[jcwhite]

I was poking around craigslist the other day, and I discovered two suzuki SV650s in my neighbourhood that have come on the market recently, but they’re both older. There’s a 2000 selling for $4400CAN, and a 1999 for $2600CAN. The 99 is listed as having “some paint scratches but nothing serious,” which is a red flag to me, but the I could get that one for almost the same as resale on my CBR125.

I’m going to take a look at both of them in next couple of days, is there anything in particular I should watch for with those bikes? Does that seem like vaguely reasonable pricing (they both say they’re firm) for one in good shape and one that’s a bit scuffed? How well do they hold up? (the 2000 has 35xxx kms, the 99 isn’t listed on the ad)

[WeaponZero]

the price looks good. mine i paid $3000 US for which is about the same as $4400 CAN. its a 2000 model that had a crack in the front fender and had high miles but was otherwise in excellent shape. had 14k miles on it which is fairly high but didnt bother me because i knew the guy who owned it had only used it for highway miles. they’re excellent bikes and only have a couple things to watch out for:

1. Reg/rec mod. The stock voltage regulator/rectifier is insufficient for the bike and they fail OFTEN in first generation models. You can replace it with another factory OEM model but it will fail fairly quickly too. The most common fix for this is to replace the stock one with one from off of an older CBR600RR/CBR1000RR (model FH800EB), or one from off an older Yamaha R1. This requires some rewiring but is worth it because you’re getting one that’s bullet-proof. It’s a fairly safe bet that most used ones have had this mod done to them, but just in case, I’d ask. Otherwise when it comes time to replace your battery you’ll also be replacing your Regulator/rectifier unit and possibly your stator as well.

2. GSX-R rear shock. Probably the single most common mod done to SV650s is to replace the rear shock with one from off of a GSX-R600. Pretty much every single SV650 in existence has had this done because it bolts right up and it’s far superior to the OEM one, which is not adjustable and just a crappy piece overall. It does require you to use spacers (oversized nuts usually) to move the rear fender/battery box down and back by about 1/4″ to accomodate the reservoir that goes along with the shock but aside from that it bolts up just like the OEM one.

Aside from these two mods, which are pretty much musts for any first gen SV, it should be as close to stock as possible and won’t give you any problems.

[eternal05]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=3000+us+dollars+to+canadian+dollars&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Just sayin’ $4400 CAN seems pretty darn steep to me.

[A]

Used 1st Gen SV650 seems to fetch good money for some reason, even more than 2nd gen FI SV650s when considering the age depreciation, mileage doesn’t seem to matter, these little V-twin engines seem to run nicely with high-mileage and proper maintenance.
I still kick myself for selling my 2002 SV650S w/62xx mi. just to make a profit.. I bought it for $2200, sold it for $3750 6 months later. That was a fun bike that could have last me for a long while.. and still make a decent profit later. Oh well, I guess the Gladius would have to do for now.

[megaspaz]

Don’t know if this fits into what you’d be looking for in an SV, but the first gen SVs have better pull in the lower power band than the second gens. That’s one of the main reasons why racers here who race SVs prefer to use the first gen SVs because they pull so much better out of slower corners or corners where you would short shift up a gear.

[Author]

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