Another SV question

[OneTrack]

I should be clear that what I'm really leery of is my ability to control the bike. I've read continually about a quirky throttle, and to a lesser extent, clutch. I'm new at the game, and a pretty slow learner, and I'd rather go slowly and surely. I hear a lot about the FZ's top end, but that scares me more than interests me. For me at this point, the watchword for everything I do on the bike is smoothness. Whether it's cornering, braking, or accelerating, I'm looking for control. So I'm looking for the bike that will best help me in that regard.

I returned to riding after a 25 year layoff. It was not without a great deal of trepidation that I swung my leg over my new (faster red) FZ6 in July. Believe me, the FZ6 is eminently controllable. It's a very mild machine at low rpm's and less-than-half throttle openings. If the thought of hanging on for dear life at 13000 rpm+ puts you off, then don't go there until you're confident enough to do so. I didn't take my FZ6 over 8000 rpm until it had a thousand km's on the odometer. I can ride at 60kph in 6th gear down Steveston Highway no problem at all, and the bike's quite happy doing that. OTOH, I can go faster in 3rd gear than I could have even dreamed of going flat out on my old 68 Bonneville, which was no slouch in its day.

What did you mean "shame on yamaha"? It sounded like the fault was the bike press, not the manny, but then you turned it around. Or did you mean that Yamaha gave the press the opportunity for criticism and didn't set the record straight?

Sorry, I should have put after my "Shame on Yamaha" comment. Apparently, bike magazines insist that the FZ6 is hopeless as a commuter. Rubbish....it does that job just as well as a moped. I don't feel one bit disadvantaged in traffic on my FZ6.

At this point I'm leaning toward the SVS, and will eat the posture. I've got some pics up as wallpaper, and am beginning to think that I could live with the posture, or worst-case, raise the bars. I think the SVn is out because I want two headlights to play with; and a windscreen, such as it is. I like the fairings as well.

p.

The SV is still an excellent choice for a first "big bike" as is an FZ6. All I will say is that V-Twins are great bikes...but the siren call of the FZ6's 4-cylinder engine in the FZ6 will still call out to you.

 

[bike10]

Are we talking about a sv 1000 or 650. Because a sv 1000 would hand the fz6 its A$$.

much like the FZ1 would hand it right back to the SV1000. No comparison. The real world numbers show the FZ1 & FZ6 smoking the SV's in the 1320 and RW horespower.

 

[bike10]

I should be clear that what I'm really leery of is my ability to control the bike. I've read continually about a quirky throttle, and to a lesser extent, clutch. I'm new at the game, and a pretty slow learner, and I'd rather go slowly and surely. I hear a lot about the FZ's top end, but that scares me more than interests me. For me at this point, the watchword for everything I do on the bike is smoothness. Whether it's cornering, braking, or accelerating, I'm looking for control. So I'm looking for the bike that will best help me in that regard.

What did you mean "shame on yamaha"? It sounded like the fault was the bike press, not the manny, but then you turned it around. Or did you mean that Yamaha gave the press the opportunity for criticism and didn't set the record straight?

At this point I'm leaning toward the SVS, and will eat the posture. I've got some pics up as wallpaper, and am beginning to think that I could live with the posture, or worst-case, raise the bars. I think the SVn is out because I want two headlights to play with; and a windscreen, such as it is. I like the fairings as well.

p.

If you’re concerned about the controllable power on the bike I find that v-twins are harder because they give it all upfront. My Duc will break loose at 3000rpm. As mentioned above the FZ6 is tame on the start and can become a blur if you keep into throttle. From what your describing I would bet You would love an FZ6. If you want a v-twin get a Duc.

 

[paul1149]

OneTrack, thanks for that explo. So I needn't be afraid of the FZ6's power. The analogy to the Ninja250 is something I can relate to. And Bike10 adds that the VTwins are actually the ones to watch out for in the low range. Very interesting.

I'm at my typical point of confusion on this issue, so I think I'll give it to the Lord and see what His answer is. It may well be that I need to wait until one of these bikes becomes available locally so I can get the feel first-hand. Meantime I'll keep my eyes and ears open. Thanks to all for the input!
p.

 

[DynaSport]

Paul, I honestly think you are doing the same thing I tend to do, which is overanalyze a decision. I know it is a major decision and you want to make the right one. The truth of the matter is that both the SV and the FZ-6 are nice bikes and I think you could be happy on either. I don't claim to be expert on either one of these bikes, but I have been helping my son make this decision as well. He is shopping for his first bike and I have ridden since I was eight years old. That was a looong time ago.

First, I would like to say that no bike is perfect. Including these two. Still, I think both these bikes are excellent choices. I truly believe most beginners could ride either one of them safely, assuming of course they could ride any bike safely. I am just saying I wouldn't be afraid of either bike as being too much to handle with a little common sense.

Now I'll give you my takes on these two bikes.

Out of the box, the FZ-6 is more comfortable to me, and it would be for most people I think. The SV is not bad, and there are things that can be done to make it better, but I still think for comfort, the FZ-6 wins.

Power. Both bikes have enough to make you happy. The FZ-6 has more top end, but the SV has greater torque and it makes the torque over more of its operating range. So, if you are looking for top end, the FZ-6 has it. For power in tight corners where you want to accelerate, the SV is probably better. Guys who ride much better than me tell me they are faster on the SV than on the FZ-6 when corners are involved. They also tell me that you can make the SV handle much better for about $100 in parts.

Since, speed is not a major issue for you, I think this is a wash and either bike would please you in the speed and power arena.

Practicality (spelling?). You can put bags of various types on either. Again a wash.

Reliability. Both very reliable. Again a wash.

Are you getting the picture here? Both are nice bikes. My son chose the FZ-6 because he liked the looks of it better (he really liked the pipe under the seat) and because it was more comfortable to sit on. If one of the bikes gets your heart going when you look at it, that should not be ignored. Sit on them. Ride them if you can find a way, our local dealer didn't allow demos on new bikes and they didn't have a used SV or FZ-6 on hand. And then buy the one that makes your heart sing.

Enjoy
Dan

 

[Mattberkshire]

FZ6's got a centrestand. Makes it a whole lot more practical

 

[DynaSport]

FZ6's got a centrestand. Makes it a whole lot more practical

I agree. But don't buy one of these bikes based on a centerstand. It is easy enough to add one to the SV.

TwistedThrottle.com : SW-MOTECH Centerstand (Suzuki SV650S / SV650N, '03-) - HPS.05.219.100

Truly, I am not pushing the SV. I think the FZ is a great bike. I think my son made a great decision. But I don't want you to make a decision based on something as easy to fix as the lack of a centerstand.

 

[paul1149]

Dan, thanks for your comments. When faced with a decision I often will try to atomize the issues to get to the bottom of things. But what I'm finding here is that tradeoffs have to be made. The question becomes one of prioritization.

My original attraction was to the FZ6. It seemed to have it all. It was the reports of twitchiness that began to scare me. But testimonies like MartMan's at http://www.600riders.com/forum/12702-post40.html mean a lot. And I understand Yamaha reworked the FI in '07.

I like the looks of the SVS, maybe better than the FZ. But the aggressive posture is a big problem. The Versys has good posture, but its looks are a bit much to take; same for the Strom, in a much different way.

When I reach an impasse I find the best thing to do is let all the information simmer and mature, like a good stew. Lately I've been looking at pics of the FZ again. For some reason, it's still the one, it seems.

So I'll give it some time. Probably a couple of months from now is the best time to buy, and hopefully I'll have more free cash then too.

BW,
p.