Big miles on the SV650X and muddy miles on the F850GS
Your questions answered after over 8500 miles of testing
‘The stylish seat proved too hard on longer rides’
Q What factory upgrades would you recommend?
Alex Jessop
I have installed a couple of factory mods, A with the most useful being the £25 paddock stand bobbins and a £102.64 replacement seat. As I ride 500-600 miles a week for pleasure and commuting, maintenance on the chain is key. The bobbins give me great access to this and the back wheel for cleaning, lubricating and adjusting. The standard stylish rolled seat on the SV650X is simply too thin to be comfortable over long distances so I replaced it with the plainer, thicker seat from the standard SV650, which offers slightly more padding and fits perfectly.
Q ‘How would it cope with being used in winter?’
Jonathan Mahiques-Pearce
At the beginning of the year, I found that in A order to keep on top of the winter salt, I had to apply plenty of ACF-50 anti-corrosion spray and clean the bike regularly in order to keep it looking presentable. This consisted of a rinse after every ride and one thorough weekend clean per week. With that, the bike survived the crud quite well, however small pockets of surface rust were still able to form on the forks and outer plates of the chain.
Q ‘Is the Cafe Street package any good?’
Phil Boyes
The X offers a sportier feel than the A standard SV with the ‘Cafe Street’ kit (£6378 for bike and kit) as it comes with clip-on bars. Besides that, they are essentially the same bike and both are good value. However, you can’t get the Café Street in the X’s lovely black and silver finish; which you could say is its ‘X-factor’.
Q ‘It’s not a big bike, what’s it like for longer rides?’
Alexander Thorpe
The seat isn’t great (see left) but other than A that it is fine. Despite the clip-ons, it’s not heavy on your wrists, with the riding position feeling very similar to a 1990s sportsbike. Fuel-wise, I have seen 150 miles from a tank before I’ve run out of bottle, however the gauge has still been showing that there is some in the tank, and I’ve only squeezed 11 litres in at the pumps.
Q ‘How does it compare to the old Suzuki SV650S?’
Tracy Porter
The X is a much newer bike and benefits A from ABS and preload adjustment on the front and rear suspension, as well as significant chassis changes. Obviously, the faired S offers more in the way of wind protection than the as-good-as naked X, while the X’s more powerful engine feels marginally more refined thanks to it using the latest Euro4 unit.