My beloved 2002 SV650 naked has been the perfect bike for me but is now on its last legs with almost 50k on clock of real hard city miles. An M696 looks pretty comparable except sexy as hell while Suzuki's current bikes just don't do anything for me. I'm hoping somebody has owned both bikes or spent a decent amount of time on them.

How comparable are the riding positions? how about the long-distance comfort?

How similar is the handling? How similar is the highway ride?

How much higher are the ownership costs on the Monster? 

Can a grab handle be added behind the passenger seat or somewhere similar?  I commute to Boston every day and being able to lift the rear of the bike up to better line it up in a tight city parking space is really handy.

The air-cooled engine scares me considering I often spend about an hour per day in brutal stop and go traffic. Can an oil-cooler be added? It wouldn't look awesome but I'm not fussy about that, I like the utility look of a naked bike with exposed parts.

I am just going to comment on the Monster since I have never owned an SV 650.  And, yes, the SV is a god bike.  Air cooled is not a problem in traffic.  I live in NYC where lane splitting is frowned upon.  The oil cooler is a nice addition, but really doesn't do much unless moving.  Oh, one comparison.  The 695 does come out of the box with better suspension and brakes, though at a higher cost.

this site might help understand the riding position:
http://cycle-ergo.com/

I'm a "full-frame" Monster guy and have never ridden the SV, so I can't comment on the comparison.

not ridden an sv, spent a bit of time on a cagiva 650 raptor, which was sv motor.

similar i would say.  water cooled motor is a bonus, as it's more consistant in running temp.  monster will cost a lot more to service over that mileage.

i'd be dubious on the monster suspension being much better.  it's just cheap.

I went from the SV to a Monster 1100 EVO.  I haven't ridden a 696 but I have ridden a 796 and the character of the Ducati is a bit different than the SV... especially the big bore air-cooled 1100.  Where the SV is easy to ride in city traffic, the 1100 is jerky and demanding (although the 796 is better in traffic and would make a better commuter).  I doubt you'll like the air-cooled Monsters in city traffic.  Heat just pours off the engine when you're stopped in traffic, although, the smaller displacement bikes might not be as bad as the M1100.

Power output is almost identical except the Suzuki is liquid-cooled so it has a broader powerband and I'd bet it is the equal of or beats the 696 in most performance tests.  Excellent chassis in both, budget suspension in both, brakes are perfectly adequate in both.  I had a well sorted 2008 SV650 and I put 17,000 trouble free miles on it in a bit over 3 years of ownership.  Maintenance was cheap and the bike was, as I said, trouble free.  

I had the 15k mile valve adjustment done on the SV for about $300 and other than that and tires and oil changes I did nothing to it.  I never even replaced the battery or the chain and sprockets during the time I owned it (and I was the original owner).  On the Monster valve adjustments are twice the cost and it is required twice as often, add in belt replacement and you're looking at $800-900 and the Ducati wasn't exactly trouble free either and I put almost 16,000 miles on it.  This is one of the few purchases that I would actually recommend purchasing the extended warranty on.

As for comfort the Ducati will be about as comfortable as an SV on longer rides.  I found my arse hurting after about 2-3 hours on the SV and the Monster is certainly no better or no worse in that regard.

Personally, I would check out the newer liquid-cooled Monsters if you want an upgrade from the SV or the 848 Streetfighter (I absolutely loved riding that bike the few times I have ridden it). Service intervals are farther between on the newer liquid-cooled Ducatis too.  

I loved the Monster and would like to own one again but I'm extremely pleased with my Multistrada 1200 S.  I love these liquid-cooled Ducati twins.  So much power, so much fun.

Edit-I'm kind of surprised your SV is on its last legs with only 50k miles on it.  Are you the original owner?  Have you kept up on the maintenance?

FYI, the 696 did NOT come with an oil cooler standard. Not that we've ever needed one.


Op, yes you can add grab handles. Though I'm not sure how easy it is to scootch the bike over with them... Never tried.

I had a really well sorted 03 SV650 as my first bike. Rode it for a year and then sold it for my DL650. I miss that bike and asked the owner if he would sell back recently and he said no. I'm now hopefully picking up a 696 this weekend. I looked at the prices of the SV's i'd want, and then how much money i'd spend getting them to the way i wanted. Then i found a decent priced Duc. Figured the time is right and so is the price, so i might as well jump when i can. I know maintenance is supposedly worse on the Duc, but i'm looking forward to adjusting the valves and swapping the belts out myself. I did the valve adjustment recently on my DL650. The hardest part was removing all the plastic! Makes me really want a naked bike again. Oh yeah, i plan on riding the bike a lot for commuting. I put 13k on my SV650, i've owned my DL650 for not quite 2 years and it's at 26k. I expect the same of the Monster.

20140725_154958 by fragile_this_side_up_retro_club, on Flickr

Valve adjustments on a Ducati are not as easy as they are on the SV650.

Quote from: SDRider on March 03, 2015, 05:53:40 AM
Valve adjustments on a Ducati are not as easy as they are on the SV650.

That depends on your definition of easy.  I hate draining coolant.

I've watched a few tutorial walk throughs. I'm ok with what has to be done. Besides, with the Duc, i'll be doing valve adjustments 2x a year at least. I will become a pro in no time! 

Quote from: Kev M on March 03, 2015, 01:54:25 AM
FYI, the 696 did NOT come with an oil cooler standard. Not that we've ever needed one.


Op, yes you can add grab handles. Though I'm not sure how easy it is to scootch the bike over with them... Never tried.

What is this then?  Because on my M1100 it was an oil cooler.



Not trying to be a dick, just curious.   

My SV next to my M1100.


Would have been nice to be able to keep both.

696 doesn't have an oil cooler. 796 and 1100 does. One of the benefits of a 796 over a 696...

Quote from: SDRider on March 03, 2015, 06:36:04 AM
What is this then?  Because on my M1100 it was an oil cooler.



Not trying to be a dick, just curious.   

just a shroud . .  where behind it, in the 795/796/1100 you will find the oil cooler . . .

Yup, The Last beat me to it.

I believe there may be an optional oil cooler available for the 696, and I'm going to assume the front end is basically the same on at least the 696/796 (the later coming with an oil cooler). So the 696 gets the same shroud even though there is no cooler behind it.