I'm back on the saddle, Stickman! I picked up a beautiful 2008 SV650 Tuesday evening - my second SV. She's a sexy, throaty beast and I am completely stoked. 10,500 miles and really well taken care of, with tasteful mods by the previous owner.



My first SV was back in 2011. I resurrected an '03 SV650 that turned into Lulubelle:



She was very fun to play with. I sold her long ago though. Several bikes later ('04 Buell XB12S, then a '04 GSXR 1000 Mladin, and my current '05 FJR1300) and the lure of the SV took hold.

It will be sad to see the FJR go, but I haven't been doing longer rides as I had intended. It's a great bike, too! Wish I had room for more, but I only have room for one - the paddock is tad small.

There is no bike better on the planet as an all around everyday motorcycle for street riding than an SV.
I've rode and raced them now since 1999. And owned 30+ other street or race bikes in that period and its still my favorite.

Great bikes. Only knock I had on mine was the suspension was a bit limited for my liking but I was spoiled by my BMW GS with Ohlins on it.
Mine also had an aftermarket pipe. Loved the sound of that twin "on the pipe".

Man that's a clean 16 year old bike. Great color too. Probably about the perfect bike for Phoenix area.

Those are nice bikes and it looks like you picked up a nice one. Personally, on that bike I like the looks with the black frame over the 03 silver.

Nice..it is one of the ones I have been looking at . along with a mt-07 and a CB650R

Kirk P would approve

Beginner friendly, expert friendly. I remember a whole class of CMRA for just them. The most cost effective track bike ever made. And a proper motor instead of a bullshit traditional inline 4.

Nice bike my friend. I sold my Honda Super Hawk (VTR 996) last year and I already miss the V twin. The SV 650 is a great bike around town and at the track.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Beginner friendly, expert friendly. I remember a whole class of CMRA for just them. The most cost effective track bike ever made. And a proper motor instead of a bullshit traditional inline 4.

I agree with most of your statement but calling a high horsepower inline 4 "bullshit" is something I really disagree with. I owned an CBR 1100, R6, and R1, and none seemed to fall into the BS category

I'm not sure if Prefontaine was speaking of racing or the street. But while I wouldn't call any of the 4cyl inline bikes BS, if you are learning to ride or race versus the SV they really do suck. You get trapped between the 600's with no power till you wring the crap out of them and the 1000's where they have so much power that you have to manage the throttle all the time to avoid traction issues. I've raced a lot of things over a couple of decades time in every possible engine and size configuration and the SV is truly an amazing combination. Budget bike but lap times on many tracks near the MW bikes at 1/2 the cost. On the street its a really nice balanced overall usable bike but there are lots of other things that are fun as well. The problem in my mind on the bigger bikes for the street is you are going to jail in second gear. On the track they can be fun if you have well developed electronics to manage the power. (and don't kid yourself you need that to go fast). I've posted this before but the most fun and work I have on the street is on a 50cc Aprilia where you have to plan every single move to maintain momentum and make every possible use of the very small amounts of power available.

I agree with what hrcjon and others are saying. There are some universal truths in motorcycling if we're honest with ourselves.

The fact is - while they're great starters - most capable adult males will quickly outgrow the abilities of bikes like the Ninja or CBR 300. Another fact is that most riders will never come close to the actual capabilities of the modern 600s or 1000s.

Enter the SV650. Big bike feel with small bike handling and mid-bike vibes. The low seat height and twin torque make it a joy for beginners, but the decent brakes, quick handling, and ability to rev beg a more experienced rider to wring it out.

It's the sport-bike equivalent of the Glock 19.

Congrats phxtoad!!

That’s a great looking SV650 you have there! How do you like the M4 exhaust? I’ve been thinking about getting a similar exhaust for my SV1000.


I recently became a SV650 owner again as well. I regret selling my second gen SV650 so when an opportunity to scoop up a first gen SV650 came along at a great price I couldn’t resist.

I like THAT color! Seeing as how we're whipping out our 650s, here's my '88 GT!

Nice Hawk! Loved that blue.

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Beginner friendly, expert friendly. I remember a whole class of CMRA for just them. The most cost effective track bike ever made. And a proper motor instead of a bullshit traditional inline 4.

I agree with most of your statement but calling a high horsepower inline 4 "bullshit" is something I really disagree with. I owned an CBR 1100, R6, and R1, and none seemed to fall into the BS category

You can disagree with it all you want. I do not like traditional inline 4’s. I currently own a R1 but it’s a crossplane. So the pistons/motor fire like a 90 degree V4. I also own a 1200cc V4. My point was, and in my opinion only, a Vee is the way on a motorcycle. V2, V4, or a motor like the crossplane that acts as a V4. I do not like the traditional inline 4 sound, the inertia torque, and they lack character and feel. A Vee or one that acts like one is, again in my opinion, the way to go on a motorcycle. I’ve owned a lot of bikes and done a lot of laps and I’ve never had a regular inline 4 that had any character. The motor on a bike is its heart and soul. Jon made the point above. 1st gear, when I was running stock gearing on my R1, was somewhere close to 90 mph. 2nd gear you’re in felony turf. Any literbike has more power than a seasoned rider really needs. That HP high in the RPM band, hell I can’t even really use it on most tracks. It takes a track like COTA, which I have ridden, with long straights, to actually use it. So what matters is power delivery. The piston pulses on the rear tire. And character. There is a reason why every manu in GP runs either a crossplane 4 acting as a Vee or a V4. Suzuki (defunct now), crossplane 4. Yamaha, crossplane 4. Honda, Aprilia, Ducati, KTM, all V4’s. At this displacement I’d take the SV650 over a R6 or CBR600RR all day. Won’t have the HP but you get such great character and sound out of the motor. Midrange, feel, character, all more important to me than high dyno numbers. Just my $.02.