SV650 buying advice and thoughts?

[mister c]

I have had 2 SV's now & love them to bits. Both Curvy (Mk1), both naked. As already said, dont think, go buy
I've bought a Triumph Daytona 955, but I have to say that I'm glad I've kept my SV. I have more fun on it than the trumper.
The only thing that lets the SV down is its build quality. If you do buy one buy the best that you can afford & pay particular attention to things like the brake calipers (esp the rear) & fixings which, just like all Jap bikes, rusts at the merest hint of winter weather.
Engine wise, they seem to be bullet proof. Both of mine came with no history whatsoever, but had no real problems to speak of.
I crashed my 1st SV & wrote it off & I just went and bought one exactly the same when I was nearly fit enough to ride again.
Plus, you have the wonderful folk of the .org who seem to be the nicest bunch of people on the internet.

[munkygunn182]

+1 on the org being the nicest bunch of people.

I've just bought an SV650S from one of the guys on the org about a month ago. Absolutely love the bike to bits, it's my first big bike, and it sounds like it's going to be your first too? Love it to bits, absolutely no complaints. I can't have mine on the road at the moment because the road's covered in fluffy white stuff, but that hasn't stopped me polishing it weekly. Buy one. Ride it. Clean it. Repeat.

Originally Posted by munkygunn182

+1 on the org being the nicest bunch of people.

I've just bought an SV650S from one of the guys on the org about a month ago. Absolutely love the bike to bits, it's my first big bike, and it sounds like it's going to be your first too? Love it to bits, absolutely no complaints. I can't have mine on the road at the moment because the road's covered in fluffy white stuff, but that hasn't stopped me polishing it weekly. Buy one. Ride it. Clean it. Repeat.

Yes it would be my first big bike , I had never heard of the SV650 until the other day when I spoke to a friend that has a Ducati (because I like the monster) and he said another bike to consider is the SV650. I do love the monster but when a Ducati owner is saying look at another bike its not looking good. All he did say was the monster is a good bike if its LOOKED AFTER AND SERVICED and as I am an engineer at the railway he knows I look after things, but the SV will be a much cheaper bet in the long run, a 03 620 monster is around £2500-£3000 and a belt change is around £250-£300 if it hasn't been done.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by MARTIN T

the monster is a good bike if its LOOKED AFTER AND SERVICED

But, you can say that for any bike. If you dont look after it, any bike is going to let you down. Somebody on here used to work with somebody who owned a Monster with big milleage on it and had never had a problem with it.

Sid Squid's post is IMHO the best advice to take and he is very well positioned / qualified to give it.

I know you want a naked, but if you were to consider a faired bike, then this one

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=160368

I can vouch for, both its current and previous owner and its not a huge distance from you if you were to take a look at it.

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by MARTIN T

All he did say was the monster is a good bike if its LOOKED AFTER AND SERVICED

As Fizz has said that goes for any bike.
The bike linked to is in v good nick and is being sold with all the extras needed for an SV.

Naked wise I can't think of any for sale at a reasonable price

[L3nny]

Not read the whole thread so sorry it this has already been mentioned.

Try and get an SV which has had some work done to the suspension. The SV is a good bike but the suspension IMO is rubbish and if it's your first big bike will really hinder the speed at which your rifing confidence builds.

A lot of people put GSXR front ends on which improves the handling a lot. You'll save a lot of money buying a bike which has already had this done rather than doing it yourself.

Originally Posted by L3nny

Not read the whole thread so sorry it this has already been mentioned.

Try and get an SV which has had some work done to the suspension. The SV is a good bike but the suspension IMO is rubbish and if it's your first big bike will really hinder the speed at which your rifing confidence builds.

A lot of people put GSXR front ends on which improves the handling a lot. You'll save a lot of money buying a bike which has already had this done rather than doing it yourself.

My friend with the Ducati that said I should look at a SV also said do some work on the suspension if I get one as they don't handle like the monster 620

I'm currently toying with the idea of listing my 2000 naked SV due to some unfortunate news we received yesterday, which may mean being bike-less for a year+.

I expect I'll get more for it if I wait until the spring, but cannot decide on what to do, or how much to let it go for either.

[Swin]

Test ride.

SV makes a very good commuter bike too - nice and light, agile. Personally, I don't see the point of throwing money at a bike putting a new front end on, if I wanted a GSXR front end, I'd buy a GSXR, but I do appreciate that some people want to personalise their ride.

Mine had some electrical problems, but they've been sorted now - the guy in the garage told me that SVs are Japanese handling with Italian electrics - I don't think it's as bad as that, but maybe he was jealous that my bike sounded better than his

Originally Posted by boot

I'm currently toying with the idea of listing my 2000 naked SV due to some unfortunate news we received yesterday, which may mean being bike-less for a year+.

I expect I'll get more for it if I wait until the spring, but cannot decide on what to do, or how much to let it go for either.

If u do sell pm me some info