Newbie Q on sv650s Overtaking

Hi guys and gals, this is my first post and I fully admit I'm a newbie so be gentle with me

I've only been riding for a year after passing my test doing the direct access scheme. I've had the sv650s since then as my first bike but whilst it feels fast accelerating, it doesn't seem to overtake that well. I mean if I want to overtake just an average car doing 55ish I can't just bang open the throttle in 6th gear or even 5th and get round quickly. Don't get me wrong it doesn't take ages it is just I have seen other bikes like r6's and gxr-600's overtake much faster, although this is only perception.

Can anyone suggest a faster overtaking bike than the sv650s without me having to bang down 3 gears?

Also, just to mention I love the sv650s and like its lightweight feel and also have no intentions of killing myself as I'm by no means an expert rider so I'd perfer if the suggestions took this into account lol.

[mikerj]

If you are doing 50mph in sixth then it's no wonder you find it difficult to overtake if you don't change gear. If you need to make progress you have to move the engine speed to a suitable range by changing to an appropriate gear. If you think the SV is bad, try doing this on an IL4 600 sports bike.

If you really want to cruise around in top all day without ever changing gear, then maybe something like a Triumph Rocket would suit you...

Out of interest do you drive a car? If so do you never drop a gear or two to complete an overtake quickly?

[yorkie_chris]

If you are cruising at 90 ish then you hardly have to open the throttle at all to get past someone doing 55

You could downgear the SV a bit, but then it might feel more buzzy at your cruising speed.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by randykentucky

Can anyone suggest a faster overtaking bike than the sv650s without me having to bang down 3 gears?.

I've a GSXR-750 and I still drop it down 2 or 3 gears in order to overtake if the gap is small.

With the SV as said above, keep the rev's at 5000rpm and pick a suitable gear that allows you do that before you overtake. That way the bike is ready to pull hard from that point and you minimise your exposed to danger time as you arent in the opposite lane clicking down the gears in order to get by as you have done that prior to begining your overtake.

Your other option if you want the SV to pull / pick up a bit faster is to alter the gearing for better acceleration. If you use the search function you should find plenty of threads on that topic.

If you want a bike that accelerates for overtakes without having to change down, then you want a big engine that isnt tuned for massive BHP. Something like a GSX 1400 or I found a Bandit 1250 really good for that as they have loads of Torque. Your other options is a litre sports bike.

Something like a GSXR 600 will overtake faster but it involves doing the two step on the gear lever. i..e you need to change gear alot to get the best out of the available BHP as they are designed to be rev'd.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by randykentucky

Can anyone suggest a faster overtaking bike than the sv650s without me having to bang down 3 gears?

Nope, learn to ride the one you have first - the skills will carry over to any subsequent bike you get in the future so its not a waste.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Yeah I do drive, and probably have picked up bad habits as I've driven fast cars from 17 im only 22 now. It just at times seems my Astra Vxr with 270bhp will overtake in 6th quite comfortably and the sv650 seems a bit slower, on overtaking not acceleration.

I'll just downchange on the gears I'm just being lazy I suppose.

Just to be clear then do you have to work an inline 4 quite a bit harder to get the power to overtake then, because I was thinking of changing the sv650 for a gxr-600 or an r6 but only mainly for overtaking, as otherwise I'm happy with the sv.

Last question, does either the r6 or the gxr-600 handle better than the sv? I like how chuckable the sv is and don't want to lose that, if I do decide to change.

[yorkie_chris]

R6s and GSXR6s are more peaky than the SV, you ride them much higher in the revs. Taking 50mph in 6th gear there will probably be less immediate stomp available.

They handle really well, very chuckable, but the position is more extreme, so they easily get you into the downward spiral of tension which makes the handling poor which makes you more tense. But get into attack mode, be fluid on them and they do handle well. The handling is funny, a lot more "serious" feeling than an SV. Probably a little harder to get the best out of.


It's not so much twin v IL4, but capacity. If you want massive overtaking stomp then get a monster of a lump, but then you'll lose the handling.

Thanks, I have read about twin v IL4 but never really had my questions answered by articles, so thought I'd ask. Thanks for all the advice you have all been really helpful. I think I'm going to stick with the sv, I'm not looking to be the fastest on the road, just to have a nice sunday bit of fun. So the sv seems perfect.

Cheers guys.

[yorkie_chris]

You can get a pretty serious shift on with an SV, sportsbikes are faster but it comes down to rider. Remove brain, start engine

You can also leave an inline 4 for dead, more oomph at lower revs, although it will catch up once it gets going.
That's what Yorkie Chris said!