Although 30 horsepower down on a current 600cc four-cylinder sportbike, the Twin's meaty torque curves make for accessible power for your entertainment.
As we shifted from city streets to the superslab, we realized that the areas of the initial differences of these two Twins were more than likely going to play throughout our travels. In the race up to freeway speed, the SV noses ahead, as its 72.6 peak horsepower would lead you to believe. Still, the Kawi didn't feel underpowered, despite its 6.8-hp deficit.
Cruising along at 80-plus-mph revealed that both bikes were comfortably smooth with the Kawi getting the nod. Obviously, the Ninja's fairing offered better weather protection (for those who live in places where it is cold and/or rainy) with the windshield directing the turbulent air right at the shoulders of my 5' 11" frame. The Suzuki's tiny fairing on the headlight surprisingly directs enough wind off of the rider's chest to make long highway rides less tiring. The Ninja's plusher ride does a better job of eating up pavement ripples and freeway expansion joints. In just about every situation, the SV's suspension felt tauter.
Long straight roads gave us time to think about the relative comfort of these bikes. Overall, the riding position and the weather protection bode well for their touring capability. The level of vibration at elevated speeds in top gear (six gears for both) mean you won't get the tingles in either your hands or your feet. The narrowness of the two tanks allow for enough movement to stretch out stiff joints on the go. Unfortunately, neither of these saddles is particularly comfortable for a long day. The narrowness that helps so much around town, when you have to put your feet down, leads to annoying hot spots as your glutes flex over the edges of the seat. (Note: Neither Duke nor I have exceptionally large butts, so that isn't the culprit.)
The Ninja is blessed with handling that is exceedingly agile yet stable, and it can make quick work of a tight canyon road.
In the final stretch of a lengthy ride to the twisties, we began to encounter some serious winds flowing out of the mountain passes. Predictably, the SV rider gets buffeted around a bit more. However, we discovered that the Ninja 650R is slightly susceptible to cross-winds. This isn't a serious problem, but it could surprise a novice the first time it's encountered.
Gettin' to the Nitty Gritty
With motojournalists, no matter what kind of bike we're testing, all roads lead to the mountains. We could tell you that remote highways allow us to better test the bikes by giving us a variety of conditions to sample. In fact, most of us have a favorite loop that we ride almost every bike we test to get an accurate feeling for how bikes stack up to each other. While this would all be true, it would also be omitting the real reason we always take test bikes to the mountains. It's a whole bunch of fun. So, as we rolled through the city of Azusa, we were both salivating. Ahead of us were some of the romping-est roads we knew, surging through the canyons with the unpredictability of a wild animal on the run.
The winding roads highlighted the difference in character of the Twins. With a more gentlemanly character, the Kawasaki was the easiest to ride. From the more upright riding position to the smoother power delivery to the more forgiving suspension, the Ninja gives the rider immediate confidence. The handling is "super-nimble," as Duke put it. On roads that occasionally had gravelly surprises around bends, the 650R changed lines mid-corner without question. The engine had surprising grunt when exiting corners.
The Kawi is sporty without the inherent comfort compromises of a full-on sportbike. It's very cooperative and willing. Anyone new to riding or returning to the sport will immediately find themselves at home in this cockpit.
The Kawi wasn't all sweetness and light, though. The brakes became more of an issue in an environment where being able to feel the front end while trail braking into a corner was a fairly regular occurrence. Since the SV also has dual-piston, single action calipers, I'm pretty sure the Ninja is suffering from a pad compound issue. When a bike has a more compliant and forgiving suspension, you'll usually find that it also gets overwhelmed easier when pushed hard.
The SV650 has an almost schizophrenic attitude. Lacking the smoothness and subtlety of the Ninja, the SV required a little longer to get reacquainted to each time I returned to it. Riding the Suzuki has the effect of heightening your awareness of the bike - which can be both good and bad. The stiff suspension that pays dividends when you ramp up the speed, feels harsh at lower velocities. Although the occasional mid-corner bump did upset the chassis a little, the SV's suspension felt the most comfortable once the pace got to 80% or higher.
When it's time to do some backroad giant-killing, an experienced rider can make good use of the SV's higher performance threshold.
"The suspension action of both bikes is a bit crude," according to Duke Danger, "but the non-linkage rear of the Ninja is slightly worse."
Despite the SV's fancy dual butterflies, both off and on throttle are abrupt in the transitions, making it difficult to modulate the throttle in corners-or even achieve neutral throttle. Ironically, this is most annoying at lower speeds. At higher speeds, with the revs in the top end of the tach, the abruptness is less dramatic, as the bike's momentum helps to mask the effect. Given its aggressive character, the SV feels like it's constantly prodding you to go faster. Fortunately, it doesn't suffer from the same brake maladies as the Ninja, so hauling the bike down from speed requires less effort.
