[OHRoute83]

Greetings!

Call it a mid-life crisis... This summer I got an idea in my head that motorcycling might be fun. In April, I used my tax return to buy a 2013 Suzuki SFV 650. It was a hoot! I got licensed, I got a ton of experience, and I learned that the seat on a bike like that is unbearable for more than about 45 minutes.

My brother is a good sales guy. The dealerships around here should hire him. After a few conversations, he convinced me that the next logical upgrade is the '14 N1K. After crunching numbers and begging for a deal at State8, they "let one go" for $9,200 plus a few doc fees.

What a great machine. Tons of power, fairly comfortable, and it's friggin beautiful to look at. Needless to say, I'm really happy with it. I'm at about 450 miles after picking it up a week ago today.

Next step is to locate the FSM and before next spring I want to add a Givi top box so my wife is a little more secure riding with.

Also want to mention, if you're ever in Ohio, one of the nicest roads is Rt 83 from Millersburg south to Waterford. It's hilly, twisy, technical, yet open enough that you rarely get surpised by traffic or debris when your pushing it.

Have fun!

 

[Mikey1000]

Time for an oil change already. My parents were from the Marion area. Almost went to OSU myself but went to Uncle Sam University (Army) instead to my deep regret.

 

[ToNY97]

Welcome buckeye
Please compare sfv 650 and N1K.
No regrets

 

[GaryK]

Late Welcome Brother!

 

[OHRoute83]

Compare SFV 650 to N1K

Hey guys. I noticed today the request for the SFV650 and Ninja comparison.

First, let me say that I'm kinda tall (6'3" roughly) and about 205 lbs. My legs are long. When I decided last year in April to get a motorcycle, I just wanted a regular bike. The SFV 650 seemed ideal. It wasn't expensive ($6400 new after tax and such).

Within about a month, I realized I'd bought the wrong bike. I could only ride for about 20 minutes before my glutes started to hurt-- it was almost unbearable by 40 minutes.

A friend of mine told me about Corbin seats. Distance was important to me so I bit the bullet and spent $460 on a saddle. The quality was awesome (it better have been for that kind of coin). It only added another 20 minutes to the comfortable duration of riding. By September, I'd logged a painful 2,300 miles, fallen in love with motorcycling, and decided to get THE bike for me... Enter the N1K...

It fits me so much better! I can ride for about 60 minutes before I need to stop and stretch. And then I jump right back on, ride for another 60 minutes, and repeat. Often, I'll ride 300 miles in a day (a little fatigued but nothing a short rest and some dinner can't overcome).

As far as how they ride, the N1K is a monster compared to the SFV 650. The Suzuki might have impressed me when I first got it-- but the Kaw is literally twice the bike.

The SFV was MUCH more nimble, though. In fact, I rode both of them in the same afternoon recently and some might argue that the more technical roads (like the triple-nickel in southern Ohio) would be much more enjoyable on the Suzuki. It was a very fun bike-- it just was more of a commuter than a recreation machine.

All in all, I wish I would have learned how to ride and learned what fit me on a less expensive machine. For those of you looking for your first bike? Just get something cheap-- you can buy 250cc starter bikes for $1,000. Do that so you don't lose any money deciding your riding style and what you want to do on a bike...