Used Bike Guide's review archive - SUZUKI

Used Bike Guide: Issue 179 : Sample Only : Buy this back issue

Written-off! I’ll take another

IT manager Alan Boden was going to be the main author of our First 5000 report on the SV1000S. We recruited him for the job at the Suzuki Day at the Ace Cafe on Sunday 3 August and arranged a picture session with photographer Martyn Barnwell. That's Alan's blue SV1000S on the front cover and on these pages.

Finding buyers of new bikes who actually clock up enough miles to provide useful ‘long term test’ tips and info for other would-be buyers is not that easy (see editorial page 5) but Alan looked set to deliver the goods.
He was putting in 65 miles a day to and from work and was out and about riding with mates at the weekend. Although something of an arbitrary figure, we reckon 5000 miles is enough to expose any problems and weaknesses on any newcomer to the showrooms. Alan had reached just over 3,800 when disaster struck on 12 August in the sleek shape of a Porsche 911.

Alan was on his way into work in London when, flashed from a side road by a BMW driver, the Porsche pulled out and sent rider and bike skittling down the A3. Alan suffered severe bruising and fractures to a couple of bones in his left foot. The SV1000S was a write-off.
It says much for how impressed Alan had been with the machine that he took the cheque from Bennetts his insurers and bought a silver replacement.
Starting again with a new bike and zero miles, Alan suggested the 5000-mile report we sought could be furnished instead by his mate Dave Rimmer. Again we seemed to have hit the jackpot with a rider who was using the bike rather than sitting at home with wax polish and duster. What could go wrong? Well... a coming together on 5 September with a hot hatch on the A22 roundabout at Junction 6 of the M25 – another skittled bike and rider. Dave escaped injury, but the repair bill for damage to the bike came to £2400.

The legal battle over blame is still being fought but comprehensive cover put Dave back on the road three weeks later and the mileage on his machine was well on the way to the 6000 mark at the time of writing.
Both Alan and Dave moved up to SV1000S Suzukis after owning the new superbike’s 650 sibling. Alan passed his Direct Access test 18 months ago and bought a 2002 SV650 with 1500 miles on the clock for £3600 in May/June 2002. The 33-year-old was fed up with train delays and wanted a bike to commute from his Surrey home to his London office. But he wanted something that would be fun too. He wanted the grin factor. Friends recommended the SV650 and after trying a number of alternatives, including a 600 Fazer, (too revvy) and an ER-5 (too dull), he opted for the SV because it was “cheap, exciting, responsive and sounded good.”

About 7,000 miles later he traded up to the SV1000S this May for pretty much the same reasons. He said: “I think the SV1000S is one of the best bikes out there for value for money, excitement and performance. It may not handle quite as well as the best superbikes, but its torque makes it very responsive. I can commute on it and then go out at weekends with mates and have no trouble keeping up with bikes costing eight grand or more. It is a great all-rounder that offers the best of all worlds.”

That is not to say there isn’t room for improvement. Alan thinks the quality of some of the paintwork could be better, complains that the seat is uncomfortable and that the bars are a bit of a stretch for someone of his height (5ft 7in). Nor is the fuel consumption that good. Alan has not worked out an exact mpg figure, but says he has to visit the fuel pumps every other day with the warning light on the 16-litre tank flashing every 95 to 110 miles, depending on how hard he has been riding.

There were no reliability problems with Alan’s first SV1000. A water leak from a radiator hose and an oil leak from the clutch case were cured by simply tightening the appropriate fasteners. Some difficulty in selecting neutral and a general stubbornness with the gearbox had improved after about 2500 miles. The gearbox on his replacement machine, on which he has done about 800 miles, displays the same symptoms and, like many owners, ‘a clonky clutch’ seems to go with the territory.

Alan fitted his first SV1000 with a rear seat cowling, double bubble screen and ART end cans. He has made similar mods to bike number two but with Yoshimura pipes bought second-hand on Ebay for a bargain £265.
He had fitted a Corbin seat to his SV650 and says a more comfortable perch will be found for the SV1000 as soon as something suitable makes its way on to the dealer shelves but all his niggles are minor. Pound for pound he nominates the ‘Japanese Ducati’ best buy superbike of the year.

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