Suzuki SV1000S

When I first collected my SV1000S from Motorcycle Trade-ins in Poole, the clutch rattled, the bike surged on small throttle openings and it was horrible to ride. It was raining, and the small front mudguard meant rain was being thrown up onto the hot exhaust and radiator, sending steam up onto the windscreen and fogging the instruments. The bike was a later model with superbike handlebar conversion and black frame, a lovely dark blue finish and half-fairing with fairing lowers and crash bungs. Nice to look at but a nightmare to ride! Trade ins eventually agreed to go halves for a clutch converion to cure the dreaded "chudder" (Sharealike conversion) and I bought the Haynes manual and joined the SV forum, source of much good advice when it comes to SVs

The converted clutch arrived back and was duly fitted and the bike was transformed into a reasonable ride. I find it difficult to believe that no other owners ride their bikes without any problems. Beside the sorted clutch I had to replace the magnets on the alternator rotor, when I found 2 magnets had come loose, just before I rode the bike up to Scotland-the magnets are only held on with epoxy glue, which becomes hard and yellow, loses adhesion, and sometimes the loose magnets hit the stator and wreck the coils. I had been lucky and mine were just loose, held in place by magnetism and centrifugal force. Poor work Suzuki. I used JB weld and metalstik to reattach the magnets after thoroughly cleaning and roughening the rotor inner surface. They never came loose again! I also replaced the green connector behind the headstock, which is prone to overheating and catching fire, again on the welcome advice of the forum. The bike was nice to ride then except for a hesitation at about 80mph which I cured by adjusting the TPS (throttle position sensor) as per recommended by the forum. It requires making a special tool to do the job)

Once all these jobs were done the bike was nice to ride, with good steering and handling, but only adequate brakes, despite having steel hoses fitted.

I took the SV on a couple of good runs, to Devon and Scotland and it was reliable and had plenty of power ( I once found myself doing 108 mph in a 50 zone after accelerating to over take a car) I can't understand how almost everyone who reviews the SV says they're fantastic bikes, no problems etc. It wasn't my experience. Nevertheless I do like the bikes once all the problems are Ironed out. My SV gave about 35-40mpg in traffic, and on long runs returned about 50-55 mpg. I loved the performance and v-twin engine character. And yes, I would have another one in my garage if one came along at the right price.

Well, my 2003 SV1000 is this girls best friend! I've only had 2 bikes, (1st being the SV650) so I don't have the experience the rest of the reviewers have, BUT, after 15 years on this bike, I STILL don't know what I'd like to "change" to!

It's thrilling to read what other owners have to say, 'cause it's exactly how I feel too! Helirisers were added, Corbin single seat, yoshi single pipe, flyscreen, and pink piping.

My mechanic says it's well worth keeping as I don't thrash the engine even though it's got 135,000 K's of city and touring miles...

I too cannot bring out this bikes best ability, but it sure is forgiving to me and lets me have all the fun I want!

What can I say? I passed my test on an Sv 650 and it was great. Shortly afterwards I bought a k7 bandit 650 it was fast, reliable, reasonable good looking and even economical. But I always felt something was missing. After 2 years I decided it was new bike time and that I wanted a V twin for the low down tourqe as I commute every day and the top end rush of an inline 4 wouldn't be as much use to me. Bought a k3 sv1000 and all a can say is wow! Do you want to pull wheelies? It can spin the back in the wet accidentally. Iv not taken it to its top speed, not for my the lack of me trying but at over 150mph and still with more to go I wimped out. Breaks good, handling, good, looks good. Change the standard cans and get a k&n filter and see some more power and awesome noise. Almost bought a ducati, do I regret not doing? No not at all. Suzuki make a new one now!

I bought this bike in September of 2011 with 19 thousand miles and now in January of 2012 (a little over one year) the bike has 37 thousand miles. This bike is awesome.

I've done track days, many group rides, distance rides and out of state trips on it and overall it's a fantastic bike.

What I do like:

Great power everywhere

Awesome sound

Doesn't attract attention from cops

Wheelies easy

No downshifting needed to get movin

Insurance is damn cheap

Parts are relatively easy to work on

Super reliable (once the green connector is fixed)

What I don't like:

Can be a little jerky at low speeds (can be helped by adjusting tps and putting on a TRE)

It doesn't have the high

Bike is bland

Doesn't h end rush that the inline 4s do

Seat is mediocre

Doesn't look as good as other bikes

Very warm bike in traffic (rad fan doesn't kick on till the bike is already hot

Overall this bike is my wife. She'll have dinner ready for me when I get home and won't cheat while I'm gone. Maybe some day ill cheat with my mistress (ducati monster) but the Sv will be my woman for many more years to come.

First, my bike is a 2006 SV1000S with the following mods: Fender eliminator, power commander, gutted stock cans, GP shift, billet adjustable rear set, and some upgraded brake and clutch levers. It's otherwise stock and puts down 111 HP at the rear wheel.

Lots has been written about the SV1000s, and the praise is nearly universal for a good reason. Many times the SV1k is compared with bikes that it was never intended to compete with.

First and foremost is that the SV1000 isn't a supersport bike, it's not a pure touring bike, it's not a cruiser, it's not a super bike. It's a sport bike, plain and simple. It's really in a different class than what some people want compare it against.

Personally, I NEVER liked V-twins. Never! Yet, after much deliberation and research, that's exactly what I ended up buying. I knew that I didn't want a liter superbike but wanted something fast, I knew that I didn't want a 600cc supersport because I wanted a good highway bike, I knew that I wanted something I could take on the track if I wanted to for the weekend but still enjoy off track everyday. I've had a few bikes, but strangely enough came from a 1984 VF1000F, I loved the power, the smoothness, and I wanted a modern version of this bike.

Enter the SV1000s.

Immediately I noticed that it looked good, had a comfortable enough riding position that would do double duty, had adequate power, had a fully adjustable suspension (and could be upgraded further if needed), and had a bullet proof motor.

I have now had this bike for 5 years, and purchased a 2006 SV1K with 0 miles new for $6800 US out the dealer door in 2008. For the money, there is not another bike out there than can even come close to the performance that this bike offers. Hell I don't ride to the limits of this bike, I am just not that good. I am sure that really talented riders can extract the performance that other bikes offer in the superbike and supersport classes, I can't.

Find a clean example of this great bike while you still can! Suzuki has stopped making these years ago. It has power everywhere, will run straight with just about anything up to about 100 MPH, it's competent in the corners, and can go all day long without beating up the rider. As some have suggested Helibars are a great option for those who really want a more stand up position. It's 2012, and I still don't want a different bike, except perhaps a Ducati Streetfighter S, but that's not going to be $6800 out the door!!!

Handlebars were too low so I got helibar risers. Exhaust was too quiet so I got Yosh pipes. Gas tank interfered with my fat gut so I got a tank bra to protect the paint from my zipper. Now it's perfect.

Having owned just about every go fast peice of kit ever made from ZX14s , 2 hayabusa's R1s and lots of other i4's i wanted to try a couple of V-Twins . First i brought a VTR1000 and its such a cool bike and i love it to bits but it has its shortcomings ie lack of ground clearance when your really feeding it some. But this is about the SV1000.... first off the bars are to low and riding position to racer like which is a shame cos this is not a racing bike. The seat is akin to a block of concrete and the footpegs just a tad to high for this style of bike. A little more thought by the designers would have seen this bike right at the top of the heap of real world riding machines. But for all the faults I think its bloody brilliant, and the faults can be sorted out by spending a little extra loot on risers and seat etc. Now for the good stuff.... The SV is just so damn usable no matter if your out scratching pegs at a trackday or blasting through the twisties of your favorite back road, fact is your going to have a blast and really pi$$ off your mates who are riding R1's Or ZX10's etc. This puppy has so much usable torque coming out of corners you can feed it a big handful in just about any gear and get the drive down and be gone while your friends are fumbleing for a better gear and tring not to spin up the rear wheel. Its just so damn easy to go quick in the twisties with that big lump of a V-Twin power plant, it has all the power you need where you need it for real world ar$e kicking, forget that R1's are fast as hell And your ZX10 will kill my SV in a straight line, fact is the SV will whip the ar$e of all but the most talented of riders in real world situations. Right out of the box the suspenders are pritty damn good with lots of adjustment for body size and riding conditions, the brakes work very well and the power from that wonderful engine is just about everywhere you need it. Yes you can even tour on the SV I have not long completed a 4000km tour of the south island of New Zealand without a single hitch. This really is a do it all ride that will make you smile so hard that if you were a chick you would have lipstick on your ears. After doing a ride with a couple of friends about 3 months ago one of my mates has traded in his gsxr1000K7 and brought an SV1000 after i let him ride mine just after i kicked his butt through the twisties on it ..... he was gobsmacked with just how usable and fun it was to ride and how easy it was to go fast in the tight stuff.... he was a convert and now we ride our SV's together and leave everyone else way behind. I cant recommend this bike enough .... no its not the fastest and it sure aint the best lookin but in real world riding it cant be beat for alround usability. Get the seat sorted and the bars to your liking put some good rubber on her and go have some fun.... you wont be disapointed.

Took me a while to decide which bike I was going to replace my old zzr600, I liked the TL1000R but felt it would have been too much as a first big bike, and the short comings of the Firestorm put me off. coming across the SV1000, it ticked all the boxes, capable of track day's fast road riding, long day's out, and even touring. it's a fairly easy bike to work on as it's not a complicated bike, and the engine is astoundingly good.

The bike feels very neutral to ride, possibly a bit too much at times, though push it and you soon feel the charm of the bike, with it's massive linear torque. Two up riding is fine too, though I recomend the Bagster seat as better than the standard factory fit one, especially for longer riding.

Had the 1000sv bike 4 years I added a set of lower fairings from Suzuki

removed passenger seat and had a pair of Quill cans made for it.Apart from that it is stock.

I love the bike enormously it does everything you want it to do and has never let me down, I ride throughout the winter every year so I ensure it is always cleaned regularly, as a result it still looks mint.

I would not swap for any other bike,go get one !!!!!

I have owned zx10, gxsr-600, ninja 250 even and this bike the 2003 Sv1000s is my favorite. What I noticed the very first time getting on it is the height of the bike put me towering higher up in the seat than others but also the weight seemed very light. I love the sound of the v-twin and do long trips for my web site at Shockforever.com I do motorcycle reviews, videos there. I have had no complaints and no problems and this bike really comes into its own on the freeways. Ride on and get this motorcycle you will not be disappointed.