whats the opinion about going and purchasing a new SV1000S or buying a new GS500F? which bike would be better for a 5'11" 250lb guy?

Are you kidding? There is a huge difference in power and price between those bikes, otherwise both must be great...

Generally, the SV is a better, faster bike.

BUT...
you need to give a bit more info if you want opinions as to the suitablity of either one to YOUR specific needs...what type of riding you going to do, how long you been riding, that sort of stuff. Your ht and weight are not major factors on either bike, except to say that the SV has GSXR type ergos and will not be comfortable for commuting. Also, the gs500f fairing is unproven but will likely make commuting more comfortable than the SV half fairing.

actually, i find the sv1000 suprisingly comfortable, and i am 5'7".  much more so than the sv650s.  i've yet to sit on a naked sv650.  none of the dealers ever have them.

dan

This old dude that works at the store I go to told me that the new inline four sport bikes and the other hooligan bikes like the Z1000 and the SV's etc tend to need head and valve work in 5-10K miles. He said they make so much power and torque and are made to be so light they just dont have the strength to keep the things from breaking. Is there any truth to that... Just asking. I have seen the old TL'd with a good lot of miles FWIW.
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: seshadri_srinathThis old dude that works at the store I go to told me that the new inline four sport bikes and the other hooligan bikes like the Z1000 and the SV's etc tend to need head and valve work in 5-10K miles. He said they make so much power and torque and are made to be so light they just dont have the strength to keep the things from breaking. Is there any truth to that... Just asking. I have seen the old TL'd with a good lot of miles FWIW.
Cool.
Srinath.

The Z1000 engines are based off the ZX9R engines only they are bored out to 953cc's.  There seems to be minor appearance changes to the head like horizontal intake ports and added heat fins but I'm pretty sure only the cam specs/timing are different.  I'll take a Z1K in black please :mrgreen:
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/17february03kawasaki2003z1000.html

The SV1000's engine is a TL based twin and those aren't known to have any problems as far as I know

The SV1000 and GS are worlds apart so you'll have to give us some insight on what your plans are before we can really give you good advice about either one.

No plans really... I'll keep my GS, no plans to buy anything. But just chekcing if anyone agrees or disagrees with what I heard. In reality I didn't believe him about the SV's cos I have seen TL's with like 45K miles and the body etc was trashed so no question about if the bike was abused... you knew it was... and it still started up and ran like stink. About the sport bikes... is he right. Well I have a friend that wants a 600RR or R6. And no he's never been on a bike before. Wont listen to common sense, but will listen to "the bike will break cos you are a super duper high performance rider, and the stuff will break under such demanding rider..." Some like that. Anyway the old dude told me the old school bike are good for longevity, so I know he's not entirely full of shaZam!.
Cool.
Srinath.