Buying This Weekend: SV or GS -- 'New-ish' rider

[KGSB11]

I am buying my first street bike and have a comparison question; this isn't necessarily the tired question of SV650 vs GS500...More specifically choose between this or that.

On the table:  2005 SV650S 34k mi, Slip on Exhaust (Dealer 15min away) or 2007 GS500F 8k mi, stock (Private Sale 3 hrs away).

Both appear in very good condition, barring actually having seen them in-person.  I am guessing the SV650 can be had for about $2,300 OTD based on NADA values and mileage, etc.  The GS500 has been tentatively agreed at $1,950 after registration and private party tax in IL.

Anything I should specifically be on the lookout for? Prices seem fair? I would be very happy with both -- I have done tons of research since taking the MSF in October.  I am just on the fence regarding these two specific bikes.   My plan is the try and make a deal on the SV650 first as it is logistically easier, but if we can't come to a deal, then I will drive the 3 hours to pick up the GS500 the next day.

My riding experience is good for either bike.  Rode dirt bikes off and on since I was 10 and rented a HD Street Glide 1600 back in November with my Dad for a few days and handled it easily.

[mr72]

I'd go for the far lower mileage GS over the SV650 even if I preferred to ride a SV650. 34K vs 8K is night and day.

I guess it also depends a little on who the previous owner(s) is(are). If the GS has been flipped 10 times by beginner riders then it might have had a pretty hard life even at 8K but they are extremely durable and bulletproof. If the SV has been flipped a few times and has youngish previous owners I'd be concerned that it's been ridden very hard, and for 34K miles that's a lot of hard mileage.

The hard truth is if you are not going to be depressed about getting a bike with half the power of the other, the GS is probably a better buy, easier and cheaper to service, and most likely in far better mechanical condition. The only reason you'd spring for the SV in my mind is if you are going to constantly be complaining about too little power.

IMHO, and BTW, I did shop for many SV650s before I bought my GS. I had it basically narrowed to those two choices. Every SV I looked at was ragged to the max, horrible mechanical condition and looked like a 19 year old kid had joy-ridden it for 30K+ miles. Either that or they were $4+. Actually I would rather have had a V-Strom or an ER-6n or even a Versys because they were consistently far better-cared-for than the SVs I looked at at the same price/mileage/age. I did wind up with a GS that required major mechanical attention but at least I only paid $900 for it.

[Watcher]

As someone who has put 20K+ on a motorcycle in one season I look at mileage a little more objectively.  The reality is that these machines aren't so different from a car.  35K miles isn't "high mileage" by any stretch.
mr72 isn't wrong about his assumptions, but it would all 100% depend on the condition of the motorcycles "in person".

If the SV has had a lot of aftermarket stuff thrown on it you can probably make an assumption on the types of owners it has had in the past.  And I don't mean exhaust and levers, I mean carbon-fiber stuff for the sake of carbon-fiber, stickers, these little tiny bar end mirrors...  I hate to profile people but that all is the mark of the hooligan!
It'll also be easy to tell if the bike has seen the ground, look for rash all around it.
I'd also look at the chain and see if it's been neglected.  Even lift it and then drop it, see if the links move fluid like a rope or if they just fall anticlimactically which may indicate it's getting stiff.
And of course, start it.  It should start without complaint, idle smoothly, and be more than willing to rev up and return to idle without hesitation.
Test ride if possible.  Dealers aren't so keen to allow it, but some will, and in my experience most private sellers are willing to let you ride.  Some may ask "cash in hand" as insurance for "you break it you buy it", but some can be convinced with an M class endorsement and your attitude.


Now, the prices are so close as makes no difference, and despite the mileage disparity if we assume the bikes are in identical conditions I would consider the following based on what you want and what you need.

1)  The SV is fuel injected and the GS is carburetted.  In a nutshell the SV is "hop on and go" while the GS will need a minute to warm up on choke before you can ride it, but this isn't that big of a deal.  The larger issue is with tuning.  On the SV if you upgrade the exhaust and/or air filter all you need to do is upgrade the exhaust and/or air filter.  The oxygen sensor in the exhaust will detect any changes to how the motorcycle is running and adjust the fueling to compensate.  It does this in a limited sense, and some people recommend retuning the computer, but that isn't necessary at all if all you're doing is an air filter and a muffler...
On the GS you will have to open the carbs up and change the jets in addition to an exhaust and/or air filter upgrade.

2)  The SV is liquid cooled while the GS is air cooled.  In a practical sense air cooling works just fine.  Liquid cooling is "better" in the sense it is capable of regulating a specific temperature, but I haven't had an air-cooled engine overheat yet.
Now, I live in Arizona and currently operate an air-cooled monster of a motorcycle.  It does have an electric fan to help it, however I'm still interested to see how it handles the 110+F dead-heat of summer in stop and go traffic.  I only moved out here in the fall, so I haven't experienced the hottest of the hot yet, but I have ridden over 100F already and it seemed to handle it just fine.
I DID used to live in Illinois, and rode a GS for about 3 years to include stop and go traffic in the sticky lake-effect Chicago summer.  Never an issue.
But, where liquid cooled definitely falls short is maintenance.  In addition to needing to replace coolant every once in a while, you have added complexity and Murphy's Law doesn't like added complexity.  Thermostats, sensors, electric fans, rubber hoses, water-pumps...  All stuff that may see future service.

3)  The SV will likely have more costly insurance.  It's a larger and more powerful motorcycle, and it's also properly grouped in with "sport bikes". 
The SV is also likely to have more costly maintenance.  Aside from the cooling system, compared to the GS it's a newer machine that hasn't been manufactured for 3 decades, so the parts surplus isn't as great.
The GS will almost assuredly be cheaper to own long run.

4) The SV has more aggressive styling with the elevated pillion and that sweet trellis style frame, and that interesting half-fairing to show off the cool little V-twin.
The GS has a wicked cool banana seat...  But the full fairing makes it look more like an actual sport-bike.


I think you can't go wrong with either.  I am biased towards the GS since I had two, and like mr72 I also had SV650 high on the list but the ones I always found were abused or too expensive.

After selling my bikes and moving to AZ an SV was on the list once again, but I ended up going for gusto and ended up with a Buell Lightning XB12SS.




Can you provide pictures of these machines?  More eyes might help you see things you would have otherwise missed.

Links to the CL ad and dealership page will suffice.  If you don't use photobucket or imageshack or some other image hosting site you won't be able to upload pictures here.

[KGSB11]

Here is a photo of the SV at: http://bbkmotorsport.com/Motorcycles-Suzuki-SV650S-2005-Elgin-IL-6905dbfb-90f2-4a5a-ae63-a68801817761



Here is a photo of the GS at: https://tippecanoe.craigslist.org/mcy/5973577454.html

[KGSB11]

3)  The SV will likely have more costly insurance.  It's a larger and more powerful motorcycle, and it's also properly grouped in with "sport bikes". 
The SV is also likely to have more costly maintenance.  Aside from the cooling system, compared to the GS it's a newer machine that hasn't been manufactured for 3 decades, so the parts surplus isn't as great.
The GS will almost assuredly be cheaper to own long run.

As far as insurance goes, I'm looking at $20/mo vs $23/mo for the GS and SV respectively through my current insurance (full-coverage above minimums); so that really is not a factor.

Like I mentioned previously, the attractive point about the SV is the distance.  I could easily handle a 15min cold ride home whereas the GS involves borrowing my brother-in-laws truck, finding a ramp of sorts, and driving to get it.

I don't know much yet about the SV, but the current GS owner only has owned it since August and doesn't sound like he himself has done any services on it -- mentioned previous owner kept the bike in great condition but it is not known when any previous service was done.

[Watcher]

That SV looks great!  I was never a fan of those integrated taillights, though, too hard for traffic to see.
Their pricing is pretty on the mark from what I can find locally, too.

If you can indeed get it closer to $2k I'm inclined to say go SV on this one, that seems to be the better deal considering the condition it's in. I've always been a fan of the bike, sadly could never find a good one myself.


But honestly I think you can't go wrong with either one.

Go with your gut.

[1018cc]

But honestly I think you can't go wrong with either one.

+1 what Watcher said.

To add to earlier discussions, I don't pay much attention to kms on vehicles. I pay more attention to how it has been looked after. Before I bought my GSF, I looked at a KTM, only 5,000kms on it, late model. Perfect - almost brand new. Turned up to have a look, a young guy owned it, had no receipts for servicing, it was leaking oil and it just had a feeling / it looked like it had been flogged. Went and had a look at the GSF (42,200kms) and the owner was another young guy (early 20's) but the seat was soft (kept garaged), between him and the original owner they'd kept every receipt for every dollar spent on the bike and had all the original paperwork. It had been dropped on the right side by the young guy (misjudged his footing at a set of lights so you could tell it wasn't a bad low side etc fairing was a bit scratched). The GSF started immediately, no oil leaks, revved fine and rode perfect too apart from the forks being a bit soft.

Meeting someone in person you can generally tell if they cared for something / loved it. Needless to say apart from some maintenance that I always do to new vehicles when I buy them, I haven't done much to my GSF since purchase and at one stage put 8,000kms on it in 3 1/2 months.

You'll be happy either way. I'd probably do the same thing as you - try to secure a deal on the SV first because it is close (if everything checks out in person) and if that doesn't work out then get the GS. Just be prepared to walk away from either if you aren't happy with them.

[Suzuki Stevo]

Granted this is a GS500 Forum....SV and never look back, E.F.I and you won't outgrow it any time soon, I owned a V-Strom 650 for 10 years, the linear power of the 90° V-Twin is more then confidence inspiring, I base my choice on owning both...at the same time 

[KGSB11]

The GS looks good but the low miles and the fact the current owner has not done any services in 6 months have me questioning it -- but it does look as described and the owner seems to be honest so far, so I have little reason to doubt what he says about the condition.

The SV looks clean and the higher miles suggest it was ridden regularly.

Thanks for all the advice.  I think I'll stick to my plan thus far.

How much do used dealers typically follow NADA for negotiating?  KBB is nearly $900 more and is what they use for listing obviously -- but for Excellent condition.

[user11235813]

Here is a photo of the SV...

It's yellow! no brainer, go for the SV.

[J_Walker]

over the past almost 6 years now. I would say the SV is a more reliable engine platform then the GS, and I'm talking first gen SV too, so Carb to Carb. the SV is actually easier to tune carb wise, then the GS, FOR WHAT EVER REASON. also if you sit in traffic a lot, SV engine is better. I'm more biased to the SV engine then the GS500 engine. [clearly]

I would go for the SV650 personally.

[KGSB11]

Welp...I passed on the SV today.  Not because I didn't want it; I was actually annoyed to see it such great shape -- would have made passing on it easier.   Had a few scuffs, no scratches, clean tank, perfect chain and sprockets -- the Vance and Hines slip on sounded great!  Thing was damn near immaculate with 34k miles.

Unfortunately we were about 600 off on price.  They bottomed out at $2,600 before taxes/reg.  Which was very fair given its condition -- just a bit outside my budget.

So I am off to look at the GS tomorrow morning.

[Darkstar]

FWIW, a GS was my first bike and I'm still very happy with it 2 years later. I got a stock 2007F with 6k miles for $2000, and put 10k on it since then. If you like tinkering, you'll like it. I've torn mine apart many times over and it's been a wondeful learning experience. Parts are inexpensive and for the most part plentiful. One word of advice: just be careful with the fasteners because they metal is cheesy, stripping easily. If the owner doesn't supply a maintenance history record, you'll eventually want to learn how to check the valve shim clearance. And this forum is super cool, a very helpful bunch of folks here...

[KGSB11]

One word of advice: just be careful with the fasteners because they metal is cheesy, stripping easily.

Thanks for advice on the chintzy metal.  Is it just the fasteners or are the "female" threads chinzty too?  Just wondering of replacing fasteners would solve this issue?

[Watcher]

Depends on what and where.  I never had an issue with any of the bolts I twisted, and I did a top end rebuild with the engine off the frame.
But I don't have gorilla hands and I look at torque specs...

The only really problematic ones are the oil filter studs.  But it's well documented on this forum.
The studs go into aluminum and overtightening the nuts can lead to stripping.  Just don't go at it with a 1/2" ratchet and you'll be good...
Snug them with your palm on the ratchet head, then add this {holds fingers barely apart} much tension.

[KGSB11]

I am the proud owner of a very nice 2007 GS500!  Just needs a rear tire.  Fired right up with very little choke and in great condition.

Took 320miles round-trip, $60 in gas, and a $65 trailer rental.  Paid $1,800 cash for the bike itself.

[Watcher]

Of course, until we see pics it didn't happen!



Also, $65 to rent a trailer?  Where did you go?
U-Haul rents bike trailers for under $20...

[KGSB11]

Of course, until we see pics it didn't happen!



Also, $65 to rent a trailer?  Where did you go?
U-Haul rents bike trailers for under $20...

I rented a 5x9 UHAUL at the last minute because the truck I borrowed ended up having a hard tonneau cover.  They auto charged for 2 days and I didn't have time to really research prices...oh well.

Here it is nice and safe in my garage..

[Suzuki Stevo]

I'm on my phone, but that rear tire looks like the P.O slabbed it a lot or did burnouts?

[Watcher]

I can't even see the pic.

The picture from the ad I saw looked like it was slabbed but not necessarily from burnouts.  Rubber looked OK, not raggy like you get from tearing up the rear end.
Really bad commuter strip + guy didn't know how to turn, maybe?
Or the PO to the seller did the damage and the seller rode it enough to cover it up...