SV vs CBR600F for starter rider

Phew, lot of conflicting responses there!

Still undecided. The test ride thing would be good but i'm assuming that finding a place that will allow me to do that will be difficult? (have heard a lot of places require you to have held a lic for 12 months, is this the case?). Its every newb bikers nightmare riding away from a salesman on a totally unfamiliar bike too! I prefer the 'buy it and take it somewhere no-one can see for an hour to get used to it' technique.

People seem to suggest that the SV will be less intimidating as a first ride so i'm gonna try for a ride on one to see how twitchy the throttle actually is.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Durbs

see how twitchy the throttle actually is.

Its not I've never ridden an SV with a twitchy throttle, IMHO most people that suffer from this are giving the bike great big handfuls of throttle all the time which makes the bike snatchy in response and also pogo around on its suspension.

Being smooth and gentle with the throttle is what you want to be doing.

Originally Posted by philbut

n hind sight, i wish I'd gone for the CBR as i do quite a lot of long distance 2 up and the missiz hates the SV - CBR F looks much comfier and I think they have better wind protection.

Blade.....

[Biker Biggles]

I'd be inclined to go for a cheapish bike for starters,keep it for about a year while I made all the usual mistakes,and then buy something better.Something like an older curvy SV for about £1200 where you can learn to ride it and service it,mod it a bit and still save shedloads of money towards that newer better bike.
That's not really the advice you wanted to hear though is it?

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Toypop

The SV does suffer from the water problems in the front cylinder which is a black mark on reliability.

This is mainly down to poor maintainance and cack-handed plug changes.

I say this as the owner of a pointy SV who was riding it through some fairly deep flood water at the weekend in the Reading/Thatcham area with the water being chucked over my screen and hitting me in the visor on an S.

I was expecting to have problems with the bike following that, but no problems at all.

As long as the drain hole is kept clear, and the HT lead and the in-built seal are seated properly I dont see there being a problem.

And 50p's worth of Silicone Grease can be added for peace of mind.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Its not I've never ridden an SV with a twitchy throttle, IMHO most people that suffer from this are giving the bike great big handfuls of throttle all the time which makes the bike snatchy in response and also pogo around on its suspension.

Being smooth and gentle with the throttle is what you want to be doing.

I think it might more be to do with the fuelling at low revs as the throttle is fine at normal riding speeds/revs?

On a mini roundabout the throttle can be like an on/off switch and I had to slip the clutch at times when taking the third exit. No smoothness about it, the bike was either engine braking or surging towards the curb!

Also when I ride into work I ride one handed and hold up my parking pass to show the guards. That was scary on the SV for the same reasons as mentioned above! Yet on the Bandit, 6R and 10R it is fine. The SV is the only bike I have had those problems with. It is also the only v-twin I have had so I don't know if it is an SV/fuelling problem or a general v-twin problem.

Mine was a K5 pointy.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Toypop

I think it might more be to do with the fuelling at low revs as the throttle is fine at normal riding speeds/revs?

On a mini roundabout the throttle can be like an on/off switch and I had to slip the clutch at times when taking the third exit. No smoothness about it, the bike was either engine braking or surging towards the curb!

Also when I ride into work I ride one handed and hold up my parking pass to show the guards. That was scary on the SV for the same reasons as mentioned above! Yet on the Bandit, 6R and 10R it is fine. The SV is the only bike I have had those problems with. It is also the only v-twin I have had so I don't know if it is an SV/fuelling problem or a general v-twin problem.

Mine was a K5 pointy.

I've got a Curvey, I've ridden 3 different pointies, ( my other halfs K5, a K5 loan bike and a K6 loan bike that I had for nearly a month and put nearly 1500 miles on ) none of which had snatchy throttle.

Not saying you're guilty of this, but IMHO most people seem to find it easier to blame their bike rather than looking at their own riding as the cause of the problems they have...

ive had both cbr and sv, both very good bikes in there own right, cant knock the cbr, does everything brilliantly but does have lots of power on tap tho for a beginner to biking? also insurance will be more. the lill sv what can i say, brilliant bike for everyone, cheap to buy cheap to run and insure, does everything well on a budget, personal pref really i like v twins but 5 years ago i liked il4's.

Originally Posted by Durbs

People seem to suggest that the SV will be less intimidating as a first ride so i'm gonna try for a ride on one to see how twitchy the throttle actually is.

Nice interesting thread.

I went from riding a CG125, to the SV650S, quite a jump in power. I didn't realise, and turned around a corner, then happily just rammed the throttle open like I did on the CG.

Front wheel up (not much) - but what do you expect when going from zero to almost full throttle in 1st gear? Then she settled herself down.

If it'd of been an IL4, which as a general rule kick out more bhp, and have a power band higher up the revs it'd of probably spit me off the back. That's why you need a steady smooth hand on the throttle.

As for snatchy throttle, I know what people are talking about, but I've only seen it when something needed adjusting (throttle cable freeplay, or Throttle Position Sensor for example).

Personally, if I had to go back to step 1 again, I'd choose the SV again. I've ridden quite a few different bikes, and I'm now looking to upgrade to something with more power, but the SV has served me well. Probably a tad short of 25,000 miles so far this year (I got on the road last Aug).

ride the sv1000s if you want to feel snatchy, even with a smooth throttle hand it still takes some getting used to.