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Something else I realized about my decision was the fact that I will probably start taking my girlfriend along for rides. She weighs about 140 and myself about 155 so although not heavy I think a 650 may not be enough for me to feel comfortable. Someone mentioned a VFR on here, that is a interesting suggestion. I might have to check one of those out.

The SV650 has more than enough power to haul you and your girlfriend around.

If a standard riding position is important, I'd recommend a visit to the local bike shop. The straight (naked) SV650 has a fairly standard ride. The SV650S (fairing) has low mounted clip-on bars which introduce quite a bit more forward lean.

As a fan of the standard riding position, I find the naked SV to be a comfortable ride, whereas the riding position of the "S" model leaves something to be desired.

VFR is a 540lbs pig. It has neither the agility of a sportbike nor the comfort of a tourer. I see no place for it. It is also too high for someone who is 5'6".

SV will do fine for 2-up riding. There are actually few other options. You can try F4i or FZ6, but beware: both have higher seats that SV650 (I can't flat-foot them and I'm 5'8 ). Also their engines are essentially tuned down RR engines, so they are going to be more peaky than SV650's V-twin.

FYI, my next bike will be either GSX-R 600 or GSX-R 750 with convertibars

You might look at the Bandit 1250ABS. It might be more than you want, but it looks to be a nice bike.

duh! Forgot to mention Triumph Sprint ST. It is a lot of bike, but if you are looking for an ABS sport-tourer I don't know of a better option.

nick9871

May I make a suggestion? Peruse all the major manufacturers web sites. Honda,Yamaha,Suzuki,Kawasaki,Harley-Davidson,Buell etc....thre's a million of 'em. Look at the line ups, the categories (tourer,sport tourer, cruiser etc) to see what your style is. Once you narrow down a bunch of choices, head to the dealers and test ride them. That ought to be big fun.

ninja79 wrote:VFR is a 540lbs pig. It has neither the agility of a sportbike nor the comfort of a tourer. I see no place for it. It is also too high for someone who is 5'6".

ninja79 wrote:duh! Forgot to mention Triumph Sprint ST. It is a lot of bike, but if you are looking for an ABS sport-tourer I don't know of a better option.

Wow, you sure seem to know a lot about bikes. Have you ridden a VFR or a Sprint ST? Quoting from a magazine? Sit on both a VFR and a Sprint ST sometime and tell me which one "feels" bigger. You seem to be big on quoting stats but you are missing things like how top heavy a bike feels and how wide a seat is (not in the brochure).
FWIW I picked up a used '96 VFR last year on a lark from ebay. It's not my only bike but I needed something with the capability to sport-tour over distance and I preferred the old over the new. I actually rode it from Alberta to California with a buddy on his SV 650 riding just about all back roads. There was no place on this trip where the SV could out twist me in the twisties. When the road opened up the VFR would leave the SV for dead....and do it in comfort. The SV is a great little bike, but I don't think you know what the hell you are talking about when it comes to the VFR. And to highly recommend the Sprint (great bike too btw) and call the VFR a pig... seems to be a pretty big contrast for two bikes so similar.
Now back to the original question, my wife is 5'4" and she can ride the VFR, but it is on the upper end of what she can manouver in a parking lot. If you are looking for a bike with ABS that can haul the girlfriend on the back in comfort for anything more than a ride to the coffee shop, a new Viffer or Sprint are a great way to go if you feel comfortable manouvering them at your height. Keep in mind however that the rear seat of the Sprint is very high and this might be a big factor with your girlfriend on the back.

Wow, you sure seem to know a lot about bikes. Have you ridden a VFR or a Sprint ST? Quoting from a magazine? Sit on both a VFR and a Sprint ST sometime and tell me which one "feels" bigger. You seem to be big on quoting stats but you are missing things like how top heavy a bike feels and how wide a seat is (not in the brochure).

I *did*. I can flat-foot Sprint ST, but not VFR. The seat is not much higher but definitely wider (probably designed for a bigger "O Ring"). It also feels *very* heavy [though again, maybe it's just because I could not flat-foot it so I felt it tilted a little bit]. Also, the seating position is too aggressive for a touring bike. It is comparable to F4i or SV650S. [I'm talking about recent models -- don't know about '96].

I actually rode it from Alberta to California with a buddy on his SV 650 riding just about all back roads. There was no place on this trip where the SV could out twist me in the twisties. When the road opened up the VFR would leave the SV for dead...

That just shows your relative skill. VFR can certainly overpower SV in a straight line, but SV would have an advantage in the twisties.

And to highly recommend the Sprint (great bike too btw) and call the VFR a pig... seems to be a pretty big contrast for two bikes so similar.

Let's see...

VFR:
470lbs dry weight
108 hp @ 10,500 RPM
59 ft-lb @ 8750 RPM

Sprint ST:
462lbs dry weight
125bhp at 9,250 rpm
77ft.lbf at 7,500 rpm

So I guess the weight is not that far off, but note that Sprint's weight includes the detachable side cases. You can shave a few pounds by removing them. Also, Sprint has significantly better torque and power/weight ratio. Plus, the seating position is much more comfortable.

Both bikes are significantly heavier than something like GSX-R, of course, but Sprint ST is the only sport-touring bike I know of that combines the comfort of a tourer without forgetting about the sport part.

Well to get back on topic I went and tested out a few bikes. I pretty much hated the SV. It was a S, so I wont comment on the ride position (which sucked), but i did not like the roughness of the bike. It sounded brutal, had a lot of vibration from the engine, and i did not enjoy the throttle roll off. It felt like a more torque ex500. I will probably end up getting a FZ6 or FZ1 because I really like the standard ride position and the smoothness.

Anyway, thanks for all of your guys input!!!