Hating new bike

[gqelements]

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Hey, I bought an SV as my first big bike, now over a decade ago. First ride out I **** my pants, the second tipped it over... Thought I made a wrong decision big time. Then after a few more (longer) rides i got more comfortable, then fell in love with it. Give it more time, a few longer rides (not in tight quarters or traffic) and then go practice in a huuuuuge lot somewhere. You will be fine (even if you won't love it, you will get conquer it and give yourself enough time to decide what bike to move to next without having to dump it for a huge loss in a panic).

Good luck

 

[adrisen]

Hey, I bought an SV as my first big bike, now over a decade ago. First ride out I **** my pants, the second tipped it over... Thought I made a wrong decision big time. Then after a few more (longer) rides i got more comfortable, then fell in love with it. Give it more time, a few longer rides (not in tight quarters or traffic) and then go practice in a huuuuuge lot somewhere. You will be fine (even if you won't love it, you will get conquer it and give yourself enough time to decide what bike to move to next without having to dump it for a huge loss in a panic).

Good luck

It's actually causing me extreme pain in the wrists elbows and fingers. I think the reach is too far.


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[Brian_S]

It's actually causing me extreme pain in the wrists elbows and fingers. I think the reach is too far.


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Reading through your posts I think you already made a decision to move on and sell SV. If you're to pick Honda cbr500r, the seat on it is slightly lower than Suzuki (31 vs. 31.5 inches), not a dramatic difference. I would suggest you visit some Honda dealership and sit on CBR. The last time I went to Honda dealer in Markham, they had one CB500F with lowering kit on a display. I guess that will be your best bet ... try before you buy. Btw, CBR500r is not the lightest bike in this class ... if I'm not wrong 2004 SV650 weights around 435lb (wet) while Honda CBR500R is almost 440lb.

 

[adrisen]

Reading through your posts I think you already made a decision to move on and sell SV. If you're to pick Honda cbr500r, the seat on it is slightly lower than Suzuki (31 vs. 31.5 inches), not a dramatic difference. I would suggest you visit some Honda dealership and sit on CBR. The last time I went to Honda dealer in Markham, they had one CB500F with lowering kit on a display. I guess that will be your best bet ... try before you buy. Btw, CBR500r is not the lightest bike in this class ... if I'm not wrong 2004 SV650 weights around 435lb (wet) while Honda CBR500R is almost 440lb.

I am actually going to check out a yahama and two suzuki. I am also contacting the service guy and seeing what we can do to make this work for me.


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[MacDoc]

gqelements

You are not likely 5' 3"

 

[Zoodles95]

Reading through your posts I think you already made a decision to move on and sell SV. If you're to pick Honda cbr500r, the seat on it is slightly lower than Suzuki (31 vs. 31.5 inches), not a dramatic difference. I would suggest you visit some Honda dealership and sit on CBR. The last time I went to Honda dealer in Markham, they had one CB500F with lowering kit on a display. I guess that will be your best bet ... try before you buy. Btw, CBR500r is not the lightest bike in this class ... if I'm not wrong 2004 SV650 weights around 435lb (wet) while Honda CBR500R is almost 440lb.

I rode a CB 500F at the demo day at KW Honda. Great bike.

The riding position seems a little more upright than the CBR500 and a little less upright than the X.



It looks sweet in orange (the one I rode was red).

Some good suggestions already about swapping seats etc. I had some issues as I mentioned before transitioning from my CB750 to the 1250 Bandit. Just felt uncomfortable on the low speed riding for quite some time. Then the seat just sucked for me after an hour. The best money I have put into the bike so far has been swapping the stock seat for an aftermarket Sargent seat. Not quite night and day but so far I can go 2 hours now instead of barely surviving an hour.

OP, when you first mentioned your bike I thought you had the naked 650 with the more upright riding position. Those clip ons are too low for this rider.

 

[Robbo]

Ready Powersports in Mississauga has a Honda Demo Ride scheduled for this Saturday I believe. They also sell Yamaha and Suzuki so you could test ride a CB500 and then check out the other brands all in one place. I suggest you give them a call if you are planning to go just to confirm. You may also need to book a time for the test ride.


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[Robbo]

Also, if you are still considering keeping the bike, go to svrider.com and do a search "handlebar conversion on sv650s". That will give you some idea about what is involved in terms of changing bars, cables, etc and cost.


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[beverage]

OP, when you first mentioned your bike I thought you had the naked 650 with the more upright riding position. Those clip ons are too low for this rider.

Also, if you are still considering keeping the bike, go to svrider.com and do a search "handlebar conversion on sv650s". That will give you some idea about what is involved in terms of changing bars, cables, etc and cost.

I have a 2006 SV650S (purchased new). As I aged and the type of riding I do changed, the position with the clip-ons became pretty uncomfortable on long rides (600+ km days). I did the LSL Superbike bar conversion a couple years ago, which made a huge difference. See the following video for what's involved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34ORuAeXX0. The kit alone was about $500 from Blue Streak Racing, plus a few extras like new gel Progrip hand grips, longer throttle cables and clutch cable, and Rizoma bar ends. I did the work myself, but it would probably be a couple of hours of shop time if you had to pay someone. It's not exactly a cheap conversion. You might be able to source the SV650 naked parts from eBay for cheaper, but if you can't do the work yourself it's still going to add up due to shop time. For me, the out of pocket money was cheaper than buying a new bike (or, rather, the kind of new bike I wanted!).

If you can get most of your money back out of the SV by selling it, it would probably be cheaper and less headache than doing a bar conversion.

 

[moarmoto]

I'm looking for sv650 or gladius. Except for yellow sv650 or red/white gladius.

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[adrisen]

I'm looking for sv650 or gladius. Except for yellow sv650 or red/white gladius.

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Mines yellow. Love the colour


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[adrisen]

Ok what do I list this at

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[moarmoto]

From looking at kijiji, sv650s go for 3k to 4.5k depending on condition and location.

What'll you get after? There might be someone that would want to trade.

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[beverage]

Ok what do I list this at ...

Didn't you just recently buy it? List it for what you paid.

 

[MacDoc]

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-bikes/...aki-ninja-250-ex250-original-owner/1271243901

This person is 5' 3" and the bike was lowered professionally. She can pretty much flatfoot

But don't know if it's too downmarket for you. Cheap to insure and good basic transportation. I like the colour too.

 

[adrisen]

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-bikes/...aki-ninja-250-ex250-original-owner/1271243901

This person is 5' 3" and the bike was lowered professionally. She can pretty much flatfoot

But don't know if it's too downmarket for you. Cheap to insure and good basic transportation. I like the colour too.

It's beautiful. I don't want another 250cc. The height of the sv is not the issue. It's actually too much of a forward stretch. That's causing the issues.


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[moarmoto]

It's beautiful. I don't want another 250cc. The height of the sv is not the issue. It's actually too much of a forward stretch. That's causing the issues.


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How about ninja 300? You could see it as only 50cc increase but I find it significantly different from ninja 250

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[MacDoc]

Why you want a Scarver

and in between

Seat and tank width also are in play. Dirt bikes have high seats but narrow tanks and seats.

If you score a G650 GS ...you have access to BMWs lower seats so can drop to 29" or so.
WIth the right boots....even the stock seat might work given the seating position.

 

[Iceman]

Why you want a Scarver

and in between

Seat and tank width also are in play. Dirt bikes have high seats but narrow tanks and seats.

If you score a G650 GS ...you have access to BMWs lower seats so can drop to 29" or so.
WIth the right boots....even the stock seat might work given the seating position.

Agreed. My wife is 5'3" and the bmw f650gs fits as well as the gladius.

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[adrisen]

Agreed. My wife is 5'3" and the bmw f650gs fits as well as the gladius.

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The gladius and the SV650 so I have seen ride the same. I am trying to avoid a sport positioning. I could be wrong. But this has caused problems with my hands wrists etc. I am hoping the pain numbness etc go away. I don't want to go less then a 500cc. It was suggested a scarver. I know noting about them. I tried to look it up and got nothing. I am open to all suggestions. Everyone said i would love the sv650. Unfortunately. It's a poor fit for me.


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