RC51 or SV650

[racer51]

Hi, Everyone.

I'm in a quandry. Do I trade my 2000 RC51 for a 2003 SV650? I'm close to a deal to sell the RC51 for $4500 and then buy an SV for the same dough. Rob's SV is posted on this forum for sale.

Both have shocks and fork work done. The SV has after market headlights in what looks like an attempt at a street fighter look, so I doubt I could find "street glass" for it. The RC can be converted to "street" in 10 minutes and needless to say, has more oompth for the street.

I rode the street once this year back in April and nothing since. I do find that I ride the street after the last race of the season. I'm afraid the SV would be under-whelming on the street.

What would you do? All comments appreciated.

 

[YZF1000jon]

Pick Todd's brain on the SV, he knows them in and out. He did mention he was getting tired of changing fork oil every time he wanted to adjust his suspension. You are elegible for more races with the smaller bike, but that requires more physical endurance. "It's always more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow."

 

[Thorsten]

Hi Rick, I agree it'll be very useful to check on the SV pros and cons with Todd and Steve Robertson. There are some years where the SV cranks were prone to breaking in race use, as exemplified when I blew up Todd's crank in lap 8 of last year's endurance race .

You know my bias, I like big twins, and the RC may be a pig, but at least it's bullet proof.

Have fun deciding!
Thorsten

 

[racer51]

Piggie but bullet proof

Hi Rick, I agree it'll be very useful to check on the SV pros and cons with Todd and Steve Robertson. There are some years where the SV cranks were prone to breaking in race use, as exemplified when I blew up Todd's crank in lap 8 of last year's endurance race .

You know my bias, I like big twins, and the RC may be a pig, but at least it's bullet proof.

Have fun deciding!
Thorsten

That's funny...and a very good point I hadn't considered. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RobS]

Hey Rick,

Here are my completely biased thoughts:

The SV will definitely lack “oomph” on the street, but it’s still plenty quick enough for the occasional street ride. Maybe I’ve been riding supermotos on the street too long, but the one time I rode the SV on the street it felt pretty fast to me. Besides, how fun is going fast in a straight line anyway?

It can be converted to street trim in around 20-30 minutes, and if you prefer the stock headlight/upper fairing, you can usually find them on ebay for around $100 for the headlight and $250-300 for the fairing. All the stock headlight wiring on the bike is intact, so it should be pretty easy to turn back to stock.

The best thing about the SV though is that you can run in SV Cup, which for me was the whole point of buying the bike (regardless of how little I actually ended up racing this year). The small grid means that, if you’re quicker than me, you’re actually fighting for wins and podiums. Since the SV Cup rules limit the modifications you can make (most of which have already been done to this bike), it’s a cheap class to race in, especially since the SV won’t go through tires as quickly as a heavier, more powerful bike. On top of that, Suzuki pays contingency money to the top 5 which is usually enough to cover your race fees.

Ok, now that the sales pitch is over, I do hope you end up with whichever bike suits your needs the best, be it RC or SV.

Rob

 

[racer51]

Leaning towards SV

Hey Rick,

Here are my completely biased thoughts:

The SV will definitely lack “oomph” on the street, but it’s still plenty quick enough for the occasional street ride. Maybe I’ve been riding supermotos on the street too long, but the one time I rode the SV on the street it felt pretty fast to me. Besides, how fun is going fast in a straight line anyway?

It can be converted to street trim in around 20-30 minutes, and if you prefer the stock headlight/upper fairing, you can usually find them on ebay for around $100 for the headlight and $250-300 for the fairing. All the stock headlight wiring on the bike is intact, so it should be pretty easy to turn back to stock.

The best thing about the SV though is that you can run in SV Cup, which for me was the whole point of buying the bike (regardless of how little I actually ended up racing this year). The small grid means that, if you’re quicker than me, you’re actually fighting for wins and podiums. Since the SV Cup rules limit the modifications you can make (most of which have already been done to this bike), it’s a cheap class to race in, especially since the SV won’t go through tires as quickly as a heavier, more powerful bike. On top of that, Suzuki pays contingency money to the top 5 which is usually enough to cover your race fees.

Ok, now that the sales pitch is over, I do hope you end up with whichever bike suits your needs the best, be it RC or SV.

Rob

Thanks Rob...you are right on all counts...with the RC back in racing shape, I'm having second thoughts. I really like the RC, but I like all the things you said about SV racing. I could always buy another RC for the street...but realistically, a fella' needs at least 3 bikes.

 

[yak]

Rick

I really enjoyed racing the SV because they are great track bikes and there is an excellent group of people racing SVs in Edmonton.

I also rode the SV on the street for awhile and enjoyed that too, but it was from the perspective of "Wow for a budget bike it's pretty good."

 

[fask]

The SV is a great street bike... you don't have to rev the piss out of it to make abit of power and you can actually use 6th gear once in awhile. It dosen't have 'do not pass go, go directly to jail' power that i personally feel is abit much for the street.

 

[Arctic Donkey]

Rick,

I think it comes down to your own personal priorities, street or track. They are both good bikes but I think you already know which is better suited to you for each purpose. As for broken cranks, I have what is suppose to be the worst model year of all (2003) and have been revving the piss out of it since it came off the showroom floor. (furiously knocking on any wood I can find) With good suspension and stock engined SV in club racers hands can do 1:02s and beyond.

The only other thing to consider is that the 2003 SV's have the tallest subframes of all the SV's. A lot of people feel that the Gen1 SV's make a better race bike (99-2002) but I think they are all pretty equal in the end.

Steve

 

[Dean]

I have both a 2001 RC51 and a 2003 SV650 that are pretty much track only beasts. The SV can be streeted, but will never see the street while I own it. I also have access to a SV650 for the street and they are fun enough for most legal street rides and can keep up with the best of them when canyon carving in BC.

So, with that being said:

Suzuki pays amazing contingency to Canadian VIN SV650s that is a VERY nice bonus to get! It sure helps with racing costs.

The RC51, while a heavy pig, is the most stable, grin inducing bike I've ever been on when cornering! You just seem to nestle into the bike and you become one with the bike. Most stable bike I've ever been on at speed. Suspension is also very easy to tune vs the SV.

So, having been on quite a few tracks with both here is my take:

If you are going to race Edmonton and possibly Mission, the SV is a much better suited bike to those tracks due to size of the tracks.

If you are going to race Calgary (will it exist after this year?) and much larger tracks like Seattle, Portland, Thunderhill, Spokane, etc, the RC51 will be more fun and will provide that much more speed.

The SV will cost much less to run in tires and gas. The RC will start having parts hard to find due to age and rarity. I'm still struggling to source Vortex shifters for mine and don't want to change rearsets again.

I love both of them, but if I had to only ride one, I'd keep my SV and VERY reluctantly sell the RC. Suzuki just pays too much in contingency to not ride the SV. Note that once you win the overall SV cup at the club level, you can no longer compete in in the SV Cup.

 

[twowheeled]

Well there is certainly no shortage of SV experts, but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyways. I started racing on the SV this year and the bottom line was that I had a lot of fun/track time for very little money. It is a budget bike, and that shows in some areas like suspension. But there is nothing more satisfying than keeping up or passing a 600, and the challenge is there to ride it well rather than dropping money in it, if you race SV cup.

If you have any specific questions, post them up and I'll do my best to answer them. svrider.com is also a great resource. If you want to take my bike out for a session or two at a track day, you're more than welcome to.

John
Int. 987

 

[racer51]

Great advice

Thanks everyone. It's great to read all the different points fo view. Clearly the only "real" solution is what Dean is doing...have two bikes. Having said that, I'm inclined to keep the RC51 and pick-up an SV for next year.

Cheers!

 

[Ducatidaddi]

Thanks everyone. It's great to read all the different points fo view. Clearly the only "real" solution is what Dean is doing...have two bikes. Having said that, I'm inclined to keep the RC51 and pick-up an SV for next year.

Cheers!

I have been beaten by both the Mighty RC 51 and by THE SV 650 so there is only one real answer: BAN THEM BOTH FROM COMPETING!

 

[racer51]

Keeping the love alive

I've decided to keep the old beast and make it do what it's supposed to do. I just couldn't bare the thought of letting her go.

With no more "falling down" in my plans...the mighty RC shall rise again!

 

[rgm]

Good for you Rick. Although we didn't make a deal on the bike, I hope to get an RC anyway and make it out there and play on your track.