What you need to know... (Suzuki SV650)

Member Name: SadlerJohnson

Product:	Suzuki SV650
Date:	08/03/01 (8711 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous, light, great value for money, reasonable insurance costs and great fun.

Disadvantages: Won't beat a GSXR or a Duke (except the Monster!) in a drag race!

For the cash:fun ratio, you cannot beat the SV650.

You'll find rave reviews of this bike in most magazines and plenty of on-line sites so I'll just relate my experiences.

I bought my SV650S as a first bike and it is the best decision I've made in a long time. Why? It's a beautiful bike. It's excellent value for money. Insurance is reasonable considering the displacement. It's torquey, light, flickable and fun, fun, fun.

Have a look at http://www.svriders.com or http://www.sv650.org for loads of info.

What have I changed?

The tires from Metzler MEZ4 to Bridgestone BT56. I might try the Dunlop D207 or the Avon Azzaro AV36 next. I like sticky tires!

The exhaust, from stock to the Akropovic Oval Titanium full system. You can't get much better for the price and believe me I've looked. There are quite a few others out there too, Micron, Renegade, DaVinci etc but they were either much more expensive or required cutting of the stock system or both.

What will I change in the near future? Well, because the SV650 is a "budget bike" some parts are no-frills parts. The suspension falls into this category. Now, don't get me wrong, this bike is solid and predictable and you can get your knee down with the best of them (even with the Metzlers) but there is no adjustment on the front and only preload adjustment on the rear suspension. That means if you're tall, a lard arse or a midget the bike may not be perfectly set up. Thankfully, I'm average build, height and weight so it suits me fine. I will be getting the front spring changed for progressive springs soon though since I ride on a wide variety of road qualities.

Then to top it off, a new filter and a re-jet for a few more ponies and a smoother power curve and to get the best out of my new exhaust.

What's not in the budget category? The breaks are top notch dual front discs and single rear. T
he engine is superb since you can be a pretty poor gear changer and still keep up with most others on the twisties. You can get bore kits to upgrade to 700 and 750 but why bother? The engine block can take it but it costs about 2K to do it. The frame is rock solid so handling is excellent.

Problems? None with the bike but I had a Veto Plus alarm installed and it doesn't half drain the battery. If you plan to have an alarm then get a trickle charger for sure - flat batteries are no fun.

There are a few other addons now for the bike but many of them don't really interest me since there mostly cosmetic and I love the bike the way it is. Fairing lowers, belly pans, huggers, fender eliminators and rear cowls are readily available but watch out for poor colour matching - there's a lot of it about. Aftermarket rearsets for 98/99 GSXRs will fit the SV650 and are better quality and often cheaper than stock items.

I've had mine for nearly two years now and I'll be keeping it a while longer. I got mine for 4200 GBP all in but you won't find one for less than 4500 plus extras now.

Get one!

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