Chain question

I am currently riding the humble cb500 but the looks and reviews of the sv650 leave me wondering if this should be my next bike.

My questions are these:
I do a 60 daily commute on varied roads in all weathers so is the sv650 up to it?
I have heard the v twin can be heavy on chains/sprockets so what is the expected life of these with/wothout a scotoiler ( If I do get an SV then it will have one fitted.
In winter do they suffer much from carb iceing. I had no problem with the cb500 throughout winter.

Cheers in advance for the advice. Great forum by the way

Jeff

Welcome.

A 60 mile commute? Easy.
With a scotoiler you can get 50k out of a c+s set.
The FI models don't suffer from carb icing at all (obviously, no carbs) but there are stories of the carbed models having a few issues.

Commute no problem. One of the guys on here (Rictus) was running somewhat over 1,000 miles a week

With a Scottoiler, I'd guess you'd have no more problems wearing chains/sprockets than on an IL4. It's more likely to vary according to your riding style

Carb Iceing can be a problem on the older models, but I don't know anyone with a fuel injection model (K3 onwards) who's had any problems. There are ways of curing/preventing the carb iceing problem - do a search on carb iceing to throw up previous discussions

The other known 'problem' is water getting into the front cylinder causing a misfire, but this is pretty much cured by fitting a fender extender.

All in all, a much better bike than the CB500

oh and the front forks are too wallowy as standard, but you'd be used to that on a CB500

£65'ish of new springs and some heavier oil sorts them out, but you'd have to push it a bit to really notice

Hi,

I commute 55 miles a day and found the SV more than comfortable. I would recommend a faired version for better protection against the wintery / windy weather. I previously owned a GS500 and found I was pushed all over the road on a windy day. Can't comment on chains and sprockets as I've only done 3k miles on the standard set.

Cheers
T0mm0
K4 SV650S

Make the swap!!

I got rid of my CB500 a couple of years back for a 2000 SV650s. Good weather or bad it's a damn sight more fun.

I did read somewhere though that imported bikes (like mine) sometimes aren't set up for the colder weather. Decent dealer imports whould be fine.

I part-exed my CB500s for my 2000 SV650S with 6400 miles on clock. I am up to 15,400 and have ridden the last two winters. I reckon it is a good step-up from the CB500s, more grunt, better looking and loads more fun.

I also think it is a good bike to learn basic mechanical bits and pieces on, I now carry out the basic service myself, oil, filter, plugs and pads. Have replaced chain after 13,000 (it was shagged when I got it) as I dont think the previous owner ever bothered oiling chain or adjusting it. You get loads of support from this excellent site, so you ain't exactly on your own when it comes to problems/queries.

Do it ... you will have no regrets.

By the way I have a 35 mile commute (daily total) and it is no probs. Never had a problem with carb-icing, though it wasn't cold last winter (but it was the one before). Only problem I have had with running was water getting onto front cylinder/plug. So get one with a fenda-extenda or buy one from Pyramid Plastics on the net, you don't want to be running off one cylinder just as you attempt to overtake on your daily commute - scared the **** out of me

Hope you make the right decision for you.

Tony (from still wet and cloudy Burnley)

Cheers guys. I might just start looking around for one then. I do like the look of the faired model. I used to be a car mechanic so I weild a fair spanner. I live in north yorkshire so it sound like the sv is going to like the roads around here. apart from the odd bit of diesel which tends to wake you up on a morning

Jeff

Originally Posted by Tony_BLY

By the way I have a 35 mile commute (daily total) and it is no probs. Never had a problem with carb-icing, though it wasn't cold last winter (but it was the one before). Only problem I have had with running was water getting onto front cylinder/plug. So get one with a fenda-extenda or buy one from Pyramid Plastics on the net, you don't want to be running off one cylinder just as you attempt to overtake on your daily commute - scared the sh*t out of me

Wasnt cold?? Which Lancashire are you from??

I freezing some mornings at 6:30. Admittedly there were particularly bad days last year, once freezing my controls up!!!

LOL - I gauge cold from the number of pairs of gloves I use.

Only had to wear 3 pairs of gloves plus Belstaff Overmitts 3 times this year, unlike the year before when I was wearing them all the time. Plus I can also tell by the number of cracks that appear in my thumbs and index finger in the days following the freeze. Not many this year

I was once so cold the previous year I couldnt extend my hand to apply the front brake and was so cold I didn't give a **** (which is worrying)
I dream of heated grips.

Tony