I test rode a few of the standards for a friend of mine looking for a new bike (he did not have a license yet).
The SV-650 is indeed a very sweet bike, and feels tremendously light beneath you. It steers wonderfully by both inputs at the bars, or by just pushing the bike around with your body. Having torque across the whole powerband is also very nice.
I think what makes it feel so responsive is it's feeling of lightness, and I wonder if that would be a liability for longer cruising. It just feels very light, which is good in some cases, not so good in others.
Unfortunately for you (and for me as well, I am 6'2"), the SV is really out of the question. The bike is _very_ narrow (because it is a twin), and in order to get a decent fuel capacity, the tank flares out above the knees. At least it is supposed too...
In my case (and in no doubt your case), the flare will be 2-3 inches too low. Your knees extend up past the widest part of the tank, and you end up riding in (IMHO) an awkward position, and obviously a position the bike was not designed for.
The other standard we tried (and the one he eventually bought) was the ZR-7. A darn fine bike, handles great, runs great, very reliable, lots of great features, and you could probably get it out the door for 5 grand.
Not the highest performance (oil cooler versus pure liquid cooling), but more then (IMHO) any of us can use responsibly off track. The thing will still accelerate fast enough to blur your vision.
Finally, if it is really your first bike, I would recommend at least thinking about a used "lovable mutt standard". The Nighthawks are good and reliable, but seem a little overpriced. The Yamaha Radian (what I bought) is a good hard pulling decent handling standard bike that you ought to be able to find used for $800-$2000 and is pretty reliable. You might also be able to find a decent ZR7 or ZR550 used for $2k to $3k.
Get the beater standard first, learn your lessons with it (like not to back out of the garage with the side stand down... DooOooh!). This way, those little life lessons come in $10 increments instead of $100 or $1000 increments.
A used standard is also a great place to learn maintenance, or to test a few places to find a good shop to do it for you. A 10 year old bike will probably need some of it (new brakes, new chain, carb clean and sync, petcock work, new tires, new clutch, new cables, new steering head bearings, misc o-rings).
Just IMHO of course. This is my second year on a $1200 Radian, and I am very happy with the service it has given. I will probably try and get myself a used 2000 ZR7 at the end of next years season, mainly to get a more comfortable seat and larger fuel tank capacity, along with a little less maintenance. The Radian is not too bad, but there are a lot of 10 year old little Japanese rubber parts on it by now...
Bill
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"The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to eventually close it again on something solid" (GK Chesterton)