Bandit 600 or sv650

jap gt

As the title says, which would ye recommend as a first bike, bandit 600 or sv650

KonFusion

jap gt wrote: »

As the title says, which would ye recommend as a first bike, bandit 600 or sv650

Ride both if you can, pick what you prefer.

The sv650 is generally considered rock solid.

Max Headroom

KonFusion wrote: »

Ride both if you can, pick what you prefer.

The sv650 is generally considered rock solid.

and sounds better....:)

D3V!L

KonFusion wrote: »

Ride both if you can, pick what you prefer.

The sv650 is generally considered rock solid.

And a Bandit is well........

a Bandit :rolleyes:


Get the SV

Idleater

Having driven both, and both of the litre variants, I have to say I prefer the sv. The 650 handled the restricted ecu very well. The only problem with the 1000, is that it made me want to progress to a Ducati.

jap gt

Im swayed more towards the sv to be honest, few of my friends are saying go with the bandit as its more suited to a beginner bike

arybvtcw0eolkf

SV all day. I've ridden both a lot, the Bandit in particular (we used them in work).

The only thing the Bandit has going for it imo is the amount of bling parts available, that aside I could never see what people were attracted to them. They were never popular with us in work.

The SV is a lovely little motor, I really can't fault it. Are you looking at the curvy or pointy?

MSVforever

None of these. Get a hornet 600
I had a bandit 600 when I started which was grand. However the SV 650 has a nice v twin engine with a good bit of poke.
A mate has a XJ6 diversion which is also a nice motor.

jap gt

Rose Numerous Steel wrote: »

SV all day. I've ridden both a lot, the Bandit in particular (we used them in work).

The only thing the Bandit has going for it imo is the amount of bling parts available, that aside I could never see what people were attracted to them. They were never popular with us in work.

The SV is a lovely little motor, I really can't fault it. Are you looking at the curvy or pointy?

Looking at a black curvy

Gorgeousgeorge

Id second the honda hornet 600. Far better bike than the bandit. Post 99 with the 17 inch front wheel

arybvtcw0eolkf

jap gt wrote: »

Looking at a black curvy

The curvy is lovely, my preferred SV tbh. They've an old school racer feel to them, sound fantastic too. I love the dials too.

Only thing I don't like, and their week point is their front brake. I've never rode one which didn't have spongy brakes.

Another is they're prone to rain entering the front cylinder, but a front fender extender should solve that. There is a drain hole from the front plug to the base of the cylinder but that's easily blocked. I think you can buy a better insulted front HT lead.

The curvy is old enough now to have had any problems with dampness effecting the front cylinder to have been rectified.

But a lovely, lovely bike and very easily serviced.

Take off the rear grab rail off to really clean up the lines at the rear, its just two bolts under the rear seat.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

Id second the honda hornet 600. Far better bike than the bandit. Post 99 with the 17 inch front wheel

Yea, but the Hornet is a poxy looking thing.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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Idleater

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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Think that's stock s model fairing. I had the n model which has renthal style bars and mirrors. I added a fly screen.

My 1000 was fully faired.

jap gt

Im 90% for the sv, i wont be commuting etc just spins out on a sunday/ odd fine day, I reckon it will be more fun

arybvtcw0eolkf

jap gt wrote: »

Im 90% for the sv, i wont be commuting etc just spins out on a sunday/ odd fine day, I reckon it will be more fun

Depending on your budget, but don't ignore a good cheap pointy either.

They're a little faster, and don't suffer with the front cylinder fouling like the curvy.

Same engine as the DL650 Vstrom so they're rock solid.

My perference for the curvy is just down to the old racer feel that I think it has.

But the pointy has a far better engine.

jap gt

Rose Numerous Steel wrote: »

jap gt wrote: »

Im 90% for the sv, i wont be commuting etc just spins out on a sunday/ odd fine day, I reckon it will be more fun

Depending on your budget, but don't ignore a good cheap pointy either.

They're a little faster, and don't suffer with the front cylinder fouling like the curvy.

Same engine as the DL650 Vstrom so they're rock solid.

My perference for the curvy is just down to the old racer feel that I think it has.

But the pointy has a far better engine.

Budget is tight enough but I will look at a few bikes before i decide, any issues to check for besides front cylinder

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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Goose81

Bandit is faster? Get the bandit those sv are terribly slow yokes

gonko

The SV with the V twin is very twitchy at slow speeds. Lots of torque and power though. I've the SVS curvy as my first bike, still have it, and it is a lovely bike, enough power to get up to silly speeds very fast....bit it is very jerky at slow speed control and engine breaking is severe. I've almost locked the rear a few times.
I wouldn't say its beginner friendly, but if your careful, a beginner can get on with one. I find you need to be mentally switched on just to manage the thing, never mind the traffic. I hope this makes sense.

arybvtcw0eolkf

gonko wrote: »

The SV with the V twin is very twitchy at slow speeds. Lots of torque and power though. I've the SVS curvy as my first bike, still have it, and it is a lovely bike, enough power to get up to silly speeds very fast....bit it is very jerky at slow speed control and engine breaking is severe. I've almost locked the rear a few times.
I wouldn't say its beginner friendly, but if your careful, a beginner can get on with one. I find you need to be mentally switched on just to manage the thing, never mind the traffic. I hope this makes sense.

Are you talking about an SV650 or an old 500cc GP bike?.. :P

I've rode a few SV's, and had a DL650 (same engine) and never had those issues.

My son learned to ride on an SV too (curvy)

gonko

Rose Numerous Steel wrote: »

Are you talking about an SV650 or an old 500cc GP bike?.. :P

I've rode a few SV's, and had a DL650 (same engine) and never had those issues.

My son learned to ride on an SV too (curvy)

It's a great bike, but it's not smooth as such. The on and off throttle at low speeds can be kinda jerky. Seems to be a characteristic of the bike. Lots of threads online about it too.
Great bikes but do need some effort I find. I still find it a bit awkward sometimes.

arybvtcw0eolkf

gonko wrote: »

Great bikes but do need some effort I find. I still find it a bit awkward sometimes.

That's a bit mad, but I'll take your word for it that you're finding the SV an effort.

Gorgeousgeorge

Rose Numerous Steel wrote: »

Yea, but the Hornet is a poxy looking thing.

True and is on the small side if you are a long fellow. Still a much better bike than the bandit 600. Cant really coment on the sv650

arybvtcw0eolkf

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

True and is on the small side if you are a long fellow. Still a much better bike than the bandit 600. Cant really coment on the sv650

For sure if the choice was between the Hornet and the Bandit, I'd go with the Hornet all day.

I had a loan of a Hornet 900 for awhile, by fook that was a beast. I loved it.

MSVforever

It really depends on your budget and the style of bike you like. As I said the bandit was my first bike and it was grand for a short while. Initially I wanted to progress to a cbr600rr, gsxr 750 or a fireblade. I ve tried them out and they were great fun for an hour or so. However as I'm quite tall my comfort is more important to me and I bought a V Strom 650. Absolutely love the bike as it does everything in comfort and is great on ****ty surfaces in crappy weather. The only thing I'm missing sometimes are a few more horsepower. Maybe I'm getting 1000 or a Tiger 800 down the line.

aaakev

Had a 04 pointy for a year and it was a joy to ride. Mine had renthal bars which suited me and my driving style. The persone above who said they are terrible slow has either never driven one, driven a bad one or is comparing to litre bikes because they are certainly not slow. Mine did have some upgrades though and regularly held its own with 600 bikes.

The pointy does actually suffer from the front cylinder problem, happened to me a few times when it was wet and dirty out. I kept the bike clean and sprayed WD40 in the hole which did help and i also always had a couple of paper clips on my jacket because i found these the best thing to clear it if it happen.

Having driven both the sv and bandit the sv is far better, is faster and handles great. Not to mention thw spund of the v-twin is class! Ill try dig out some pics of my one, i miss it now im thinking about it!

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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frozenfrozen

I like mine. Its 35kw restricted so it's slow but still fun

aaakev

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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Is the SV the more powerful? Seen this mentioned a few posts back[/quote]
Myself and a mate had them at the same time, mine had a few mods and his was standard, another mate had the same year bandit and the sv were both quicker.

The driving position on mine was so comfortable with the straight bars, it was lile a different bike and was great for getting onto the back wheel

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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