User Review Review: Suzuki SV650S vs Ducati 750Sport

User Review Review: Suzuki SV650S vs Ducati 750Sport

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for the record, a comparison of an SV650 to a ducati 750Sport.
this is really just several emails cut and pasted togther, with
some editing and additional comments.

==================================================================
SUZUKI SV 650S/DUCATI 750 SPORT COMPARISON

based on a short, not terribly fast ride squeezed in during
lunch one sunny, sub-freezing day when jim and rob swapped
bikes, jim on hello ducati and rob on the sv650s...

==================================================================
Rob's comments:
------------------------------------------------------------------
vroom!  the sv was fun. :)

i can see why the folks on ducati lists who race 750 2V models
think the SV is the bike to beat -- the motor just keeps going,
and i get the impression you could replace the suspension with
something that doesn't suck.  fairly comfy, too -- until the
greater power shoves my ass to the back of the seat.  (jim's SV
has a comfortable but slippery custom Corbin seat.)

i kept using way too much force on the shift lever, not sure why.
maybe i was doing it because it was so far from where i'm used to
it being.

v. good rear brake. :)

a little squirmy in curves -- not that there were enough without
traffic to feel it out as well as i would have liked.  i definitely
had to pay a lot more attention to holding a line than i'm used to;
i think it's just characteristic of the SV.

once back on hello ducati, turning onto the main road after coming
out of the streets by jim's house, i slid the rear tire sideways a
bit.  too much throttle.  really illustrated the difference
between the SV and hello ducati's power delivery.

==================================================================
Jim's comments:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Yea, it's a terrific motor.  I found the Duc's motor to be really
interesting ... very torquey, very easy to work with at low RPMs.  I was
surprised that the power delivery stayed kind of flat up in the higher
RPMs, there wasn't that much benefit to winding it up.  The SV just
loves to be wound up but is relatively anemic down low.  Also, the Duc
motor responded a lot more quickly to throttle inputs than does the SV.

There are several good replacements for the SV suspension components.
Race Tech valves on the front work wonders, I'm told.  I've done only
the most minimal work on it and even so it's a big improvement over
stock.

The rear just sucks ... flaccid and underdamped.  There are a bunch of
replacements for the rear but I've not felt the need to spend the money
on them yet.

My one real complaint with the Duc is the riding position.  Leg position
was ok with me (I thought it'd be cramped) but I'm leaned over even more
than I am on the SV ... and I think that's too much :-).  What wonderful
wind protection it has, though.

Oh yea, and the shape of the tank pushes right into my bladder.  Shoulda
used the bathroom before we left :-).  OTOH the knee grip is superb.

wrt shift lever:
I think it's probably because the throw is so much shorter.  I was
really surprised when I tried to do the first upshift on the Duc ... I
tried to flick it like I do on the SV and just dropped it into neutral.
It felt like I had to just keep lifting and lifting and lifting to get
it to shift.

But really that's more or less the way the stock SV shifter worked.
After I broke it in a tip-over I replaced it with a racer unit which is
much more aggressive.

wrt SV rear brake:
Too good, if you ask me :-).  First time I tried the Duc's rear I was
like ... ok, when does it start to slow down?  That's a really weak rear
compared to everything I've ever ridden, even my old drum-based cruiser.

wrt SV handling squirminess:
I believe this is almost entirely due to the suspension.  The rear in
particular is so soft that it gets out of sorts easily ... and can get
really out of sorts if the corner isn't smooth.

I note that when I changed tires this time I went for a higher profile
front (120/65 rather than 120/60) to slow down the cornering.  It used
to tip right into corners and you'd have to catch it, which was kind of
distracting.  Now it rolls in.  But nowhere near as nicely as the Duc
... what incredibly light and predictable steering.

wrt rear wheel slippage:
Yea, I did exactly the same thing coming out of MM's lot.  That thing
has torque.

==================================================================
rob's further comments:
------------------------------------------------------------------
wrt SV suspension:
i wonder if this is one of the places we see the cost difference
between the relatively expensive ducati and the more reasonable
SV -- quality of stock suspension components.  hmm.  on the other
hand, maybe suzuki simply favors comfort over handling -- that
"flaccid" suspension soaked up all the ripples, in a good way
in a straight line if not in a curve.

wrt wind protection:
interesting about wind protection.  i found the SV had a lot more
wind protection than the 750!  on the 750, a lot of turbulence
hits me in the helmet.  maybe between simply being shorter, and
shorter arms forcing you more downward, it took you into the
gentle zone -- while the SV is opposite?  on the ducati, i look
over the screen; on the SV, i look at its underside.

wrt tank and bladder:
someone once commented, tongue partly in cheek, that it was for
gut steer.  i know it does mean i have to pee more often than i
did on the GS500 ... though i usually attribute that to the
vibration.  under 4k, the 750's engine shakes like mad before
smoothing out.  the SV's was just quietly smooth and well
behaved all the way from idle.
==================================================================


jim later noted that he went outside to look at the tires and
realized that i was scrubbing in the sides; since weather had
been cold, and he doesn't ride as aggressively as i do, he
hadn't yet scrubbed them in fully side to side.  this could
explain some of the squirminess.  i still don't like the
suspension much; it could definitely benefit from the work
jim describes.