[thejimdaddy]

i want stories of why you chose the sv or are considering the sv as a bike.


me, i had a gs500 and wanted an R6 but the insurance was way too high, so a friend told me that the sv650 was a great bike, i looked at a naked one and saw an "S" model (in blue) and fell in love

 

[toobrokeforthat]

I looked around for a little bit but really wasnt sure of what I wanted. First bike so i didnt want something that cost an insane amount. Like the look of full fairing bikes vs. Naked. Was thinking of a GS500 but heard some not so wonderful things about it so went to what I deemed the next Suzuki model.

Lurking around forums *namely this one* and talking to people I know pretty much made up my mind. Went to the dealer "just to look" again and low and behold I left with my new to me SV.

 

[RandyO]

the SV wasn't even a consideration, I wanted to get something a bit more modern than my XV920R, I ride a lot of back roads (a back road in my mind is gravel) I looked at a couple buell models, triumph tiger, and ended up deciding to get a Cagiva Gran Canyon.... no local dealers so I was planning on getting it online and having it serviced at my local Ducati dealer (BCM in laconia)

I went to BCM to talk to them about service if I bought the Gran Canyon, when Bruce thought I should also consider a Monster, he also advised I should look at the SV650, I'd never heard of it, it was 99, first year out.

my local suzuki dealer sales peeps convinced me to get the SV, but they didn't have any left, and couldn't seem to get another, it was late in the season, ended up calling around to dealers, finally found one, bought it over phone with credit card, picked it up the next day, made arrangements for first service at my local dealer to be done in 3 days, knowing i would have 600 miles by then, ended up with 1100 miles in the first 3 days

 

[slowpoke]

I was looking for a good inexpensive bike I could learn on. I read it is a good starter bike and is fun for years. Got a used 2000 naked with frame sliders, pipe, fly screen, 3,400mile on the odometer for $3200 last year.
Droped it today on uneven surface. Not too much damage(broke the clutch lever and shifter). I like her because she will take a lick'en and keep on tick'en.

 

[sicksv650]

i go the sv in june of last year, my first bike. a shiny 2004 naked, in blue of corse (salesman told me blue was fastest, even faster than silver!!!) anyway, i took my little naked baby home with me, even though i wanted the gixxer6, my dad convinced me to get something more civilized for a first bike. and now, i hate to say it, but he was right. i love my sv to death!!! 5000 miles and 3000 dollars worth of mods later, the love is still like the day we met!!

 

[Red Raevyn]

I was coming off of my second bike, a GSXR 750, after a bit more than two years of riding. The biggest reason I was changing bikes was for comfort, but I also wasn't stoked about my GSXR's fuel mileage. I wanted comfort, economy (gas and insurance), and enough power to go two up without having to work the hell out of the motor. 50 miles to the gallon, plenty of torque, and a great seating position made the SV mine. I put 800 miles on it in the first week I owned it, including a 2 day trip two-up. I love the bike to death.

I got the naked because I think they look better, and they're SO freakin easy to work on.

 

[Harvey]

My GS500 started giving me problems (4000-mile valve adjustments didn't exactly thrill me either), and I thought I was ready for my second bike, so I picked up an SV. Very very happy I did. Well, I REALLY wanted a Kawi Z750S, but the insurance companies said, in effect, "no way sucka". Oh well, it's not like I have a bad bike now.

 

[andylaiphoto]

I was coming off a Superhawk and had all intentions of leaving the dealership with a Gixxer 7fiddy. But as I played with the numbers and thought about what I was going to use the bike for...the SV started to look real nice. Half the cost, a tenth of the insurance premium, and tried and true reputation. Got my SVS and have had a blast everytime I'm on it. No regrets whatsoever....even when my buddies leave me in the dust on the highway with their liter bikes, I just seek revenge via twisties!

 

[67GTONUT]

Well, I tried motorcycling a few years ago, bought a 82 Nighthawk, got freaked by traffic and sold it.
Now @ 39yrs old, wanted to try this again. Took the MSF course in October.
I looked @ a 02 Honda Magna..... I thought better of it. Decided I should look for a standard, so I searched for a clean low mileage Nighthawk. Could not find one that was cheap enough. I figured I could spend little more money then some of these guys were asking for their slightly abused Nighhawks and get a new bike....... so the search was on for a NEW standard ....
Kawasaki had nothin I wanted.......
FZ6...... yuck, and I wanted Naked
Honda 599....... Yummy
SV650..... very nice

Honda 599 was $1500 more and NO fuel injection.......

Winner SV650....havent regretted it one day........

 

[Mr. Black]

I used to own this.

I rode it for several years and it cost me an arm and two legs. I sold it for many reasons. I always told myself that I want another TWIN.

I wanted one that was fun and reliable and did NOT need a ton of maintnance.

The SV was the perfect choice. My only mistake which I do regret is not buying a 1000.

 

[nc_sv650]

I foresaw it in a Mescaline-induced trance state while working for the Company, teaching counterinsurgency techniques to Pygmy smoke jumpers deep in the heart of the Amazon...

...the truth is somewhat less interesting. When the SV came out in '99, it was like no other in it's class- tubular frame ("Wow! Aluminum!"), radials, liquid cooling, DOHC, 90 deg v-twin. It was the bike I would have designed myself, and looked right too. All the rave reviews in the mags sealed the deal.

 

[SV_Newbie]

Took the MSF class to see how I would like riding, got addicted on a Rebel!!! Read a bunch of reviews and never saw a bad thing written about the SV. Took my wife to see one in person, she threw the check book at me, told me she was taking the kids to Mickey D's and would see me in an hour when the paper work was done. Now I have a nice naked Blue (the fast one) '04. 8)

 

[Jesse H]

I had been riding a Suzuki VX800 for about a year and was ready for something smaller and better handling. Looked at F4i's and SV1K's but couldn't find any in a price range I was wanting to swing. Dealer told me they had an 03 with only 2K miles in the back for $4.8K (year and a half ago) and I fell in love with the copper.

 

[BRB]

It was the V-twin that did it for me. I had my heart set on one ever since the bike show that was in town this past January. I sat on a yellow '05 that one of the dealers had there and I thought "this has got to be my next bike". Watched the local bike trader for the next few months and finally found my '04. Sold my GS500 a month later and haven't looked back since.

It's funny, at the bike show everyone was all goo goo over the GSXR's like the SV wasn't even there. I was just the opposite.

 

[Scotch]

I've been chasing the biggest/baddest/fastest bike for the last 12 years. It started with an f2 and ended with my last bike, and '03 gsxr1k.

Maybe its that I grew up, got a wife and a couple kids and don't need to do 150+ on the streets anymore.

Maybe its that I realized that the fastest doesn't mean the funnest.

Either way, I couldn't be happier.

 

[slowpoke]

It is closely related in spirit to my cage. My Mazda Miata has the same major theme. small motor with plenty of torque for it's displacement, highly manuverable, light weight, loves suspension mods, road racers- autocross addicts love em, rednecks and uninformed people think it is a girls car. Smiles per dollar is very high.
I had no choice ,had to have one.

 

[Currently]

I haven't rode in over ten years and now that I am fully in a mid-life crisis, (impeccably diagnosed by wifey!), , I started out with wanting a testosterone pumping liter bike ... Honda, Suzuki, Yammie .. whatever with just a helmet and ride off in the sunset.

Spent a bit of time in the Cycle World forums and found out about this SV machine that is supposed to be a lot of fun. OK ... got pointed here and been lurking for the last couple of months. Learned a lot and made my decision that I will get the SVS slightly used as soon as I can find one.

Right now I am waiting for a couple of things to fall into place and then move into that direction. Can't say I would of done much riding with the lousy rainy spring we just had. :roll:

 

[weedking]

I had just spent a little over a year on my 79 XS400. I'm all about stepping up gradually, performance wise for bikes. My second bike wasn't gonna be a GSXR 1000. I firmly believe that'll you learn more, and learn safer if you take small steps. For my second bike, I wanted:

1) a NEW bike
2) a naked bike, no cruisers either
3) A cheap to insure bike
4) A bike that is forgiving, yet allows room to grow as my skills increase
5) A fuel injected bike
6) A bike with a solid reliability history
7) An affordabe bike - <$6000

There is no other bike that fit all the above criteria.

I considered an EX500, but they're ugly IMHO with that partial fairing. The Duc Monster 620 was too pricey, as was the Honda 599 and FZ6.

The SV is the best bang for the buck on the road, IMHO.

 

[toyozuki]

I wanted a Monster with less maintenance and a smaller price tag (valve adjustment every 600 miles - are you kidding?).

I was looking everywhere for a Hawk GT, and stumbled on a used '99 SV650 N that I liked much better, plus it was nearly new - for the price of a 10 yr. old Hawk. I had heard nothing but good about the SV and I fell in love with the naked style, showing off the framework. I'd say it's a good bike for a beginner, yet enough fun for the experienced.

 

[shake55]

I wanted a ducati monster but I was high as shit with a friend at a local shop and got the sv