SV650 buying advice and thoughts?

Originally Posted by MARTIN T

I have heard of some reliability issues on early Ducati's but some guys at work have them and say they are as reliable as Jap bikes if they are looked after.

I love Dukes and was looking for an early Monster but they were going for silly money so got a SV. I have not been disappointed. Got a 2002 S (half faired curvy) for £1100 with under 12K on the clock and 2 owners. Great fun.

The joke is that Aprilla and Ducati say that they are the Italian Honda (Honda's have a history of being dependable and reliable) but they are not. If you do go looking for a Duke make sure you get proof of belt changes and servicing. A decent service including belts well set you back about £450 and you don't want to know what happens to the engine if a belt goes. So if you go for a Duke with no service history keep hold of that kind of cash to get it done.

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by MARTIN T

I have heard of some reliability issues on early Ducati's but some guys at work have them and say they are as reliable as Jap bikes if they are looked after.

BB junior has a Duke 748 and it has been reliable but it isnt used and abused every day all year round.Its done about 25000 miles but you just know its not as robust as a Jap bike.Lovely bike,but it needss a lot of loving.

Stop thinking and just do it, you won't go wrong with an SV. Better with a pointy, lowest mileage and latest model you can find in your budget IMO, obviously it needs to look like it's been looked after properly, new and low mileage means nothing if it's never been serviced and left outside to rot.

Get one, now is a good time to buy too because the weather is so bad, hence why my old 125 resides in the shed, will sell it in the spring

Originally Posted by B1k3R

I love Dukes and was looking for an early Monster but they were going for silly money so got a SV. I have not been disappointed. Got a 2002 S (half faired curvy) for £1100 with under 12K on the clock and 2 owners. Great fun.

The joke is that Aprilla and Ducati say that they are the Italian Honda (Honda's have a history of being dependable and reliable) but they are not. If you do go looking for a Duke make sure you get proof of belt changes and servicing. A decent service including belts well set you back about £450 and you don't want to know what happens to the engine if a belt goes. So if you go for a Duke with no service history keep hold of that kind of cash to get it done.

I know what you mean about Dukes going for silly money, I have seen a 2003 monster 620 with 13k on it, because of the time of year it has just been dropped to £2500, I could get a nice SV650 for that and if I get one in red and get twin carbon cans it may almost look as good as a monster. This may be a silly question but could I get a normal SV and just remove the fairing?

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by MARTIN T

This may be a silly question but could I get a normal SV and just remove the fairing?

Yes but is a lot of work for the change.

its a good time of year to buy atm since its so cold atm. some bikes people want too much, there are plenty around so dont fall in love and be patient til you find one at the right price. i got my 07 with 6k miles for £2400. (faired pointy as standard) but id seen lots of 06/07/08s at the 3-3.5+k mark with more miles, some had aftermarket bits, but id want my own style there anyway.

be picky make sure its got a good service history. check the wheels for marks cos some of them have been raced. (prob not a naked one) ask to hear it running, no bangs and clanks etc.. look for oil where it shouldnt be, check the tyres, if it needs new ones thats another £200- ish, same with sprokets and chains, if it needs a new sproket youl want a new chain aswell. if your happy with a few scratches you can prob get more off the price but i wasn't willing to put up with that. check on ebay to have a rough guess what people are willing to pay for the bikes, and just look around. i spent over a month looking at ones all over the place, and found one 3 miles away from my house, so just be patient

Oh and most importantly run a vehicle check on it, might cost 2/3 quid but worth it, same as any vehicle really.


ps. ive thought of a duke but the servicing costs (and frequency) are quite steep with belts, i know the 748R needs new belts every 12 months think others are every 2 years

[Sid Squid]

Clearly if you have the financial ability to do so buy as young a bike as you can, that's just sense - a newer one is least likely to give trouble, which is most emphatically not to say that a Pointy is any better then a Curvy, 'cos they're not.
Naked/Faired? Conventional wisdom suggest that if you do the majority of riding in town naked bikes are a better choice, I have a naked and a faired bike and I'm not sure I agree. A faired bike is certainly better if you spend your time on a motorway.
There are more Pointies than Curvies and more naked Pointies than naked Curvies, that simply reflects the fact that the Pointy is in production for nearly twice as long now and that the faired bike has always outsold the naked by a significant degree. Which one do you like the look of? That's the only difference really.

Decide on your budget and find the best bike you can for the money you've got and don't fuss over whether it's a Curvy or Pointy. An '02 Curvy and an '06 Pointy are obviously different ages but the younger bike can be higher milage and poorer condition. The specifics of the individual bike are important not the exact model as they are just about identical to ride and neither has any significant advantage over the other.

Just for clarification:

Curvy = '99-'02, tubular lattice style frame, carburettors.
Pointy = '03 onwards, hollow square section frame, fuel injection.

Originally Posted by MARTIN T

...............This may be a silly question but could I get a normal SV and just remove the fairing?

Originally Posted by andrewsmith

Yes but is a lot of work for the change.

+1 on Andrewsmith's reply. Both the curvy ('02 and before) and pointy ('03 and newer) come faired or unfaired so no need to remove anything. There are big debates on what is best but make your own mind up. Dont buy one and try and make it look like a Duke, enjoy it for what it is, or just go and buy a Duke.

Originally Posted by B1k3R

+1 on Andrewsmith's reply. Both the curvy ('02 and before) and pointy ('03 and newer) come faired or unfaired so no need to remove anything. There are big debates on what is best but make your own mind up. Dont buy one and try and make it look like a Duke, enjoy it for what it is, or just go and buy a Duke.

I would never try and make a SV650 look like a Ducati monster as it never would, but a SV in red with twin exhaust cans would probably do the job for me