What to buy?

[jamsop]

Hey, looking at either a Suzuki sv 650 or 1000, or kawa 650 doesn't matter if its a 650r, er6n, ex, or ducati of similar size around 2004 to 2007 they all seem to be around 5000 to 8ooo dollar range, was sold on a Kawasaki 650 then heard a few sv 650/1000 and they sound better!! does come down to sound a lot!! heard ducatis need full service history as near impossible to sell, and if that's true do the y break down more often??, ive heard a few sv 650/1000's with after market exhausts which you would be hard pressed to distinguish between a ducati or Suzuki!! your thoughts appreciated

[unstuck]

HONDA.

[Erelyes]

Pick a colour and look that you like, who cares about reliability etc

[hayd3n]

HONDA

[HenryDorsetCase]

I bought a brand new Suzuki SV650.

good little bike. But I sold it and bought a Honda 900 Hornet because the SV needed a fair bit spent on it to make it into the bike I wanted... and I wasnt going to keep it long enough to make it worthwhile.

the stock SV suspension is awful. You need to budget a grand for a fork rebuild and another couple of grand for a new shock. That will get it riding better, turning better and feeling better even on the straights. Then you have to cut the pipe and do the end can. save a bunch of weight and it will sound better. I never liked the seat on mine particularly so maybe rebuild/recover.

They like good tyres but what bike doesn't?

Having said that what you should buy is a Triumph Street Triple. because its the best middleweight naked style bike.

[boman]

Having said that what you should buy is a Triumph Street Triple. because its the best middleweight naked style bike.

Yes. The 675 is a honey of a bike and motor. Best of both worlds. Twin torque, and four cylinder revs.

Or go for something under 600cc, and save your money on rego.

Remember that a 600cc and above bike is the same cost to register as a thou.

[SVboy]

Despite the above, Sv650s are great bikes, in carbed or injected guise. Yes their suspension and brakes are budget but the whole package works very well.
Much more "friendly" than an SV1000. You dont need to spend for upgrades but they will enhance things nicely, and that is part of the fun. Very reliable bikes with a well deserved good reputation. Search the various forums for balanced info than the above opinion.

[Banditbandit]

I'd put my 650 Bandit against an SV650 any day of the week - I'm not impressed by them at all ... sure they have the V-Twin bark .. but no bite .. the thou is a lot better ...

Jamsop - if you're looking in that range have a look at the Bandits. Someone once said "A Bandit is a bike that no-one wants - until a mate gets one" ... that's pretty trrue - everyone writes them off but they wlil surprise you. The injected ones respond a litle quicker than the carb model - but that's about all. And they sell in the range you're looking at

All I've seriously done to mine is tighten up the front suspension - made a huge difference. The rest is cosmetic ..

[EJK]

Two questions:
*What bike do you ride now?

*How about a shiny blue 2007 ZX10R?

[BigAl]

Suzuki Hayabusa is the best learner bike out there fwiw.

[BuzzardNZ]

I like my SV1000s but as others have said, the suspension is VERY budget.
It's ok for touring and just normal riding, but doesn't inspire confidence when cornering at speed.

It does sound good with a 2 brothers exhaust.

I've owned mine since 2007 ( new ) and never had any problems with it and I doubt I'll ever sell it. It's my 1st v-twin ( previously just owned
inline fours and singles ) and I prefer the torquey power delivery over the IL4s.

I've had the suspension adjusted for my weight twice and while it's now better than stock settings, it's still not that good.

I'm still thinking about dropping a grand on it to see if Robert Taylor ( suspension guru ) can make it better.

Don't get a 2003 model as some had a problem known as 'The knock'.

[mulletman]

Hey Buzzman let us know what ya get if you do spend up with RT be good to know what you can get for a 07.

[AllanB]

The odd thing I found about the SV1000 is that it was no where near as grunty as I expected out of a big bore V twin - the engine needs some revs to rock. The right IL4 will give you a gruntier mid range. Won't sound like a V2 though obviously!