Is a NEW Beginner Bike Even Worth It? | 2002 SV650 vs Ninja 500

Source: Is a NEW Beginner Bike Even Worth It? | 2002 SV650 vs Ninja 500 by Chaseontwowheels.
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🏍️ Huge thanks to WOW Motorcycles in Marietta, GA for the SV650: https://www.wowmotorcycles.com
🎥 Watch WOW hand me the bike: https://youtu.be/aFxB_exikcE

Everybody assumes a newer motorcycle is automatically the better motorcycle, so I put a brand new 2025 Kawasaki Ninja 500 head to head against a 2002 Suzuki SV650, two bikes about 15 years apart that cost almost the exact same money. The SV650 is the bike I actually started on 17 years ago, and it’s still one of the most underrated beginner motorcycles you can buy. We get into depreciation and why your money is safer on a used bike, what an assist and slipper clutch actually does when you botch a downshift, why ABS and traction control matter way more than a model year (and why buying new does not automatically mean you get them), and where to actually hunt for a clean used beginner bike. If you’re shopping for your first motorcycle and you’re stuck between new and used, this is the comparison I wish somebody had made for me.

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00:00 Does New Mean Better
00:17 Two Beginner Bikes Faceoff
00:58 OnTwoGarage Giveaway Intro
01:54 Section One Money Matters
02:03 Depreciation and Drop Proofing
03:11 SV650 Reveal and Backstory
04:20 SV650 Character and V Twin Feel
05:22 Slipper Clutch vs Old School
05:56 Forgiveness vs Learning Analogy
06:24 Safety Tech Where New Wins
06:52 Traction Control Scary Story
08:45 ABS Explained and Shopping Trap
09:55 Where to Find Used Bikes
10:58 So Is New Actually Better
11:32 Final Thoughts and Sign Off