Thoughts on the SV after the TL

[TLstreak]

So I bought an SV650 after my long term heavily modded TL.

1st impression was I liked the motor, zippy and the bike was light.
so I put some lines on it improved the brakes and regeared it a little differently. Seemed better for all day and not as buzzy with a 525 and +2 in the rear than with the -1 up front on the 520 and didnt beat on me so bad on the HWY.

2nd impression was it needed suspension work done worse than the TL ever needed.
I bought a 636 showa shock and did the conversion. 9.5 sonic springs and spacer with oil change. Alot better, still felt wrong.
1 in raise in the rear made the back end great but threw the front end way off. I played with raising and lowering nothing helped. Took it to my suspension guy and he set the ride height and said the only thing he could do farther was emulators.

Hmm ok ill wait and get used to the bike first.

3rd impression is I hate this bike and it has to go. The engine was good, but after countless trial and error with the bike and having to trail brake and gag the shit out of it to ride roads I could normally fly down, im watching a new rider on a VFR look like he is Rossi sit on my ass end and me fighting every inch to keep a decent pace. which was a snails pace.

Bike is gone this week replaced with an I4 after ohh 13 years of not owing one. And only riding the SV for less than 5000 and not owning it a complete year.

I would not suggest a 650 to anyone off this board that enjoys the TL. It will be extremly hard to find comfort on the bike leaving that long reach to the bars to the position of the SV. You will miss the power and long gearing of the motor even if you think you shift quick now, youll require 8 to 9 gears on the 650. It is a great little bike and fun to ride for a little while but just isnt the replacement for a big twin sportbike. I thought I would be ok being in the mountains and not really needing a bigger bike, but once your spoiled with the liter bike size it is very hard to step down.

Only real thing I loved about the bike was the ability to interchange sooo many parts with it. There is almost an unlimited source of applications you can do to these bikes. It just wasnt the bike for me. I was pushing on this bike harder than any other bike ive ever owned and would have ended up crashing it pretty hard if I would try and keep it.

If your thinking about one...test ride it for a day if possible. It was a complete let down for me.

[Ryno]

This is very interesting for me as I recently picked up an SV.
I have basically the opposite opinion and am finding that I take the SV and leave the TL in the garage most days.
Only thing I miss when I'm on the SV is the extra ponies.
The stock suspension is weak for sure, but the bike is so light and flickable.

[vtwinjunkie]

ouch! I understand I have an SV1000 and It needs some suspension work BAD!! It was my first bike and I rode it for 2 years and 16k miles. I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! But after riding the TLR for 3 months I got back on the SV just to dust off the cobwebbs and It was a miserable ride (very light but handled like dog poo)....I think its the inverted forks, Or lack therof.

[TLstreak]

Might be the bars that make it easier to ride. I almost did that conversion just to give the bike another chance, but traded for a nice 929.

[TLstreak]

Pick one of the 636 shocks. I was super happy with it for a street bike application. Leave the ride height stock and youll only go up 5mm I think it is. Battery location isnt as bad as you would think. Its almost a direct drop in.

Originally Posted by Ryno

This is very interesting for me as I recently picked up an SV.
I have basically the opposite opinion and am finding that I take the SV and leave the TL in the garage most days.
Only thing I miss when I'm on the SV is the extra ponies.
The stock suspension is weak for sure, but the bike is so light and flickable.

[Kamikuza]

Every time I've done something to the suspension - ride height spacers, bitubo, Van's eccentric - it just gets better, smoother and more flickable ... and I'm a lazy bugger who's used to leaning a bike by nudging it with my ass only use the bars and WOW look out! So I'm happy with the TL ...

... but then, I've not ridden ultra-modern bikes so I got nothing to compare it against

[nissn1]

i think the 03+ are ok , i would have another one

[wreckah]

which esvee did you get? an older curvy one, or a newer pointy one?

i had an SV650S sometime around 2000 (a curvy one), and i loved it to bits, i think i even loved it better than the TLS, apart from the power difference. Front suspension was a bit soft, ok, but still, it was much easier to chuck it into corners, and rail through them than on the TLS...

I found it very comfortable, lovely smooth engine, very flickable, etc etc...i was a happy camper on that little bike!

maybe it was just not your kinda bike...these things happen.

[gixxerjasen]

Interesting reading. I'm thinking an SV would be good for commuting around here. And it so happens I might have some stuff to improve the suspension on both ends sitting in my storage unit.

I see you went with a 929 though for your I4. I've been back on a 600 so I might not notice the loss of power vs the TL so much as you did.

[TLstreak]

Originally Posted by wreckah

which esvee did you get? an older curvy one, or a newer pointy one?

i had an SV650S sometime around 2000 (a curvy one), and i loved it to bits, i think i even loved it better than the TLS, apart from the power difference. Front suspension was a bit soft, ok, but still, it was much easier to chuck it into corners, and rail through them than on the TLS...

I found it very comfortable, lovely smooth engine, very flickable, etc etc...i was a happy camper on that little bike!

maybe it was just not your kinda bike...these things happen.

I was able to throw the TL around with no effort the SV I felt I was forcing into every turn that required skill. SvS was an 01 with cam upgrades , minor suspension upgrades, and a bunch of easy bolt ons. I was absolutly miserable on it. After all the "its a great bike" stories , it was a complete let down for me.