[kairos]

I am planning to get a new - second hand - bike for everyday use but with the clear intention to attend as many track days as possible during the year. The budget is within 2.1K euro and so far I have seen few good bikes.

The real question is: keeping the above purposes in mind, would you recommend a v-engine (like a VTR firestorm for instance) or a 4 cylinder (more like a ninja or a gixer ) ?

I am very interested in your opinion especially -but not only- if you have track experience.

Cheers!

[PaulB]

I love me twins so Im probably bias.
The only thing I would say against a twin is they can be thirsty, my SP1 guzzles petrol. But apart from that I love twins, the firestorm is a great bike. You could probably pick up an RSV for that money too, I also had an Aprilia Falco it was a great all rounder bike, I commuted and did track days on it, same engine as the rsv but tuned for more torque.

[Tenmill]

[Darkcloud]

Blackbird's teh only man for ya





but seriously from listen about to folk who have done track days it appears that a V twin is the best option

[Tazzzie]

I was thinking of this yesterday actually. The last two weeks II commuted on the CBR till Friday afternoon and said feck it, I'll go home on the SV.

The difference is huge. The CBR can shift, there is no doubt about it, but its hard work, and it sounds like your screwing the ballax out of it (which in effect you are coz your at the top of the rev range, or reasonably close to it anyway)
The SV, it doesnt matter what gear, what rev range, you twist and the fcuker just shifts. Massive amounts of torque (which I probably why I cannot push start the bugger) just brings a BIG smile to my face.

I was thinking - if push came to shove and I had to get rid of one or the other, I'd be keeping the SV or getting rid of them both and going for another twin.

There my two cents.

Tazzzie

[speedmaster]

Im bias too the V twins are great. as Tazzy says They will pull and pull from any gear. Plus you get that SOUND THUMP THUMP THUMP

What more can I say

[proinnsias]

Twins (V or flat) for torque ... that get-up-and-go is addictive ... sure, the straight-fours are nice for top-end ... but the character is on the twins

The question you gotta ask yourself - do you feel lucky (are you out to race, and win?) or are you just out for fun ?

P

[nab301]

proinnsias, on 11 September 2011 - 01:22 PM, said:

The question you gotta ask yourself - do you feel lucky (are you out to race, and win?) or are you just out for fun ?

P

You answered for me too... Unless you're racing on kart tracks I'd go for the 4.

[BeerBaron]

Ive had a few twins over the years, Suzuki TLR's and an SV1K ... Fantastic bikes and the torque is amazing, I did track days on them , good fun. I had serious reservations of moving back to an in line 4 when i bought the GSXR1000K8 , hadnt owned an inline 4 for years. But the torque the gixxer makes is insane, and i love it. That said, i'd love to have an SV650 track bike !

[kairos]

At the moment he choice seems between an 00 VRT, a 96 Zx6R and an 00 SV650. Now The kwack holds 105bhp while the VTR 110bhp.
Little SV has only 73bhp....and yet I hear a lot of people suggesting it. But why ??

Please keep giving you opinion as it's much appreciated

[Tazzzie]

kairos, on 13 September 2011 - 05:23 PM, said:

Little SV has only 73bhp....and yet I hear a lot of people suggesting it. But why ??

Dunno, except for me (and having had a gsxr750) I find that for all of my riding - urban commute, motorway, sunday spin - that sv650 ticks all the right boxes.

Its not too heavy, full of torque, looks good, handles well, sounds fantastic.
Like I said, for me at least it ticks all the right boxes (that said, I did miss (and occasionally still) do the gsxXxr) and while the CBR600 is a brilliant machine, for me it lacks a bit of soul or character (or something).....

[Hatcho]

kairos, on 13 September 2011 - 05:23 PM, said:

At the moment he choice seems between an 00 VRT, a 96 Zx6R and an 00 SV650. Now The kwack holds 105bhp while the VTR 110bhp.
Little SV has only 73bhp....and yet I hear a lot of people suggesting it. But why ??

Please keep giving you opinion as it's much appreciated

Been a lover of v-twins my whole time biking. Started off on an SV650S (now Tazzzies) and am currently on my second SV1000S. With plenty of torque they pull from pretty much anywhere in the rev range so there's no need to be hammering up and down the gears to keep the revs high. The sound of a v-twin is pure savage - the rumble on the approach and the deep roar as it passes by is class. Inline fours tend be screamier and howl more (my opinion of course) and sometimes attract unwanted attention. Engine breaking on a twin is great too and can make smooth riding so easy to achieve. V-twins arent everyone's cup of tea but the popular ones are considered to be full of character and real fun to ride - especially in the twisty stuff!!

The SV650 is a crackin' bike. Nice n light, nimble, decent torque - these all up to a really fun to ride bike. Bang for buck its actually better than the thou' as the bigger bike is slower to turn in (steering damper) and is a wee bit heavier too. Little bike has less power but a lot more flickability. And wringing the neck off a 650cc bike it much more satisfying than using only 70 or 80% of a litre sized bike. If yer after fun in the twisty stuff instead of straight line speed you'll be well happy with the 650. If you can afford it, try to get a new 'pointy' model - they came out in '03. Have better suspension than the old model and are fuel injected instead of carb'd. Cheap enough to run too - insurance, consumables etc will all be well lower with the 650 compared to the Kwac or the VTR.

Just my (considerably biased ) 0.02c...

[evoblade]

Im a V-twin man too,love them in all shapes and sizes...having used a Vtr regularly i can safely say they are a fantastic bike but anything over 4k rpm and your tank range will be laughably low,the worst ive seen to a full tank(16 ltr tank model) is 83,i wont comment on speed but that was a fistful of throttle everywhere.The best ive seen is 126.2 completely opposite ends of the scale there,the higher mileage was cruising in 6th at 3k rpm or less...60mph! Heavy bike on tyres,will devour a rear tyre in very little mileage.

Still though a very addictive bike and i actually find it great for nipping around through traffic too.Check all consumables as they are heavy on them incl. discs,look for manual or at least updated cam chain tensioners too.

Sv 650's are good bikes,makes alot more sense economically,less fuel consumption,less wear and tear on consumables and only slightly shy of the horse power of the litre twins..........but if it was me i would be going Sv1000! The 1000 is a different beast altogether,much more torque,lovely low down power delivery,nice feel to the gearbox,but the real treat is the midrange,it just feels like it has all the power you'd ever need.Paint is very thin on the Suzi's though and it will show if it's left outside for any lenghty periods,forks stantions pitt badly too.

Long time since ive driven a Zx6 and last time it was a brief spin,more involving than a Cbr6 but i prefer the dependability of the Honda's.

In summary,if you don't mind filling the tank every other day,and short tyre life is viewed as smiles for your miles i would go with the Vtr

[Tazzzie]

Hatcho, on 13 September 2011 - 09:46 PM, said:

If you can afford it, try to get a new 'pointy' model - they came out in '03. Have better suspension than the old model and are fuel injected instead of carb'd. Cheap enough to run too - insurance, consumables etc will all be well lower with the 650 compared to the Kwac or the VTR.Just my (considerably biased ) 0.02c...

Ya Ballax. Should have said that before I bought your curvey

Love it to bits.

[Hatcho]

Tazzzie, on 23 September 2011 - 11:03 PM, said:

Ya Ballax. Should have said that before I bought your curvey

Love it to bits.

Ah, have to say I'm delighted she went to a good home . Loved that bike (and still do) and it's good to know she's being put to good use by someone who appreciates her despite all her little quirks (RegRec etc.!)

[Magnets]

Sv no question especially with trackdays in mind, way cheaper to run as they dont eat tyres like a,600 or litre bike and race/track parts are readily available. The twin will also bring on your corner speed.

Have a chat with gardenhero, he races one

[the bandit]

have you considered the honda vfr 800 fi (non vtec) nice growl from the V4. 108 bhp from an 800!

[Magnets]

the bandit, on 24 September 2011 - 11:01 PM, said:

have you considered the honda vfr 800 fi (non vtec) nice growl from the V4. 108 bhp from an 800!

..but pants on trackdays. Vfr800 is a cracking bike but as the OP said he wants it to be a track toy too the sv ticks all the boxes

[PaulB]

I had the older sv 650 and it was one of my fav bikes around mondello, nice light and loads of torque. Put on a race can and its sounds the bizz.