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The Harley dealer here has a used Buell Lightning x1 for $6k. So for the heck of it I went and checked it out. My God that thing is a beast of a bike! The biggest bike I've sat on in a long time, and probably the highest seat I've ever sat on.

The dealer was great. I kept saying how it's probably too much for me (1200cc, 101hp), and he kept insisting that it's a great beginner's bike! No problems! Haha, sure buddy.

I think I'll hold off on my first American bike for a while

So I just spent the entire evening reading everything I could find on the GS500F, SV650S and the Ninja 650R.

As much as I love the fact I can get the SV with ABS, I think I've decided I shall stick with the Ninja. Except this time...






...I'm getting it in red!


sorry fellow blue Ninja owners, I'm going to the red side!!


major thanks to this forum, the search function led to a ton of info on these bikes. very very helpful.

I only sat on Nalian's 650r and I liked it much better then my 500. Plus the 500 has carbs and has to be choked (which I hate and it burns up so much gas and the pollution the spit out...) and I keep abusing mine...

One of my biggest gripe is my rear foot pegs, I am hoping new pegs will allow me greater flexibility for my feet -> legs. You go on about your height so you'll prob be squished on it. My other half feels the leg area to be perfect, but his legs are shorter then mine.

Hound,

How tall are you?

Hound is only 5'7

However my inseam runs at a bit over 33 inches

IcyHound wrote:Hound is only 5'7

However my inseam runs at a bit over 33 inches

Thus hound is all legs

Aye

Hound of the short torso

it's a strange looking Ninja, no?




After seeing the SV in person and trying it on for size, my on paper decision of the Ninja 650R changed largely for two reasons:

-- the riding position. I love it. It feels great to me. Nothing against the Ninja here, it was just fine, but this just "clicked"

-- the mirrors. They are actually useful. On the Ninja, you might as well just remove the mirrors altogether. I honestly thought all sport bikes would be like that so when I decided to investigate the mirrors on the SV I was very pleasantly surprised. On the Ninja, the best I could get the mirror to do was have it show me my elbows, and they took up about 75% of the mirror. I had to take my left hand off the handlebars and rest it on the gas tank to use the left mirror, and I just didn't use the right mirror at all. I was planning to get mirror extenders, and there are people over at ninja650.com that even went as far as to mount bar end mirrors.

With the SV, my elbows take up about 20% of the mirror and the remaining 80% is very usable. That was a big discovery, and really cinched it for me.

Got just shy of 100 miles on it today. Love it Not a single complaint yet. Oh, well, maybe one. Having to have the clutch in to start it is a tad annoying, but I think I can manage that.

nice bike. It has a great engine. If you ever plan to ride in the rain, do yourself a favor and put dielectric grease on the front spark plug. You might as well do both but the front has a tendency to get wet and stop working in the rain.

storysunfolding wrote:nice bike. It has a great engine. If you ever plan to ride in the rain, do yourself a favor and put dielectric grease on the front spark plug. You might as well do both but the front has a tendency to get wet and stop working in the rain.

Interesting. I think over the past few days I've read the entire internet's offering on this bike and no one mentioned this.

is there any reason to not just put the grease on all the time? Is it something I can keep with me? I'm not familiar with dielectric grease. I typically don't plan to ride in the rain but sometimes after work I get stuck.