1st Bike. New or S/H. Which is better

[G]

Originally Posted by muffles

Stuff about running in

I have read that report with interest and I'm not sure what to do, with the SV I run it in completely by the book.

For the new bike the dealer has said they can run it in for me on a dyno in 30 miles, or they said I can run it in by the book, or I can run it in the other way you are describing which is using all the revs from the start in a controlled manner.

Frankly I dont know what to do at the moment, I want it from 0 miles so I dont want them doing the dyno technique as it might not get cooled correctly etc. But choosing between the other two I dont know.

Originally Posted by graemepaterson

I have read that report with interest and I'm not sure what to do, with the SV I run it in completely by the book.

For the new bike the dealer has said they can run it in for me on a dyno in 30 miles, or they said I can run it in by the book, or I can run it in the other way you are describing which is using all the revs from the start in a controlled manner.

Frankly I dont know what to do at the moment, I want it from 0 miles so I dont want them doing the dyno technique as it might not get cooled correctly etc. But choosing between the other two I dont know.

Yeah I seem to recall that the guide says if you do it on a dyno make sure you have cooling off breaks as you need them.

Sorry if I was confusing - I did run it in by the book, that is, the book only specifies rev limits (at least for Suzuki!). My thought process is that what you need for seating the rings was lots of pressure in the cylinders, to squash the rings against the wall and seal the gap? I think that was the reasoning given for the "100 miles" method too. And they achieve this by hard acceleration, they just continue it to the rev limit.

So I chose to do that (and the backing off part too), but within the confines of the given rev limits, due to the warranty issue I mentioned above.

Also - I wouldn't want to hit the rev limit on the oil that's first in the engine - one other thing I do believe in is that the first oil will contain particles that have come off the surfaces within the engine, due to the mating together process when they are first run together. Some think that the oil won't have that issue, as engines are bench run prior to installation...but I'm not so sure, since why don't they just run the whole thing in for you then?

At the end of the day, running in is a black art, and you probably won't notice much difference (if any) whichever way you choose. My rules were just based on common sense & the manual, mainly:
- Keep to the prescribed rev limits
- Rev it hard but don't let it labour (so keep it in the right gear)
- Let it back off a lot (i.e. reach the rev limit & then let it slowly back off)
- Let the engine get well up to temp so that the materials can contract/expand (for proper mating purposes)

But as I say, follow whatever you want really

Haven't read the whole thread but when I bought my SV new it was more to do with money than anything mechanical. I was going to get a small loan out & buy a 2nd hand k3 or k4, but then Suzuki launched the 0% interest offer, I reasoned that the depreciation hit would be roughly the same as the interest I'd pay on a loan anyway so I got a new K5 on 0% finance. Added bonuses were a full warranty and 3 years until an MOT was required, plus that 'new bike' feeling & knowing it hand't been ragged / crashed etc.

I originally bought my bike cos I thought it looked quite nice, had a couple of mods I'd do to an SVS if I had one, and it was a 6 year old bike that wouldn't matter too much if it was dropped.. Since then I've become very attached to it, parted company with it twice, fixed it once, and I'm in the process of fixing it again..

Given that its been crashed twice, its not worth much. But it wasn't worth much to start with, so thats no great loss, and I don't plan on selling it any time soon, what with all the money I'm chucking at it that I wouldn't get back. If I'd bought a new bike and crashed it twice, it would be worth quite a lot less than what I paid for it, add that to the fact that it depreciates a lot anyway, I made the right decision to buy used. Thats all hindsight, none of the above was considered when I bought it..

[steveg]

Not read all the thread ,
I bought my sv new as it was a bargain (800 quid off RRP and first 3 services free) and had never owned a new bike .
Previously bikes have ranged from 12 years old to 18 months .
oldest (12 years)had a lot of problems are an old zxr ( still loved it ) , broke down 6 times one summer ( at least it was on works time !) , finally got it sorted and then wrote it off ,,, doh .
Running a old bike can be expensive , eg tank on zxr internal pipe broke , you try & find a 12 year old tank .. got one for 120 quid fitted and it leaked aswell.
brake discs , rear shocks & exhausts are expensive to replace
newest prior to sv 18 month old fazer 600 with 8k , ran for 50 k no major problems

I would go for a 18 month old sv , or if have the cash go for a new one if good deal , its not cast in stone that you will fall off

Cheers Steveg

I went for new for a few reasons:

I have no intention of selling the bike for a couple of years,
Suzuki are doing ?400 off RRP at the moment,
Free restrictor that would've cost ?200 fitted (if I bought it for a S/H bike),
It comes with a warranty and 3 years until the first MOT,
I can guarantee the history of the bike,
And the running in period will give me enough time to get used to the bike.

I thought about it for a long time and decided new was better for me, in the end.

Alex

My bike was brand new when I got it, so why did I?

It was my first bike I had wanted a bike for ages so badly, when I saw it in the showroom, I knew it was mine it was a choice of passion more than anything else, I have never owned anything new before I knew I was gonna keep the bike for a long time.

Also i knew jack about bikes, so this was a safe buy. Also I can afford to pay montly for the bike, it would have been harder for me to afford a nice bike secondhand. I got an awesome deal, for it as well.

I am a little shocked about how little it may be worth now, but what can you do? I have 5300 miles on the bike and intend to ride many miles with my bike which I love. I have rode the new R6 and the ZX6 while they are nice bikes I can have a lot more fun on the SV.

I think what ever anyone decides with a bike it more about wanting the bike, riding ect in my case its a choice of passion. I think the most important thing is having a bike you enjoy, wheter it new or old doesn't matter.

id rather buy second hand again, love my daytona buts kiling me running it etc

[G]

Originally Posted by Paws

id rather buy second hand again, love my daytona buts kiling me running it etc

How many miles has it done now?

I have given myself 1 week to do the 600 miles on mine booked it in when I picked it up lol

Originally Posted by Paws

id rather buy second hand again, love my daytona buts kiling me running it etc

To be fair you're taking your time with it though I think it took me 3 weeks to do the 1000 on my old GSX-R 600 - 2 weeks till the 600 service I think.