I started riding in Jan 09 on a GS500. In June 09 I bought a YZF600R. In Sept 09 I bought a SV650. In March 10 I bought a DRZ400sm. I give this history so you understand where I’m coming from.
– For a brand new rider, one who has never touched a bike before, like me, GS500 is better than the SV650. GS500 is cheaper, lower seat (by about 1.5”), more user friendly. It’ll build up your confidence quickly, which enables you to learn quickly. If you just ride around town, the power is enough. If you are into hard accelerations, it feels a little lacking after a while.
– For someone with dirt bike experience, and knows how to deal with clutch/throttle, maybe SV650 is ok as his first street bike. The power is not crazy, but the strong low-end torque and strong engine braking requires a smooth throttle hand, one that takes time to develop.
– SV650, with its seat about 1.5” higher than a GS500, fits me (6”, 32” inseam) better. GS500 used to feel very comfortable, but now feels small, since I’ve been riding physically bigger bikes.
– Projecting what you want and like 2 years down the road is difficult, and making the purchase based on that is iffy. Within the first few months, you go from knowing nothing about motorcycling to gaining a lot of real life experience, and your thinking and taste may change along the way. You’re better off getting something used, cheap, that you can sell without loosing much, than get locked in financially with a new bike. Used GS and SV are both pretty easy to sell. For my second bike, I wanted to get a FZ1, or R6, or SV650, but I decided to try an older design 600cc to get more contrast from the GS500. Turned out to be another steep learning curve, challenging but fun and rewarding. Now, with 4 bikes, I still have a hard time deciding which way to go next – R6, or skip it and go to a GSXR750/1000, or some kind of dirt bike, dual sport, etc. You see, I’m all over the place, but I’m really enjoying (ok, often agonized by the decision making process – why can’t I get them all?!) the journey.
– Yeah, everyone wants a sexy looking sportbike. Yeah, you’ve got to own one to see for yourself. Yeah, people buy it as their first bike. If you don’t want people’s advice, just get one. But if you want advice, get something cheaper and smaller to learn on first.
– The more I ride, the more I realize how much more there’s to learn. When I had 3,000 mile of experience, I thought I was a good rider, and could handle pretty much any situation in the hills. When I had 10,000 miles of experience, I looked back and wondered – god, how did I survive that, when I knew so little about riding? Now I have 17,000 miles of experience, everyday riding is no problem, but I’m also aware that I’m not trained to handle emergency maneuvers as well as I’d like, still don’t feel my skills are nearly good enough, and I sure am clueless when it comes to off road riding. I’ll need some track school and dirt school, and a lot of practice, to fix that.
My point – one step at a time. Don’t over project yourself too far down the road.