I prefer the SV as well, but I don't remember the Yammie being that bad. I presume this was a used example? Maybe it had been neglected or beat on.

Try an FZ-1. Now, that's a great motorcycle!

 

Yes, it was used. Looked to be in excellent shape though. The main thing that concerned me was the steering geometry. All else would come with time, I assume. It was VERY strange to not have the bike flick into a corner on my whim. Good ol' SV!

 

Worn or extremely under-inflated tires could do that to the handling. Maybe a worn or loose steering stem? Other than that, I have no explanation.

 

It did seem very difficult to turn the bars. I'm going with worn steering stem.

 

Im going with low pressure. My GSXR front end did this to me and until I took the pressure up I seriously considered taking it back off. The ****ed thing wanted to tuck in at every corner entry, and then the fight back to proper line caused me to go wide.

 

I love my FZ6. The ergos fit me perfect (I'm 6') and the shifter position doesn't bother me, as I usually have the balls of my feet on the begs and move them forward to shift anyway.
She turns into corners fantastically. I've never had an issue with the bars going into the turn.
You have to rev it a bit, I've had some nice, fast starts. It's not as fast off the line as the SV, but the it's a totally different powerband; the **** thing redlines at 14.5k. Dropping a gear and going WOT while you're cruising is instant power.
My friend has an FZ6 also and loves it.
I've had people say "Pff, the FZ1 is a REAL bike!" but I find them to be people who can go fast in a straight line, and that's about it. 118mph on the GPS (130 indicated) while fully loaded is fast enough for me, and it can go faster.

 

I'm definitely chalking up that one as a bad bike. Sure, it is fixable, but they were asking around $5k for it, which is too high for something that I see as having potential problems, 2 Bros race system or not.

 

I test ride one before buying my sv and the thing felt like it wanted to fall into the turns and not gradually lean into them. I was also not to stoked on how upright you sit on it. The motor felt good to me but I had always ridden inline 4's.

 

Even if the Fz6 was a better ride I would be disappointed to look at it. I think the SVn is just so much better looking.

 

The first time I rode an SV (test ride of the one I bought), it fell into corners and handled weird. 14psi in the tires will do that...

 

The FZ6 is definitely a turd, but don't blame it on the fact that it's an inline 4. It's that "tuned for torque" BS that the japanese throw out when they detune an engine.
when i rode a friend's FZ6 i was hopping off my 2008 gsxr 600... and the FZ6 was absolutely gutless. seating position was too upright for my taste too.

 

Saw you post this on the triumph forums. Honestly if it where me I just would pimp out your sv. You'll enjoy it a lot more on the street. Plus so much cheaper to find used parts.

 

Trust me, already pimped the SV with everything short of a GSXR front end still leaves me wishing for more oomph at 60. Good to see you here!

 

Oh, btw, you have a PM on the other forum regarding your ST!

 

Sister has an FZ6. Me, had a SV650S, now an SV650.

Liked the FZ6 well enough. Good bit faster than the SV and plenty of power once the revs come up. More comfortable than the SV. Feels heavier. Much better brakes. Comparable suspension.

Just not as fun on the street as the SV, especially the naked one.

 

I think you got a bad one or you just didn't wind it up enough. The one we have is unbelievably fun to ride and very easy to handle. Once you get her a little wound up the additional horsepower is very apparent, and it turns into a freaking rocket above 8k. That bike definitely makes me want to do hooligan things when I take it out, so it's probably for the best that I don't get the FZ very often.

 

That bike definitely makes me want to do hooligan things when I take it out, so it's probably for the best that I don't get the FZ very often.

Seriously, I'll start out thinking "I'll just ride nice and casual." Next thing I know, I'm at high revs and doing things I shouldn't be.
Should probably use it as an excuse to get a cruiser to offest my MBS.

 

...and it BLEW. Hardcore. First off, the ergos, while comfy, p!ssed me off to no end. Who can raise their left ankle that high when their leg is bent at 90 degrees?!?!?! Second, power delivery was horrible. I know it is an I4, but dang. This was bad. ZERO torque meant that my takeoffs were absolutely horrible, even when wringing the throttle. Lastly, the handling. I'm not sure if this bike had something wrong with it (i.e. dropped), but whenever I went to lean into a corner, the bars steered INTO the turn! WTF?!?! Needless to say, I made it about half a mile off of the block before I turned around and brought it back.

My question is, is it really the bike, or is it me? The SV is all I've known (except for the gz250's we rode at the MSF). Could it be that I've just grown so accustomed to the good old girl?

Input welcome!

I don't understand a couple of the things you described:

- Raise the left ankle high with the leg bent at 90 deg - Your height and weight? What was forcing you to "raise" your ankle?

- Whenever you went to lean into a corner, the bars steered INTO the turn - What does that mean, and why is that a problem?

Since you've never ridden other bikes, I suspect it's more you than the bike. Even experienced riders say it'd take several hundred miles to really get used to a new-to-them bike, and that's my experience as well. You really need to live with a bike for a while to get to know it. Without a lot of experience on different types of bikes, there's no way you can properly evaluate a different bike with a short 1/2 mile test ride around the block.

 

Steers into the turn as in the bike wants to go full lock as you lean in and you end up fighting it the opposite direction, it sucks. And the ankle thing I think he means to lift your foot over the shifter with your leg bent so acutely. Try it sometime. Put your heel to your thigh and try to raise your toes.

 

Well, he didn't say anything about the handlebar wanted to go into "full lock", so...I don't know...

He didn't say anything about bending the ankle "for shifting" either, but shift lever position is adjustable...

 

Okay, so when I would set the bike up for a curve, and and would lean into it, and the bars wanted to turn into the curve. The the more the lean, the more the bars turned. So in theory, if I flicked this bike into a corner like I do my sv, the bars would have locked. The shift pedal was way too high, and I know it is adjustable, and but it made me wonder how in God's name they were able to get it on the lot.

I think some people on here are confused about the riding position. On the sv, you are set up to lean forward on the bars and your feet are tucked due to the position of the rearsets. The fz6 was very awkward, and coming from a demi sportbike. The bars were Very upright, and the rearsets were very low and very forward. It reminded me of the position on the gz250 I used at the msf.

 

I rode my buddie's FZ6 and was so incredibly disappointed. Couldn't get it to pull half as hard as my sv. And it just felt so lazy and incompetent in corners that I couldn't stand riding it for more than 10 min. I understand now why he had such a hard time keeping up.

 

I rode one myself and it felt more like riding a dirt bike than it did a motorcycle.

 

When I was first motorcycle shopping this was the first sport bike I sat on, and I really liked how it fit me... I still do. But I'm 5'4 and I didn't take it for a test ride. The SV felt even better plus I liked the v-twin better. After reading review after review that said the SV was better I just decided on that. Took home the first one I test rode.

I hate to say it but I'm glad I didn't waste any time test riding the SV because from the sound of it, it would have been a disappointment.

 

I'd say you were more disappointed in lack of low end grunt. Your throttle hand is so used to barely cracking the throttle and having torque at its disposal. I just went from my gsxr suspended sv650n to a dl1000 for my cross country trip. IT HAS TORQUE EVERYWHERE!!!!!! I think I will be a twin guy for life, at least for street bikes.

 

I'd say you were more disappointed in lack of low end grunt. Your throttle hand is so used to barely cracking the throttle and having torque at its disposal.

This is what I'm thinking. An I4 and V-Twin powerband are different. It took some getting used to for me, but I'm happy and comfortable knowing how hard the bike will pull at what RPMs now. I don't need tons of torque to put around town, and I can easily rev higher when I need it.

 

I hope this was just a bad egg. But to me, the ergos were distracting. I had to focus on so many different things that it was tough to keep my attention on the tachometer even. I also felt unsure about that, because I would get about 2/3 of the way through the tach and felt like if I didn't shift the thing was going to blow up. Too high of revs, not enough torque.

 

Probably not quite as bad as you think, you're just used to the SV's power delivery.


Jay