I have been riding for 52 years and have owned scores of bikes. I have crossed country 3 times and done pretty much everything else that can be done on them, and none of them were over 800cc. Currently, only 3 bikes reside in my garage - an SV650, a DL650 V-Strom Adventure model, and a 250cc dirt bike. And I do not feel a need for anything else.
@@fuglbird I have two grown sons who grew up on bikes and ride with me occasionally. Both currently live in apartments and don't have a place to keep a bike, nor the extra $$$ to plunk down on one at the moment. So the SV650 serves mostly as a buddy bike. ...And by the way, There is a really good chance that you spent more for your single bike than I did for all 3 of mine.
@@fuglbird I think we always need three motorcycles: a sportbike/hyper/track bike, a dual-sport bike, and a dedicated dirt-bike/flat-tracker. The type of riding is so different that one cannot use one bike for all three.
I recently grabbed an almost new 650 in aus. Yeah the seat is hard, especially when you first encounter it. But 600km into the ownership and I don’t even notice it. Turns out to me a non issue. The steering angle is quite shallow, but you can still pull a 16-17ft u-turn. If you’re moving it around the garage then get used to balancing it on the side stand to pivot the bike.Throttle is snatchy, but you will overcome that with finer inputs. Personally I find it to be the best looking of the middle weight nakeds. And yes it is just amazing value.
I don't find the throttle snatchy at all. Actually I find it very, very calm and nice. I guess I have an advantage having ridden motorcycles for 51 years now.
Great video,I own both a SV650X & a 2008 SV650S K8 & agree with everything you said.I bought the 650S as a cheap winter hack bike but when the summer arrived I kept riding it I like it so much that I decided to buy a new SV650 for some long tours in continental Europe & Norway,they don't make the Gen 2 bike's anymore so.I bought the 650X for £5000 brand new zero miles,absolute bargain at that price! Of the two,the K8 is my favourite as it's lighter,& the seat's more comfortable.If they still made the K8 bike I would buy a new one in a heartbeat. I fitted normal handlebars to both of my bike's from Top Yokes UK,make's the K8 all day comfortable,the 650X needs the seat upgrading...
Try a neat trick to scare pedestrians: When you ride, press on the red ignition off switch for 1-2 sec and them immediately press on it again. 😂😂🤘🤘 When you time it right, you are right in front of the pedestrians.... 😬😬😂😂
I own a GSX 8S and also had a SV650 quite a few yrs ago. Comparatively the 8S is a better bike but IMO the overall rider experience and enjoyment level are pretty similar. Here in the US better deals actually favor the 8S so it would be hard to recommend the SV as a better choice but if you can save some money going with the SV where you live you'll not be missing out on too much. Both are super fun bikes and there's definitely a reason the SV650 has hung in there for the past 25 yrs!
One of the reasons manufacturers are all going to the same engine layout is the Euro 5 limitation. This makes it harder and harder to create engines with different layouts, 4 cilinders are becoming less and less, really sad. But still, this is a 2 cil, so they could figure out a way how they could do it
been looking into the sv650 for over a year now. These seem to not drop in price at all compared to the other japanese brands. these dont go below 7k USD (my currency sucks + the tax) while the others go as low as 5k. Finally picked up one a few months back. been happy with it thus far. A nice v twin that is super reliable and fun. Parts are abit a pain in the butt to find but they rarely break down.
Hi Rick, what would you do with budget around 6500 euro? SV 650 second hand for around 6000? You get something with 14k km on the counter and more recent build year. Or a new Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 € 6800 (price in NL) or Triumph SPEED 400 € 6.995 (price in NL) or a very used SV650 for 3000 euro with lots and lots of KM on the counter. Purpose: Ride to work. In weekend drive around town. Don't like high speed. Love acceleration.
@@ghodan77 interesting question, if it's just for riding to work and around town I would probably lean towards a used SV, especially if you're going into the big cities like Ams or Utrecht where there is a high chance of your bike being damaged or even potentially stolen 😬 that being said, I hear the speed 400 is an excellent Round Town bike, and I imagine the same would go for the Guerilla. Maybe also look at an older (660cc) MT-03. My friend had one for light commuting and round town work and he loved it! Loads of torque and braaps :)
I've ridden motorcycles since 1973. I bought a 2018 SV650 in May. I've ridden 9000 km on it averaging 28 km/l. At that price I would not consider the Royal Enfield or the Triumph at all.
Might be me, but looking at all the new middleweight 'beginner' naked bikes, the SV650X might be one of my favourites. It's just a really nice blend of decent performance, charming image, no technological riff-raffs and great value! Who cares about a big TFT dash, multiple settings and telephone integration on a middleweight naked? These bikes should be designed to just get you riding. But then again, no-one should care about 130+ horsepower bikes for the street but everyone and their mother wants a Ducati V4...
Hi Did you buy it with the "Normal" handlebar? or did you do the conversion yourself? (or with the help of a Mechanic?) I have an opportunity to buy the X, but it has the original Clip-ons which I don't like, I asked a mechanic how much will it cost me to replace the Clip-ons to a regular bar (Like yours) and he told me it will cost 1000€ ± (or 700 € ± if i find used parts...) ( I live in Israel, Prices here, especially everything that is car/Moto' related are ridiculous). Although I talked with another guy on Facebook that made the conversion by himself on an old SVS, and he told me that the price the mechanic told me is absolutely ridiculous and it should cost 1/3 of the price he told me. anyway, any info would be welcomed. Thank you Nice bike:))
@@EladKorish Hi! The bike came with the normal handlebars so I'm afraid I'm not much help to you :( I don't know how much work it is to change the clip ons for the handlebars. Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@RickChardet Thank you BTW I've lived in the Netherlands for one year during the pandemic, the area that is filmed the Video isn't Amstelveen/amsterdam area is it? It reminded me the road from Amstelveen to Ajax Stadium... I'm wrong right? Probably half of the Netherlands looks the same :) canals and green grass! :)
No need for another exhaust. You sound like one of the small brats fuzzing about on their noisy illegal mopeds around here. A small windscreen is nice for long camping holidays.
You are still a Kid. Why have you already owned 3 MT-07s? Have you crashed them. Did the engines fail? What happened? I have had 4 motorcycles since 1973 and currently have a 2018 SV650. What went wrong with your Yamahas? Kids today change motorcycles more often than they change their underwear.
They are very popular for trackdays! However, for not much more you can get a GSX8S which has much better front forks, much better and smoother engine, and you get traction control. The GSX8S is the spiritual successor of the SV650, in my opinion. I did own an SV650 for about a year; I was unable to ride it much at all due to work. Interestingly enough, in the US I was unable to get a price of a GSX8S despite calling every dealer within a 150 mile radius so I bought a Yamaha XSR900 instead. Now the Yamaha has an interesting feature to it; a power control mode that allows the rider to set the output to about an SV650.
Where in the world did your brother find an X model with the same handlebars as the standard model? PS I got the SV650. Tried the MT-07 before buying the SV, and I think the SV is much better (and it's cheaper).
I have been riding for 52 years and have owned scores of bikes. I have crossed country 3 times and done pretty much everything else that can be done on them, and none of them were over 800cc. Currently, only 3 bikes reside in my garage - an SV650, a DL650 V-Strom Adventure model, and a 250cc dirt bike. And I do not feel a need for anything else.
@@ralphcantrell3214 sounds like a great line-up, and great adventures!
Why do you need three motorcycles? I never needed more than one. I know what I want. Do you live in Utah and have three vives?
@@fuglbird I have two grown sons who grew up on bikes and ride with me occasionally. Both currently live in apartments and don't have a place to keep a bike, nor the extra $$$ to plunk down on one at the moment. So the SV650 serves mostly as a buddy bike.
...And by the way, There is a really good chance that you spent more for your single bike than I did for all 3 of mine.
@@fuglbird I think we always need three motorcycles: a sportbike/hyper/track bike, a dual-sport bike, and a dedicated dirt-bike/flat-tracker. The type of riding is so different that one cannot use one bike for all three.
Pretend its an old school Ducati, but reliable. 😎
@@1969cmp yeah that's an important part 😂
I doesn't pretend anything. It just works.
Never had a SV. But always taught it was a great looking bike.
@@JamesMurphy-ry2mx it's a classic! Love the first gen
I recently grabbed an almost new 650 in aus. Yeah the seat is hard, especially when you first encounter it. But 600km into the ownership and I don’t even notice it. Turns out to me a non issue. The steering angle is quite shallow, but you can still pull a 16-17ft u-turn. If you’re moving it around the garage then get used to balancing it on the side stand to pivot the bike.Throttle is snatchy, but you will overcome that with finer inputs. Personally I find it to be the best looking of the middle weight nakeds. And yes it is just amazing value.
@@NakaNakaDerkaDerka glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for watching ✌️
I don't find the throttle snatchy at all. Actually I find it very, very calm and nice. I guess I have an advantage having ridden motorcycles for 51 years now.
Great video,I own both a SV650X & a 2008 SV650S K8 & agree with everything you said.I bought the 650S as a cheap winter hack bike but when the summer arrived I kept riding it I like it so much that I decided to buy a new SV650 for some long tours in continental Europe & Norway,they don't make the Gen 2 bike's anymore so.I bought the 650X for £5000 brand new zero miles,absolute bargain at that price!
Of the two,the K8 is my favourite as it's lighter,& the seat's more comfortable.If they still made the K8 bike I would buy a new one in a heartbeat.
I fitted normal handlebars to both of my bike's from Top Yokes UK,make's the K8 all day comfortable,the 650X needs the seat upgrading...
@@markfoster2033 thank you for your comment and for watching! Glad to hear you are still loving the sv platform so much 😄 Norway is beautiful :)
Bougth a 2002 one for 1000 EUR last year and still loving that 🙂And since its a pre-regulations model it grunts much more than newer versions.
@@ales_krejci nice!
Try a neat trick to scare pedestrians: When you ride, press on the red ignition off switch for 1-2 sec and them immediately press on it again. 😂😂🤘🤘
When you time it right, you are right in front of the pedestrians.... 😬😬😂😂
At that price I would keep yours. I'm sorry to disappoint you but the new ones have more power.
I own a GSX 8S and also had a SV650 quite a few yrs ago. Comparatively the 8S is a better bike but IMO the overall rider experience and enjoyment level are pretty similar. Here in the US better deals actually favor the 8S so it would be hard to recommend the SV as a better choice but if you can save some money going with the SV where you live you'll not be missing out on too much. Both are super fun bikes and there's definitely a reason the SV650 has hung in there for the past 25 yrs!
Thanks for sharing!
I like the small black windshield, where did you buy it?
@@giuseppelucibello4189 its from bowerbronze I believe
Always love your videos keep going broo
@@shuvamroy8636 thank you for your support!
One of the reasons manufacturers are all going to the same engine layout is the Euro 5 limitation. This makes it harder and harder to create engines with different layouts, 4 cilinders are becoming less and less, really sad. But still, this is a 2 cil, so they could figure out a way how they could do it
@@Bob-huisbaas yup, it's amazing Kawa was still able to make the zx4rr
If you had the choice of going for a MT07 or this again, what would you pick?
@@Bob-huisbaas mt07 for the looks, sv650 for riding :)
been looking into the sv650 for over a year now. These seem to not drop in price at all compared to the other japanese brands. these dont go below 7k USD (my currency sucks + the tax) while the others go as low as 5k. Finally picked up one a few months back. been happy with it thus far.
A nice v twin that is super reliable and fun. Parts are abit a pain in the butt to find but they rarely break down.
@@FitazeGaming interesting, sounds like the opposite of the situation here in the Netherlands. Glad you're enjoying it and thanks for watching!
Hi Rick, what would you do with budget around 6500 euro? SV 650 second hand for around 6000? You get something with 14k km on the counter and more recent build year. Or a new Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 € 6800 (price in NL) or Triumph SPEED 400 € 6.995 (price in NL) or a very used SV650 for 3000 euro with lots and lots of KM on the counter. Purpose: Ride to work. In weekend drive around town. Don't like high speed. Love acceleration.
@@ghodan77 interesting question, if it's just for riding to work and around town I would probably lean towards a used SV, especially if you're going into the big cities like Ams or Utrecht where there is a high chance of your bike being damaged or even potentially stolen 😬 that being said, I hear the speed 400 is an excellent Round Town bike, and I imagine the same would go for the Guerilla. Maybe also look at an older (660cc) MT-03. My friend had one for light commuting and round town work and he loved it! Loads of torque and braaps :)
I've ridden motorcycles since 1973. I bought a 2018 SV650 in May. I've ridden 9000 km on it averaging 28 km/l. At that price I would not consider the Royal Enfield or the Triumph at all.
@ So what you are saying is a good secondhand SV650 is a class above/way beter then a new Royal Enfield & Triump.
Might be me, but looking at all the new middleweight 'beginner' naked bikes, the SV650X might be one of my favourites. It's just a really nice blend of decent performance, charming image, no technological riff-raffs and great value! Who cares about a big TFT dash, multiple settings and telephone integration on a middleweight naked? These bikes should be designed to just get you riding. But then again, no-one should care about 130+ horsepower bikes for the street but everyone and their mother wants a Ducati V4...
@@MrBrutekracht well said ✌️ although the V4 street fighter is mighty sexy 👀
Hi
Did you buy it with the "Normal" handlebar? or did you do the conversion yourself? (or with the help of a Mechanic?)
I have an opportunity to buy the X, but it has the original Clip-ons which I don't like,
I asked a mechanic how much will it cost me to replace the Clip-ons to a regular bar (Like yours) and he told me it will cost 1000€ ±
(or 700 € ± if i find used parts...) ( I live in Israel, Prices here, especially everything that is car/Moto' related are ridiculous).
Although I talked with another guy on Facebook that made the conversion by himself on an old SVS, and he told me that the price the mechanic told me is absolutely ridiculous and it should cost 1/3 of the price he told me.
anyway, any info would be welcomed.
Thank you
Nice bike:))
@@EladKorish Hi! The bike came with the normal handlebars so I'm afraid I'm not much help to you :( I don't know how much work it is to change the clip ons for the handlebars. Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@RickChardet Thank you
BTW I've lived in the Netherlands for one year during the pandemic, the area that is filmed the Video isn't Amstelveen/amsterdam area is it?
It reminded me the road from Amstelveen to Ajax Stadium... I'm wrong right?
Probably half of the Netherlands looks the same :) canals and green grass! :)
@@EladKorish it is! Sharp eye ;) lovely road as well
@@RickChardet No way! Hilarious! Haha
Helemaal goed and Tot ziens! :)
@@EladKorish ❤️
Id definitely find a medium to small sized windshield for it. Like a cafe racer style windshield not too big though an exhaust as well and thats it
No need for another exhaust. You sound like one of the small brats fuzzing about on their noisy illegal mopeds around here. A small windscreen is nice for long camping holidays.
You are still a Kid. Why have you already owned 3 MT-07s? Have you crashed them. Did the engines fail? What happened? I have had 4 motorcycles since 1973 and currently have a 2018 SV650. What went wrong with your Yamahas? Kids today change motorcycles more often than they change their underwear.
Where did you buy your frame sliders?
@@GGsai4 they are from SW motech!
Where you from?
@@GGsai4 the Netherlands!
I like it, deal; of the century, people should buy six of these things just to always have one. Peace.
@@tymobyrne4451 hahaha love it!
where can we get that cowl?
@@lokeshkambam9416 the front fairing? I think it's from powerbronze
$13000usd in Asia
13k USD in Asia….
They are very popular for trackdays! However, for not much more you can get a GSX8S which has much better front forks, much better and smoother engine, and you get traction control. The GSX8S is the spiritual successor of the SV650, in my opinion. I did own an SV650 for about a year; I was unable to ride it much at all due to work.
Interestingly enough, in the US I was unable to get a price of a GSX8S despite calling every dealer within a 150 mile radius so I bought a Yamaha XSR900 instead. Now the Yamaha has an interesting feature to it; a power control mode that allows the rider to set the output to about an SV650.
Where in the world did your brother find an X model with the same handlebars as the standard model?
PS I got the SV650. Tried the MT-07 before buying the SV, and I think the SV is much better (and it's cheaper).
@@stefanhansen5882 No clue haha, but I've seen multiple X's for sale here with the stock handlebars. Glad to hear you're enjoying the SV!
@@RickChardet Strange. Not here. It's an awesome bike!
The SV 650X is a great bike. But then I made the mistake to test the new GSX 8S……..
@@sven5133 I haven't tried that. However, I like low tech.