1000 mile review. 07/06/2005 I finished running in my SV650 on Sunday morning (since then I've done another 162 miles). So I can sum up my findings on the SV a little more.Looks: I really do like the looks of the SV, the half fairing and lovely tail piece look great; especially the dual LED brake light strips. It will look even better with a tail tidy and a set of fairing lowers.Ride quality: So far excellent, it soaks up the bumps and ripples of even very poor road surface’s leaving more than enough control to corner hard.Engine: The V-twin pushes out torque very early in the rev range so easily that your speed can catch you out. You rev up like you would on an inline four waiting for the "power-band" to propel you along, about 6000 rpm you begin to wonder when it's going to begin shoving and you look down at the Speedo and realise you're already going faster than you realised. It does however also rev pretty smoothly and has a burst of torque that appears at 8000 rpm. When you hit that point you're already going fast and suddenly everything goes a bit more nuts. When the throttle is fully open the back wheel squats down and the front goes light. All that torque should make wheelies easy. It is a very useable engine suited to road riding and blasting away from the lights.Handling: This bike can corner. In fact it can corner way beyond my current riding abilities, I also suspect it will be a while before I catch up with its full capabilities.Ergonomics: I was originally surprised at how sporty the seating position is, now after 1000 miles I have adapted and it's not bad. My wrists are fine with it but my right hip aches a bit (I blame getting old). The position is good for weather/wind protection and I've been surprised at how good the fairing is at keeping the weather off me. The seat is firm but I prefer that to a soft seat, I believe that over distance a firm seat is much better for comfort. The controls are light and easy and the clutch is easy to use. The mirrors are complete tosh though; I cannot believe that a company that has made motorbikes for decades and this particular bike since 1999 can put such rubbish mirrors on a bike! What were they thinking? C'mon Suzuki I want to see the road behind me not my arms, all you had to do was make the stalks two inches longer...Gearbox: At first the gear box and I were not seeing “eye to eye” but now that it's run in it is living up to Suzuki's reputation for great gearboxes. Smooth and easy, it works without effort.Economy: So far it seems to be returning around 44mpg, this of course may drop as I can ride it harder now.Finish: I'll tell you more after riding through a winter with it. Until then I will say that the lacquer on the tank is very thin; I marked it on my first day with my tank-pack. Comparing it with the paint on a friend’s 1989 Suzuki GSF400 bandit you can see that Suzuki's paint finish has greatly worsened over the last 16 years.Tyres: I am not impressed with the OE tyres at all. They are Dunlop D220's and the give little feeling of security. They seem to squirm under very heavy braking and are terrible in the wet. I'm looking forward to wearing them out and replacing them (Pirelli Diablo's?).Lights: Excellent, I particularly like that both lights are on at the same time rather than the "one light is dip and the other is main-beam" system.Brakes: Good strong brakes on the front, they only require “two finger” pressure to haul the bike up. The back brake is currently very fierce; I need to work on running it in more thoroughly.Pillion: No idea, I haven't got a spare lid yet but the people who've sat on it while stationary didn’t seem to complain. Mad
Gone Away I think it's love... Date Added: 07/06/2005
vanessa ok, not sure what most of that was all about... but can we have a pic of the bike? Preferably with you on it smiling back at us? Date Added: 07/06/2005
keeefer Bru, you are a geek on so many levels its frightening. I had a weird little flashback the other day. I was surfing aimlessly and found an online retro space invaders game. I started playing and instantly i was transported to a small garage near coventry city centre. Your mum was pacing around the waiting room while a blue metro (number plate fkv ***y) was up on a ramp having its tyres changed. Two boys were huddled around a shiny new space invaders machine. They had pleaded, like only young children can, and recieved a ten pence piece from one harassed mother. The shockingly white haired rosy cheeked one was frantically slamming the gun control left to right while the scruffy bugger banged away on the fire button.......damn those alien scum ;) Date Added: 08/06/2005
Mad Motorbike's are not geeky! Correct me if I'm wrong but I remember that the metro was so long that we beat the game using that 10p. Of course distance and the golden mellowing of memory may have deceived me. How typical of us that we were brilliant at Space Invaders together. Date Added: 08/06/2005
sparx Looks like you're getting on well with your new toy.Two things: 1) Please don't fit fairing lowers. A belly pan would look cool but not fairing lowers.2) May I recommend a Bridgestone BT010(front) and BT020(rear) tyre combination. Excellent compromise between sport and touring. Date Added: 08/06/2005
Mad What's wrong with fairing lowers? I want to keep all the road crud off my engine when I ride in winter and that seems the best solution?I've heard good things about the BT010/020's I will bear that in mind Sparx. Date Added: 08/06/2005
sparx Nothings wrong with fairing lowers. I just like the SV as it is. I would say their ability to keep crap off the engine is a bit overrated. The crap takes longer to build up granted, but it's a pain in the arse to clean when it needs it. Date Added: 08/06/2005
Josh Sounds like a great bike. I have always had a lot of respect for Suzuki's innovation. You gonna change the oil? ;) Date Added: 09/06/2005
josh Its always fun to look through the break in oil for the little shiny bits of steel :> Date Added: 09/06/2005
keeefer You are right, motorbikes are not geeky. Blogging about motorbikes now thats a different matter ;) Im not sure if we beat it but we definatley gave it a damn good hammering. We cant have been very old either. And your right, together we always seemed to win thru.....'Has that bicycle grown another seat?' Date Added: 09/06/2005
Mad Josh: Thanks to the whole warranty thing the dealership changed the oil when it had its run-in service. I deliberately went for a new bike because after my experiences of my last bike falling apart repeatedly I wanted some kind of back-up when things go wrong. It is a shame in a way, as I really enjoyed servicing my last bike and I'd get a kick out of doing this one myself. Keefy: Nah mate blogging's the new black... You're on a roll "Has that bicycle grown another seat?" took me straight back; I'd totally forgotten that day. Do you remember how we both turned and looked at the bike as though we needed to check the number of seats? Oh and how the f**k do you remember a number plate from so long ago (that took me back too)? Date Added: 09/06/2005
sparx Matt, i've meme'd you i'm afraid. Date Added: 09/06/2005
Gone Away Haha, Mad's been tagged. You have to do it now, you know. :D Date Added: 09/06/2005
Mad Bah! Date Added: 09/06/2005
keeefer Yup, the glance back at the seat was some kind of unconcious comic timing im sure......as for the number plate i have absoloutley no idea how i remembered it. After all i can barely remember my name most of the time Date Added: 09/06/2005
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