el, the sv650 and the S models are the same bike, save for the upper fairing and sportier bars on the S model. my main reason for touting them so much is that they are just plain good bikes. like i said, cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, and they are easy to ride and comfortable enough for that long ride you may end up taking here and there. the buell on the other side of the coin is a more powerful, more expensive, and more attention needing bike. it will outperform the SV overall, but the experience of owning the suzuki in this case would be much better, especially for a new rider. having taken a ride on a mildly modded SV650 at the Dragon last year, those bikes are perfectly capable of hauling ass when you want them to. i actually felt more comfortable in many of the turns on the SV than my own CBR (but then again, i'd only owned my 954 for about a week at that time ). that showed me right away how rider-friendly that bike is and i've actually been looking at them for a 2nd bike or trackday machine since they are so easy to keep.

as for peter's comment, i'm not on a suzuki/kawi kick. from what i've seen/read/talked about with other riders i really like the new ZX6R's. but i also still love the 600RR. i've been looking for a while to possibly step down to a 600 because i like the lighter feeling of the bikes over my 954. but in all honesty i'll most likely just play with some suspension settings and tire combos to get my 954 to handle like a 600 . actually just picked up a set of M1's for it and dropped to a 180 rear tire .