POSTINGS  FOR MARCH 2003

John, the first day of summer and I'm scrubbing in my rear rubber! Thanks to my mate Dan for the swanky vid.. a little more sun and I'll get it right over! Pete

Pete's video is in the Goodies section

John, having passed my test in April 2002, I bought my SV650S in May 2002 it was a parallel import saving me £800 on list price. Since then I have changed the screen to a black D.B. I have changed the headlamp to UK spec (£90 from local breaker), I have changed my tail light to a clear lens with led lights and I have changed my end can to a round carbon CCC can, it sounds fantastic. I have done all this with the help of this site, Can I see my baby on this site thanks ....Tony. Sounds like you got a bargain on the headlight, not that I know what they cost new, but I can imagine. John

Hi John, love your site, keep up the good work ! Please find enclosed a pic of my sv in 'stationary' action ;) Greetings, Stefan. You wouldn't be a farmer by any chance? 

Just finished rebuilding the race bike. Looking forward to 7 months of sunshine and racing. Cory Mann   Looking good, let us know how you get on..John

Now it´s finally time for our bikemeet again - "Svinträffen" 2003! The meet goes off at July the 31th and ends at August the 3rd. We promises that it will be an outstanding bikemeet! A weekend with a hell of a time, and were it will happen a whole lot of crazy things that only can happen with us! We offer you a top-service both in the serving of breakfast, lunch and all the other things that is necessary at a bikemeeting. We also got some people selling most of the things that a biker needs! For four days, and to a really good price, you will get all this. The camp, Lundegård, is a very nice one with as much as four ****. The price is only 250 sKr for the whole weekend. The bands we have hired, are well-knowned rock'n roll-bands, that are very outstanding ones! East Carolina, Tre Drag, Haaks. All these bandnames are telling that there will be a great success! And as last year, the Hellmoppers also will be around with their different, but so very popular, kind of stuff. We do say that we got the largest bikemeet in Sweden, arranged by only one single club - Svineri Mc in Kalmar It´ll be an totally outstanding bikemeet in 2003 - "Svinträffen"! Look at the map of Öland to see where the bikemeet will be. You can find The advertisement about the bikemeet here. Just write it out and put it up in your club-house. www.svinerimc.nu/english

John - Please shrink the banner to the size you need. Please add hyperlink to superbikestore.com
Thanks  David  sales@superbikestore.com

Visit our website at www.superbikestore.com to see what we have for your  Sportbike. Undertails, Huggers, High Level Screens, Carbon Fenders /Huggers / Frame Protectors, Fairing sliders and many other parts. Call us at (734) 417 4090 evenings after 6pm (EST) or weekends anytime. Leave a message at  the warehouse at (734) 975 2459 or fax us at (734) 975 8614.

Obviously a US site and was prompted by the email below. It suspect that Dave works for the Superbike store. Usual rules apply, this is a free service, but if I get any bad press from readers then the banner gets pulled.

Hi John, this is Dave, a member of your site, and I have a question - I know of a pretty good site that sells huggers, windscreens, and many other cosmetic parts for our bikes, and sells them really, really cheap.  I've been in contact with http://www.superbikestore.com and they really want to put a banner up on this site.  Maybe we could work out some kind of discount program, although their prices are already more than fair.  So, let me know what you think. Thanks! - Dave

I've just added this write up to the FAQ section, Thanks George

Hi John, Just been browsing your site and I have to say I'm very impressed. I should be buying an SV650 this weekend ('99 machine with only 5000km!) for 3600 Euro's. Seems like a bit of a bargain to me! I don't know if you guys ever organize tours abroad, but if you ever fancy a trip over to Germany it would be great to have a whole swarm of SV's to show the Germans how it should be done. Take a look at my web site (address underneath), if you think there may be any interest drop me an e-mail or give me a call.

News of a special offer: For our 6th July tour we are offering the 7 Night half board package with 6 days all inclusive tours for only £467! This offer applies to bookings received before the end of April 2003. If you need any further information we will be pleased to help. Kind Regards, Kevin Smith Wheeltrax Motorcycle Tours Birkenweg 14 57627 Marzhausen Germany Tel/Fax 0049 2688 988848

www.wheeltrax.com

I've already replied to Kevin. If anyone is interest drop him a line. John

Thought you might be interested. Fitted today. Mirrors are about half the size of the OEM ones( but what the hell, I think they look cool.). Busters £30

What was I saying earlier! See John Wallmans item, Jan 16th 2003 or go to image catalog 26. Should be able to spot you more easily on the rideout. John

Hi there, Here's a pic of my sv650s, a 2001 model, with its Remus Grand Prix exhaust and a Pyramiyd Plastics bell pan just after a good washing. Scus the darkness of the photo but I've been having some trouble with my scanner. I've just got a solo seat cowl to put on along with a undertray, front preload ajusters and a Iridium double bubble screen. Which has been put on but I have't any photo's at the moment, though you can be sure it looks just lovely. I have also attached a photo of bike with me looking very cheesy the day that I got it.. which is why I had that stupid grin for about 2 weeks.... Regards, Daniel Martin

That has to be the silliest grin. I think we all did that after our first ride on the SV. Yes your scanner is feeling ill. John

Hi John, After dumping the bike on my mother in laws driveway it was either get a new set of front fairings or attempt to hide the damage, was down Westgate rd (Newcastle) and saw some flush mount indicators that I reckoned would cover the hole where my old indicator had punched through the fairing, they were only a £10 so even if they didn’t it wasn’t that much cash to lose.

The indicators are from motrax, with help from my older and wiser (with a solder iron at least) brother we managed to take the wiring from the original Suzuki indicators including the bits that clip together (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve taken the fairings off) and use these for my new indicators, I have included some images and a one of the cracks protruding out the bottom of the indicator which looks a lot better than the cracked ring around the old indicators. I have no idea if these are legal and will pass there MOT but they look pretty sweet and did the job.

Other mods are: powerbronze double bubble carbon look hugger (essential for commuting) removed front stickers (had to cos the indicators went over the top of them) planned for the future: r and g crash bobbins (on order) renegade hi mount carbon oval (finish dissertation in may and this will be my treat) powerbronze undertray rear mini indicators and hopefully the paint job that I sent you in earlier email (could be dreaming) Sorry about the size of the zip Cheers Tim

I guess you got off light (pun). I does seem a stupid place to put the damn things. I like the idea of putting them in the mirrors.

Hello John, I was just reading the articles about the 25th May rideout, and was wondering if you could post a note for us southerners about perhaps meeting somewhere in Kent, to then ride to Boxhill to meet you lot in the afternoon, a few people have mentioned meeting at the Merrychest or the Oakdene!!!!! Cheers Clive

Get in touch with Clive if like his suggestion. I'll be happy to post the chosen start point and time on the rideout page. Same goes for anyone else from other parts of the country. John

Also, I've sold out of the original batch of SV650.org stickers. I placed a new order last Monday and they should be here any day. Thanks for your support

John, In reply to a post on the Forum re Northwest SV owners. I'm from the Blackpool area and here are some photo's of my '01 SVS! It's a parallel import from KJM Superbikes. The downsides mainly being the need to change the headlights for the MOT in '05..mind you I'll have probably moved up to the Thou' by then ;-) They were taken before I fitted my Suzuki lowers. (It was too dark to do a before and after!) Planned mods are a change of pipe, Carbon Can or twin Rene's..dependant on the finances :-), Bridgestone BT010's, a hugger and a seat hump...to name but a few!! Cheers.. Carl

I attended the SV1000 test at Bruntingthorpe on Thursday. I promised not to publish my article until MCN is published on Wednesday. So more detail then. I didn't break my own land speed record by much as  we only got half the runway to play with but I managed a tad over 140 on the thou before hitting the anchors, my 650 couldn't get over 110. Here's a few images to wet your appetite. John

I've added a new button to the menu for this years rideout. Check it out.

John, Am writing from Western Australia ,Perth.Bought my SVS just over 12 months ago and love it. Has the usual problems that they seem to have but I still think its a great bike.. Bought it second hand (16,000 kms) off a mechanical engineer so it has been looked after. It was the first SVS delivered into Perth in 1999, hence the personalized number plate. Haven't done a lot to the bike except change the back end assembly, (lights etc) and fitted a hugger. We have to import all accessories for this bike from overseas so it gets a little costly. Thanks for the site. For a novice like me its great to get info about the bike . Sorry the pix are a bit on the small side, I've asked Greg for some bigger versions.

hi john just thought i would post a picture of my gleaming sv just gave her a wash and polish also just fitted back seat hump hugger and double bubble just to break up the silver a bit glad to see the weather changing for the better once again want to thank you for the upkeep of a wonderful site cheers I love your email address, pictures of Robert DeNiro spring to mind.

Hi John, I'm a newbie to two wheels (passed test on the 17th of Feb.) I would just like to say that this site persuaded me that an SV was the right route for me, my brother is gutted i can get the front up on the SV and he can't get near on his ZXR750 :). I bought an SV two days before my test but thankfully passed it and have been commuting ever since. Unfortunately i dropped my sv on my mother in-laws driveway the other day and scuppered the right top and center fairing. I have noticed some people have replaced center fairings with different colours and so thought I'd use on of the images online as a starting point and do some photoshop modeling (attached). Keep up the good work, its worth owning an SV just to have a resource such as this for backup. Cheers Tim Mather. I wish I was on a commission from Suzuki, a new Sv would be nice if you listening Suzuki GB.

Hi John I just purchase my SV650 I October and I haven’t driven it yet. The season is about to start and I hope it’s going to be a good one. I was wondering if you want some images of my SV650, to put on your awesome site. Anyway I’ll attach some and you can do what you want with them. Sincerely Peter Aronsson I like the painted brake calipers!

Hi, My name is Pete Biggin. I recently wrecked my SVS and had to rebuild the front end. While I was at it, I took the opportunity to replace the fairing and bought the 2wheeljunkie street kit and here are the results. I can't wait to start the next project

Just wanted to say how sad I was to hear that Barry Sheene has died. One of racings great characters and a good ambassador for motorcycling. The good die young.

In case you are wondering which lucky SV650 owner has got invited to the MCN SV1000 test at Bruntingthorpe...........it's me............sorry.   I had to write in and beg a go, I'm only human. Anyhow Keith Parr called me and I'm invited to Bruntingthorpe for the test this week. The article will appear in the following weeks MCN.  I shall choose my words more carefully on this occasion. Keith is happy for me to write up the day and my opinions as long as they appear after MCN has been published.

John , here is a copy of a dyno test we carried out to a stock sv1000 . jh

A man of few words. The torque curve is very flat and peak torque starts very early. I was expecting more BHP, but it's the torque that makes a V twin for me and this seems to have got gobs of it.

Hi John Just dropped you a line to say top site and very well run. I have been on the side for over a year now and have watched the site grow Its top reading some excellent stuff is passed on. I have owned several bikes since passing my test back in 99 but must say the most fun has been the SV650s. My 1999 SV650s has been with me just on the year and has been excellent fun fast and cheap. I have covered 15k since march last year I use the bike to commute to work from Avebury to Cowley were I am based. I have had no faults other than water in the tank and has never let me down till this week when on my return to Avebury a major misfire stopped me 12 miles from home I sorted it but had made the call for the RAC to help. They arrived 20 mins after the call, the cause was the front plug had become water logged cleaned sprayed with WD40 and I was on my way. I have a fender extender and have now fitted a PVC flap to stop the spray hitting the front pot. I have also sprayed the ! lot with sealer. On nights next week so will test my fix. I have fitted a Viper Can and am now running on Avon's see how they last. I did have a set of BT020's, very good and made 8k out of the rear but flat spotted it with a trip to Ashford in Kent. I have attached a picture of her a bit dirty but its used all year. I am planning to strip and service in the next week or so. Keep up the good work will try to make the next bike meet if in either Wiltshire or local area we do have a meeting here on a Wednesday night in Avebury at The Red Lion.

Thanks for the kind words. To be fair 99% percent of this site is made up of readers contributions, I just glue it together. If no-one wrote to me, it would be a very thin site.

Hello! I send you an Photo from my Bike! I come from Germany! Greerings, Martin Berteit

Greerings? I love the number plate solution. I've seen this kind of thing before on German bikes, some sort of regulation?

John , We have just taken delivery of the sv1000 and shall start on a program of upgrades and tuning next week. We shall dyno test the machine once run in and will forward graph's, for all parties interested to see. We are still waiting delivery of the 03 model sv650 and are told delivery will not be until May, then we can start on a new course of tuning with the injection, which is a new addition for this year. On a different note we have now completed 5 minitwins machine's ready for this years race series, (but we have already wrecked one today testing.) best of luck . j.Holland www.jhsracing.co.uk 

I'm looking forward to seeing what James can do with the SV1000. The fuel injected 650 should be interesting too.

Argh what have they done? I presume they have designed it for the vertically challenged.

Good god. Looks like someone drove their bike into a scaffold tower. To each his own.

John.   Just a quick note to show you my new security device.   Gareth

Hello john, I hope you can help me. I have been involved in an accident where I hit a car in front as it braked suddenly to miss two young children running out into the road (the Children are ok and un harmed!). I managed to keep the bike upright and straight so I hit the car dead on. Unfortunately I only have TPFT Insurance cover (never again I think!) so repairing my bike is down to me. :-( The damage is; The forks are bent slightly and the nose, upper, and right side lower fairing is damaged. The bike however still rides ok and in a straight line and does not wobble when braking. I use my bike 365 days a week to travel to and from work so I need it road worthy as quickly as possible, the fairing and cosmetics can wait. Do you know, or know anybody who might, of a crash repair company near me, Surrey (Greater London) KT15 0SB, who might be able to help me repair my bike and get it back on the road? Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for your time.

Mathew, It might be worth checking out the front wheel, not just for trueness but also cracks. If anyone knows of a good shop for bike repairs in the Surrey region then please contact Mathew. 

Hi John, Nice to see Ross's new exhaust system. I sold it to him through your for sale forum just the other day as I traded my Sv650s in for a Triumph Speed Triple. Never did show anyone what my bike looked like. For your info its attached. I'm gonna miss my wee twin for sure. Jonathan

Hi John, Please find attached a photo of my SVS. Have recently fitted an Art Can to it. The latest edition will be the stickers from SV650.org which I will soon be putting on. cheers Andy Bartram

I wrote back asking Andy about the noise levels. He replied.

 John, Its a bit noisy, but I like it. Sounds like a Duke without the rattles. Easy to fit. I have devised a word doc to fit it. See attached. Maybe useful for the readers. I wrote this for the Suzuki Owners Club Mag. cheers Andy

Hi John Just thought id drop you a wee note to say that I’ve now got and fitted a micron full stainless system to my sv650s. The sound it fabulous and certainly makes the bike sound so much meaner. It pops between 1st and 2nd, don’t know if its just because it’s a straight through system or if it’s a problem, sort of a backfire noise, not mega loud!!!!! I’ve also just turned the magic 1k on it and the 600mile service went according to plan. I have really enjoyed the bike since I got it 3months ago, riding whenever I can, really easy to get to grips with and more than enough power to scare the living daylights from me. Next modifications will be lowers and a hugger. Keep up the good work with the site.  Ross S Mc Nairn

Thanks Ross. I didn't include every photo you sent, as I'm conserving disc space. This one shows the whole system nicely tho.

See the articles section for a link to Steve Jelly's road test.

Hello John, Further to my e-mail last month showing my badly damaged previous SV, I thought that this month I'd show my current machine. It is an SK1 model fitted with Powerbronze lowers and dark tinted screen, it also has a Powerbronze seat cowl as well as a tail piece which I purchased from E-bay for the grand sum of £21. It was originally in red and looks to be professionally made but I have no other details. The rear certainly looks much better now and an underskirt will finish it off nicely. The exhaust is an ART oval alloy series 2 can, very noisy, now fitted with a baffle supplied by Wolf Racing, this fits inside the link pipe to the can and brings the noise level down to a more tolerable level whilst still giving a good sound. I look forward to seeing everybody on this years ride-out (are we having one?....hint, hint) Best Regards Barry Walker

The modified tail unit intrigued me, can't say I recognise it. As for this years rideout - I was having an email discourse with Ian Vine before his accident. We thought Box Hill might be good although popular. I can't plan a rideout route for a venue that is that far away, which is where Ian came in. He was going to sort out a rideout route on my behalf. Obviously Ian isn't now in a position to reccy the routes, I'm not even sure he'll be fit for the rideout. I'll drop him a line and let you all know.

Hey John, I just wanted to ad my rave about the SV650 and S model. I have the S model and really like it. I rode an FJ 1200 before this bike and the SV is a lot more fun to ride. I was surprised an entry level sport bike would handle so well and have the power it does. I am in California USA and there are great curvy roads to test your skills on. I sent am image of the bike with the ZG Windscreen and RKA Softbags. It makes a great package. I really don't think I am going to spend any money on power, it has enough from the factory. ....Larry

John, Regarding your SV: Well, you beat me to the gold mesh. That's just what I have planned for my SV, too. I'll be adding the mesh to the fairing, the MV tail vents and the panels under the new tank. Your SV really looks the dog's. Have I got that right? ;-) (yep) Nice job. So, here is latest on my new tank. This is the final buck ready to be used to make the production mold. Being that I'm new to all this I've got maybe 40 hours in this part. I think I'll be keeping my day job... My goal is to pull the mold for the underside this weekend and get the carbon/kevlar underside part made. If all goes well I may get the splitter plate and half the upper mold made as well. I'll try and remember to take some pics of the process. It's pretty interesting and much easier than people think. More updates as things progress. Ride safely. Chris Baker

Chris, you're having a laugh. How can you compare my pathetic attempts to customise my SV against your wonderful machine. Here are the latest photo's of Chris's MV-SV.

I John I ride an 2001 SVs  and an 1990 ST 1100.  I really love my bike but there is only one thing that is less good and that is the wind protection (when you ride an ST you are more demanding about wind protection). With the standard screen the wind is uncomfortable from 110 km/h. I try 2 different screens the firs  is the zerogravity. It is about 2½ 1nch higher then the standard. It is nice because it doesn't change the look of the bike but it just little more effective then the standard. the comfortable speed is 120km/h. The second I try is the Givi, which is 4 inches higher then the standard and much more effective (There are a significant reduction of the number of mosquitoes on my jacket). The comfortable speed is about 140 km/h . I am very satisfied with the Givi . You can see photo Jean -Pierre Dufour Chicoutimi Canada P.S. excuse my English I'm French.

Thanks Jean-Pierre. If you are thinking of going for higher screen, Jean has done the testing for you.

Firstly, a big thanks to all of you who have bought stickers. I have about 28 left out of the original 100.  I've recognised a lot of the names on the envelopes, sorry I couldn't write a personal note to all of you but I just wanted you to know that it's appreciated.

I finally got my SV out of dry dock for the last week of Feb. Spring seems to have finally sprung in Shropshire and taking the SV out on the Sunday was like meeting an old friend I hadn't seen for a while. I never get tired of they way that motor pulls ;-)

Just to bring you up to date on the work done since last month; The subframe was returned nicely coated in plastic. It looks like new. One bit of bad news is that the rear brake torque arm that I had powder coated last year was not in perfect condition as reported last month. Whilst taking the rear brake caliper apart for servicing I noticed a small piece of paint had come off the torque arm. I was a bit pissed. Not sure why the powder coating failed. It could have been rust in the metal prior to coating or that the paint is so thin on the corners of the metal, that it couldn't cope with the ravages of winter. I suspect the latter because it's failed in two places, at both ends where the bolts go through on the lower edge where the metal has a lot of sharp edges.

Bearing this in mind, I'm not going to rely on powder coating alone to stop the rear frame from rusting. I've ordered a hugger from MPS to add a second line of defence.

One of the nice things about running this site is that I get the odd freebie. There was the MCN trip last summer, another was from Chad of Superbrace. He sent me a free brace for mentioning it on the site in December (11th) and adding a link to his site. There were no conditions attached, so it was quite generous of him. The brace is solid aluminium and beautifully polished.  Can't say I've had a chance to really test it yet, so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm surprised the SV doesn't have a fork brace as standard, all my past bikes have had them, usually just a mild steel job hidden under the mudguard.

The last job was reassembling the rear end of the bike.  Re-fitting the subframe was straight forward except that the powder coating gets in the screw threads and I had to tap a few of them out. A tap and die set is well worth having in the garage. Again I used a lot of stainless screws, especially on the undertray where the original bolts were in a right state.

Whilst putting the body work back together, I thought that I would make a few cosmetic changes. I bought some gold anodised mesh from B&Q and fitted it to the side and front vents of the fairing, very easy to do with a glue gun. I also sprayed the bar end weights silver to match the frame. Hammerite smooth silver is a perfect match for all the silver parts on the SV. The rear footrest hangers also got a touchup.

That's all for now. Hopefully the hugger will turn up soon, and a new front tyre is on the shopping list too. Keep the shiny side up. John 

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