The last month or two, since Wendy told me I was entitled to a lump sum army pension, and I should spend it on a nice bike, I’ve been on a journey. I was desperate for a modern sports tourer, like the Triumph Tiger Sport 660 or the Yamaha Tracer 900. But I looked into the stats and it’s marginal gains over an old Honda VFR750 and multiple times the price. Then my Triumph Bonneville started acting oddly in the wet and I knew it was time to move on. I saw a one owner, 12,000 miles, 1997 VFR750 for £2,250 and another with 20,000 miles but full stainless exhaust, and I’ve been flipping back and forth between them, as to which would be the perfect bike to have for the rest of my life.
The catch was I didn’t have £2k.
I’ve spent about 2 weeks fixated on getting my perfect VFR.
Then suddenly, a few days ago, I thought that once I’d got it it would just be a boring, utilitarian, workhorse. The bubble of my obsession burst.
I don’t know. I don’t make the rules. If I understood I’d be able to actually see which is the perfect bike for me, buy it once, and be happy for the rest of my life.
Anyway, because I’m not a quitter, I soon found a new obsession bike. The Suzuki SV650s.
It’s not that pretty and it’s only a 73bhp, but it’s a V twin so the power is instantly available, it has a fairing, they are renowned for being ridiculously agile through the bends, it’s 40 kilos (88 pounds, 6.29 stones!) lighter than the VFR. And it has fuel injection. Another biggie. And literally half the price. There’s one for sale now, 2004, 22k miles, for £1,100.
For that kind of money I can definitely give it a go.
The real kicker is the sound. Just listen to this. This was a guy who had just fitted the exhaust that’s on that particular bike.
Oh wow, indeed.
It’s not without it’s downsides. The engine and all the nuts and bolts are very exposed, so in the winter, with salt on the roads, it can quickly go furry or rusty. I’ll have to clean it and replace what I can with stainless. It’s only good for about 125 mph or so. And the suspension is budget. (The latter is a cheap fix with second hand bits from full-on sports bikes.)
I’ve already done Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this week at work, if I get Friday and Saturday (the days I’m supposed to be available) that will be enough for me to buy the SV650s.
I’ll also need to buy a rack and box and some heated grips.
This could be the bike I learn to get my knee down on!
It’s supposed to an absolute hoot to ride. MCN love it.
Exciting times.