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To buy another bike, or to make the STi fast?

kyle99gtp

kyle99gtp

New member
Disclaimer: Unneeded history follows. Skip to the bottom to get to the point

It's been about a year since I sold my R6 and now I'm considering getting another bike. I'd probably be looking at 03+ SV's this time around. My first bike was an 04 GS500F and while it had no balls, it was very cheap to insure, to fill up, and it was comfortable. I added a few things to it (It was stock when I got it) but nothing made any real difference.

DSC_0262.jpg


It was a great first bike but left me wanting more. I used to work at a motorcycle dealership as a reconditioner so I got to ride a ton of different bikes. One day I decided that an R6 wouldn't be too bad of a bike to own, so I found one and bought it. It was a blast, it had a full Yoshimura system and I added a GYT-R filter and PCIII USB, integrated tail, shorty levers, sliders, etc. I loved the R6 but it just wasn't comfortable, especially to ride with my girlfriend as passenger.

The R6:
DSC_0204.jpg


I sold it to get money to put towards a Subaru, I don't regret doing this at all. The STi is fun ALL year round :D However, I've started to miss riding, and it would be nice to have something to keep miles off the STi when I can. I rode a few SV's when I worked at the dealership and I really liked how comfortable they are. The looks of the SV650S/F/whatever the full fairing model is called are right up my alley (I don't like the looks of the Gladius, Ninja 650, FZ6, etc). I feel like the SV would be a lot more comfortable for a passenger as well.









The point:

Here are my thoughts. I'm looking for opinions, so please feel free to try to persuade me one way or the other. Either option is going to cost me about the same up front, so cost is not an issue. I've been saving my pennies and have a budget of around $3K.

Option 1: Put the money into the car.
The STi is quick (let's not compare cars to bikes here), but it's got a lot of room to grow. I've already done a lot of work to make the car handle well, it's ready to do some trackdays/autocrossing. Motor wise I've only done a turbo back exhaust and a tune. I can buy a larger intercooler, larger turbo, injectors, fuel pump, retune, etc to get to around 400 AWHP and have an extremely fun car.

OR

Option 2: Buy a SV650. This has advantages and disadvantages, which I've listed.
Pros:
- I kept all my gear, nothing is needed except insurance and a bike.
- Saves gas over daily driving the STi.
- Keeps miles off the STi (big deal to me).
- An exciting drive is no where near as exciting as a good bike trip.
- I do miss riding. My dad rides as well and it was nice to have a riding buddy.

Cons:
- Extra insurance policy. Cost isn't a huge problem (My R6 was only $309/year for full coverage plus lots of extra coverage, the GS was 86/year fully insured), but it's in addition to the car insurance.
- This is Ohio. I can't shake the feeling that if I buy a bike, it will rain. Every day.
- Can't enjoy the bike in the winter.
- Time. I work 2 jobs and am going to school full time (done in less than a year). I don't want the bike to just become a utilitarian thing that just gets ridden to work and school to keep the car parked, but that could very well happen.
- The STi doesn't get any faster. I'm planning on going to some trackdays, and I'd like to be able to impress myself. Maybe the slower car will give me a chance to improve my driving, but I'd rather have 400 at all 4 wheels than 290 at all 4.



So there it is. If you were in my situation, what would you do?
 


Drive sti, buy bike. The sti is going to be a super money pit before you even figure out how deep you already are.

Ask anyone with a built motor how much it cost them. You'll blow your ringlands once you push 400whp or so.
 
Why not get one of the new GSX-R, iirc you can select different modes for 650-1100, I think it is?!?!

But, I would probably do the car. And if you plan on keeping it, why you so worried about miles. Drive it and have fun.
 


Bio248 said:
Drive sti, buy bike. The sti is going to be a super money pit before you even figure out how deep you already are.

Ask anyone with a built motor how much it cost them. You'll blow your ringlands once you push 400whp or so.
Click to expand...

At 350AWHP (where it will be 95% of the time) it'll be very reliable. The car will have a hybrid Manual boost controller/electronic boost control setup where I can dial the boost down for DD'ing. That 5% is where it gets fun though. I know it's playing with fire but 05's seem to have the least amount of problems with getting close to 400awhp.

I know the risk of what I'm talking about doing so I'll be prepared to deal with things breaking if and when they do.
 
bike

modding your only car is silly and tends to bite you on your ass... trust me on this i learned the hard way
 


i don't think it was me i think it was the car. the 01 hates mods it's a fact i think it likes being a garage queen

but at least the 01 was a fast unlike Mikes fully built TDi


never mind i forgot about the magicly disintegrating GTX, the merc currently only has 7 spark plugs, and the lebaron has revers and nuetral
 
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bike after u have the bike for a bit, you may have money down the road to do the sti, incase somthing happens to the sti ull have the bike
 
What about a Ninja ZX-6R 636? My buddy had one, and it was a blast. Probably a good thing he sold it... he was thinking about snailing it.
 
You're in Ohio...You can only ride, if you're lucky, half the year. You dont want a bike to save mileage on the STI, you may have tricked your mind into thinking thats what you want it for.

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