What bike? Help needed

BG1980

BG1980

BG1980

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Joined
25 Jul 2013
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648
I’ll give a bit of background first. I last owned a bike in 2005. It was a Yamaha FZS600s and I used it as my main mode of transport for 2 years. I rode it to work every day in all weathers until I crashed it on a cold January day, totally my fault as I was riding far too fast for the conditions.

After that crash and the gubbed knee and general pain it caused i decided to go back to the car world as I didn’t have the most self control at the time and didn’t want a repeat incident lol. I now have the itch to get a bike again as I have far more self control now, and a car for the rubbish weather. I’ve been looking at 2003-2010 VFR800’s as I’ve always liked them.

To decide if I still really wanted to do it I hired out an SV650 for the day. I was on the bike for all of 10 seconds before I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner!. The dilemma I have is that I have completely fallen in love with the SV650. It was just a great bike to ride and so easy to manoeuvre at low speeds. So should I be sensible and get a nearly new SV650 or an older VFR800? My only concern with the SV650 is will I get bored of it too quickly. I realise they are completely different types of bike.

I won’t be buying till the end of February or start of March next year so not in any rush.
 
I've had a gen 3 sv650 for a few years now. Great little bike, plenty power for most things, will you get bored, possibly but it depends what you want out of a bike.
I often think of swapping out for something bigger but always talk myself out of it as I don't need more than the sv.
Saying that I'll be letting it go to release some funds and having a break from bikes for a few years.
Which like you I may regret
 
I picked up a T reg SV650 off ebay a few years back, as the Wife didn't like to ride pillion on my Street RS, and it was a brilliant little bike! Felt low and long, whilst having a racy (compared to the RS anyway) riding position - the little V-twin also packed anough power to have safe fun on the road.

Sadly, for me, I couldn't really justify having the two bikes then - so sold it on at a loss, but it certainly was a great bike, and if I had kept it longer, it would have spent a bit of money putting the odd issue right.

If you're looking for a cheap return to biking, then the Gen 1 is perfect imo - though just be aware that most probably won't have lived a lavish life, so might need a bit of time and a few quid spent on them.
 
Thanks for the replies. I’ve got a budget of £4.5k so would be able to get a fairly new one. I am leaning towards the SV as I just loved the character of the engine. It’s got a decent amount of low down grunt which I liked.
 
Not sure of your location but I know of a black 2016 within budget that's available :D

In all fairness they are great bikes and a reason many people go down the sv route, whichever generation you pic along as its been looked after you should be good.
 
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Mickcas said:
Not sure of your location but I know of a black 2016 within budget that's available :D

In all fairness they are great bikes and a reason many people go down the sv route, whichever generation you pic along as its been looked after you should be good.
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If it’s still around at the end of February I’ll give you a shout :D
 
The SV650 is a wonderful thing but it's successor the Gladys might be slightly better. The VFR will be expensive if it needs a valve service and the VTEC versions are a bit on/off. I've got a Yamaha MT03 as a year round commuter and a tweaked Aprilia SL1000 for sunny Sundays.

I'm looking at chopping both in for a small car and an MT07.

If I wanted a bike to keep that won't get boring and doesn't have to go to work I'd want a twin/tripple <200kg, 100hp measured at the marketing dept, high bars, 17" wheels, ABS and a digital dash. Read some reviews and take test rides. :)
 
SVs are an iconic bike, but they haven't aged well. I would consider seeing if you can try a test ride on an MT07, or MT09 if you want a little bit power that you won't get bored of too soon. They're a more modern platform but are fundamentally similar class.
 
I'd recommend giving a street triple a go.

I had a 2005 SV650S as my first bike and loved it, then moved onto a CBR1100XX which I never really gelled with and now I'm on a Striple 675RX which I love.

It's got the light weight and flickability of the SV but with the extra grunt which was all I felt was missing from the SV, along with not being quite as budget in terms of brakes/suspension.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. I’ll definitely try to get some test rides when the better weather comes back then. I’ll add the MT07, MT09 and Street Triple to the list of possibilities.

If I could stretch the budget to the new MT09 then that’s what I would probably go for but I don’t think the wife will go for that one :p
 
tom_e said:
I'd recommend giving a street triple a go.

I had a 2005 SV650S as my first bike and loved it, then moved onto a CBR1100XX which I never really gelled with and now I'm on a Striple 675RX which I love.

It's got the light weight and flickability of the SV but with the extra grunt which was all I felt was missing from the SV, along with not being quite as budget in terms of brakes/suspension.
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great point, I forgot about the street triple. Great bikes!
 
Well after looking at probably hundreds of bikes I finally bought one today. I reserved it last week but made a 500 mile round trip today to make sure it was right for me. It’s a 2008 Honda VFR. Has 23k miles with a full service history and 2 previous owners.

It gets delivered on the 18th as I didn’t want to ride it back in this lovely weather. I only have a picture I nicked from the dealers website at the moment.

Now I can’t wait for the good weather.

yKZWeuy.jpg
 
500 mile round trip and still had it delivered? :p

I reckon that would have been a decent ride back depending on where you’re living.
 
Captain said:
500 mile round trip and still had it delivered? :p

I reckon that would have been a decent ride back depending on where you’re living.
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It would have been, but the weather was horrendous. It was heavy rain, windy and freezing so didn’t fancy it lol.
 
The SV is a great bike but is aged so the best bet there would be a good OLDER 2nd hand one in good nick. Better value for money.

VFR great bike very accomplished but not necessarily exciting.

The trick is to ride as many different bikes as you can and if you still love the SV - then buy one!
 
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