- This topic has 20 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 8 months ago by jesonko10.
is the SV650SF really a noob friendly bike like all the reviews I’ve read say it is?
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July 29, 2008 at 4:54 pm #1810AnonymousGuest
Was just wondering, I am reading a lot of reviews about the SV650/SF. And all of them say they are a great beginner bike. And a good bike for people with experience. Is this true? Does anyone have experience with the SV650’s?
I really want this bike, but I don’t want to go over my head. So I pretty much just have reviews which are saying that it is good for beginners.
So can I get a lil more insight on this bike?
Thanks a bunch
July 29, 2008 at 5:11 pm #9517BuddParticipant“And all of them say they are a great beginner bike. And a good bike for people with experience.”
If those two sentences don’t seem like they go together, it is because they don’t. It would likely be a harder beginner bike and great bike for people with experience. I was talking to a guy that started out on the ninja 250 and later got an sv650. He said it is not a beginner bike and that he was glad it wasn’t his first bike. He really loves the sv650, but wouldn’t suggest it to a beginner.
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
July 29, 2008 at 6:25 pm #9523AnonymousGuestwell, they say its more forgiving than a R6. And can be handled by a beginner.
July 29, 2008 at 7:16 pm #9527AndrewParticipantJust because it can be handled by a beginner doesn’t mean it should be. Theres some good articles here about learning on a smaller bike to build riding skill and then getting something bigger.
Andrew
July 29, 2008 at 7:45 pm #9529BoOZe P-ti MotardParticipantuse the old method..climb the ladder..instead of using the elevator coz u can get stuck in an elevator..
BoOZe
Solomolo RiderJuly 31, 2008 at 8:28 pm #9686AnonymousGuestAny bike that will go from 0-60 m.p.h. in 3.5 seconds is not a bike for beginners.
July 31, 2008 at 10:18 pm #9687ShannonGParticipantHa! We have a friend who’s an elevator mechanic and he says you should ALWAYS take the stairs.
July 31, 2008 at 10:42 pm #9693BoOZe P-ti MotardParticipantWho said dat? I dunno ;p better learn walking than running first hihi
BoOZe
Solomolo RiderAugust 1, 2008 at 2:16 pm #9760chevyridin850ParticipantSo because the SV650 will do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds….I shouldn’t buy it as a first?
All the articles and blogs I have read say (98% of the time) that it a good first bike because its not as zippy as the 600cc bikes with inline 4’s.
August 1, 2008 at 2:22 pm #9761TheAbomb12Participantits a BETTER choice for beginner (in relation to I-4 600s)… but far from the best.
August 1, 2008 at 3:12 pm #9764BuddParticipantDo what you want. If it is between the SV650 and GSXR, by all means get the SV. 0-60 in 4 seconds means that there is a lot there. You will have to ask spaz but I am sure it is pretty easy to get the front wheel off the ground. Sure you can get ABS, but that is not recommended on a first bike because it can handicap you on a bike that doesn’t have it. The SV650 is a friendlier bike than in line fours, but Darth Vader was friendlier than the emperor and I wouldn’t recommend him as a first light saber battle. Start small, chop down some Jawa’s or something before trading up to blow up the death star. May the force be with you.
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
August 1, 2008 at 4:32 pm #9766StarfoxXIIIParticipantThe 0-60 argument is not one I can get behind. First off you will only go 0-60 that fast if u are a great rider and gas it all the way. Second a bike that is highly recommend the ninja 500 goes 0-60 in 3.7 only a .2 second difference. The ninja 250 goes 0-60 in 7 sec so with this in mind, The only bike we recommended to start on is the ninja 250. My 2 cents on the matter is that I think you already know what bike your going to get before you post these message of “is this a good bike for me b/c i am to big are, im a very good driver, and so on” he will probably get the SV650F as his first bike if he rly wants it and he just trying to find a reason to justify it so.
GO FOR IT just be careful and AGATT
August 1, 2008 at 5:33 pm #9768AndrewParticipantI don’t know about this specific bike but the torque is more of a problem for a new rider imo. If they grab a handful of throttle by mistake a bike with a lot of torque is going to get them in more trouble.
Andrew
August 1, 2008 at 5:51 pm #9769MattParticipantI love the star wars reference
Starfox:
0-60 time by itself isn’t the big deal. But it is an indicator of what to expect. The Ninja 250 (5.7seconds is the number I usually see, and I can say with comfort that my ZZR-250 is faster than 7 second 0-60) is simply a lighter, more forgiving design all round, not just in the throttle.There is a lot more to bike design that engine power profile. Geometery, balance at speed, tip in, flex in the corners (you don’t want that in a race bike, you DO want that in a beginners bike since it will be more forgiving when you hit a bump in a corner), seating position, all sorts of things.
Everything is a trade off: top speed is always traded for acceleration, how fast a bike can go in a corner is traded for how it handles when it gets disrupted in a corner. Every part of bike design is a balance. On a 250, usability and friendliness are the design goals. Performance is secondary for a ninja, comfort for the cruisers, and off road ruggedness for the dual sports.
With the 500s (the GS and the Ninja), usability and performance are on equal footing. These bikes were designed to be the real world sport bikes while their 1980s 600cc cousins were the track stars. The 750s were the real world versions of the litre bike widow-makers of the day. And it is important to think about the usability these bikes were designed around. Road surfaces were not the same as we expect (or rather, bikes are designed around) today. These bikes were expected to see limited gravel road use. Dirt, pot holes, and bad blacktop were the name of the game.
Riding my dad’s 1983 GS450T really rams this home – it was a sport touring bike before the niche existed. And it handles dirt roads AMAZINGLY. Because when it was designed in the late 70s, touring off the major interstates meant spending time on dirt roads. It’ll do 70km/h where my mom’s cruiser will only do 40km/h happily, and my ZZR-250 might be happy at 60, maybe.
Move ahead 20 years, and dirt roads aren’t a design paramater for anything but adventure and DS bikes. Road conditions have improved considerably in most areas, especially areas around large urban centres. Today’s road oriented sport bike (like the SV650F) is designed for smoother roads. All you need to do is look at the riding position to know it won’t be the easiest bike to control on dirt (more upright the better, ideally no weight on the handlebars).
This is an important consideration, because sooner or later you are going to end up on nasty broken asphalt. tar snakes, frost heaves, gravel and sand. And while I’m certain the SV650F could ride through those conditions faster than the Ninja 500, I’d bet money that the Ninja feels more confident and more forgiving when riding through it.Chevy:
“All the articles and blogs I have read say (98% of the time) that it a good first bike because its not as zippy as the 600cc bikes with inline 4’s.”I want to introduce you to the concept of “familiarity breeds contempt”. Calling any sport bike “zippy” is a painful understatement. A 250 I’ll call zippy. A 600cc I’ll call mind-bendlingly-fast. Very few amusement park rides offer the acceleration, deceleration and G forces that a modern super sport does. People with many years of experience riding exceedingly fast bikes will start to use terms like zippy for supersports… sort of like how walmart starts talking about inventories of 100 000 as being “a small allotment”.
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The problem with the internet: Everyone gets the same font size.August 1, 2008 at 6:19 pm #9771chevyridin850ParticipantSo to answer the original question, an sv650 is POSSIBLY a good starter. However, a smaller version, perhaps the 500 or 250 type bikes would be MORE suitable.
A 250/500 is much better than an sv650, but an sv650 is better than say….i-4 600s?
Me personally, I’ll stick with GS500F.
Thanks for the rest Budd. Good insight.
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