Suzuki SV650 K4

[Fozzie]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7398/9490918045_420230f198.jpg

Age: 9 years old when I bought it

Price: £1500

Mileage: 6000

Owners: 2 previous

Thought I'd bash up a quick review, nothing fancy here

The SV650 has iconic status as being *The* beginners best first big bike. I'm here to give my experience and also explain why I think it isn't the best any more.

I needed a bike for commuting, an hour each way as it stands. So I went out with a modest budget of not spending more than £2000 on a bike. I was tempted by the £1000 budget and having myself a cheap 500 but the bigger capacity machines offer the option of long, easy journeys. The SV also has fuel injection and returns 50-70mpg when used as a functional tool for getting around.

The things I've come to really like about the SV include how cheap it has been to run, lube the chain every week, change the oil every 4000 miles and top it up with fuel and it just seems to keep going. Most even report valve clearance checks don't need doing until beyond 30,000 miles, so it lives up to its reputation of being a valuable commuters tool.

I also love the V-twin noise and fitted a loud exhaust to help be heard in London streets as being heard guarantees more safety than being seen down here.

On the motorway it is sedate and just chugs away with a steady growl, and on the trip up north gets to 130 miles before the fuel light comes on, meaning only one leg stretch and fuel up is needed for the voyage from London to Manchester.

Show the SV around big sweeping bends and it feels very planted and the suspension seems at its most capable here. So I can see how this helps newbies to biking gain confidence with cornering speed and it is also forgiving if you push a little too hard. It's more likely to go bolt upright rather than wash out from under you in the event of a wobble

Now to the things I don't like...

The suspension is quite soft, it doesn't do fast turn ins without complaint, and also the clip on bars make slow speed stuff quite a chore. The wheel base feels quite long also not helping tight bends, and also adds to problems when there's a pillion on the back. The fuelling is also in need of addressing, the later models got 2 spark plugs per cylinder, this has 1 per cylinder and add this to the fact the injection is fairly budget it makes it choppy at low speeds.

My suggestion... As a cheap first bike yes, and definitely over the bandit which feels even more lacklustre.

If you have the choice of a ER6F or a CBR500, I'd say the ER6F is better, and it's on par with the 500 so choose what you like. My reason is quite simple, the ER6F can do everything the SV can but laughs at the SV's faults. It is more agile, better on fuel, comes better equipped, longer servicing intervals, more pannier/luggage options, the bars are easy on the wrists and I also think it's faster! It does cost more but if you have options, I would say the Kawasaki is the one to go for.