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Comparison please ?

2K views 61 replies 13 participants last post by  Royal Tiger 
#1 ·
Has anyone had a 600 Katana ( I had an 03 ) and a SV650 that they could compare or contrast the two bikes for me? I'm wanting an SV and just wondering how they compare performance wise...

Thanks ;)

:luvpanda
 
#2 ·
Suzuki GSX600F K3GSX 600 F Katana 2003
Overall Length: 2,135 mm (84.1 in)
Overall Width: 745 mm (29.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,195 mm (47.0 in)
Wheelbase: 1,470 mm (57.9 in)
Dry weight: 208 kg (458.6 lbs)
Engine type: Air/oil-cooled 599 cc inline-4, SACS, DOHC, TSCC, 16 valves. 78 hp (57 kW)/ 10,500 rpm, 54 Nm/ 9,500 rpm.


vs

SV 650 S 2003
Overall Length: 2,045 mm (80.5 in)
Overall Width: 790 mm (31.1 in)
Overall Height: 1,030 mm (40.6 in)
Seat Height: 800 mm (31.5 in)
Wheelbase: 1,435 mm (56.5 in)
Ground Clearance: 140 mm (5.5 in)
Dry Weight: 165 kg (364 lbs)
Engine type: Liquid-cooled 645 cc v-twin DOHC, 8 valves. 70 hp (51.5 kW)/ 9,000 rpm, 61.7 Nm/ 7,400 rpm.


2 different animals. The Katana is kinda outdated. Too 'long' (overall length) and heavy for a 600cc sport bike. A bike with that 'little' hp shouldn't weigh that much, IMO. (And weight doesn't matter as much to me as most members on here.)

SV wins in every category, pretty much.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Lol, heard I was being beckoned.

I had a 96 Katana 600. I have an 07 SV1000 now, but I've ridden the 650. As said, the SV wins hands down. The Katana isn't a bad bike, its just never going to compare to an SV. As mentioned, the Katana is heavy, and underpowered for its weight. The suspension its very soft (yes, even more so than a stock SV.) The Katana wallows in the corners compared to the SV. I affectionately refer to mine as the land barge, lol.

The SV is going to be much more "flickable" than the Katana and will feel like it has more power due to the lower weight. The v twin also produces power much differently, which I think is better and easier to ride.
 
#7 ·
Thanks ;)

in 03 I bought a new Katana 600, put nearly 10K Miles on it... To me it was blindingly fast ( I know...) atleast fast enough that I would scare myself very easily on it... Got out of bikes for a while (Till Now) and found a broke down 00' 250 ninja that I fixed up and have been riding... the 250 is now on craigslist trying to supplement the purchase of an SV, I like the styling of the 03 and newer models...
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have an 02 Katana 600. Unfortunately I cannot compare it to the SV or any other bike but I can tell you it is a great bike. Personally, I would prefer it to the SV because to me it they better looking (late model Katana's) and although I have never rode a twin, I like the I4. The Katana is very fast, although I'm sure nothing compared to a ss. I have been about 7,500 miles since I got my bike this spring and each one has been great. Just had full service including valves done at 15k and the bike which was running great before seems to be running like I would imagine it did when it was new. Fuel injection and liquid cooling would be nice features that the Katana does without though. In my opinion, the newer style Katana's are more sporty looking than the SV.
 
#16 ·
I'm not knocking the Katana, because its a very solid, reliable bike, but there is just no way to compare the performance to the SV. He was asking about comparisons in performance, not looks. As far as that goes, I think the Katanas are f'ugly, from the 90's right up to when they stopped making them. Throw some lower fairings on the SV (though god knows why you would want to, more plastic to break when you punt it), and its indistinguishable from a supersport for most people.

The SV is going to get you more usable power where you actually use it, lower in the RPMs. Plus, you're getting more torque, also lower in the powerband, which means its much more usable in town, where those things really matter. Plus, the SV is going to handle sooooo much better than the Katana, and thats with the crappy stock suspension on the SV. If you think the stock suspension on the SV is soft, the stock Katana is like riding a couch.
 
#9 ·
Apples and oranges. Sandy has more experiance with the kat than I do but i have been on both. And the SV is again... Hands down the better bike. And far more usable power on the street- vtwin is vastly superior street bike to any I4.

Not only is it a more flickable easy to ride bike the aftermarket support and mix and match fator for the SV is overwhelming.
 
#12 ·
So are you saying 650 twin versus 600 I-4? I have ridden liter (and b*****) class twins, triples, and I-4's are still prefer the twin, especially on the street. Which is why I have 2 of them. :)


Oh, and sorry katrider. I know you like your bike and it holds a dear place in your heart, but the SV is a cut above a Katana.
 
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#19 ·
So are you saying 650 twin versus 600 I-4? I have ridden liter (and b*****) class twins, triples, and I-4's are still prefer the twin, especially on the street. Which is why I have 2 of them.
Are you typing on Jo's phone. I can barely understand you. 'I have ridden liter (and b*****) class twins, triples and I-4's are still prefer the twin.' :headscrtch :p

Anyways, yes the 650 v-twin (parallel 650s don't seem to have that low end torque, either.) vs I-4 is what I she was saying. I only chucked '600' in their because there's plenty of I-4 that will out grunt an SV650/SV1000/Rotax1000 etc...they're just not 600s. :p

On an off note-

I don't even like riding my bike above 6000rpm around town. (That would be in first gear.) I don't want people to think I'm some screaming exhaust sounding squid/Harley wannabe. Honestly, is there a reason to have your bike turning 11,000 rpm around the fucking neighborhood/city/suburbs? :( (Unless you hate your neighbors.)
 
#20 ·
Hmm, yeah I had thought that....in general....V-twins are more torquey in the lower RPM than inlines, right.

And of course there is no replacement for displacement when it comes to torque. So a large displacement inline would also work...which is the main appeal for the "liter bikes" in the thread asking why people buy liter bikes vs 600s. So liter and above inlines should also be more torque as well.

Hence cruisers are almost always large displacement v-twins?
 
#21 ·
Hence cruisers are almost always large displacement v-twins?
Yes and no. Japanese make large disp v-twin cruisers because they want to compete with Harley first and foremost. The fact that the pretty much defacto torque of a v-twin gets that fat hog moving with the grunt that it has is just icing. There was lots of non-v-twin cruises that kicked ass...it's just that usually they're lighter. (V4 in a Magna, Air cooled I-4s and even, as I can attest to some serious off the line torque, the flat 6 engine in the Valkyrie.) Of course, all of those mentioned above are dead and gone in the face of large displacement v-twin Harley clones. Only leaving the Oldwing with a flat 6...and it's not even a cruiser. (Same with that new BMW GT bike) Don't get it twisted, though. Those Oldwings can move pretty good for something their weight... They'll surely blow any Harley other than a V-Rod or some Custom CVO out of the water (in handling and power).
 
#22 ·
Ah I see. The Goldwings are flat sixes, I guess they are the ultimate cruiser (tourer) and certainly seems to strike a good balance between low end power and also good at high speed cruising.

Actually, my friend just got his first bike, a Vulcan 500 which is a inline/parallel-twin that is almost same as the motor in the EX500.
 
#23 ·
Aye, the Vulcan 500 is a great starter cruiser. My first bike was an EX500 and the motor isn't shabby at all in that bike...a bit slower on a cruiser frame, but still a solid bike.

...and yea, Goldwings are the Cadillacs of the motorcycle world. (As is the BMW 1600GT, though BMW loathes to mention the two in the same breath.)
 
#24 ·
Actually didn't know the SV was a twin motor until recently...doh! But then again I just got started riding so.

My 2nd bike (which will come alot later of course, at least maybe 10k miles and couple years on my current Nighthawk) I'd like another standard but less weight and more torquey/hp overall. Something like the Honda CB1000R or a SV1000 or anything similar for street cruising. I actually never liked full on cruiser or full on sportbikes.
 
#27 ·
My next door neighbor is a complete ass. There was a wooded lot beside our house when we moved in that he told us he was planning to leave natural. Three years ago, he decided to put in a campground there, cut down all the trees and spent every day during the summers with his heavy equipment going at 6am, then lighting fires to burn the brush, basically making our yard (and windows in the house - we don't have AC) unusable due to the smoke every entire summer.

When I go riding, I'm often leaving at 6, 6:30 am. It is one of my sick little pleasures in life to hit red line in 1st gear as I pull out and pass the campground. You've heard my bike, imagine that for a second.
:eek:nfloor

Get your family over there with their Harleys. Hopefully one of them has some straight pipes and really go to town Rumble In The Valley style. :p
 
#28 ·
it's like comparing a hippopotamus and an elephant
 
#31 ·
I'm not an expert on these things by any means, but I would think that it is relatively difficult to get an I4 and a V-twin with the same displacement to make the same horsepower, simply because of the differences in how the power is made. Of course, I know that mods to a V-twin could boost the horsepower closer to that of a similar displacement I4, but that seems rare. My liter v-twin makes about (give or take 10-15 hp) the same overall horsepower as a 600cc supersport, while a liter I4 makes about 40ish more.

That all being said, someone with way more knowledge about these things will have to weigh in to really answer your question because I could be completely wrong.

The katana is a squishy, fatass, numb, pig of a bike. And that's being nice.

I guess it's comfortable, though. But so's the SV.
:eek:nfloor.

But the SV is a steel pig with a frame!!! You can't call the katana a pig. I always refer to mine as a whale.

The thing that these people who are are :luvpanda their katanas need to remember is that if the katana is their first bike, they have no idea what we mean. I had no idea what its shortcomings were because it was my first bike. When my buddy asked me how the suspension on the new bike felt before we set it up for me, I told him it felt great because compared to the katana, it was like riding a bike that actually turned. Then, once we set it up for me, it was a completely different bike again. Then, I rode his CBR and saw the limitations of my bike. Its all about gaining experience with different bikes and seeing what works for you. You can't really give information about two different bikes unless you've ridden both of them.
 
#32 ·
I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Anything over the weight of a dry autumn leaf equals a fatass pig that can't turn for shit." That Ducati 1199? Fucking fatass disgusting pig of a bike. Daytona 675? Fat disgusting pig. Ninja 250? Fat, slow disgusting pig. Schwinn 10 speed? Fat, extremely slow disgusting pig. Lance Armstrong's bike? Fat disgusting fucking pig. Autumn leaf with a hole in it? :screaminkaw I know I have muscles like Arnold in his prime from pushing/pulling/turning my disgusting fatass pig of a bike around. :cereal
 
#34 ·
Bullshit. He's talking about the Katana. Have you ridden a Katana? It IS everything Pete called it. We're talking about a bike that is only 60 lbs lighter than your bike, but has less than half the horsepower and torque of your bike. It isn't about the weight, its the weight in ratio with everything else that it isn't. Add that to how the suspension wallows, and it really is a "squishy, fatass, numb, [whale] of a bike"
 
#33 ·
My sarcasm meter.... It blipped a little there. Was that sarcasm? jist checking because it was only a little blip on the meter.....


:hide
 
#42 ·
I don't understand how they still make the GSX650F. I mean, who buys it on anything other than the looks?

I can see an uninformed first bike, or a 'settling' first bike or a 'do a friend a favor' first bike, but for an informed decision? Look at the Gladius, SV650, Er-6n, Honda Hawk, Ninja 650, FZ6R and then....the GSX650F (or GSX600 or Suzuki Katana). Christ, if you're going to go with a Katana just get a fucking VFR750 or 800. I only rode it twice before he sold it, but when I rode my father's VFR750, goodness, that V-4 was a sweeeeeeeet sounding ride with just some Leo Vince's on, and they're comparable weight and power, but the VFR handles better. Do not underestimate the VFR as a 'do it all' bike.
 
#45 ·
Are we still talking about motorcycles? :D


I never had the problem Greg seems to have at slow speed with the same motor. I do prefer a liter v-twin for the street though.

I still smile though when I look back at riding the BMW R 1150 R. Man I miss that bike.
 
#46 ·
Are we still talking about motorcycles?
The wife blue balling you or something, chief? Everything's a sexual innuendo with you. :p
(And fat women can go love someone else. I have no interest in having my pelvis shattered by some behemoth, I am a twig, after all...)


PS Your bike isn't 425lb, thus it's a big fat pig. What do you think of them apples? :p
 
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