Touring on the SV650

The Corbin seat on my SV just keeps getting better and better after over 60,000 miles on it.
I used to have a Corbin passenger seat too, which my son said it made a huge difference when I used to take him on long rides.
Corbin sucks to work with thogh. I could write a book about the seats they have built for me and the problems.

Thanks for the insight. I am planning a ride to Nova Scotia his summer and I want my passenger to come with me. If I did pick up an SV of Gladius I'd rather take that than my current ride ('82 Suzuki GS). Sheepskin may be my saving grace. Can't have an upset and uncomfortable passenger. If she aint happy, no one is happy.

I am still sorely tempted by the SV's solo rider appeal though. Just need to find a way to make the back seat do-able too...

Well in total truth i can barely make it 2 hours with out wanting to die, if your planning on long rides then the stock seats have to go which i need to probaly do. I didn't buy this bike planning on doing trips or 2-up riding mainly just to hop on and ride for a few hours which it does just fine at.

Thanks again for the input. As much as I would like the small and nimble nature of an SV I may need to look for a bandit instead. Long range comfort is very important to me, as is a sporty nature. However if my current ride has taught me anything its that the rider makes a the biggest difference in performance, not the bike. I am used to slinging around a heavy pig of a bike through the twisties, and keeping pace with true sport bikes. A bandit 600 would be 100 lbs lighter than my current ride, yet still be comfortable enough to ride all day two up... Hmm. Much to consider.

Have you considered Sargent? I used to sell them, right beside Corbin. I had complaints about Corbin. Never had a single one about Sargent. I'm no longer in the motorcycle business, but, used to deal with Rudy at Sargent.

Owned and sold my Sargent. Nowhere near as comfy as my Corbin (to me)

I was not complaining about the quality of Corbin saddles. Just that the experience of dealing with Corbin has always been horrendous. Once you get what you want (my seat was built 1" taller than their "stock" SV650 configuration) you are gold. getting there however is not something I would want to do again.

I would definetly test ride one alone and with your wife, the seat is the main issue for me right where your rear pants pockets are is where i get the pain, and with a passenger i cant move around as much. Like stated by others the stock seats suck and i've been to cheap assed to upgrade so my ass pays anyways.

Certainly good advice. I have ridden a '99 SV solo before, and after about an hour I was pretty glad to get off it. The seat had a forward inclination that was not doing my unmentionables any favors. I'm thinking that a 2nd gen might be better here as the seat looks a bit more level. There is always the ugly gel/sheepskin pad option too.

Anyone have feedback regarding 1st vs 2nd gen seats?

Interesting. Do you think that a Sargent's out-of-the-box comfort causes people to immediately like them, whereas the Corbin needs plenty of break-in miles to become comfortable?

Here's mine....anyone know of some good (decently cheap and preferably hard) luggage for the first gen SV650s?

This was the case for me. When I first got my corbin I didn't think it was that good. But now I love it. Even after a 5k mile road trip I had no problems.

Don't know what your idea of "cheap" is, but, Twisted Throttle offers SW Motech mounts to which you can mount about any hardcase to.

If you want a top box rack, I rolled my own when I had my 1st gen. No special tools and it looked great after it was finished. I don't remember many of the details and my SV is long gone, but I will give you a link to my old post on SVrider. That setup worked for me for several thousand miles and cost me less than a $100 for the box, rack, bolts, etc.

http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49110

Thanks! I'll give this a try!

I have a 2001 Sv650 and I adore her. The bike is reliable as well as nimble and loads of fun!

Hey Roxy! Nice to see you join my thread.

Ann Arbor's only a hop skip and a jump away from me. If you ever are thinking of touring around S Ohio/PA,WV,TN,NC,KY, etc, let me know, or ever need a hand mechanically.

I love my SV too. We have been through a lot together, Blue and I.

This thread needs more pictures.

OK...

Yeah you have one of the best looking sv's i've seen in awhile and makes me feel that much worse about trying to put mine into my house for the winter.

I don't know if 1800 miles in 6 days and 13,000 + miles per year is considered touring or not.

Anyway.