VTR or SV1000S
 

Greetings,

I thankfully, just found this site and would really like some input from VTR owners as to why they feel the VTR is the better bike when compared against the SV1000S. Last year I sold my first bike which was a 2002 SV650S in Silver and I really regret selling it. I've since purchased a Roadstar cruiser and while fun to ride with the wife with it, I really miss having "fun" on a bike. When Suzuki first announced the SV1000S I thought, when I have the funds this could be the bike. Well, I've got the funds but I haven't decided which bike. I've posted a similar question on the SV1000 forum and have heard from the Suzuki supporters. I'd like to hear from the proponents of the VTR.

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

Just off the top of my head I'd say.......MONEY! You can get a VTR for a helluvalot less than a SV1000

2. IMO the Suzuki is an ugly@$$ bike but to each his own.

3. Honda vs Suzuki

Put the extra money you would have spent on the Suzuki into extra's on a good used VTR.

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

If we're talking new bike purchase only, I have to say the SV. Even tho' the engine is just as old as the VTR's mid-90's design, the rest of the bike is more in the 21st century. The engine did have some teething issues on the TLS when new but they have had a long time to fix them.

The 1000S is pretty sporty in the riding position; very close to the GSXR. The no longer available standard model without the fairing had an honest to goodness handlebar so you could easily and cheaply get the bend you wanted. I personally HATE the instrumentation. Oh well, the good thing about a liter twin is you don't have to look at the tach very much! 8)

I recommend you go to a nearby dealer and sit on both bikes, get a feel for how they fit you first.

SV1000 has fuel injection, while Superhawk is carbureted. I bought my F4i in 02 because it was the only 600 with fuel injection. Now that I am back on a carbureted bike, I prefer the throttle smoothness of it more.

I would recommend both bikes, so it is really your own decision.

Yeah, I'm looking at the same dilema. I have a 1998 Superhawk in NY, but am looking at picking up a bike to use in Hawaii. They want $10,200 for a VTR out the door and like $9000 for the SV. And it costs about $1750 to ship a bike from NY to Hawaii, which I'm not sure I want to do.

10,200 for a VTR !!!!:shock: Holy crud, thats like what you can get an RC51 for. Usually SHs are like 8000, if that. Retail is like 8999, and if you cant find one for alot less than that you aren't looking very hard. You, or that dealer, must have the RVT1000R(rc51) and the VTR1000f mixed up, cause that dosen't really make sense.

Nah, it makes sense. Hawaii is a pretty isolated market. They don't order bikes unless they think they're going to sell them, which means no last year's VTR waiting for close out. They said they can order a new one, but basically, $8999 plus freight, prep, and tax. And freight is a bitch to Hawaii, even though it is geographically closer to Japan, it means diverting a ship that would normally just go all the way to the west coast.

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

I'd buy a clean used Super Hawk and with the savings lay some pistons and cams in it for less than 700 bucks total if doing it yourself .

Stirs the soul when twisting the throttle and gives them some attitude :wink:

Would absolutely love to, but there are two Honda dealers on the island, both tell me they have never sold a Superhawk and have sold only about 4 RC51s since they came out.

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

I assume your on Oahu. Traffic there is insane but you know that. No real place for the VTR to flex its muscle. Maybe the freeway late at night.

Have you considered an SV650??? If you haven't, do yourself a favor and throw a leg over one. The front end needs firmer springs but other than that, they really rock.

That is my backup plan. I was just worried that after the VTR on the mainland, I wouldn't get too excited about the 650. Front springs I can fix, progressive's are like $100, and 2 hours to install (I did'em on a ninja and my vtr, big difference).

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

As I've mentioned before in these forums, my riding buddy owns an SV650 and we swap bikes often. Its a tough decision with no wrong answer.

I find his bike more comfortable and easier/fun to ride in traffic or tight twisties. However, on the highway there is no comparison, the VTR rules. What is surprising to me is how astonishingly fast the 650 accelerates up to 60ish. If my buddy catches me off the line, I have to really stand on it to catch him.

Still the difference in power keeps the VTR interesting. but....if you hardly get to drive on that freeway or through the pineapple fields, then I think the SV650 is a better fit.

No kidding? That's good to know. I would have thought off the line the SV would have suffered compared to the VTR. Is your buddy's bike stock?

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

I'm not saying the SV is faster, I'm just saying it goes like snot, way faster than it has any right to. All he's done is jetting and 2Bro's. Everyone that we ride with can't believe how fast it is. I think the best way to compare it would be in terms of cars:

SV is like a Mustang with a wrung out 302
VTR is like a well set up Camero with a 396

A lot of the people on this forum would choose it if they couldn't choose a vtr.

Also, the SV650 web site is unbelievable.

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

$10,2 is a lot of cash I picked up a leftover '02 shawk last year for $6500 at a dealer. The day i picked up my hawk they had some sv's in. i was lookn at the 650's for my wife i like the they feel when in riding position but never got to ride one the salesman told me if i ever got the chance to ride one of the sv's do so they will surprise you. If i could talk my wife in to getting one I could spend some time on one :( but unfortunately she dosen't want to part with her 250 just yet

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

yeah, i love the sv650 a ton also. My mom had one, and that thing was awsome. Its really quick to like 60 like yall said, but dosen't want to do much after that. I took it to the strip and was keeping up with liter bikes, and often could pull from 600s right off the line pretty good, until like half way when they passed me like i was standing still, managed like 12.4s with my big 240 ass, stock. Id prolly trade my vtr for an sv if i ever had the chance(and a grand or two ofcoarse, wouldn't want to give my bike away). Im not to fond of the S half faired version though, its loses alot of its fun charateristics(my bud has an 02 S model). They have a longer frame and taller gearing, more comfortable on the highway and what not, but just not as much of a thrill. Makes more sense to, cheaper gas miliage and isurance.

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

A friend of mine has a bone stock SV650S. It's fun but doesn't have near the stomp the VTR has. I really have to wind it up to get it going. Not as much as a 600 but there's no twisting it in 6th gear to pass like I can do on the Super Hawk.

The VTR's also much more stable in turns. Some equate that to slower steering and bad track times but neither one of us races. These are street bikes and his feels like a balancing act whereas mine's just a fluid lean and turn exercise. I can give it throttle or chop it at any point in a curve and it doesn't even shake its head.

It's so much more stable that he believes he would've kept the rubber down if he had mine in the situation that caused him to crash after being spooked by a tailgater 3 days after he bought the SV. I sort of feel bad for talking him into buying a smaller first bike but I'd hate to see what he'd do on his own the first time he gunned it in 1st gear on a VTR.

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

haha, prolly be dissapointed, i know i was :?

Which is the great SV board everyone is refering to?

Thanks,
Mike

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

I'm not sure. Probably SV650.org

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

nope. svrider.com

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

Other than my not liking what one hostile critic of the SV1000S referred to as ugly, "origami" (folded paper) styling, I would weigh practical matters and cost above all else. Since the all-in-one dealers tend to push the SV over the SuperHawk, I would lean almost-naturually in the direction of quazi-collectible limited production numbers for the US version of the VTR--as in the pre-2002 versions of the VFR--and would lean also in the direction of the much lower cost for the many left-over VTRs currently being purged from dealerships in favor of VTRs with the new color scheme (with gold powder-coated wheels). The comparatively low price of $6995 seems to be the going rate for left-over VTRs, and there are even a few '03 left-over VTRs out there that can be purchased for even less.

Though some motorcycle magazine editors clamour for an udated, fuel-injected VTR, another practical consideration to take into account is the real-world, old-school advantage of owning a carbureted motorcycle: You can bump-start the thing if the battery goes dead. With modern fuel-injection systems on motorcycles (as on the SV), bump-starts do not happen--the fuel injection system will not work if the battery is dead or falls below a given computer-monitored current rating. Specifically, if your battery dies, so does your ability to get home without making some sort of arrangements to either replace the battery or tow the bike home--before thieves make-off with it. The carbureted engine of the VTR also adds what I would argue is the most distinctive feature of the VTR: its pop-and-snort, bad-ass-sounding engine. (With the addition of aggressive-sounding slip-on exhaust and a jet kit, the world of VTR becomes a magical, rip-snorting place.) In a recent comparo of the "Best 50 Used Motorcyles", a VTR-converted editor noted that the VTR offers a distinctive "character-rich" engine (and that it is surprisingly affordable as far as used motorcycles
go).

Practical matters aside, the VTR is a nicely-styled, time-proven machine that owes more-than-a-little to that other, more famous, "Italian Red" V-twin sport bike. With an aftermarket lower fairing and stripped or polished wheels, the VTR is a real eye-catcher, as well as being a real ear-catcher. (Coincidentally, the other night, a young man who happens to own an SV1000S was admiring my VTR. His comment was "that's a very pretty motorcycle.") A Sharkskinz lower fairing and stripped or polished wheels add that little extra flash to the stock VTR's elegantly understated beauty. And, for the difference between the price a new SV and that of a left-over VTR, one could perform quintessential suspension mods (Penske shock, Race Tech fork springs, and Ohlins universal steering damper), allowing one to have a rides-on-rails motorcycle and still have enough left-over to pay for gas for many miles of agile fun.

Lastly, though the horsepower wars incline in the SV's direction, horsepower isn't everything, and one can always beef-up the VTR's engine by adding racing cams and forged pistons--even to the point where it could kick Ducati ass. :)

cheers,
-HotStreetVTR

Re: VTR or SV1000S
 

wow, very well written. Sounds like you should be sending column's into the mags.