Ride comparison: Superhawk vs. SV1000
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SuperSport
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 987
From: San Diego, CA
Ride comparison: Superhawk vs. SV1000
I swapped bikes with a friend on Sunday who rides an SV, and rides it well. We swapped for about 1/2 hour at most, on the way back through the canyons from Palm springs.
He was hesitant at first, but afterwards he was very impressed with the Hawk. He thought it was much much lighter than his SV, based on its maneuverability and turn in. He didn't believe me that the Hawk is actually slightly heavier.
Personally, I think steering on the SVs feels very heavy. I've had the same impression when I rode a 650. It changed my mind about wanting one. He would kick my butt in the turns regardless of which bike, but that's because he's just a more skilled rider than me.
The SV all around was much tighter, brakes, throttle response, clutch, probably in part due to it being about 8 years newer and injected. Shifter felt about the same.
The gearing felt much shorter than the Hawk. I kept searching for a 7th gear after I got up to speed. I like the gear spread on the Hawk, it suits the broad powerband better.
The SV seems to run much rougher than the VTR, more vibration through the seat and bars. I might be wrong though, the quiet stock exhaust makes you notice all those things more.
The SVs exhaust crowds the heels a bit, but it has nice big plates on the front sets to dig the side of your heels into, better than the Hawk's. Riding position felt fine and gave me enough room to move around, unlike the RC51.
The SV is faster, maybe 10%. When I was riding his SV, he couldn't keep up with me on the straights. I assumed he was just babying it, but later he said he was wide open up to 9000rpm through the first few gears.
He didn't like the stiff suspension on the Hawk either. That's one thing I'd like to correct on it. I start feeling queasy when the back end starts skipping over bumps in the turns.
At the end of the day, if both were sitting side by side in a dealership with the same price tag, I'd still take the Hawk home.
He was hesitant at first, but afterwards he was very impressed with the Hawk. He thought it was much much lighter than his SV, based on its maneuverability and turn in. He didn't believe me that the Hawk is actually slightly heavier.
Personally, I think steering on the SVs feels very heavy. I've had the same impression when I rode a 650. It changed my mind about wanting one. He would kick my butt in the turns regardless of which bike, but that's because he's just a more skilled rider than me.
The SV all around was much tighter, brakes, throttle response, clutch, probably in part due to it being about 8 years newer and injected. Shifter felt about the same.
The gearing felt much shorter than the Hawk. I kept searching for a 7th gear after I got up to speed. I like the gear spread on the Hawk, it suits the broad powerband better.
The SV seems to run much rougher than the VTR, more vibration through the seat and bars. I might be wrong though, the quiet stock exhaust makes you notice all those things more.
The SVs exhaust crowds the heels a bit, but it has nice big plates on the front sets to dig the side of your heels into, better than the Hawk's. Riding position felt fine and gave me enough room to move around, unlike the RC51.
The SV is faster, maybe 10%. When I was riding his SV, he couldn't keep up with me on the straights. I assumed he was just babying it, but later he said he was wide open up to 9000rpm through the first few gears.
He didn't like the stiff suspension on the Hawk either. That's one thing I'd like to correct on it. I start feeling queasy when the back end starts skipping over bumps in the turns.
At the end of the day, if both were sitting side by side in a dealership with the same price tag, I'd still take the Hawk home.
Last edited by CentralCoaster; Feb 25, 2009 at 08:36 PM.
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 243
From: Toronto, Ontario
yea, the guy i ride with all the time has a black sv1000 and i love the way it looks from the back...
im faster in first 2 gears but thats because SV comes with the Timing Retard to try and keep the wheel on the ground in the first few gears. Its not just u that say the SV is a rougher running bike...
but i'd still like to have one
im faster in first 2 gears but thats because SV comes with the Timing Retard to try and keep the wheel on the ground in the first few gears. Its not just u that say the SV is a rougher running bike...
but i'd still like to have one
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