SV vs CBR600F for starter rider

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

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...

I'm with Toypop on this one Fizz. I had a K6 and the throttle was on off no matter how smooth you tried to be. Dealer tested and agreed.

It's well documented on here about the TPS adjustment. Some of the FI bikes are fierce until you dial out the revs which improves the response somewhat.

I started with a curvy SVS, which I had for about a year and I covered over 15k miles in that time, including a trip to France and a trip to the South West.

Admittedly, being of an age that I had over 20 years of driving experience when I did my DAS, perhaps I was a bit more cautious than many. However, the SV never let me down, I never had any problems with the rain, and I loved every mile I covered on it.

I never experienced a "jerky" throttle, though I have never been one for whacking them right open anyway. The SV is light and manoeuvrable. Rather than worry about a Jerky throttle, I found that the biggest "issue" was locking the back wheel while changing down. Until you get used to "blipping" the throttle I think that is a bigger worry.

However, move forward a number of years and if I knew then what I know now, I may well have opted for a CBR600. There is no doubt that the build quality of the Honda is miles ahead of most Suzuki's. The CBR600F is the most popular sports bike ever made (it's been going some time) and rightfully so. Most people would probably class it as a bit of a "Sports Tourer" these days, as it isn't track focused like most sports bikes. It's comfortable, relaxed and is better for pillions too.

You may still want to consider a naked as your first bike. They are easier to ride; you have better vision, they are more comfortable and in traffic they are far better. Also riding fast for long periods takes getting used to.

And as somebody has pointed out, when you drop it (and you will, either while riding it or moving it around the drive) it is far cheaper to put back on the road.

Personally I'd probably look at a 2005 Hornet, now the new one is out they should be available a decent prices, and I'd rather pay £4,000 for a 12 month old Hornet than I would for a new SV. But then I'm a Honda convert...

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Originally Posted by stuartyboy

I'm with Toypop on this one Fizz. I had a K6 and the throttle was on off no matter how smooth you tried to be. Dealer tested and agreed.

It's well documented on here about the TPS adjustment. Some of the FI bikes are fierce until you dial out the revs which improves the response somewhat.

Before you get Sid Squid blowing steam out of his ears.

The TPS combined with the position of the throttle bodies (denoted by the amount of twist on the throttle) helps to control the amount of fuel going into the cylinder (over time, not per rev).

If the TPS is mal-aligned, usually, this results in it being effective too high up the rev range, which (I think) will result in an extra little squirt of jungle juice into the cylinders, which in turn will cause a snatchy feeling from the bike (and the pogo symptoms kwak was talking about).

However, if your throttle cables are out of adjustment, this too can cause snatchyness. Just as clutch adjustment (and use of the clutch) can cause it.

If the bike went into the dealership with a snatchy throttle, it really shouldn't of come back out with one, because it's pretty simple to fix. I know, I've done it with my bike, and I'm not a dealership mechanic!!

Originally Posted by Baph

If the bike went into the dealership with a snatchy throttle, it really shouldn't of come back out with one, because it's pretty simple to fix.

It didn't...they fixed it. Cupar motorcycles will readily admit that some SVs come out the factory with snatchy throttles and they're usually fixed under warranty. As was mine.

EDIT: As an aside and just to confuse things even more...the 03 cbr600f is renowned for it's snatchy throttle. See the cbr forums.

Originally Posted by stuartyboy

It didn't...they fixed it. Cupar motorcycles will readily admit that some SVs come out the factory with snatchy throttles and they're usually fixed under warranty. As was mine.

IMO, it doesn't need to be done under warranty. It should (but isn't always apparently) be done for the PDI (to the extent where the bike doesn't have a snatchy throttle on the PDI ride), and IMO, should be done again on every service. But then I service my own bike.

Originally Posted by Baph

IMO, it doesn't need to be done under warranty. It should (but isn't always apparently) be done for the PDI (to the extent where the bike doesn't have a snatchy throttle on the PDI ride), and IMO, should be done again on every service. But then I service my own bike.

But we are agreed...they do have snatchy throttles.

Hey...my post count has went up like billio today

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Durbs

i'm gonna try for a ride on one to see how twitchy the throttle actually is.

Post up your location and see if you can blag a go from someone here. Even a pillion ride will give you an idea.

I changed from an SV to a CBR (RR model) and the CBR was much easier to ride that the SV. It felt lighter, easier to turn and more stable which gave me more confidence.. I don't see the power difference being much of an issue. You really have to work the CBR to get it to take off, it's not like it's suddenly gonna reach warp speed without you wanting it to.

I don't know if the F model is similar as i've not ridden one. I would say wait until you have passed and ride a couple of diff bikes. I bought my SV before riding it (before passing) and I have to say that I would have bought the CBR straight away if I had ridden them both. Not to say the SV is a bad bike at all, I just felt much more at home on a CBR..

My 2p.

Originally Posted by hovis

depends on the year of bike as well (IMO)

but you need to test them both, i would have said go for the SV a few months ago, but after riding a CBR (900) i wont

Never would have expected to hear this sort of talk from you Hovis! Is the SV well and truly out of the window now then?

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

I wouldnt sell mine for the world.

but the world would include your bike? So you wouldn't sell your bike for your bike plus everything else, ever?

Originally Posted by Toypop

the throttle can be like an on/off switch

<snip>

Mine was a K5 pointy.

I wonder if this was because it was a later model - my K3 SV was perfectly fine on the throttle, not snatchy at all, yet my GSX-R - there's this really irritating point on the throttle where it just goes on-off-on-off grr...

Originally Posted by Baph

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.

And back on topic (for me)...I think that the SV is better in terms of power delivery, at least compared to my gixer (and admittedly the latest SS600s are notorious for sticking loads of power higher up and not much low down).

I think part of it is due to what I think Baph is describing - with an SV you can't get "carried away" with it by lots of throttle, because it gives a big squirt and then tails away before you go too far. But with the gixer, you give it some beans and at first not very much happens (say starting at 4krpm) but then it does seem to take over - you can so easily run into trouble that way! Maybe if you never enter that part of the power band it'd seem tamer, but I don't think that's very likely

Also personally I found it so easy to ride the torque on the SV in town - I have to slip the clutch quite a lot in stop/start traffic (and any slow speed control) on the gixer as it doesn't want to behave when at low revs. A good example is at traffic lights, I could pull away on the SV pretty much releasing the clutch fully straight away, if I do that on the gixer it'll stall and leave me looking a t*t at the lights (I know from experience!!)

Originally Posted by muffles

Also personally I found it so easy to ride the torque on the SV in town - I have to slip the clutch quite a lot in stop/start traffic (and any slow speed control) on the gixer as it doesn't want to behave when at low revs. A good example is at traffic lights, I could pull away on the SV pretty much releasing the clutch fully straight away, if I do that on the gixer it'll stall and leave me looking a t*t at the lights (I know from experience!!)

Agreed....on a sports 600 the clutch/revs need a bit more minding in traffic, especially first gear work....but at the end of the day i am sure you will agree it is a small price to pay to have gixer/R6/CBR etc. Its not designed for town work...but it can function well enough to be manageable in this capacity and when you get out on the twisties it more than makes up for it