SV650 Naked-my thoughts

[Grey Thumper]

I think some people out there should cut wrathre a bit of slack.

What did the guy do? He's not suggesting the SV650 is a great beginner bike. He's simply noting that it was fine for him given his particular scenario (skill level, confidence, etc.) He cited differences and disadvantages of the SV, and ultimately still recommended that a 250/500 would be better overall for the majority of new riders. The OP's 2nd-to-last sentence was a bit off, but I'm just assuming it's weird semantics.

[jasper_mcc]

I got a v-strom 650 as my first bike, but I was considering an sv650 (until I test rode it).

I disagree with the comment on the brakes. They are more powerful than the 125s I learned on, sure, but they are progressive and responsive. I've had no problems with them on my bike, and I think they're the same on both 650s.

The throttle.. Now that is a question. The throttle on the sv is very very sharp. When I test rode one, I was being thrown all over the place (the seat was very slippery, too) with the throttle, and the huge engine braking of the v-twin. The wee-strom has a slightly detuned version of the engine, and while it's still quite sharp on the throttle, it's nothing like the sv, but it's still sharper than the 500 I took a half day refresher course on.

I personally would say that the sv wouldn't make a great first bike, but some people could move onto one pretty quickly after they learned how to be comfortable on the roads...

[camthepyro]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the SV650 is fine for beginners. If you can't handle a 650 to begin with, you really shouldn't be on a bike at all, and will probably hurt yourself no matter what you ride.

[Brackstone]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the SV650 is fine for beginners. If you can't handle a 650 to begin with, you really shouldn't be on a bike at all, and will probably hurt yourself no matter what you ride.

[camthepyro]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the SV650 is fine for beginners. If you can't handle a 650 to begin with, you really shouldn't be on a bike at all, and will probably hurt yourself no matter what you ride.

I probably should have been more clear in the last part: if you can't handle an SV650 as a first bike, you probably shouldn't be on a bike.

I'm not saying go out and by a 636 (it has less than 650ccs, it must be safe!) for a first bike, that is asking for trouble.

[storysunfolding]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the SV650 is fine for beginners.

You can say it till your blue in the face, but it won't make it true. I trust the guys over at svrider... they seem to know what they are talking about.

http://forum.svrider.com/showthread.php?t=40231

the consensus is that they don't consider it a beginner bike. Sure, a beginner can learn on it, but it's not ideal. Actually, most of the arguments in favor of it being a beginner bike are by new riders trying to justify it (I'm way to big for one of those tiny ninja 250's at my impressive 6'1'' ).

If you can't handle a 650 to begin with, you really shouldn't be on a bike at all, and will probably hurt yourself no matter what you ride.

The word of camthepyro, thanks be to camthepyro who in his own infinite wisdom appears to have started on a nighthawk 450 whose second bike has a lower power to weight ratio than the mighty sv650.

[jstark47]

I probably should have been more clear in the last part: if you can't handle an SV650 as a first bike, you probably shouldn't be on a bike.

I doubt you're going to find many who agree. I don't. I would have been in trouble with an SV650 as a first bike. My first month after getting licensed, I did a few bone-headed things on a Bonneville that would have put me down on an SV650 - like panic and grab the front brake. I was "protected" by the Bonneville's relatively mild brakes and throttle response. I survived, learned through doing and evaluating, and the Bonneville (and me) haven't been down yet (knock on wood.) After a year and half, I added a V-strom 1000 - a bike definitely not for noobs. I have 12K on the V-strom and 15K on the Bonneville - I'm proof people of modest ability can be successful riders by working into things slowly.

[camthepyro]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the SV650 is fine for beginners.

You can say it till your blue in the face, but it won't make it true. I trust the guys over at svrider... they seem to know what they are talking about.

http://forum.svrider.com/showthread.php?t=40231

the consensus is that they don't consider it a beginner bike. Sure, a beginner can learn on it, but it's not ideal. Actually, most of the arguments in favor of it being a beginner bike are by new riders trying to justify it (I'm way to big for one of those tiny ninja 250's at my impressive 6'1'' ).

If you can't handle a 650 to begin with, you really shouldn't be on a bike at all, and will probably hurt yourself no matter what you ride.

The word of camthepyro, thanks be to camthepyro who in his own infinite wisdom appears to have started on a nighthawk 450 whose second bike has a lower power to weight ratio than the mighty sv650.

I never said it was ideal... I agree that there are much better bikes to start on, and an SV650 is more than anyone needs, but I think the reasons everyone gives for a bad starter bike don't apply to the SV650.

It's got a very predictable power band, the brakes are a little touchy, but not terribly so. It's a pretty light bike, and the seating position is pretty upright. What about that bike do you guys think is so bad for beginners?

And the reason people on the SV650 forum say it's not a beginner could be because they don't want people saying they ride "beginner bikes" (notice the negative connotation).

Also, while the power to weight ratio is higher on the SV, my bike has better acceleration, and is touchier on the throttle (although not by much). That's based on my experience riding both bikes, not on drag times or anything.

[Brackstone]

IMO it's so simple I just don't understand why people get it.

It's about playing the odds

The brakes are a "little" more touchy, the throttle is a "little" more sensitive.

How much are you willing to bet with your life? If the "little" bit more is 10% here and 10% there you keep adding to your risk value.

I could've sworn everyone else took the same MSF course I did in which they explained you CAN do a lot of things but they all keep adding to your risk!

The point is to give every new rider the BEST POSSIBLE chance to survive and be well. That's why nobody should recommend anything bigger than the SMALLEST bike necessary to get the person started on the road and developing the skills they need.

Nobody is equipped to evaluate anyone else's over the internet. Everyone feels so comfortable recommending people get bigger bikes but you may NEVER know the impact you have. Some of these guys come here and then NEVER come back, we all assume they got the information they wanted and left. How do we know they aren't getting hurt or injured? Anyone of us could be getting someone seriously injured or WORSE by saying "It's ok to start on X Bigger Bike".

I won't try to dissuade anyone from doing this personally but I just wanted to state my opinion on this because I just don't understand, and probably never will, how anyone can feel comfortable telling anyone to get a bigger bike.

[camthepyro]

IMO it's so simple I just don't understand why people get it.

It's about playing the odds

The brakes are a "little" more touchy, the throttle is a "little" more sensitive.

How much are you willing to bet with your life? If the "little" bit more is 10% here and 10% there you keep adding to your risk value.

I could've sworn everyone else took the same MSF course I did in which they explained you CAN do a lot of things but they all keep adding to your risk!

The point is to give every new rider the BEST POSSIBLE chance to survive and be well. That's why nobody should recommend anything bigger than the SMALLEST bike necessary to get the person started on the road and developing the skills they need.

Nobody is equipped to evaluate anyone else's over the internet. Everyone feels so comfortable recommending people get bigger bikes but you may NEVER know the impact you have. Some of these guys come here and then NEVER come back, we all assume they got the information they wanted and left. How do we know they aren't getting hurt or injured? Anyone of us could be getting someone seriously injured or WORSE by saying "It's ok to start on X Bigger Bike".

I won't try to dissuade anyone from doing this personally but I just wanted to state my opinion on this because I just don't understand, and probably never will, how anyone can feel comfortable telling anyone to get a bigger bike.

I agree with you 100%, the smaller the better to start on. If I could, I would tell everyone considering bikes to get a 250R and ride it for the first year. But, people don't want to start on little bikes, they want bikes they aren't ashamed to bring to the bike meet or whatever.

I would much sooner recommend an SV650 or a 650R than a 599, or FZ6, or god forbid a CBR600RR or ZX-6R. In the grand scheme of bikes, the SV650 is fairly docile.

But, again, I agree that it's more than anyone needs (especially starting out), and my ideal plan would be something like:

MSF class >lots of practice in parking lots and backroads >250R >At least a year >SV650/650R >At least 2 years >Super Sport (if that's what you're interested in).