is the sv650 a smaller bike?

[IanfromMA]

the only bike i've ever sat on is a katana, and that thing was huge. i was probably 5'8" at the time, and i was on my toes. i'm 5' 9" now, and i'm curious of how tall the sv650 is...i know i can look it up but those numbers mean nothing to me. do you think i'll be able to stand flat footed on it?

[twrayinma]

depends if you've got stubby little legs or not.

i've got no prob. flatfooting an SV at 5-9/5-10... but ask nate for a test-ride. i hear he gives 'em out, no problem.

[Gangsta SV]

personally , I wouldn't get a SV650 as a first bike , but its up to you , the things fast 0-60 in 3.2 seconds if I'm not mistaken . . .. thats like Mcclaren F1 acceleration.

Besides that I'm changing to GP shift with my new woodcraft shifter , so noone touches my bike anymore


hold on , what da hell kind of Katana you sit on ? I'm 5"6 and I can stand flat footed on the Katana . . .. . both the 600 and th 750. You sure it wasn't a GSXR 750 ?

[KevinB]

Its a great first bike as long as you can keep yourself under control. Its cheap and stands up well for minor crashes and drops,cause you will. The bike has enough performance to keep you happy for at least a couple seasons. The bike looks small compared to alot of oither bikes out there.

[TheIglu]

I'm 5'6", and it felt fine on me. BenSV is a taller rider, and he did alright on it. You should have no problem touching the ground on it unless you have oompa-loompa legs.

[IanfromMA]

i sat on a katana 600 i think? it was at a dealership on long island...maybe it was raised

it seemed really high. maybe i do have oompa loompa legs...

ideally i'd like an ex500 for a first bike...but i just find it so damn ugly. right behind the front tire, it just looks like there a huge piece missing. i guess its becasue the plastic doesn't go up very far. i'd like something decent looking...gotta pose until i get good.

would an older cbr be ok, maybe a 96 f3? if their bikes are anything like their cars it should be slow as all hell

[Gangsta SV]

Originally posted by IanfromMA
i sat on a katana 600 i think? it was at a dealership on long island...maybe it was raised

it seemed really high. maybe i do have oompa loompa legs...

ideally i'd like an ex500 for a first bike...but i just find it so damn ugly. right behind the front tire, it just looks like there a huge piece missing. i guess its becasue the plastic doesn't go up very far. i'd like something decent looking...gotta pose until i get good.

would an older cbr be ok, maybe a 96 f3? if their bikes are anything like their cars it should be slow as all hell

I rode a F2 before and it was almost equally as fast as my SV , Dunno why but maybe because they have close to same HP or something.

I suggest a EX500 but do what feels good. Don't let other people choose your bike besides you , if you want to go fast then by all means go , but don't get other people shoving stuff into your mind. Some dude told me that at motomarket and I think that was a cool saying.

Basically, if you think you can handle a SV , then go for it , noones stopping you. I just don't suggest it, but go for it if you want. Remember its your choice and your bike , if you do not like the bike after you buy it , then why did you buy it in the first place ? Because some dude on NEstreetriders.com behind a computer told you to ?

All things turn out good if you just let them happen , for the most part. Just stay away from sport bikes bigger than 650 cc , but you can get any cruiser basically. I rode my uncles 1600 CC intruder and my dad's R850R and those things were puppies compared to the SV.

Just think what do you want in a bike. What are you going to do with it ? Go on highways , race it ? go to school , go touring ? Don't get a bike because of the looks , because I did that with my old Savage and I sold it within a year. Just do what feels good. If you fuck up , then try again. Just make sure you can afford to fuck up and not kill yourself .. .

Edit : Oh ya, Hondas are not slow , their cars suck yes ,but their bikes are nothing like their cars. , But I gotta admit , their bikes are a bit over priced

[SEVENSGT]

Look, try it out for size, if you like it get it. I think an SV is a great choice for a first bike(my first bike), like Kev says if you kept yourself under control then fuggin aye it's a great bike

[IanfromMA]

well i'm obviously not going to go out and buy an r1 (because i would die....and i can't afford it)

i want a bike to go to school, but also something to have fun on. i want something that has some decent performance, so that when i want to step it up a notch, i can give it some throttle. i haven't taken the msf yet, i'll do that when i get back from alaska (leaving tomorrow, coming back august 12). i'll have to sign up for a course when i get back...if its full, then i guess i'll be waiting till next year. i think the sv looks kinda badass without a fairing. online it looks like shite, but in person i kinda like it. i think the cbr is the best looking for something thats kinda in my range. i figure i'll pay around the same price for an sv, as an f3. whats a good ammount of mileage to look for. like if i was looking for a car right now, i'd probably look for 70000 or less, that way its cheap, but still has some life left. i'm just kinda clueless on bike mileage.

honestly i wouldn't mind learning on a cruiser. it would seem safer to me. but i'd get so much crap from my friends, and i wouldn't blame them. i think a 17 year old on a cruiser just looks funny.

[Matt K]

I think 20-30K on a bike is approximately equivalent to 60-80K on a car. It's a lot of miles, but as long as it wasn't abused, it'll still have a lot of life left. But just like cars of that age, if it's been beat up, it may be on it's last legs already. This is one of the problems with higher mileage sportbikes, because very few of them are ridden gently, and many aren't maintained well either, so finding a good one with that kind of miles is a little tough. (mine had 19k when I bought it, and with a bit of work it's running beautifully right now, so it's certainly not impossible)

now for the real "my 2 cents" part:

don't learn on a sportbike. you'll learn much faster and safer on a sv, ex, gs, or something like that. Riding a sportbike from the getgo is not really a good way to becaome a good rider quickly, IMHO.

Good luck with whatever you get

[KevinB]

Take the SV over a CBR for a first bike anyday. V twin motors are nice because power is spread over the rev range, from 3K to 10K not just 8K to 13K. No plastic to damage if it gets dropped. Handling is fine for street riding, I upgraded my suspension for doing trackdays.

KevinB

[TheIglu]

GanstaSV: I have never heard that Honda cars are crap. I own one. They aren't. Hyundai's are crap. Kia's are crap. Honda's are not. Just ask consumer reports.

Consider buying a UJM (universal Japanese motorcycle) for your first bike. Nobody I have ever spoken to has regretted doing so. I owned one, and still do, and I have more fun on it than my Ducati(which is for sale by the way in case you want to get an exotic bike to show off to your friends ). They are cheap, fairly reliable, and fast enough to keep up with any bike on any road going reasonably sane speeds. They are easy to fix, and parts are plentiful in the bone-yards. The 78-82 CB series from Honda, GS series from Suzuki and KZ series from Kawasaki are all wonderful examples of what you can find for a few hundred bucks in someones garage collecting dust. I personally don't like the older Yamaha triples, but the Midnight Special 750 was an awesome bike. With the money you save on the old bike instead of a new one, you can buy and fix the old one up, buy a full set of racing leathers, a high-end helmet, nice gloves, a MSF course, decent new tires, full year's insurance and still have enough money to put a down payment on a nicer bike when the time comes. Also, if you lay it down, WHO CARES. I used to beat the shit outta my first bike, a 1979 Honda CM400T. It just came back for more each time. I took it up trails, highway, backroads, Laconia 5 times, back and forth to work, to school and anywhere else you can think of. After logging 22,000 miles on the little ripper, I traded it for my badass 750 that I have now. I find myself enjoying riding more on these older, more comfortable bikes since they give the illusion of speed at a more realistic pace than the newer bikes do. You don't have to be puttin a knee down on these to get the adrenaline flowing!

Or get an SV. They are great bikes! I think the standard model SV is a GREAT learner bike, but the S model might be a little more difficult to get to learn on.

Just remember to do what YOU want, just take our opinions for just that: opinons!

Carry on....

[Gangsta SV]

If you can find used one , I don't know if your into like offroading crap and going tru woosd and stuff , look for a BMW F650GS , those things are frigin fun to ride. My dad's friend has one and jeez , people tell you never to lift the front of the bike with your strength and let the bike do the work when you wheelie , but you can litterarly lift the front of the bike because its mad light.

It is only a single cylinder , but it makes about 55 HP , which is like godly for a 650 single. My old LS 650 single only made 30 HP . . . . .

If your the adventurous type , go for the F650GS. Good thing its a BMW , those things last forever , and its weird , BMW riders help each other out , so you would have no trouble finding peepz to ride with. And lastly if you get bored of it you can sell it for basically what you bought it for lol. My dad recently bought a BMw and I like the thing , I would only trade my SV , if I had to go touring. Jeez , I sound like a frigin salesmen

[IanfromMA]

dude, i've crapped out prettier stuff than that

oh well, i gotta go to bed, i'm leaving for alaska at 6 in the morning at its already 1:30....

i'll be back in 5 weeks, i'll let you know what i decide to do

[twrayinma]

you really got a thing for singles, don't you, nate?

[benVFR]

The SV has a similar seat height to a Katana, Gixxer, etc.. maybe a tiny bit lower.

But the handlebars on the naked SV (not the S) are much, much closer to the rider than the clipons on a "sport bike", so it will be easier for a short person to reach.

I think that BMW is pretty funky, not sure I'd want one, and it is more expensive than the SV, isn't it? Probably a better bike if you had no car and rode the bike all the time, but the SV isn't bad for that either.

Ben

[hohum]

word of warning about the bmw f650.. its a 'good' little bike, but not really quite up to BMW standards... its the only bike in the bmw lineup for a very long time that is chain driven... As such its not quite the 'touch free/simple service' kinda bike that most of the other bmw lineup is... Would be a decent starter bike but I would HIGHLY recommend the sv or svs... great little bike... I loved mine while I had it. It just wasn't great for 2 up (specially since i weigh upwards of 250 and the rear shock was shite), and its also not so comfy for long distance riding although I am sure randy might dispute that.. I think it mostly had to do with my height...

Cheers,
Chris