Shed mini-fleet: BMW E39 530i + Suzuki SV650
Discussion
Now the fleet rationalisation is complete, time for an update!
The daily: BMW E39 530i SE saloon
So this is what £1000 of ageing Munich metal gets you: a 2001 BMW 530i SE on 160,000 miles. Usual fare here: dual zone climate (which actually works), cupholders (which don't), cruise, auto lights and a decent stereo. And for some reason known only to first owner, cloth seats. So about everything you need in a barge but nothing you don't.
What's it like then? In a word (or two), over-engineered. Immediately apparent is the 1600kgs it's having to haul, and this is felt every time you accelerate or turn. Quite glad I settled for no less than the 3.0 litre then. However, what this weight brings is an amazing level of ride quality and refinement. Bumps in the road are hammered into submission by its sheer mass, and it disguises speed to the extent that a 95mph cruise on the motorway feels slow - I await my NIP. The 'box is silky, and the tiptronic mode, although not lightning fast like modern dual clutch units, perfectly useable when you need some more control. The lever even moves the right way (push to change down, pull for up) so I can feel like a touring car driver on the Bristol ring road! Is it 'the greatest car ever made', as contemporary reports claimed? Well I don't think it is any more, but for shed money its hard to think of much that could beat it.
The toy: Suzuki SV 650
Having ridden nothing else over 125cc, I have no points of reference to compare this to. All I know is that 0-100mph is supercar quick, and acceleration 100mph+ is pretty slow. Its 650cc V-twin revs to 11k, which apparently is low for a bike (!), but feels pretty lumpy under 3k. There's no cruise, cupholders or crash protection but it's the perfect complement to the daily. £950 very well spent.
The daily: BMW E39 530i SE saloon
So this is what £1000 of ageing Munich metal gets you: a 2001 BMW 530i SE on 160,000 miles. Usual fare here: dual zone climate (which actually works), cupholders (which don't), cruise, auto lights and a decent stereo. And for some reason known only to first owner, cloth seats. So about everything you need in a barge but nothing you don't.
What's it like then? In a word (or two), over-engineered. Immediately apparent is the 1600kgs it's having to haul, and this is felt every time you accelerate or turn. Quite glad I settled for no less than the 3.0 litre then. However, what this weight brings is an amazing level of ride quality and refinement. Bumps in the road are hammered into submission by its sheer mass, and it disguises speed to the extent that a 95mph cruise on the motorway feels slow - I await my NIP. The 'box is silky, and the tiptronic mode, although not lightning fast like modern dual clutch units, perfectly useable when you need some more control. The lever even moves the right way (push to change down, pull for up) so I can feel like a touring car driver on the Bristol ring road! Is it 'the greatest car ever made', as contemporary reports claimed? Well I don't think it is any more, but for shed money its hard to think of much that could beat it.
The toy: Suzuki SV 650
Having ridden nothing else over 125cc, I have no points of reference to compare this to. All I know is that 0-100mph is supercar quick, and acceleration 100mph+ is pretty slow. Its 650cc V-twin revs to 11k, which apparently is low for a bike (!), but feels pretty lumpy under 3k. There's no cruise, cupholders or crash protection but it's the perfect complement to the daily. £950 very well spent.
I've had a few SV650s and even raced them. They're kind of quick Mitsubishi Evo quick, rather than supercar quick, but they're still damn good fun to ride and they sound great with an aftermarket pipe.
If you're going to ride it in serious wet weather, watch out for water going into the spark plug hole on the front cylinder. On both bikes I had, this caused the front cylinder not to fire (fine once it dried out). I fixed a bit of plastic (ok, a piece of plastic cut from a coke bottle) to the radiator that covered the spark plug hole on the front cylinder and never had the problem again.
Enjoy.
If you're going to ride it in serious wet weather, watch out for water going into the spark plug hole on the front cylinder. On both bikes I had, this caused the front cylinder not to fire (fine once it dried out). I fixed a bit of plastic (ok, a piece of plastic cut from a coke bottle) to the radiator that covered the spark plug hole on the front cylinder and never had the problem again.
Enjoy.
bennyboysvuk said:
I've had a few SV650s and even raced them. They're kind of quick Mitsubishi Evo quick, rather than supercar quick
I'm not sure about that. 11secs for the 1/4 mile puts it on a par with the Audi R8, which is arguably a supercar.At any rate, that's a cracking little collection (including the granddad-spec E39) for a fairly small outlay. Good work.
kiethton said:
That is a slightly odd-spec'ed E39!
Did it the other way round...E39 540i and a CBR 125r
Need to do the bike test and collect the CBR600 I want! - Think you're localish, where did you do your bike test out of interest?
Nice pair! I wasn't too fussed about the performance of the barge as I knew if I wanted to hoon I'd take the bike.Did it the other way round...E39 540i and a CBR 125r
Need to do the bike test and collect the CBR600 I want! - Think you're localish, where did you do your bike test out of interest?
Get your test booked! I'm in Bristol but I did my Mod 1 test Croydon-ish, my Mod 1 retake in Bristol and my Mod 2 test in Turner's Hill as I'm in the south east a lot.
C70R said:
11secs for the 1/4 mile puts it on a par with the Audi R8, which is arguably a supercar.
At any rate, that's a cracking little collection (including the granddad-spec E39) for a fairly small outlay. Good work.
Yep, it was those sorts of figures that I was basing that fact on.At any rate, that's a cracking little collection (including the granddad-spec E39) for a fairly small outlay. Good work.
Cheers, I'm still loving them.
Well overdue update needed here!
The bike
With winter coming, I decided to sell the bike in October. Put it up on Gumtree at a 'hopeful' £1200, and within days I'd sold it for £1100. Made £150 profit then, which covered the cost of the new tyres I put on. In all, a very cheap summer of biking, and I've definitely caught the bug! It's also given me a better idea of what I want from my next bike, and I'm leaning towards (no pun intended) something a bit more comfortable and a lot quicker. So far a Triumph Sprint 955i seems like the strongest option.
The car
The 530i continues its job as a workhorse, having now racked-up 10k miles since its purchase in June. My mileage has now been made all the more economical by the fitting of an LPG conversion. I know that'll split opinions on here, but I've run an LPG car before (an E46 325i) and am familiar with the pros and cons. I'm now getting the equivalent to 35mpg in town, and 46mpg on an 80mph run. So about 2.0 diesel figures, without having to, well, have a 2.0 diesel!
It's also developed an air leak which is bringing up the EML. It's not affecting the drive but I think once I've got this fixed I might see a few more mpg from it. Just need to get round to getting it sorted.
In October it went in for its MOT, which I'm pleased to report it passed first time.
A pair of Avon ZV5s went onto the rear to replace the comically slidey Wanlis, and match the ZV5s that were already on the front. Having fitted ZV5s to my old 3-series I knew they were safe a bet, although they have made wet roundabouts far less entertaining. It'll need new fronts in the next couple of months, so I'll be ordering another pair of (yep you guessed it) ZV5s, and have them fitting along with having the alignment done.
Other news
I seem to have bought myself an MX5...
The bike
With winter coming, I decided to sell the bike in October. Put it up on Gumtree at a 'hopeful' £1200, and within days I'd sold it for £1100. Made £150 profit then, which covered the cost of the new tyres I put on. In all, a very cheap summer of biking, and I've definitely caught the bug! It's also given me a better idea of what I want from my next bike, and I'm leaning towards (no pun intended) something a bit more comfortable and a lot quicker. So far a Triumph Sprint 955i seems like the strongest option.
The car
The 530i continues its job as a workhorse, having now racked-up 10k miles since its purchase in June. My mileage has now been made all the more economical by the fitting of an LPG conversion. I know that'll split opinions on here, but I've run an LPG car before (an E46 325i) and am familiar with the pros and cons. I'm now getting the equivalent to 35mpg in town, and 46mpg on an 80mph run. So about 2.0 diesel figures, without having to, well, have a 2.0 diesel!
It's also developed an air leak which is bringing up the EML. It's not affecting the drive but I think once I've got this fixed I might see a few more mpg from it. Just need to get round to getting it sorted.
In October it went in for its MOT, which I'm pleased to report it passed first time.
A pair of Avon ZV5s went onto the rear to replace the comically slidey Wanlis, and match the ZV5s that were already on the front. Having fitted ZV5s to my old 3-series I knew they were safe a bet, although they have made wet roundabouts far less entertaining. It'll need new fronts in the next couple of months, so I'll be ordering another pair of (yep you guessed it) ZV5s, and have them fitting along with having the alignment done.
Other news
I seem to have bought myself an MX5...
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