I used to own a Suzuki SV650s, and I loved that bike. It was silver like the one pictured, and I bought it used. None of these pics are of my bike, but they show what I'm talking about.
I did a bit of work on it; it had been down on one side, and the rear turn signal was broken off. Those silly stock undertails are ridiculous anyway, so I replaced the whole thing with one of those illegal flush undertails. The rear license plate just barely peaked over the rear wheel, but I never had any trouble over it.
One of the bar ends was also a bit messed up so replaced the mirrors with some that mount on the end of the bars. They looked a bit quirky, but I didn't mind, and the view in the mirrors was vastly improved (that is, I could see something other than my shoulders). I also replaced the stock grips with some stickier grips, which improved the feel. There were also a bunch of minor repairs, like a cable, and a nut here and there, but I don't really remember those.
The SV650s was a really great bike. It was a 650cc V-twin, which tend to be a bit less "buzzy" than the standard sport bike, and have a flatter torque curve. As such it was far more forgiving of letting the RPMs drop, and it wasn't a big deal to find yourself in the wrong gear from time to time. I remember reading someone describe it sounding like an "angry sewing machine" and I have to agree with that description. It was water-cooled, so it didn't have any of the overheating issues of an air-cooled set-up. It did manage to get plenty hot in the summer though, so I have no idea how you people ride those air-cooled hogs.
The SV was light and nimble, I remember someone commenting that "my CBR goes exactly where I tell it, my SV knows exactly where to go" and although I didn't really ever ride a true "sport bike" I do have to say that the SV was very easy to control, not being detuned racing bike like the sport bikes most people ride. I mentioned the quirky looks already, and the SV definitely had some interesting features, such as the garishly oversized chrome muffler. But, like our beloved Spydercos, the quirks are endearing when they all work together to functional perfection. Everything was where you needed it to be, and there were no superfluous features to get in the way. I've always liked the "cafe racer" "naked bike" "street fighter" style of bikes anyway, and the "S" version, with the clip on bars, bridged the gap between sport bike and naked bike and didn't look out of place in either group.
I sold it pretty much for what I paid for it (bikes and Spydercos seem to be like that), because I was starting my business and still working my day job and had no time to ride. I miss the full body awareness that was required during a ride. Like one of those magic eye prints, during a ride you think about everything, and nothing, and you see everything, and nothing. I think it's because you're living in the moment, and very little of those individual moments get committed to memory. You also smell the street, and the cars, and the inside of your helmet and leather. You truly find out what they mean by the "heat island" of a big city; only motorcyclists know exactly where that boundary is.
I miss it dearly when the weather is nice (rarely), but with new responsibilities and a job that demands my entire body be healthy, I wonder if I'll ever ride again. Something tells me I will, even if it's when I'm 50 and seeing my daughter off to college. I've still kept all the gear, just in case.
