Advantages: Fast and Furious meets MR smoothie
Disadvantages: Not a lot

...I own a 2002 SV650s and i must say that the bike cant be praised enough in my opion. The SV650 is the new kid on the block and you wont go far wrong if you buy one.The SV650 is fast becoming one of the best middleweight bikes around and deservedly so. With the V at an angle of 90 degrees there is plenty of torque on tap and plenty of acceleration when required. The SV650 produces about 70BHP at the back wheel at it lays it on the tarmac with greatest of ease.The best part of the range is from 3rd gear thru to 5 th gear when you can really feel the bike getting the power down and hear the roar of the exhaust at full bore. The SV650 weighs 165kg(363lbs)so it is fairly light compared to other bikes in its class.The ground clearance is 140mm(5.5in)so you REALLY can get your knee down if you want. The SV650 is only 750mm(29.5in... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant first / budget bike, sporty all rounder, mid-range grunt, cheap
Disadvantages: Budget suspension, budget feel

...I passed my Direct Access test in 2002, and was looking for a newbie friendly bike to get some miles under my belt, and do the commuting to work. Having no prior experience, I needed a user friendly bike with a bit of poke to keep me interested. The logical choice was the Suzuki SV650. Dubbed by RiDE magazine as the best first bike ever, and lauded by many other mags as a great budget bike, I had to find out more. The bike is light 170kg, has 70bhp, and a good spread of torque from low down. It comes as a naked bike the SV650 and a half faired 's' version. These differ slightly in foot peg and handlebar positioning, the former having normal bars, the latter clip-ons and rear set pegs. Both have good ground clearance. I bought my SVs (half faired) used, a W plate with 8k on the clock. Over the next two years I put on 22k miles... Read review

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Advantages: Price, looks, power, easy to ride.
Disadvantages: Speeding tickets, you'll want another one to park beside it!

...After spending far too long admiring other peoples' motorcycles and wondering how great it would be to finally learn how to ride one myself, I decided this was the year I was finally going to learn to ride. Okay, seriously, I turned 30, almost had a nervous breakdown, and decided I needed a little more excitement in my life so I bought a bike. There, honesty works every time. After passing the local motorcycle safety course and getting my licence, I decided to research everything I could on a good first bike. Initially deciding to go with a Kawasaki EX500 (good first bike, nice handling, brakes, suspension etc.) but it looked a little out-of-date looks-wise. For about a $1,000 more I wound up getting a deal on a pretty blue 2005 Suzuki SV650S (Canadian model) from my local dealership. The bike is far more modern than the Kawi... Read review

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Advantages: Fast, Fun, Economical Silly plaything!
Disadvantages: It hurts if you get knocked off!

...... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, easy to ride, insurance friendly, great first bike
Disadvantages: Build quality, when you park it next to a 900 or 1000cc, you'll want rid

...As a 22 year old who has always been into biking i decided to do my full test last september. I passed 2nd time (had trouble with a u turn in the wet on 1st!) and set about looking for my first 'big' bike. On a budget of about £2500 i had a fair few choices - the insurance companies managed to cut these choices down to 3 or 4 for me! In the end it came down to a choice between a 51 reg SV650S for £2400 or a R reg Yamaha Thundercat for £2300. I rode both and for me, the SV won hands down - so i bought it! As a first bike, you dont have to worry about squeezing the brakes too hard and locking wheels (although they are good enough to feel safe) as its a V twin. This was my first V twin and i was impressed how easy it was to ride, barely any power was needed to pull away and the low down torque was unbelievable! It was easy to throw... Read review

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Advantages: Fast, reliable, economical, good looks
Disadvantages: you get wet when it rains :-)

...Bought this bike a month ago and i`m very impressed with it. Been running it in but couldn`t resist giving it a squeeze- and it flies!! Don`t have much to compare it to being my first bike but this is what i know- Gets 150 miles out of a tank that makes it about 50mpg. Handles really well. Taking corners faster than i do in my car already- this is the confidence it inspires in me. Don`t even feel i`m pushing it yet. Looks great. I got the blue one and it is always turning heads. A bit different from the sports bikes and better than a commuter. Very comfortable riding position. I`m 5'8" and it is the perfect size. Easy to get the head down when you need to. Wind isn`t that bad anyway even at 100mph. Hard to say what the 0-60 is but i kept up with my friend`s Nissan Skyline, so it can... Read review

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Advantages: Faster than a speeding bullet
Disadvantages: Where do I put me socks?

...to leather and accessory manufacturers mean post box red. Are you sitting comfortably? ------------------------------------- I'm not the tallest of women at 5'6", and I've struggled with bikes where the seat height has been stated as 805mm. I was on the balls of my feet most of the time with my Honda VFR (805mm) and my CBR (810mm). The lean angle against the tank on my SV650S (805mm) was so severe I struggled with tip toes. Then I discovered a Yamaha Fazer (780mm) with both feet flat on the ground, and then I moved on to a Ducati 748R (780mm), also a very nice flat foot on the ground position. So why oh why oh why - when its clearly stated in ALL reviews and magazines that the R1 has a set height of 833mm, should I be able to get my feet FLAT on the ground sitting astride it? The answer is simple, the seats on all of the other bikes (with... Read review

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Advantages: Great VFM new or used, heaps of performance
Disadvantages: Small poxy fuel tank, soft front end, clunky gearbox

...Why and how We bought our Hornet: After a 7 year 40,000 mile love/hate relationship with our big V-Twin, came to an abrupt end on Easter Sunday 1999 (total write off), We, bike-less with £4000 of insurance money and savings burning a hole in our pocket, were looking for something reliable, easy to maintain and preferably a half or no fairing as we were sick of spending hours removing the previous bike's panels just to check the oil level or spark plug gaps!!. Oh, yes, it also had to cruise at the 'Ton' 2 up and be fun to ride. We chose the Hornet because it looked great, the finish was better than its rivals (Fazer, Bandit, SV650), and the price at £3900 OTR (Tilsons of Stockton) was £500 lower than anyone else was offering locally. Handling & ride: Fun, Fun, Fun, this bike brought out the hooligan far more than any of the other... Read review

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Advantages: Wonderfully refined sportsbike, Looks ace, great comfort for a sportsbike
Disadvantages: Desirability, likelihood of theft, high insurance group

...hoped. If you want a bike that will get from A to B as quickly as possible and with the minimal fuss, then a 1000cc sports bike is what you want. But it's probably not the most exciting way of doing it. I reckon I'd have more fun on an SV650S. The R1 is so well engineered that the sensation of speed is lessened. 50 feels more like 30, 100 more like 70. Riding around town, it's easy to be enthusiastic with first gear (apparently this bike will do a ton in first), and find you're doing 50 in the blink of an eye. Riding this bike on UK roads almost feels a bit unfair. It's like introducing a car to a nation that still has horse drawn vehicles; it's just in another league. If you buy one of these, you absolutely have to take it on a track to get your money's worth, and get the desire to speed out of your system. Then you can ride nice... Read review

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Advantages: fast, light, cheap to insure and run
Disadvantages: lumpy at low revs, needs good tyres and regular servicing

...brakes. Newer EX500 D models from 1994 have 17" wheels and all round disc brakes and better styling. The latest EX500 E model from 2002 comes with Dunlop K275 tyres, twin front disc brakes and twin horns. This bike has been around in various forms for almost 20 years. Its proven, tough and reliable. The engine is plenty beefy enough. It out accelerates a Porsche and up to 100mph nothing much on 4 wheels will keep up with you. The GPZ kicks out 52rwhp placing it ahead of its main rival - the Suzuki GS500. The porky new 186kg Honda CBF500 puts out 56rwhp, but doesn't have a fairing. The GPZ can be easily boosted to 56rwhp and the weight dropped to 172kg with a few simple modifications which are described below. A brand new 169kg Suzuki SV650S only puts out 72bhp, which may explain why I can keep up with them so easily! The handling is fine... Read review

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