Got a friend looking at an SV650S. Tell me more.

[SoFlaSV]

It does give the adjustabilty the factory set up lacks.

[Quick281]

So we picked it up the other day and I rode it home for him.

All I can say is wow, what a great bike! Feels very light and very forgiving yet still a blast to ride. I felt right at home on it with the more aggressive handlebar stance and within a couple miles I felt right at home on the bike.

I think he was also pleased to see me riding it and hear of my great praise. I am now a big fan of those bikes. Getting back on my bike a bit later on the evening made it seems like a whole new, much more sensitive beast.

[Mr Lefty]

when you say not a big fan of those bikes... what do you mean? naked's? V-Twins?

I know when I rode cutty's SV after riding my ZZR... fuck that thing vibrated like crazy!

[Quick281]

Originally Posted by ebbs15

when you say not a big fan of those bikes... what do you mean? naked's? V-Twins?

I know when I rode cutty's SV after riding my ZZR... fuck that thing vibrated like crazy!

Damnit, that was typo! And I really enjoy the bikes is what I was going for. And yes, it does vibrate like crazy.

[ChipperJones]

The seat is horribly uncomfortable after a bout an hour or so, but other than that they are awesome bikes,

[Cutty72]

Originally Posted by ebbs15

when you say not a big fan of those bikes... what do you mean? naked's? V-Twins?

I know when I rode cutty's SV after riding my ZZR... fuck that thing vibrated like crazy!

Must be why comonboys likes it so much

[rogue]

Did he get the S model or the naked? They're geared a bit differently. The naked has one less tooth...or is it the other way around? I have the S and have ridden a naked once.

If he's short, how big is he? Is he a lightweight? Some people say that the SV's suspension is shitty, but I've found that lightweight people, especially just starting out, do fine with the stock suspension. My ex put a gixxer rear shock on his and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two bikes, except that the gixxer shock made the rear sit just a little lower (I'm very short so I'm extremely sensitive to height differences ) He wasn't a true lightweight, but not a heavy guy...average I guess....but is an aggressive rider. He did fine with either set up, although he said he could tell only a small difference between the two shocks (gixxer vs stock).

I do suggest using a heavier fork oil. It's pretty simple to change out, just a little time consuming. Even with my lightweight I could tell a difference between stock oil weight and what I've got in there now and think it's worth doing. It's cheap front suspension help. Now I feel the front end is firmer over these rough washboards they call roads here.

A heavier person (as in ALOT heavier than I) may eventually need better suspension. Although I suppose it's possible that a firmer suspension can help give more confidence in the bike, like a short person lowering a bike so they can touch better (I don't like mine lowered and do just fine at stock, but I can barely touch).

A bike should be set up for the rider. If he feels it will help give him more confidence & help become a better rider, then go for it. For right now though, stock should be fine.

Oh yeah...I still have the gixxer shock I bought for my bike. I never had it installed since my weight and riding style couldn't tell a difference between my stock and the exes gixxer shock.

SV's make an excellent beginner's bike, IMHO. You can still get into trouble on them, but they're definitely more forgiving than other similar or bigger bikes. I've been totally happy with mine and will have her for another couple of years at least.

svrider.com has some excellent advice. But be careful of the die hard *you MUST do this to the bike* people. Everyone's different. Tell your friend to have fun, be safe, and do his own thing as far as mods.

[Quick281]

Originally Posted by Rogue

Did he get the S model or the naked? They're geared a bit differently. The naked has one less tooth...or is it the other way around? I have the S and have ridden a naked once.

If he's short, how big is he? Is he a lightweight? Some people say that the SV's suspension is shitty, but I've found that lightweight people, especially just starting out, do fine with the stock suspension. My ex put a gixxer rear shock on his and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two bikes, except that the gixxer shock made the rear sit just a little lower (I'm very short so I'm extremely sensitive to height differences ) He wasn't a true lightweight, but not a heavy guy...average I guess....but is an aggressive rider. He did fine with either set up, although he said he could tell only a small difference between the two shocks (gixxer vs stock).

I do suggest using a heavier fork oil. It's pretty simple to change out, just a little time consuming. Even with my lightweight I could tell a difference between stock oil weight and what I've got in there now and think it's worth doing. It's cheap front suspension help. Now I feel the front end is firmer over these rough washboards they call roads here.

A heavier person (as in ALOT heavier than I) may eventually need better suspension. Although I suppose it's possible that a firmer suspension can help give more confidence in the bike, like a short person lowering a bike so they can touch better (I don't like mine lowered and do just fine at stock, but I can barely touch).

A bike should be set up for the rider. If he feels it will help give him more confidence & help become a better rider, then go for it. For right now though, stock should be fine.

Oh yeah...I still have the gixxer shock I bought for my bike. I never had it installed since my weight and riding style couldn't tell a difference between my stock and the exes gixxer shock.

SV's make an excellent beginner's bike, IMHO. You can still get into trouble on them, but they're definitely more forgiving than other similar or bigger bikes. I've been totally happy with mine and will have her for another couple of years at least.

svrider.com has some excellent advice. But be careful of the die hard *you MUST do this to the bike* people. Everyone's different. Tell your friend to have fun, be safe, and do his own thing as far as mods.

Rogue, thanks for your very insightful post! He has a SV650s model, black and yellow. I am not quite sure what his weight range is but I would guess between 170 to 200, short dude but has some muscle on him.

When I rode the bike there were a couple of things that worried me. A) The brakes catch at the VERY end even with lever adjusted but I assume that could be fixed with a good brake bleeding. The front brakes on my Gix are feeling odd and the two of us may have a brake bleeding day at some point.
B) When I would get the on the brakes the front seemed to dive a lot. I suppose it just scared me more than anything because I have only ridden my bike and it doesn't dive quite as much. If the heavier fork oil would help with that, then it may not be a bad idea. Of course, that isn't to say anything is wrong with it as much as those were areas that stuck out to me as someone on a more forgiving bike.

So far I have made several trips up to his house just so we could go ridding. Its 30 miles each way, but completely worth it to be with him as he learns the paces. He is getting comfortable and learning to deal with the Atlanta area traffic well. I let him lead so that all of our moves are done at his pace and he won't feel any need to keep up with me.

It has been fun to watch a whole new world open up to him. I am just glad that I can be around to help him with things as he proceeds. On his first day I would just run around the driveway as he was doing small laps to practice turning and there was at least one good time where I had to run and catch the tail of the bike before it fell over. The entire time of course he panicked, the bike was reving up in first gear and he was hanging onto the clutch with me screaming "DON'T LET GO!!!". We laughed it off and remain glad the bike didn't send us both through the wall in his garage.

At any rate, I will post up with any questions he may have and I already sent him a like to that SV site. He isn't much of a post whore but I know he will lurk around and find out the goodies.

[rogue]

Originally Posted by Quick281

Rogue, thanks for your very insightful post! He has a SV650s model, black and yellow. I am not quite sure what his weight range is but I would guess between 170 to 200, short dude but has some muscle on him.

When I rode the bike there were a couple of things that worried me. A) The brakes catch at the VERY end even with lever adjusted but I assume that could be fixed with a good brake bleeding. The front brakes on my Gix are feeling odd and the two of us may have a brake bleeding day at some point.
B) When I would get the on the brakes the front seemed to dive a lot. I suppose it just scared me more than anything because I have only ridden my bike and it doesn't dive quite as much. If the heavier fork oil would help with that, then it may not be a bad idea. Of course, that isn't to say anything is wrong with it as much as those were areas that stuck out to me as someone on a more forgiving bike.

So far I have made several trips up to his house just so we could go ridding. Its 30 miles each way, but completely worth it to be with him as he learns the paces. He is getting comfortable and learning to deal with the Atlanta area traffic well. I let him lead so that all of our moves are done at his pace and he won't feel any need to keep up with me.

It has been fun to watch a whole new world open up to him. I am just glad that I can be around to help him with things as he proceeds. On his first day I would just run around the driveway as he was doing small laps to practice turning and there was at least one good time where I had to run and catch the tail of the bike before it fell over. The entire time of course he panicked, the bike was reving up in first gear and he was hanging onto the clutch with me screaming "DON'T LET GO!!!". We laughed it off and remain glad the bike didn't send us both through the wall in his garage.

At any rate, I will post up with any questions he may have and I already sent him a like to that SV site. He isn't much of a post whore but I know he will lurk around and find out the goodies.

You're welcome.

Check the brake pads when you bleed the brakes. (which reminds me, I still need to bleed mine). Another thing that may be what you're feeling that's different is the brake lines. IIRC, the gix's have better lines, although I'm not positive..and the brake line is just a suggestion. The only other bike I've ridden alot to have an opinion on a difference in the braking between two bikes is a cruiser...and cruiser brakes feel different to me than my SV's and therefore, not really even a comparison.

The reason the front end bows down like that is because of the forks. The forks are alot different than the one on your gix. Again, there's other mods that can be done to make the SV's front feel similar to the gix's, including doing a front end swap that seems to be pretty popular with the SV riders, getting heavier springs and different dampening rods, and the heavier weighted fork oil helps too, or at least it seems to have helped mine a little.

Watching someone open to the world of motorcycles is awesome! I got a little TTR dirt bike and taught my kids how to ride. It was awesome to watch them learn and see the expressions on their faces as they learned and enjoy riding. Watching my son pop his first wheelie was hysterical! Of course, he didn't know that's what was going to happen. We told him, "pull the clutch, hit the throttle, then let go." He did and almost came off the bike, but managed to keep it upright. His eyes were as big as saucers. We told him, "that's what you DON'T want to do." Good times

Parking lot practice is most excellent. I still do a few practices every once in a while although I've been riding for a while. It helps, especially with ER braking.

[rogue]

Originally Posted by ebbs15

when you say not a big fan of those bikes... what do you mean? naked's? V-Twins?

I know when I rode cutty's SV after riding my ZZR... fuck that thing vibrated like crazy!

I happen to like the vibration.....