That's interesting because the magazines report that the SV1000 is faster than the SH, but I've ridden one too, and it didn't seem so. The SV1K I rode was bone stock, and mine has a lot of suspension and minor engine work done to it, and it feels much faster than the SV650 and a little faster than the SV1K. Then again, my VFR750 felt fast until I bought a Hayabusa : )

'00 SH
1/4 Mile @ 11.47 seconds, 119.4 MPH

'03 SV1000
1/4 Mile @ 10.9 seconds, 126.2 MPH

'04 SV650
1/4 Mile @ 11.87 seconds, 110 MPH

 

Depends on where you look...motorcycle.com got I believe a 10.83 @127 out of a superhawk when it first came out, and cycle world mag got a 11.0 something @ 124 or 5. Like most Honda models that don't get updated they strangely seem to get slower as they get tested again in later years...

 

I was comparing the SuperHawk to being faster than the SV650S... I rode the SV1000S, but not hard enough to compare power, however I didn't like the feel of the SV1000S compared to the SV650S... The 650 was light, and felt good. The SV1000S felt like a damn cruiser in my opinion...

 

The Motorcyclist 11.47 ET for the VTR is bullshit. Either a trashed out bike or a really fat guy testing it.

The VTR tested by Motorcycle Consumer News ran a 10.95.

The one tested by Motorcycle.com ran a 10.83

 

"your mileage may vary" applies here, 'eh? lol

 

Take everything you read in Motorcyclist Magazine with a king sized grain of salt.

I've got a stack of their mags from the '80s. Bikes they tested with 5 or 10 less rear wheel H.P. and 100 lbs. more weight than the VTR typically ran 10.8 to 11 flat ETs. I don't know what their problem is, I wonder if they are just making **** up, but much of their "performance data" makes no sense whatever.

 

Well i have actually converted this SV650S to a handle bar SV650 setup for her as she liked the SV/S model but found the clip-ons to be uncomfortable. It is a blast to ride in an more up right position. As i have learned from rippin up the roads on my CRF450R Supermoto the clip-ons are for racing and getting down out of the wind, for us average street riders i think i am actually a better rider on a bar bike.

This little SV has a Power Commander tuned for the Full Micron exchaust and she purs. To me it is in between my SuperMoto and my VTR when it comes to handling and riding it.

Don't get me wrong, i have had my VTR since 2000 and it is part of my soul, but the SuperMoto i made street legal last year and riding this SV have really brought to the surfice how sluggish and crappy our beloved VTR handles. Yes the VTR has loads of power and mine runs top notch, but it's heavy at 423 lbs, where as the SV650S is 372 lbs and the SuperMoto is 232 lbs.

Power is great, but out TN back roads are tight, twisty and technical and speed and power are not that important.

 

I bought a 03 sv650s a year or so back. I paid a grand for it. It was mint but the carbs were clogged. I was excited to get the thing going .... but was dissapointed as soon as i did. Bike was a bit slow... i mean, it wasnt like walking slow but ive ridden smaller bikes that moved better... But then again at the time i had a 175 whp Busa.... so maybe i was a little critical.

 

Humm i am pretty sure the 03 model and later are FI bikes and have more power than the older carb units.

The reason i know this is her first bike was an 03 FI with this bikes PC and pipe. She lost it on the Skyway and the gaurd rail won the battle.

You must have had an 02 or earlier SV.

I agree the SV is not as poweful as the 1000 v-twins, however like i said our roads are tight, twisty with drastic elevation changes, so power is not as important as it might be in a more open road area.

 

perhaps 02, it was the older round body. I flip bikes so i only have them a few weeks at most. Would be hard to clean carbs on FI my bad. But the Supermoto looks awesome btw. Do people take these to track days? Its something i would like to get into (track racing). But bringing a beautiful street bike down with a good chance of falling would be horrible. But a super moto would be pretty forgiving i would think.

 

Wow I am suprized to read all of the comments above. About 3 years ago now I had a friend do some maintance to my shawk for me (shim the carbs) and a dyno run all for free.

He had my bike for 3 days in all. He gave me the keys to his SV650S. I had a ball with the bike. I thought that it had plenty of grunt for a 650 twin. I loved the fact that you could go full throttle and not have to worry about being over 100 mph, or flippin the bike.

I think that a SV650 is a great bike, and if I had the cash I would buy one and use it as a track bike. But at the moment I have other priorities.

I do recall thinking that the clocks look a bit cheap. Overall I was impressed with the SV.