Has any experienced rider bought a new SV650?

Originally Posted by dirtydog

No, not really. For a few reasons
1) That's an expensive way of doing things. What does a new SV cost? ?4500? I'd rather spend ?2000-3000 on a used on eand then use the left over cash to mod it. I know the flaws of the bike and know what i would do with it if i got another one.
2) They don't make new curveys
3) Wouldn't buy anything new, take too much of a hit in depreciation on it

A 2K deprecation over 3 years (ish) isn't too bad. How much have you saved by not needing MOT's every year, bits falling off/needing replacing etc., and the freebies thrown in by the garage (6 months road tax, free recovery, insurance, 10% clothes discount what have you).
Not sure if fuel consumption will be better on a new bike or not.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Durbs

How come buying a new bike is too much stress? I'd have thought it'd be the opposite?

Yup a very interesting observation. I take it he means the ownership experience. The bike being knocked over & later stolen would have a lot to do with it!
Good to get a different view for all of us 2nd hand owners.

[ogden]

I bought a brand new ZXR400 in 2001, cost me £4700. A year later I reinsured it with a realistic depreciated value of £3000. Three days or so later it was nicked.

That's the only stress of buying a new bike. Depreciation. Not so bad if you spread it over three years, bit of a pain if you lose 42% of its value (including the excess) in the first year.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by AndyW

A 2K deprecation over 3 years (ish) isn't too bad. How much have you saved by not needing MOT's every year, bits falling off/needing replacing etc., and the freebies thrown in by the garage (6 months road tax, free recovery, insurance, 10% clothes discount what have you).
Not sure if fuel consumption will be better on a new bike or not.

OK my bike was ?2,600 cheaper than new after 18 months & 2000 miles
Say ?75 for one & a half MOT's required earlier, nothing, tax is ?36.30. If you can't get better than a 10% discount just walking into a shop or waiting for a sale
So it's not looking very good for new !

If I ever start to commute again (by bike rather than cycling) I'd look at an SV, but only second hand. They are p*ss easy to work on, and if you dont care about the finish, bloody reliable, whilst still being more fun that a CB500 or similar. Maybe once i get a real job, I'd look at getting a crashed one as a track bike. Would like to do that now but funds are a bit limited...

[yorkie_chris]

Depreciation. I've had my SV a year, probably completely killed the resale value by mileage, mods, crashiness, crap paint etc.

I've probably lost 200 quid in it's value lol.

I bought a brand new K5 after owning a curvy, and a brief stint owning a CBR600. I still have it now 3 years later but i also have my 749s so the need for more power was covered by that. As my commuting bike it has been great, i even choose to use it for the fun days out sometimes as well.

Love my sv,but would'nt buy another as next bike i wuold fancy something different + i think any sv i bought would maybe struggle to live up to the one i already own (for various reasons.)

I bought a new curvy 650 and rode it for 3 years, then sold it and bought a new pointy 1000.

ok so buying new isnt a wise decision but without loonys like me Suzuki would be called BSA or Norton

Originally Posted by Stu

Exactly my thinking. Also a few others have talked about owning a variety of different bikes, but surely I'm correct in thinking that the manufacturers get a lot more repeat business from say Gixxers or Ninjas etc.?

I suppose the very nature of the SV being marketed as a first bike, Suzuki are not counting on repeat business.

I have seen a few GSX-R owners upgrade to the newer model (same cc) on other sites. The thing is, Suzuki make an effort to improve that range every time they release a new bike, thus the new model actually is better. With the SV, well, it's been pretty much the same bike for all these years now - there's zero reason to 'upgrade' to a newer model. I think that's the reason behind the repeat business situation.

Myself, I'd buy another SV, but not new. I like it, but not enough to justify the new price, when I no longer would see it as my "best" (only?) bike.

It'd be a bike for "remembering the old times", commuting, and maybe having a bit of fun with too.