Advice for a newbie
 

Morning all... Hope you are ok

Im a bit of a newbie when it comes to the purchasing and the maintenance of bikes, so i thought i would pop onto this forum for a bit of advice from all you clued up followers of the SV.

I'm 18 (19 on the 24th of april), and currently have an 06 plate fiesta.... its nothing special, i have done bits to it but im getting bored of two things about it. A) the speed (or rather lack of it) and B) the expense of running the bloody thing! i.e. my insurance is over £1300 per year.

So with this in mind, im looking for some budget riding. I have been looking round at all the different bikes and seen some crackers but i just need some advice. My plan is to sell my car for around £5000, pay off £1000 i owe elsewhere... and then work up a budget for a bike. Ive set aside these amounts of money but wondered if this seems realistic.

£2850 - bike
£750 - insurance (tpft)
£400 - test

So what should I look out for....
Is the SV650 a good starters bike....
How much is a restrictor kit....
How easy are they remove.

My questions are endless but the above is a good start lol

Thanks in advance to taking time to read this. Ross

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

2800 will get you something pretty decent, but I can't comment on the insurance. 400 sounds reasonable for test. Don't forget you need to do your CBT, theory test, lessons and test. It all adds up. You also want to be looking at 400 (upwards) approx for helmet, boots, gloves, leathers etc. Buy the best you can afford.

The SV responds quite well to the restriction. ie. it isn't a complete dog to ride restricted. If you get a curvey with carbs, the restriction is a washer in the carbs (as I understand). A pointy with FI will have a restricted ECU.

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

As Scoobs says please do put some cash aside for gear. Road rash just ain't pretty, hurts like hell and will be permanently disfiguring and quite possibly fatal. Concentrate on covering every area, a top of the line lid coupled with jeans and trainers will kill you/scar you for life much quicker than a well fitting budget lid coupled with well fitting gloves, boots, trousers & jacket.

I'd be tempted to actually lower the budget on the bike a bit, reason being theres a good chance you'll drop it at some point and you're going to be spending a bit of money on (hopefully just) replacement indicators, levers etc. And nothing hurts more than staring at a busted motorbike with no cash to fix it :D

I'm going to get all grown up and sensible and say just don't bother messing around with the restrictor. 33hp will easily break a 100mph, it'll still win the traffic light grand prix against just about any four wheeled vehicle on the roads except italian exotica and it'll still do 0-60 about three times quicker than a 'Festa. You're unlikely to be stopped by a copper with a mobile dyno, but there's a good chance that if you crash some accident investigator or insurance assessor is going to start poking around and then you are truly and royally screwed.

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

Right; if you are tight for money, get a 1999-2002 SV. Not only does it look better, but you can get really good ones for less than £1800.

Restriction; There is no law that requires you to have it officialy fitted - at least, none that I have been informed of. Therefore, with the 1999-2002 models that are carb'd, you can search for the restrictor dimensions on the internet (they are two washers, one for each carb, restricting the airflow and therefore reducing power), and get some made up and put in for a lot less than the £200+ an "official" kit costs to purchase and fit. Get the bike dyno'd to show its making 33bhp.

Bearing the restrictor kit in mind, the FI SV's (2003 to present) are restricted much easier, by the replacment of the stock ECU with that of a restricting ECU. Litteraly swap them over, alot less hassle...but you can't make one up in your garage...I don't know how much one will set you back, but you can get them cheapish on ebay.

You mention restrictor kit removal; just as a word of warning, if you ride without the restrictor kit before your 2 years are up, then you will be riding a bike more powerful than you are legally allowed, and your insurance will be invalidated. I'll say no more on the matter, some people choose to derestrict their bikes before their restriction time is up, and thats their desicion!

SV's are pretty easy to maintain - just keep it clean, keep it serviced, and keep the chain lubricated and well adjusted, and you'll have no real problems.

And welcome to the .org :D

Matt

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

Or sell him your restrictor kit in three months time :D

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

Yup the big hole in your budget is gear but you can still get a pointy SV for £2000 £850 will be more than enough for gear, £750 sounds low for insurance but it's easy enough to get a quote from say The Bike Insurer http://quotes.thebikeinsurer.co.uk/quote/ so maybe you've done that already. £400 sounds low for a licence I think it would be at least £600 but you haven't said your location.
A pointy can be retricted by swapping the ECU yourself should be £30-£40 to buy from ebay/or here.

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

hmmmmmm....some fantastic replies there so thank you very much...

With regards to the restrictor and taking it off...As funny as it may be and as much kudos and you might get "down the pub" i find it fairly irresponsible to ride anything for atleast the first 12 months with full power. I have been riding bikes for a while... pretty much since i was 9 and have driven my next door neighbours BSB Ducati road bike.... but riding on the track and riding on the road are two different ball games altogether. But thank you all for the response for this. I just wanted to know because i plan t keep this bike whilst at uni, so in the 2nd year i can have it cheaply removed (replaced in the case of the ecu)

Leather and equipment -

My next door neighbour with the ducati rides for them in the BSB, so I can get all top gear for cut down price (sounds like del boy lol), so thats not a massive problem. I recently bought a new lid that is of a good quality....ive got PLENTY of gloves, its just boots and leathers ill need.

Insurance -

The quotes ive been getting are around the 750-800 mark, thats why im so attracted to biking! How much are alarms for SV? I would get one fitted asap but im not sure where to look

And finally....i know this is very cheeky, but is there any chance anyone could look round on the net in places where they know decent bikes are sold and post some links up here for recommended SV650's that are up for sale. Thing is i don't really know what im looking for. Ive seen this one CLICK!! (the 2nd one on there) and it looks fairly tidy but im not sure. I think i prefer the newer shape, just because the styling looks a bit sharpers

Ross

p.s. im from Leicestershire....Mallory park to be price

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

It might help if you tell us your location, no use finding a great deal in Aberdeen if your in Plymouth.

Re: Advice for a newbie
 

haha...fair point...my post code is LE9 7QP...im willing to travel, because my pops has a big gypsy style van if we need to pick it up

Re: Advice for a newbie