SV650, what am I missing?

[st00ji]

been looking at bikes on TM as you do. and i noticed there seem to be more than a few cheap SV650's going at the moment - bikes in the 4-6k kind of range.

i realise that being a 650 is kind of inconvenient for rego costs - i myself have often thought you may as well go to a thou if you are going to pay the extra. but in reality its only a few hundred extra a year.

so are SVs out of fashion? all the reviews i have read say they are capable all rounders, if perhaps a little cheap in the suspension department. not uncommon in a 'budget' bike but certainly nothing damning. the same price in the 600cc range and you are looking at bikes years and years older.

i can also see some people not liking the look of them, particularly the 'S' models. but is there something else i dont know about that is keeping people away in droves?

[imdying]

Raped race bikes?

Cult following, most owners past and present seem to reckon they're a right hoot. I enjoy them, good sports bike for the road (i.e. fast enough to be fun, but also fun without going too fast).

[avgas]

Great little bikes. Only problem some people had with them was the SV650 was the only publically announced HyoSuki (there were quite a few before then however).
Likewise I think the current gen SV650 are almost completely Suzuki.

[White trash]

Fantastic fucken bikes.

Would love a front end accident damaged late model one to turn into an SV650R and hot up a bit as a road bike.

Funnily enough my missus had one, which I kindly front end accident damaged for her.......

[slofox]

I had one. An "S" model (preferred half a fairing to none). Went like stink for 42,000km before I was seduced by a vixen of a GSX-R600. Would probably have gone another 42,000km without missing a beat. Stick a Two Bros can on it and it sounds very nice. Excellent economy (22 - 25 km/l). 50kw - 200km/hr and more if you want.

Suspension is crap though. Even after emulator kits in the front it was still blown away by the gixxer. Which is why I swapped it out.

Compared to anything I owned before, it was a great bike.

[st00ji]

whats an SV650R then? i presume you say frontal damage because you'd want to be replacing the front suspension anyway?

no raped race bikes that i saw, though the lower end of the scale did have higher kms (like around 60) and one or two had been dropped.

in what respect is it a hyosuki?

slofox - you say the suspension is crap. at what point does it become inadequate? or does it feel a bit rubbish even on a commute kind of thing?

edit - i can appreciate the desire for fairing, but it looks weird :S

[HenryDorsetCase]

I had one. An "S" model (preferred half a fairing to none). Went like stink for 42,000km before I was seduced by a vixen of a GSX-R600. Would probably have gone another 42,000km without missing a beat. Stick a Two Bros can on it and it sounds very nice. Excellent economy (22 - 25 km/l). 50kw - 200km/hr and more if you want.

Suspension is crap though. Even after emulator kits in the front it was still blown away by the gixxer. Which is why I swapped it out.

Compared to anything I owned before, it was a great bike.

agree. good bike and with spension work (and an end can and PC3 and K & N etc a really fun one too.

[imdying]

whats an SV650R then?

Home made boy racer model

whats an SV650R then?

i presume you say frontal damage because you'd want to be replacing the front suspension anyway?[/quote]Yep, GSXR suspension is an easy swap mechanically.

in what respect is it a hyosuki?

Ignore that rubbish.

whats an SV650R then?

slofox - you say the suspension is crap. at what point does it become inadequate? or does it feel a bit rubbish even on a commute kind of thing?[/quote]Coming from an 88 GSXR250, probably never. You'll only notice it when you're about ripe for an upgrade.

whats an SV650R then?

edit - i can appreciate the desire for fairing, but it looks weird :S[/QUOTE]Bar height is different between the N and S which is important too. Having something to keep some rain off is nice too.

[Gone Burger]

I too have been questioning why there are so many on trade me in this price range. But I don't see it as a bad thing. Am considering getting one for myself as a second bike soon to have some fun on and perhaps do some track days. I like the price tag, I don't really mind about the higher k's as it won't be my main bike, and I also don't mind if it has quite a few scratches etc. They seem to be pretty good value for money as far as a second hand bike goes. Tempting....

[avgas]

hyosuki?

Hyosung
Suzuki

Hyosung made suzuki parts for a very long period of time.
In the late 90's Suzuki contracted Hyosung to make mid-level bike based off their popular TL1000S.
Hyosung designed, made the molds for, and eventually what was made was called "SV650" - Sold under the Suzuki badge.

Then Hyosung moved from its "small bike / scooter production" to a full blown Motorcycle manufacturer. And Suzuki then moved its manufacturing of the SV to another plant. I think this was just before the face lift of both bikes came out (2003?).

So there is a little bit of Hyosung GT650 in every SV650......and vice versa.
HyoSuki

[slofox]

[QUOTE
slofox - you say the suspension is crap. at what point does it become inadequate? or does it feel a bit rubbish even on a commute kind of thing?
[/QUOTE]

"Crap" may be a little strong in fact...

Coming as I did from bikes a generation or two older than the SV, I thought the suspension OK when I first got the bike. It was really only when I rode the GSXR that I realised just how much better suspension could be.

The difference is in road-holding ability and general compliance - especially over rough road surface. There was a tendency for the front end to chatter across ragged seal with a bit of sideways movement if you hit "road eczema" in a corner at speed. That said, I several times came across loose blue chip on the roads, and once a diesel spill and did not ever have a real disaster - even at reasonable speed - the bike always stayed upright. The frame may have had a lot to do with that - bloody good frame.

It was probably more noticeable under braking. The emulator kits did help that a lot - and I mean a LOT. Stock suspension would dive quite seriously under hard front braking. I damn near dropped the bike the first time it happened. So I learned to balance front and back brake a little more to remove this hazard.

Overall, you just have to ride within the limits of the stock suspension. Hell, thirty years ago such suspension was state of the art. But things have moved on.

When it comes down to it, I went to the gixxer because of the way it sits on the road - not for the lunatic power it provides although I quite like that too hurhurhur.

[BuzzardNZ]

Only bad thing about the SV's is the seat. It's as hard as a fucking rock.

[slofox]

Only bad thing about the SV's is the seat. It's as hard as a fucking rock.

Actually, YES! It is indeed. Used to turn my arse to pure pain after two hours...

[bogan]

Only bad thing about the SV's is the seat. It's as hard as a fucking rock.

get it redone with a gel insert.

Was looking at SV's a while ago as I wanted a mid sized V-twin, went with a bros instead and fucking glad I did, got plenty of cult bike factor, unlike the SV which looks like a farmbike

[Ferkletastic]

I've had a k7 SVs for the last few weeks. Loving it, the engine as has been mentioned is great, torquey as and rev happy too.

Excellent bike for the price.