Quote:
Originally Posted by kerriffic
I agree on the sv650. It was the first bike I bought when I got my licence 10 years ago, and I'm still driving the same bike. I have thought about upgrading it a few times,but I always decided against it because as others have mentioned its a great bike with enough power when you need it. The one thing I did upgrade on it and would strongly recommend would be the front fork (shocks), it may have changed on the newer sv's but the ones on the old bikes were crap.
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To me that is the big thing. Ninja and CBR 125's and 250's are terrible starter bikes IMO. There is nothing more terrifying than being out of power passing on an undivided 2 lane highway. Those SV bikes always have enough on tap, but again, not so much that you are going to hit 300 KPH like on a Hayabusa. Great low end grunt, and just enough top end restriction to keep you honest. Also dirt frikkin cheap to fix.
As far as ABS goes, I have ridden bikes with it, and personally, I don't like it. But I have been riding for 22 years, so it is tough to break old preferences. I am sure if I was new to the sport, I would probably get it though.
And like others have mentioned, buy used the first go around. Odds are you will have a minor crash, or you'll drop it, etc.... and it stings a lot less on a bike with a few nicks and scratches already. My first bike (86 Suzuki GS550ef) was missing the fairings and mirrors on the left side, so it worked out well when I dumped it on the right the first time I took it out...lol.