Suzuki Touring Bike reviews

Great first bike, not too powerful, great gas mileage - averaged about 60-65mpg, wicked light. If you are capable and confident though I may suggest something stronger like the Shadow or VulcanS. My gripe was that the vibration was numbing on longer highway trips. Show less

It is May, 2016. I just picked up a used Bandit 1200S. 7K miles for $2,900 at a Yamaha dealer. Completely gone through and stock but for a slip-on. I'm loving it. Real presence. Big, light and powerful. I'm just getting back to metrics from Harleys. Why spend more? Show less

It's an excellent bike, rides good, has durability, road attack tires, low maintenance and runs forever. It's a good sport touring bike, not to mention good looks and style. don't let this one pass you up. Show less

I bought it in 2005, reviewed again in 2007. Now it's 2014 and I still have it and ride whenever I can. I love the bike and have had zero problems with it. I have only changed the oil and air filters. I am thinking about getting a bit bigger bike - the C90T Boss. Show less

I have to say this is the the first GSX-R1000 that I have owned. My previous bikes are one car 600, two GSXR750 and two CBR1000RRs. This is by far the best feeling bike for me. There is way more power than what anyone needs. If it doesn't have enough or you can ride it in A mode, why aren't you riding professionally? Show less

I installed a small gel pag from eBay, $24, under the seat cover material - as instructed, and after a 61-mile ride, I had butt burn that took a week to heal. I moved the gel pad to under the seat foam - against the seat pan and tightened the seat cover and restapled in place. This action compressed the foam and made the seat harder which is what I need for my bony butt. After a 132-mile ride, I was fine the next day. I just found a nice bike to restore so I advertised my bike for sale since my wife doesn't want two bikes in the garage. Show less

It's a very nice bike for local trips or back and forth to work, if not to far. It has plenty of power on the interstate to keep up with traffic with out tacking it out to run 65 mph. and it's perfect on groomed trails and secondary roads. I like to keep trips to less than 125 miles. It does have a fair amount of vibration, padded gloves help. And do go over it time to time. Yes, screws will back out from the vibration. It is tall and a little heavy. All in all I would recommend it. Show less

I took my MSF course in Feb., 2013 and all they had were 250's. This bike is only slightly larger and heavier than any of the 250 cruisers. So if you like a 250 size, but need more power than this bike is great. The size of the bike makes it a great commuter. It handles traffic easily with plenty of power taking off from a stop. It's easy to maneuver and duck walk if needed. I'm heavy and this bike has no trouble moving on city streets or the highway. I've had it up to 90 mph. to pass vehicles, but I generally cruise about 65 or 70 without difficulty. The light weight of the bike does make it a little easy to get pushed around by wind. The first few times on the highway it felt to small, but as I've gotten used to its handling, I no longer notice it. I don't find the seat comfortable for long rides and need to stretch every time I fuel up. I average about 50 mpg. as a heavy guy using an aggressive throttle. With a 2.8 gallon tank I need to fuel about every 100 miles or flip to reserve. The placement of the foot-pegs doesn't bother me for normal rides, but on long distance my legs get cramped up. I highly recommend this bike as either a transition from a 250 to a 650 or as a first bike. Show less

I had a 2009 DL650 (Wee-Strom) and really liked it, but was looking for something lighter with less fairing and plastic. I picked up a 2004 SV650 with about 23,000 miles in good condition. It's currently set up for commuting, and I have found the bike to be everything I was looking for. It has less weight than the Wee with the same fantastic engine. It's fun to ride, extremely reliable and has tremendous aftermarket support. The only thing that prevents me from giving it a 5 for comfort is that the reach to the bars is a little far, but will correct that with risers or some new bars. I strongly recommend this bike to anyone. Show less

I've owned this bike for about five months now and love it! I came from riding a Honda XR650L Dual Sport. I've ridden other street bikes (CBR600F3, Buell XB12S, VFR750), but never owned one myself. I was originally looking for a street triple, but they were too expensive. I decided on looking into a SV650N, but found a really good deal on this SV1000S. I was a little apprehensive about the riding position with the clip-ons instead of the regular handle bars and the extra power, but after the first few rides it's an easy bike to ride! It has tons of torque from about 3,500 on up to the 11k redline. The power is super easy to use, has a very smooth delivery and the riding position is really not bad at all. I did buy a set of handlebars thinking I was going to want to mount them up right away, but I actually like the stock riding position. I may get the Buell footpegs for a little more legroom, but it's fine on shorter rides. Anything over an hour or so, you want to stretch a little. This is a great bike for the money (paid $3,500 in Dec. 2012), it sounds mean, too, with my Yoshimura pipes. Handling is fine for me as a beginning/ intermediate street rider, but the brakes could be better though. I will upgrade the pads and get steel-braided lines when I have to replace the brakes. I haven't had any issues with the bike yet, it has 15k miles now. I've put 2k on myself so far. Gas mileage is so-so, about 35-40 mpg. in town, over 40 on the pure highway but I haven't done a full tank on just highway yet to know for sure. Show less