Am I the wrong shape for a SV650?
 

Well day 1 of the DAC went well, had fun, got to ry filtering about 2 days early (road closure forced us westwards between Westminster Brigde and Horseferry Bridge, instructor thought "fsck it" and gave us all the option of following him, everyone took him up on it and did fine, tho he was prepared to sit and wait had any one of us been unsure :)

Over lunch, we got taking about bikes, and he expressed a concern over whether I would fit an SV650 very well due to being "quite broad across the shoulders" and that maybe a Bandit would be a better fit.

So now I am left wondering which way to go - I guess I will just need to blag a test-drive on a Sv to see how comfortable it feels.

Other thing thats making me wonder on my choice is that a friends dad went to his usual Bike dealer/garage for tyres and had a look at what they had in, and there is a CB500 (or 600 I cant remember) with only 15 miles on it (some guy bought it, didnt like it, brought it back) with a few extras on it going for over £1000 under list for new, with the possibility of getting even more off it......

Anyways, off to day 2 :)

David

Still seriously wanting an SV, ended up parking the CG125 I was to borrow next to a very nice black one outside Metropolis at Vauxhall yesterday at 4 ish

You have to ask yourself why the guy hated it so much he was willing to take a £1k hit.

I presume bcause you want an SV on looks alone it must be a
POINTY FAIRED, possibly in Blue? :lol:

Then you can get mirror extenders from Chewy22's store, if that's the problem?

A month after passing your DAS you will be bored ****less on a CB500 - if it is a CBR600 then it might be worth a look.

I could not decide between a blandit or an SV when I took my DAS 6 1/2 years ago - I was advised to go with the SV as I would eventually get bored with a blandit. I had my SV for 4 years, and then only changed to an SV1000 because I got a really good deal.

Don't worry about being 'broad across the shoulders' - there are quite a few on this site that could be considered as 'large build' :wink:

Re: Am I the wrong shape for a SV650?
 

Good plan, test ride the bandit, then make your own mind up. Its your bike get the one that you like. that works best for you.

CB500.... IMHO as Matt has said you'll get bored of that very very very quickly.

If its the newer CBF600. That might be more fun in the long run. I've not ridden one so I dont know what it'll be like. Seems to get favourable reviews in the bike magazines.

Get a test ride on that to. See what it feels like to ride.

At the end of the day you pays your money you makes your choice. Personally I found the SV was easy to ride when I just started on a bigger bike. But after a while I was able to explore its potential a bit more. Its one of those bikes that you have room to grow into as your riding skills build.

Broad accross the shoulders.....well I take a 48 to 50 chest jacket and have no issues if that helps.

Though the poor standard suspension does groan on occasion at 18 stone being dumped on it :P

Colin

Thanks - replying to this as its the last post to the thread.

Well just had a fun day out on CG125's - really looking forwards to the CB500's of tomorrow.

Found out my test will be a the Belvidere centre in South East London, which is where we went (A2 on a 125 was erm interesting (and a bit boring :P ).

Really nastly little place - lots of minor roads JUST before (about 1 to 2 car lengths) the major junctions -0 some quite hard to spot, and a great trip up aparently - ie it really tests indicator timing.

In response to the Blue Pointy comment above - well yes, that would be ideal (only because the dont do black as stock) but probably will be a curvey of whatever colour comes up.

Thanks again folks

David

Re: Am I the wrong shape for a SV650?
 

CB600F is a Hornet with a 96bhp CBR engine whereas a CBF600 is a detuned, emasculated commuter bike. Both are IL4 engines and basically the same although the CBF600 has had the top-end chopped off the power curve to the tune of about 20bhp. It is also about 20kg heavier.

If it's a 600 then is probably the CBF600 as anyone who bought the Hornet wouldn't have brought it back (after any mileage) because they didn't like it :wink:

The CB500 is a different beast again, being a parallel twin. They are actually good fun to ride and handle well.

For your first bike you need to test ride a few and buy the one that suits you and your needs the best. Don't just go out and buy an SV650 because you post on here.

Tried a pointy and not too sure......
 

Ok, well I sat on a stationary one :)

Not sure if I like the riding position, seems a little horizontal to me.

But then again my experience is a good few hours on a CG125 (very upright), little to nothing on a CBF500 (wondered where the pegs were - oh what are they doing back there ??? :P) - will be having more on that tomorrow on day 4 of my DAC and looking forwards to it - mostly today was on the training ground getting used to the weight and power.

Then back to the shop and an opportunistic sit on a display pointy.

Had a hunt for the pegs, finally found them somewhere on a level with my ears (ok so I exaggerate) left feeling "oh ****, dont know if I would feel safe/secure like this and moving".

More I think of it now tho, could be as wonderful on the move as it was disconcerting at a standstill, so still reserving judgement :)

Hoping to book a test-drive of a curvey on the weekend, with a view to seeing what is then available to buy, either here or elsewhere.

Dont think I will be buying at Metropolis tho - seem pricey.

As an aside, Infinity are doing new Fazers for £5200, 4years 0% finance and a set of leathers thrown in (Dainesse ones, choose from 2 different designs, £400-£500 retail price), £400 down, a set of leathers for the missus (well I got mine made for me in New Zealand, and we are not due back there for a while) and £100/month for 4 years sounds good but I have heard bad things about the recent Fazers which makes me look at the deal as "trying too hard".

Still might be able to use the info to Metropolis down on a Curvey, of which they have 2, a 1999 and a 2001, £200 difference in prices.

Any major difference in them? - both are blue so no choice to make on that basis, but anything else to consider - also the older one has a lot of corrosion on the forks - a big issue, or just a clean up job?

David

belvedere! i'm pretty sure that's where i did my test (x3 :oops: ), is it the one with the test centre on a slight incline and is set away a bit from the road - parallel to it, but there is a little road/parking and a grass verge between it and the road?

i chatted to one of the instructors about buying from metropolis, he said that new, metropolis aren't bad (they're an official suzuki dealer so don't know if that affects it) but second hand they aren't really that competitive.

oh one other thing - if belvedere is the one above (i'm 99% sure it is) then the other thing to watch out for (or maybe it's just me!) is speed limits - there are a couple of places where it changed on me and i missed it, which resulted in 2 failed tests lol! one example that you will probably be able to remember is the bridge bit with the bus stop/station on it - it's 30 but the roads approaching it are 40, and even though on the 2nd time coming up to it i was looking out for the sign i never saw it! and i wasn't bad on the observation, at least not according to the instructor!

a tip i got from someone else for that was to look at the side roads - if you can see signs (speed limit changes) it can give you a hint...

I bought an ER5 after my DAS cos it was £825 and I wanted a bike to drop for a while until I actually got good at riding. I don't think there is anything at all wrong with the ER5 or CB500, fine they aren't amazing, but to just practice and get around on they are fine. I am also 6'1 and have no problem fitting on my naked SV, I actually find it nice and roomy compared to other faired bikes that I have tried (R6 felt miniscule, GSXF-750 and my legs were banging the fairings and sticking out. So no worries there I'd say.

Good luck!