with.

2 equally skilled riders, familiar with the machines? Any modern sports bike in standard trim will take a standard SV apart.

I'm with steveg on this.The SV is strangely more satisfying to ride most of the time than a big il4.That's because the big bike can't be used to it's potential except in very rare circumstances and is therefore frustrating for the rider.

One of the things that v-twins can be quite poor at is making it easy to NOT dump the power down. Huge torque at 3k rpm is a pain in the backside on cold tyres on a wet, greasy roundabout in Fabruary... At least with the IL4 you can keep the revs down and with it the power/torque, thus making it easier to ride.