Thinking of buying an SV650... Help please!

I'm from Cardiff and I'm afraid you've got another squirrel :P

Alex

Should I buy new or used? If I buy new I can get a free restrictor, one years free service and 2 years guarantee (or something like that!) and all the bells and whistles. Then again, if I buy used I can get it cheaper, but won't know the ins and outs of its history, and I'm told that I won't be as upset when I drop it the first time as I would if it was new.

What you think?

Alex

my front forks feel fine ,but then again i am 12 stone so thats proberly why

Originally Posted by Rhiwbina_Squirrel

Should I buy new or used? If I buy new I can get a free restrictor, one years free service and 2 years guarantee (or something like that!) and all the bells and whistles. Then again, if I buy used I can get it cheaper, but won't know the ins and outs of its history, and I'm told that I won't be as upset when I drop it the first time as I would if it was new.

What you think?

Alex

i would go for 2nd hand......... depends how much you want to spend though,

0% finance at the moment on new ones may be a factor in your decision. As others have said, however, it's gutting to drop it the first time if it's brand new. If it already has a few scrapes it won't be so bad.

Re: modifications, the front end should be cheap to stiffen up a bit. To get the best out of the bike, you'll want a better rear shock, but I'm almost as heavy as you and I lived with my stock shock for 25,000+ miles before replacing it, so you should be fine.
I know to begin with everyone thinks they ride sensibly and won't drop it, but as a new rider, you almost certainly will drop it in the first couple of years. For this reason, I would strongly recommend getting crash bungs straight away. I see you're in Cardiff, hopefully see you out and about at some point.

[squirrel_hunter]

Originally Posted by wyrdness

Where's squirrel_hunter when you need him?

You called...

(Yes I realize I'm a bit late, which is unusual for me but thats another story)

Originally Posted by squirrel_hunter

You called...

Uhhh...Everything's fine... Nothing to see here :P

Well mine seems to bottom out, going over potholes or i get a clunk anyway but ive solved the problem by going round the potholes instead of over them , this seems to work fine and saves 100 bucks on springs and stuff. And the front brakes are sharp enough to cut your throat just grab a handfull and you'll be well impressed when you've picked the bike up. Go for the sv it beats the jap crap at double the price.

I'm FAT, 16st 10lbs, and my SV handles me with little problems, don't get any problems over pot holes, and the brakes seem to do a fantastic job, even when I make the odd mistake and find myself approaching corners faster than is advisable.

Get one, SV's are fantastic first bikes and very forgiving when you over cook things, its the reason I am still able to write this down.