Always been a fan of Moto Guzzi......Just like the look, sound, pedigree.

Never riden one, but would jump at the opportunity.

 

Rode numerous cruisers (Star, Suzuki, Victory).... *yawn*
Also tried a 1098S... wow! Went to the 848 track launch in Spain... wow! Spent a fair amount of time aboard an RC8 last Fall... awesome bike, best of the lot!

I also rode a Varadero (nice do-it-all bike, but heavy and high cg).

 

Hello Mikstr,
You are a lucky guy. You ride the best V-TWIN around... What is your secret...

On my side I owned the Tl1000s. Killer motor... great handling whit a great set-up.Whatch out for head shake... Need a stearing damper. The mechanic is more fragile then the VTR. Frame are craquing...

My other twin was the RC51. Verry reliable and solid. Poor injection (SP1). Verry, verry stable bike when pushed hard... The motor is not as great then the tl1000s (More linear).

 

I was editor of Moto Journal magazine (sister publiction of Cycle Canada).... Recently resigned to return to the snowmobile industry.

 

my other bike was a ducati monster 900. Good power for the street and a ton of fun if setup properly.

Father has a Buell xb9r. VERY fun in the twisties but redlines so early. What did you expect?

Kawi 650r. Pretty fun, light and nimble. But doesnt have that v twin torque

Built Duc 900ss. Same motor as my monster just a meaner powerband

 

loads of cruisers, sv 650s of several years & generations, Dad's old BMW etc.

 

Ridden and owned VTR1000F's (X8), SV650's (X4), SV1000S's (X2), TL1000S, TL1000R, XB12R, Monster 600, Monster 750, Monster 900, and an RC51. Still, I love VTR's the most, although the Monster 900 was REALLY cool too.

 

I own and still ride a 1997 Yamaha V-Max and just recently rode the KTM Super Duke, which has my mind say's you must have.

 

ridden bothe size SV's, my wife's GS500, my first bike was a GS450. so given my experience, it shouldn't be a surprise that the hawk is by far my favorite. its torquier than the sv's, and faster than all of them. and looks better too.

 

I raced a Hyosung 125cc V-twin cruiser modified to be a class beater.
Drug the pegs and frame so much the bike fell apart.
Decided that the Hyosung 125 was no match for the VTR.

 

Made a few passes at Firebird a buddies Buell xb12 with NOS. It was a pretty sweet ride. It was my first time on a vtwin sportish bike.

Traded back and forth on a cruise with my friends Duc 1198s. Nice enough that I'll be buying a base 1198 around the end of this year.
________
Iolite Vaporizer Review

 

For those of you who have ridden the SV1000 and still prefer the SH, I'm wondering what it is about the SH that you prefer. Most of the reviews in moto journals give the SV a leg up, with more power and better handling ... your thoughts?

 

Before buying the 1198, you may want to give the RC8 a close look (especially if you plan to ride it on the street)...

 

where have you seen a review in which the SV has a leg up? every review I've ever seen with the two of them always has the hawk as the favorite. but regardless, me personally, well, the hawk was faster, it turned in easier, felt smaller, pulled harder from low speed, and was geared taller( at 100mph on the hawk I'm in the middle of 4th. on the SV, it was 5th). I know the newer versions are supposed to have a hp advantage but damned if I could tell. when you kicked it in the guts, I wasn't impressed. I don't care what the stats say, the hawk pulled harder. noticably so. and as for better handling, that's just plain wrong. I've seen several reviews where that was one of the specific issues where the reviewers were surprised that they prefered the hawks handling since the SV was so much newer.I believe that review also had a buell in it too. and they were at the Isle of Man. can't remember which mag it was. the sv was smoother at slow speeds and low rpm, which I attribute to FI. and it did feel more stable, but that wasn't always a good thing. it also felt very tall, and just big. not fat, like a tl, but big. oh and compared to the hawk it looks like a silver robot took a dump. that was my impression.

 

For V-twins besides the VTR I have recently ridden:
Hawk 650 - Perfect balance and enough power for fun (especially for my wife). Looks great.
RC8 - Best bike I have ever ridden, but too track focused for me.
Super Duke - Increadibly easy to ride fun street oriented bike. A tad bit soft though. Might be the next bike I buy, or the naked RC8 Venom?
Various Buells - Viiiiiiibes! Build quality issues. Fun as hell though.

The SuperHawk is just right for Duc hunting!

 

The main thing besides the SV wanting to shake its head into and out of corners all the time or feeling larger and heavier, is the simple fact that its a suzuki.
Im not going to bash brands here, but suzukis have always used the cheeziest metals and other materials. You wouldnt know this on the surface if you never work on them.

 

i had a Aprilia Mille for a short while,very pricey to maintain,was a real good bike,very fast.

i had a tl1000r for a while at the same time as the superhawk.the tl was faster than the hawk,much,much more stable at high speed riding and cornering,and the exhaust was much deeper and better sounding than the superhawk.parts were more avalible too.now i would never buy a tl again,ive never in my life had such a unreliable bike.i use to ride with a big group of tls,we would all overheat in traffic quickly,the starter relays would stick and stay engauged,the poor connections in the harnesses would make the bike stall,it ate clutches,fork seals would keep blowing out,the fuel injection system sucked.the superhawk is a better handling bike to me under 80mph than the tl.never had a problem with my superhawk,it always gets me home.unlike the tl where i had to always ride in the back of a truck on the way home

 

I can't produce a bibliography for you (it was a few years ago), but I have read reviews (yes, more than once - maybe the British mags?) giving the SV an edge in the categories mentioned. Ultimately I'm more concerned with whether the bike's right for me, but ...

 

My previous bike was an '88 Hawk GT. Loved every minute on it. Got me hooked on twins. The Superhawk was a natural progression. Now the wife has an SV650. It's just as much fun to ride 8.5-9/ths as the GT. I love not having to rev the snot out of the motor to start accelerating. I can remeber on my ninja getting caught in the wrong gear when everyone else in the pack would take off. Click, click, click, through the gears you go to get "on the boil". I don't miss that at all.

 

I went for a test ride day on Moto Guzzis once. Rode the touring version (california?) and it shook, rattled and was a complete slug. Waited for my turn on the 1100 sport one, only to be told "Sorry, its broken down"

Wasn't a good demo for guzzis. They are still beautiful bikes though

 

if you are trying to choose between a superhawk or an sv1000, I would suggest an sv650 instead. it has advantages that the 1000 does not, and it will still keep up with anything that the hawk will keep up with. well almost. the sv650 will turn on a dime, is light and flickable, and while it doesn't have as much hp, my buddy has one and when we did a track day together last summer, I couldn't lose him no matter what I did. it was his 2nd year on the bike. it was my 9th year on a streetbike. if I had the choice. I would get the 650 before the 1000. most of the good, none of the bad. or just get a hawk. the 650 can turn rings around the hawk. obviously you're gonna get a biased opinion asking this forum which they prefer. having ridden them both pretty hard, honestly, the sv1000 just didn't impress me. it didn't engage me like the hawk does. felt like I was driving from the back seat. not hanging off with the pavement inches away.

 

Yeah, when I've sat on SVs, the 650 specifically, I felt like it was 'cheap' (?) compared to other bikes, but they get a lot of respect I know.

I'm not looking to buy a new bike, just lookin' around - it's fun .... and free.

 

Softail, rigid chopper, Victory Jackpot...all nice and the Victory definitely was the best but cruisers still...

TL1000R- never really got a feel for it, big but nice power and sound
998- First twin/liter bike I ever rode, it was fast
SV650- pure fun, not sure if I would be happy with it f ull time though
Superduke- loved it. Stupid economy...next year
RC51- amazing, perfect to have parked next to the 'Hawk, most uncomfortable beast I've ever ridden though but it all comes together above 80mph
Superhawk- stock probably not all that impressive, but mine with springs, stabilizer, brakes, exhaust, etc. is by far my favorite. I can't get enough of it!
I sat on a SV1000 after carving corners for a couple hours on the 'Hawk and was not impressed. The suspension wasn't setup at all (this makes a huge difference on any bike and can make or break a first impression) and the pegs felt way too low. I've always liked the look and wouldn't mind stumbling on a wrecked one to fix up like I did with the RC but for now I'm holding out for a Superduke most likely next year. The Superhawk will never go away though.