The day I picked up my new Suzuki SV650S it was raining. Of course it was raining. And heavily. Not the best conditions in which to ride the 12 miles back home. ‘Exhilarating’ doesn’t cover it.
Within a mile of the dealership I’d had to ride through a flooded road that had water deep enough to slow cars down. I wasn’t sure what my strategy should be so I slowed down a little and went through it at about 20mph. The drenching I got was shocking. It felt like I’d just waded through a river.
I’ve ridden loads of times in the wet on my old bike, but I’d never experienced an oncoming car hit a deep puddle and chuck a load of water straight at my visor. The impact of the water was ‘exhilarating’ and the lack of vision was panic inducing! The water soon dispersed and I was able to see again pretty quickly. By this point I was laughing merrily, I can tell you.
But I did get home in one piece.
The things I noticed about my new bike on my journey home were:
- The bike is much bigger than my old one (Ninja 250). The tank is massive!
- The turning circle is larger, making low speed manoeuvres harder.
- The bike is a little heavier, making it feel more stable.
- The unfamiliarity with the bike was the biggest handicap for me riding it back home. This fact, coupled with the horrendous wet conditions made me very cautious when turning and cornering. In a straight line it was a dream!
- All that power! My word. Who would have thought 69 bhp could make a man smile so much?
- Its PipeWerx exhaust is loud! My partner heard me coming down the road when she was sat on the sofa inside reading!
Even though I’m dying to spend more time on the bike, I’m in that winter limbo land where it’s dark when I go to work and dark when I return so it’s not exactly fun to use the bike as a commuter. Give it a bout a week and that will change though.