This web was created in Dec 1998 to provide an unofficial source of information, comments and findings from actual, and potential, owners. Please feel free to contribute any information, images or personal opinions you may have.

WE DID IT!  SEE THE RIDE-OUT IMAGES

CURRENT POSTINGS  FOR  MAY  2000 

From June postings onwards Exhaust, Fairing, For Sale and Tyre posts and news will be placed in the relevant sections found on the main menu, they will not appear in this 'current data' page. The aim of this change is to reduce the size of the current data page for download and to group the information types to make it easier to find and browse what you're looking for. 

Are there any other female SV650S riders out there in the UK who are experiencing problems with height. I thought that once I had some padding taken out of my seat (the bike not me!) I would be able to touch the floor comfortably but this is not the case. I only need about another inch, I'm okay whilst I'm riding, it's when I stop and have to maneouvre. Any ideas?

Yellow Hugger and Belly Pan for SV650 - £50 the pair,  Buyer arranges collection.

Contact Jeremy Thomas 07801 956239,  email jem@cneate.swinternet.co.uk

Probably irrelevant to the SV phenomenon, so I offer this purely anecdotally; when I changed the air filter in my '94 900SS to a K&N and left the stock airbox inlet off, the oil in the crankcase sight glass was always milky and there always seemed to be about a half ounce of oil in the airbox.

It took a few weeks but it finally dawned on me that by installing the K&N I'd reduced the amount of vacuum in the air box thereby reducing the efficiency of the crankcase breather system which fed into the airbox. A length of hose from the crankcase breather routed to the back of the bike with a little "catch can" and a crankcase filter on the end solved the problem!

As for my SV airbox, well..... I don't go where I'm not invited!

PS...Just bought one of those professional air powered bike lifts! Talk about the dogs! Made several trips with the Mrs. and it works great with the bike as well!!

Have been to renegade today on my 650s just up the road and would like to tell everybody considering buying an after market exhaust forget the rest, Go get a renegade. 

I arrived at about 2 o'clock (they close at 12) to have a look through the window. The door opened and i was invited in. We had a chat and i came away with coffee in my belly some sound advice in my head a very large smile on my face and growling in my ears. I was now the very proud owner of a pair of high level round titanium exhausts.

They sound awesome they look awesome in fact they are awesome. The time and effort the guys put in to make sure everything was spot on was unreal. I am one very very happy customer....one bit of advice stop thinking about changing the exhaust (I umed and ard for about 2 months), just do it its worth every penny. I've read the other emails about how friendly renegade were and I agree with them all..

THEY ARE WICKED 

Just a message and maybe a warning for you all, my bike has now done 9300 kms and just replaced the rear metz with a Pirelli Dragon GTS , will let you know how it performs in a couple of weeks (have to run them in), and in the occasion, with the wheel removed i could inspect the rear brakepads in a good manner. But what a shock, they were quite worn off, how could this happen? (because i hardly use the rear brake).

So i will have to replace them real soon, and have ordered a set right away.

This just isn“t normal, there has to be another problem, i think the brakepads don“t come free completely and keep in touch with the disc so they wear much to fast. (not to mention the expensive disc) When i have examined the working of the brakepads when i have them replaced, i will let you know if any problem comes up. Just check yours regular, so safety and money won“t get at stake.  I'll check mine but don't think they're over worn for the mileage...

Next weeks MCN includes a buyers guide to the SV650. available Wednesday 31st May.

And also....BIKE magazine in the UK are doing a 'Real Road Bikes' test in the next issue on sale on June 8th between the Hornet, SV, Fazer and Bandit. I'll let you know what the conclusions were...

The breather pipe that enters the airbox and carries the 'waste' oil can be disconnected and fed down through the frame to emit it's contents onto the road. The reason that it is routed to the airbox is for emission laws as the oil is supposed to re-burn and enter the engine again...hence it's cleaner. As many of you can see, oil residue can be found in the airbox so the process is not that effective! 

Disconnecting the breather pipe will stop the dumping of oil into the airbox and allow your engine to breather cleaner air. It will have no detrimental effect whatsoever.

In response to the questions concerning BIKE ALARMS!

As a Chrimbo Gift, I was given a Gorilla Bike Alarm. It's small, easy to fit and includes tilt sensor, shock sensor (programmable via transmitter), voltage dip sensor, programmable siren and panic button via a remote transmiter. It even sends out a warning BEEP if the bike is lightly knocked, this followed by the full alarm if the bike is disturbed again. It fitted neatly under my back seat with room to spare for my disc lock and cleaning rag!!! Fitting time less than 2 hours - nice and easy.

I will take pictures of how it is located under the back seat for a future posting!! yes please..

If anyone is interested, details may be found on the following web site: http://www.gorilla-auto.com/cycle.htm. Although a US site, can be purchased via the net and be delivered direct to your door/bike!

Chains and disc locks are still needed to stop the determined thief, but bearing in mind a bike is stolen every 18 minutes in the UK, it all adds to the bikers peace of mind!!

Also on the subject of alarms are these comments from Jock (jock.addison@dial.pipex.com)...

Just thought I would drop you another line after seeing Erics question about alarms. 

I have a Datatool Veto Plus system fitted to mine (fairly expensive but I got it as part of the purchase deal - my bike was one of the first SV's in the UK and I don't think they realised how well they would sell) and I find it to be an excellent bit of equipment. The system is an alarm / immobiliser unit that activates itself after 30 seconds with the ignition off and you get a remote to turn it off etc. I get a discount on my insurance (rip off merchants:-o) from NU as it is one of their approved systems - this is a good thing ;-). 

The actual device is about the size of a fag packet and is fixed under the fairing between the seats. There may be a better place for it as I cannot carry a 'U' lock in the space provided as the wires get in the way. I have not traced the wiring but it all seems to be fairly neat and I have not had any problems with it at all.

It was fitted by the dealer but as Carnells would have problems tying shoe laces it cannot be that difficult! lol..

Here at Vee Two Australia we are considering doing a run of performance camshafts for the SV 6550. These would be a "Drop In" item suitable for road and or track day use. We would also do a 677cc big bore piston to compliment the cams.

The cams would retail at $1000 AUD approx ( set of 4) Pistons $700 AUD approx per pr.  Let me know if you are interested.

I spoke to James Holland about the SV kit after reading it on MCN, well they forgot to mention the £250 fitting charges? Also they decline to say the power gains, (20% of what) Also 116bhp for 810cc? Ducati 916's don't have that. They said that they are the makers? Didn't one of the readers mentioned US? yes, SRDCO see posting  I'm Baffled.

Knowing Jorge & John (the creator of the fastest TRX in the World, 110bhp, proven, don't be surprised if they come up with something for the SV at half the price (fitting free as usual I hope?) there goes my breakfast. Lets wait. 

I have discovered that the insurance broker company 'Carol Nash' (who I'm insured within the UK) will cover bikes that have a non-BSI approved exhaust fitted. 

When I originally called their service desk to ask if I would be covered if I fitted a non-BSI approved exhaust I was told that I would not be and that to fit a non-BSI approved system/can would invalidate my insurance. Their confirmation that they do insure bikes with non-BSI exhausts is welcomed, particularly since they must be insuring many grey import bikes from Japan, none of which will have BSI approved exhausts as standard! So, if you insure with them and are not clear about where you stand in the event of a claim contact them and ask for their policy in writing. I suggest people insured with other brokers do the same..

Re. the earlier posting about the 'official' Suzuki seat cowl. I took my SV650S in for service today & my dealer showed me the catalogue picture. He said cost is about GBP 59 (don't know if this includes VAT). I noticed fit around base is much better than the others I've seen and  I would expect colour match to be spot on.

Someone else asked about opinion on Huggers.
Last week I fitted an NWS (Black only) hugger & I have to agree with an earlier posting, in my opinion it really is the best looking I've seen. Fit was very easy (20 mins ?) ... I read what others had said about  removing the "Crap Flap" .... there is a 10mm flexi-joint box spanner in the Suzuki tool kit which I used to get this bolt undone.
I bought direct from NWS & cost was higher than MPS but I wasn't sure  if all MPS huggers are made by NWS.

Re. the posting about "Chain Lubeing"... I have to agree with you about the Scottoiler. I don't feel they are that 'ugly'. I had mine fitted at the first service and at 4K the High Capacity  reservoir is only a third empty. I have it set at the lowest setting, only increasing slightly if I'm doing a decent mileage on a very wet day, and this seems sufficient without getting any excess on the rear wheel. It really is a 'fit & forget' device.  It's the first thing (well maybe after an alarm) that I'd have fitted on any  new
bike. Using chain lube without a centre stand must be a real pain !

PS ... anyone still complaining of (very) sore wrists after only short mileage ? I still suffer. Sometimes my right hand is almost dead ! Don't think it's because I'm not used to the low bars as I've now done 4K miles. I'm not saying anything about sore wrists..... ;- )

Here are two pics of my blue y2k SV with the following mods from front to rear : 

Axair (france) windshield, Micron full race oval alloy system in normal (stock) position, Ermax (Fr) rear hugger, small turnlights/removed rear fender.  As a lot of people are looking for a windshield, I'm attaching a close up of mine, at the beginning of last week end trip between Paris and Normandie. See previous posting on this usefull cosmetic !

More pictures, sound and movies of my big mate's Honda VTR 1000 and my SV can be found on our http://www.twin-brothers.fr.st/  This site has just been opened, is still under construction but will be regularly updated with our own experience of "french ballades", trip maps, hotels and impressions. With your permission, we will link your site to our page. yes Can you do  the same ? done.

Image 1        Image 2

I am looking into buying a SV650S here in Canada. My problem: I'm 6 feet tall and when I sit onto the bike I get a strong cramp in my hips. I can sit on other bikes (CBR600F4) and not suffer this condition. I believe this is due to the relationship between the sitting position and the height of the foot pegs. I want to buy this bike but would find it impossible to enjoy riding the way it is now. 

My question : Is there any inexpensive way to lower the pegs or can you replace them with lower ones? Any suggestions or comments most welcome.

On a similar subject is this regarding rear sets from Al (LOUGHERA@BUPA.com)...

Do you or any of your readers know of any rear sets for the sv650s? A more comfortable position I have found is with the toes on the pegs which I find is much better for cornering. 

Wanted, Front brake lever and fairing for yellow SV, RHS.   Ditched on some diesel, nice!

Superb site,

I have recently fitted a full micron race exhaust to my 99 SVs. I had no problem fitting it apart from a couple of stiff clamps, but when I located the forward down-pipe into the engine block, the small portion that  fits into the body seemed to be about twice the length of the standard system. So I fitted the securing bracket and tightened it up but there now is a gap  between the bracket and body obviously putting stress on the bracket. 

Being excited about hearing the finished effort I decided to start her up and check the rest of the system for leaks finding there to be no leeks from the system or the front down pipe. The pipe is secure and I've taken it out and I  have no power loss so I have left it for now, I need a new tyre so when I  take it in I'll ask the mechanic about it but I was just wondering if anyone  could tell me where I had gone wrong or if this was normal ( which I dont think it could be ).

The pipe does take a bit of getting used to at first because of the difference in noise levels but it is well worth it with looks, power (got a dyno chart?) and the throaty rumble it sends out.

In reply to roys post about the seat cowl, i called into my suzuki dealers and they had one to look at ,and it looks the dogs bollocks much better than the pyramid plastic and for a limited time you can buy one for £69 after this it will be £79 which is still cheaper than the £100 pyramid effort

Just bought a 2000 SV in California. Love the bike so far, but I have one quick question. On my way home from the dealer, I was stuck in stop/go traffic on the freeway. A couple of times I wanted to shift into neutral while traffic was stopped and the shift lever would "stick" and not move to neutral, felt like the clutch wasn't fully disengaged, then if I increased pressure significantly, it would finally shift into neutral. 

Problem was, after finding neutral I couldn't get it back out of neutral and into 1st. I would click the lever down, the neutral light would go out for a second, then I would release the shift lever and the neutral light would go back on. As I was sitting in the middle of the freeway and traffic started moving, I couldn't mess around and had to
apply significant pressure (more of a "whack") to get it into 1st gear! My new bike! 

I figured out that if I rolled the bike forward while trying to find 1st, that helped a little bit. I've always heard that Suzuki has the best gearboxes in the business, so I was a little worried by this. I didn't experience the problem every time. About half the time I could find neutral and shift back into 1st with no problems.

Any thoughts? Was this just some random break-in period gearbox glitch (it happened during the first 40 miles of riding the bike)? Any help and/or reassurance for a new owner is appreciated...

Thanks for a great day out the other day - effort well spent getting there and thanks to Martyn and Gary (rogue CB500) for the company there and back from the Wirral.

I was talking to someone at the meet about how to get the rear up to do the chain etc without a stand. I use a trolley jack (I've got one and try not to spend too much on the bike to keep the missus happy - she bought it for me after all!) to jack up the left hand swing arm with a piece of soft wood to protect the surface.

My point is that if you do this with the wheel locked over to the left then all is well and balance is maintained. That is, if you make sure that the trolley jack (and this is the bit I forgot to say...) lifts from as far back along the swing arm as possible. The latter guarantees the bike keeps over to the left and not doing it risks the thing going over (EEEK!). I hope no disasters have ensued without this little addition to what I mentioned on the day!

Just while I'm at it I wondered if anyone else has problems with some flaking of the paint and therefore rust commencing at the rear end of the support rod at the rear brake (the rod from the swing arm to the brake on the right) where it bolts to the brake itself? If this is a tough luck its the build quality then I'll have to think of a way of reversing the process and reapplying some silver paint but I wondered if I could have a go at Suzuki doing it under warranty. What do you think? 

yes, this is a common problem and many SV I look at show signs of corrosion there, on the front forks, on the P-clips that hold the brake pipes, underneath the engine (various bolt heads) and the horn in the frontal area. The more corroded SV's I see the more I'm convinced that, especially in a country where they salt the roads in winter, you have to clean your SV on a regular basis.  A little and often is much better than a real good wash but not so often. After the wash down spray exposed parts (not brakes or disks obviously) with WD40 or similar. I even put gear oil onto the calipers with an old toothbrush. This may sound overkill but compare my SV to others where less frequent cleaning has been done and you'll notice the difference (and I ride mine everyday and all through the winter).

On the question of sorting it out....we should all go back to our Suzuki dealers and demand that the corroded items be replaced. Normal wear and tear is one thing, having your new SV looking rusted within the first 18-24 months is another. That is not reasonable and you'll have to not be persuaded otherwise. There's a 2 year warranty on the bikes so use it...maybe Suzuki will pay more attention to component finish if they get pestered enough by their customers. The SV is a great bike but corrosion is a big problem unless you keep on top of it and then you're only limiting the damage. Suzuki...if you ever do read this site please SORT IT OUT!

By the way the site seems better for the changes I think. Keep up the good work.

Anyone interested in a Bike storage shed (stuartlinton) should check out trimetals@btconnect.com or telephone 01258-459441 the maker is in Blandford in Dorset but they will ship, and they have a monthly pay scheme, the shed is £499 inc VAT , it is steel construction weather proof coated pvc on top. It looks pretty good (see BMF May 2000 issue page 64).

I have heard comments before about the mirrors on the US SV. Has anyone checked out the mirrors at rka-luggage.com. They look like they might be ok if they don't sit to low.

I saw the question from Amir and thought I would pass on my thoughts. 

There are a couple of reasons that it is difficult to get the tyres on the SV scrubbed to the edge: firstly the profile of the tyres is very rounded compared to some bikes and this means you would have to lean over a very long way to get the edge scrubbed. If you compare the angle you are leaning to scrub your tyres to the point they are at, with the angle required on some of the larger bikes to scrub the whole width of the tyre, you may find there is not much difference.

The second problem is with the tyres, unless you can get them very hot (not an activity that is aided by British weather!) they don't offer the grip (or at least that is the way they felt to me) needed to get the pegs down on an SVS (the unfaired bike has lower pegs that you can supposedly deck out on the stock tyres).

I have changed my tyres to Pirelli Dragon EVOs that I feel suit the bike well, but I still have not managed to get them to the edge ( <1cm) and sadly not dragged the pegs (the front slides when they are about 1/2 inch from the ground). Anybody managed to scrape the pegs on an SVS and if so what tyres are you on?

Perhaps someone can help me.

For some stupid reason, I rode to work today in the rain (about 50 degrees outside). After my standard 2-3 minutes on choke, I turned off the choke and took off...

After 5-10 minutes of riding I developed a problem. It seems that I am now running on one cylinder only most of the time. Every once in a while, and quite suddenly, I get full power back, and then it's gone again. by the time I actually got to work (25 minutes later) it would also backfire (into the carburator/airbox) every once in a while 
between 1500-4000 rpm.

When I left work to go home, it ran fine for the first 5 minutes, and then the same problem for the rest of the ride home. I hope that I didn't add any further damage riding it that way.

My thoughts are:

1 some sort of electrical/spark circuit short (I rarely ride in the rain)
2 a carburator problem
3 What else could it be?

As to background, my bike has 5500 miles, was serviced last month, and did some high speed (track) riding last week. Has this happened to any body else? yes.

Could be damaged front spark plug (usually front due to road crap from front wheel), could be water in the fuel getting into the carbs. Also people have had lose electrical connections. I struggle to help further because I've not actually suffered these problems (now at 9000 miles) and had to sort them out. If you can offer Timothy more detailed help please write to him and get him going again...

It's good to have a reason to contribute at last.......the reason ? I am a member of the "(..and those who meant to attend but were late..?? let us know what happened!)." party. So.....Here's what happened.  (Please feel free to cut as much as you like !) Oh no....it all stays in...

I (and the other half) arrived at Toddington Services on the M1 at 10:40am awaiting arrival of my co-Yellow SV-rider (and his other half).  Despite setting a meeting time of 11:00am, they didn't turn up till  11:45am, meaning we didn't arrive at the Museum until nearly 2:00pm. It was strange not to find anyone there despite the fact we were over 2 hours late ;-) Let me assure you had I known you were going to be late I would have suggested we wait for you.......and after 10 minutes if you hadn't arrived then go!

We then made our way to Stratford using the 'timeless' "shortcut" as supplied by my co-rider. This of course meant that we didn't turn up until everyone was getting ready to leave...... lol....been there, done that...

As we come from 'Down Soufff' it was pointless us heading back northwards to the Museum, so we decided to take the 'scenic' route down the A44 (Oxford way) taking in the Cotswolds, etc. and heading down to the M4 then onto the M25. Great ride ! The weather was incredible ! yes, incredible it wasn't raining!

We had a great day anyway and I for one look forward to the next one where I intend on arriving early ! can I have that in writing please....oh, I just have...

James (Red Faced - Yellow '00 SV) - 

P.s. I prefer the new layout....keep up the good work ! 

I'm French and SV650S owner (what a great bike !) and I want to make the "security system" I don't know the name in english - So I need to know the different measures and where it is fixed on the bike - could you help me ? Not me...don't have an alarm on my SV but someone will. If you're that someone write in and gives us some information, a 'how to' would be good explaining what alarm, where you got it, how you fitted it and whether it works!

You'll always get some oil in the airbox because the crankcase vent tube is routed straight from the crankcase to the airbox. The purpose is to burn any oily omissions from the crankcase. Old British bikes don't have this and you'll often see a pipe running to the rear end of the bike.

It sounds like you have to much oil in the airbox, perhaps this is because there is too much oil in the crankcase? What does the level look like in the glass?

Also from John are his photo's from the ride-out..

http://www.john.tapley.btinternet.co.uk/photos/index.htm

Does anyone know where I can get an adjustable span clutch lever from for my SV?

I've just picked the bike up from its first service. When I took it in my two concerns were misfiring in the wet; thanks to the information on your site I didn't worry too much about this as it seems to be a known problem, and "snatchy" transmission. I rode in constant heavy rain for two hours last Saturday coming back from the BMF Show in Peterborough and I was wet through when I got home but the SV didn't miss a beat, mine has never played up in the wet. Maybe this is because I coat everything with WD40 after each wash, especially up around the front spark plug?

The dealer seems to have done a good job of curing most of the "snatchyness" (now being able to rev it up a bit helps!) as everything in the transmission department is now a lot tighter, including the clutch adjustment. The clutch now engages right at the end of its travel. This makes control a bit awkward with my small hands.

My "take off" from the dealers was not good; as the newly adjusted clutch, small hands and first time on new gloves were all conspiring against me! I've tried the old gloves again and its not a question of faulty gloves! Might be faulty rider though!

I've had a look at the manual and considered "unadjusting" the cable to introduce slack, but am uncertain about the consequences of doing this? Good things like adjustable clutch levers are the things that are lacking from 'budget' bikes...and the SV does fall into that camp. However, why make the front brake adjustable and not the clutch? Is is a safety thing that Suzuki have to?

I've had a succession of Triumphs prior to the SV, these had adjustable span clutch levers. I'm amazed how much easier the SV is to ride as it does not suffer from the "top heavy" Triumph tendency, and is so less bulky.

I've enjoyed your site, and has been most influential in my decision in buying a SV. Keep up the good work.

Find attached pics of the NOW available Suzuki seat cowl, it is a very good fit and is a direct replacement for the rear seat as it has exactly the same fittings, it is also very rigid being of a double skin construction and should offer a little extra under seat/cowl storage, might even get my wet suit in there. 

M&P Bridgend have some in stock in all available SV colours at £68 each if anyone is interested, or of course you can try you're local Suzuki dealer.

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3

First off, this site is great! One of the best laid out bike sites anywhere. Keep it up!

Second. Due to the unavailability of the SV650S in Tennessee. I am planning on purchasing one in Canada and importing it. Should I get Black or Blue. That is the question... Ummm......blue.

Third. Looking through the Images files, Archive 4, I notices that the picture ozzycustom1.jpg had a duel carbon fiber set up that was high and kept the passenger foot pegs. (I like the Two Brothers Racing style oval cans. Sorry, long time Honda fan.) I liked the whole look. I have already decided to remove the rear fender and put smaller rear turn indicators on the bike and this looks perfect. (Enough babbling) What company makes the exhaust and who makes the extended front tinted wind shield. (I am 6 foot 5, It is needed). 

Renegade Exhausts UK are the manufacturers of the system you've seen. I don't know what screen is fitted.  Ozzy, if you're out there.....what screen is fitted?

Can anyone tell me what I might need to do to use a Californian SV650 in UK? I'm really tempted to buy one for the last year I'm here (US) then ship it back but I'm worried that it will need all sorts changed. Help! Please!

I guess it's the same considerations as for importing a US car and using it in the UK. Probably a lot of paperwork but not sure if anything has to be modified on the bike itself? There must be someone reading this who knows the answer.....please write in..

Image 1      Image 2

Just to cover Marks question, I've had both, black naked - nicked! BASTARDS. And the absolutely gorgeous Yellow faired.

Black Naked, different ride on the motorway but on A and B roads nothing looks HARDER, 'cept maybe a V-max.(Were not worthy).

Yellow, just spanking, eye catching, and a dream on motorways. Every large plate glass window you pass, you'll almost want to stop and stare at ya self, believe me (what...you do that as well??). Also, the naked is easier to work on.

Also from Brian...

I see you finally have some sponsorship. 'Bout time too. Somebody, other than your readers likes the site. Must admit for a part-timer you have one of the VERY best sites i've seen. BUT don't retire on your good fortune just yet...we need more. 

SOME THOUGHTS FROM ME......

Sponsorship? I have not asked for money to place the Renegade banner and text on the main page, I do it because I like Jorge & John at Renegade, they are friendly and knowledgeable and I think their product is pretty unique. Not only that but they took the time and trouble to contact me and were concerned that they give you all as much information as possible before you had to contact them to make it easier for you.....hence the Renegade F.A.Q. page. Have Suzuki, Micron, M4, Powerbronze, Scorpion or any of the other companies covered time and time again on this site ever been in touch with me? No. They could quite easily but they don't.....read what you like into that....

On a more general note I'm not interested in making money from the site or from you guys, you've probably guessed that if I wanted to do that I would have done it a long time ago. As long as the company offers a good product with good service to SV owners (I need to see the feedback from customers) then I'll show their advert. If they  wish to give me something in return because they have taken orders as a direct result of being advertised on this web then, as long as it's suitable, I'd consider it (I'm talking products not money....call it bartering if you like....politicians are doing it all the time !).   sv650.org won't be tied to any company because it's receiving cash for advertising, it will be tied to companies because they offer good products and great service. Simple.

I have a problem with my SV and it is not the spark plugs because i replaced them after 6000 km because i have a hesitating at 6000 rpm and it feels like a misfire but i also clean the carburetors and i have still a problem please help me.

Not sure about the new site , but I'm sure it's fine, once I get used to it.(I hope so...)  However, the reason I'm sending this e-mail is to inform you and you're avid readers that Suzuki have informed their main dealers of the availability of a seat cowl for the SV650, I have placed an order for one but I'm not holding my breath as I have been already waiting three weeks for a Tank cover to arrive, they also mention a Hugger that they are evaluating to make available later. so fingers crossed.

I am the guy that was importing the sweet Canadian SV650S for people in the US. I met up with Greg Johnson (the sv650r sort of looks like a small R1) last week here in Knoxville and showed him this pic, by the way, when you see the bike in real life you know that Greg really does know what he is doing! He thought you would like it. It's pretty cool here in K-town because we have more SV650S around here than probably most of the United States put together thanks to myself. 

All of the SVS and American SV's (what, *all* of them??) are going to Deals Gap (318 corners in 11 Miles)  No police around, the last weekend of the month and we will take another pic for you but I thought you boys (and girls!) in the UK would like this one. 

From left to right, Harley Davidson Dyna wide glide 1340cc, 1999 Chevy Corrvett, four SV650S's then Y2k Corrvett contvertable and then on the right Harley Davidson 883 Hugger. I hope you like it. shame about the Harleys..... ;- )    (that was a joke......please don't write hate mail!) 

Click to view image

Enjoyed the ride out cant wait for next year here are a few more photos from the meet

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3     Image 4

I see you've made some changes to your site. It should make it easier for people to find what they're looking for but I will continue to read everything I can about the SV. 

I recently installed a Bridgestone Battalax BT57 rear tire and am happy with its performance. Turn in was much improved compared with the squared off MEZ4. I spend 90% of my time commuting so I gave up the extra grip from the BT56 for the higher mileage of the BT57. My Metzler was severely squared off and down to the wear bars at 10,500 kms. Does that seem like average mileage? I'd say so..

Some people told me to mount the same rear tire to match the front but it would have cost $230 for the MEZ4 compared with $135 Canadian which I paid for the BT57. They are now replaced with the BT010 so that helped with the lower price. For anyone looking for a good performing, well priced tyre with excellent wet weather traction, I recommend the BT57 or newer BT010. For those of you seeking ultimate grip in the corners with less mileage, I'm told the BT56SS, which my friend mounted on his CBR600F4, is hard to beat. The BT56 rear on my SVS is now at the tread wear indicators after 4500 miles with no burnouts and hardly any rear wheel spinning/sliding. My next tyre will be the BT010 I think. I loved the feel of the BT56 when new but as it squared off it felt just like the METZ when tipping into corners i.e. nothing then, as it reaches the squared of edge, fell in quickly. The usual trade off between grip and wear...

Thanks for having a place for SV riders to learn more about their bikes (my pleasure.....most of the time!)

Since i get so many e-mail about how i did it i will try to explane a bit. I tend to have a knack of generatign a lot of emails for others! Sorry for the bad english. Sorry for mine too

You do not have to take the whole bike apart. Just remove the front seat and lift up the tank. Tape off the complete engine and tank. It will get very dirty.

You need to use sand paper. You start with 360 until the frame is a bit smoother and has no little holes any more. Then you continue with 600 , 800 , 1200 with water until it's done. At last you use 2000. When this is done use polishing paste. This will take a lot of time , sandpaper and sweat. A good advice : get a (girl)friend that helps you. I work for about 10 days. Never spray clear paint or something like that , it will never get the shine then and the paint will peel off! 

After that you must a few times more use the polishing paste (i used Triumph...). After 5 - 6 times the frame is very shiny and will stay that way even when you wash the bike. The paste protects the frame. It will take extra care and regular use of paste in the future. I hope you know a bit more now. I can explain in detail but only in Dutch...sorry. Thats fine Johanzone! I thought you must have stripped the bike right down but obviously not...

I'm sorry, i don't speak english. But this is my URL

http:/perso.wanadoo.fr/tarmos.dingos

Just thought i would send you a message regarding the availability of the sv650s.

At present i have an aprilia rs125 and i toured ireland twice and a very small part of europe (i went to spa for the 24hr gp) then luxemburge then colone, and back home to belfast,YES on a 125. But this year we are going further, and i cant ask any more of the rs even thought in 2 years it has NEVER failed me, so at spa i saw my first sv650s and i had to have one.

My bank has given me my loan but i cant get the (sv650s) anywhere in northern ireland only the non fairing one, one suzuki dealer had never heard of them ,HUMM, (why does that not surprise me...) any way i have found a place a good few miles away who can get me an import (jusk like my aprilia is) at £4000, so do you think i should go for this or go across the water and get one from a dealer at $4800 and pay for all my travel as well. The reason i ask this is because i have heard so many stories about imports and lack of support and i cant say that i will have no trouble with it like my rs. 

I've go to ask, why can't your Suzuki dealer get you an SVS?? Northern Ireland is part of the UK! Speak to your dealer again and then to Suzuki GB if you get no joy. If they can get a unfaired SV they can get a faired one, what the difference? If anyone else knows of problems like this in Northern Ireland please write in or contact Nicky and get your heads together. If I was in Northern Ireland touring on my SVS and went to a Suzuki dealer for help/parts I would expect them to be able to deal with my faired SV, it part of the mainland and therefore must be covered by Suzuki GB.....if I'm wrong tell me...

please help me, i want one soooooo badddd

I'm taking delivery of a sparkly blue 650 S soon, and would like to know if anyone knows where I can get a pre-fabricated small bike shed, or something similar in the U.K. I would be really grateful. Do you mean metal or concrete? Anyone out there help?...please 

p.s. Is the bike as good as everyone says ? I hope so !!! If you think it's not then tell us all...

Back in November, 1999, you had a letter from Mike in Germany regarding a stuttering bike and finding oil in the airbox. You said you had also seen this on your bike.

After some 'spirited' riding in the 100 mph range (warm weather, dry roads, sunny skies after a horrid winter, etc.) my trusty SV started balking under even moderate acceleration. It shouldn't be the usual water in fuel problem, but delving into the airbox, I found a fair amount of oil near the forward carb. I ran a can of carb cleaner/fuel system cleaner through the gas tank, but it didn't help much. The front plug looks good, no oil residue there.

Can you or Mike in Germany offer any guidance? I tried the dealer, but it's a two to three week wait to get my bike in for service.  I haven't checked mine for months but I've had no problems or reason to. Did someone say a while back that a little oil in the airbox was not a thing to worry about? May be someone could clarify please?

First a big thank you for the effort taken in posting the pics from your ride-out for the benefit of us unfortunates who will never experience such an event. It is indeed a visual feast for any sv enthusiast! Secondly I would like to highlight an observation I made when looking closely at some of the pics showing the rear tyre of the bike/s. I am referring to that 2cm wide band of virgin rubber found on the outside shoulder of the tyre which is apparent on most of the machines there. (I have one on mine too by the way). 

Is it that the mez4 is constructed in such a way that leaning to that angle is only for the exceptionally brave (or exceptionally stupid), or is it that most sv riders are of the more conservative or perhaps less experienced breed? Just a thought.

Personally, I have reached the point where I'm ready to take an orbital sander to the tyres just to get the right 'streed cred' appearance to my rubber when parking at Cafes, etc next to bikes shod with tyres that are worn right to the shoulder - and beyond...

If any one else has ever pondered this matter, please speak up, I need re-assurance here.    Well, to my way of thinking there's only one way to wear down right to the edge of the tyre and that's to lean over further in corners. Whether you get your knee down or just lean even more than usual (as in racing days of old) the fact remains that, on UK roads anyway, there's simply no need to (oh...and it's pretty risky too). I do want get my knee down but the only place I'm going to do that is on a track. If you've been on a track and you're edges aren't worn then  there's no excuse!

I collected my new SV650S ( Blue ) on saturday 13th May, I've now covered 558 miles, (you need the patience of a saint to keep the revs below 5,000 RPM) I am really impressed with the bike, but after a short spin tonight i noticed a small coolant leak coming from a hose that connects to the left hand side of the front cylinder, it appears that the spring clip used for fastening the hose is a little slack. I'm hoping it will be corrected during it's first service in a fortnight's time. Yes, it should be...make sure they sort it out.

Great site, very informative and quite influential, when as the next ride out?      Next year or sooner if someone else organises one!

Also talking about coolant leaks is John (john.tapley@bt.com) who came on the ride-out and replies to Abbas...

Abbas....Me too. Didn't notice it till last night. Couldn't find the source but I checked the coolant top up tank (viewable on the right hand side of the bike just between the frame spars) and noticed that it's full to the brim, well past the upper mark. So I am assuming that its overflowed. Sunday was damn hot (yeah....good wasn't it!) and I assume that the bike got a little hotter than normal. I can't remember hearing the fan, but I was wearing earplugs.

I've spoken to John about this and he now thinks his was not a leak but an overfull water reservoir (see it on right hand side aligned with carbs..see a high and low water mark).  

I'm Giovanni, a SV rider from Italy. I always look at your interesting site, nice idea! Sorry for taking your time, but I was not able to find the paint code of my yellow naked '99 SV650... I have to paint "she" after falling down (luckily at low speed!). Any idea or suggestion?

Yep...see posting of 14/02/00 - the yellow code is Y9F

I wonder if you could help me with a few questions :- 

1. I am thinking of buying a Sv650 but not sure which to buy the Faired or unfaired. I will be ridding to and from work on a daily basis which is about 30 miles each way. It's so hard to tell you want you want...only you know that. Consider whether there's a lot of town work (unfaired) or open motorway/A roads (faired). Which do you like the look of most? Which type is available in the colour you want etc, etc.....I'm afraid you read the info on this site and you have to make your own mind up. 

2. I'm from Kent UK and my local dealer is offering the Sv unfaired for £4080. onr, and the faired for £4300. onr. is this a good offer. and does anyone know of any other dealers selling them cheaper. If that's the on the road price then are they unsold '99 bikes? If they're 2000 machines then it seems a good price to me (RRP is about £4700-£4800 otr for the SVS I think.)

3. Does anyone know what the fuel consumption is on a Sv650. Depends on how you ride it....I get, on average, about 140-150 miles from full to flashing light..about 13 litres.

Great to see that other sv owners have had the pleasure of meeting MAD JORGE! Boy is this guy radio rental on anything with two wheels as well as anything with two.......

Anyway this is just a big plug for all the staff as well as Jorge (George to you and me) down near Brands. After having my twin high level carbons fitted in Nov99 I have been back countless times for other adjustments and fittings as well as just to see what bikes are undergoing surgery. Your always made to feel welcome whatever the time (after 8pm is not unusual) and you come away with that long forgotten feeling of personal customer service.

The reason behind this plug ?......getting fed up with people stopping me in petrol stations , car parks and traffic lights asking "f*****g great pipes where ja get 'em from". 

Get yourself down there and check out the man with a '90 degree twin between his ears ! Cheers George.......Big Jon

Having tried most forms of chain lubrication over the years (except the awful looking Scottoiler contraption) (awful looking but highly effective..) I have been using Castrol Chain Wax on my SV from new with no problems or fling off.

Also from John is this on Scorpion hi-level cans...

Sorry I couldn't make the ride at the weekend, it looked a lot of fun. Are there any more planned; a trip to the seaside perhaps? My main reason for writing is to ask if anyone has a high level Scorpion exhaust fitted to their SV. It's only been available for a short time and all that Scorpion could offer was a poor photocopy. 

If anyone has a photo of their bike with the Scorpion hi-level I'd appreciate it as I've narrowed the end can decision down to this and the Renegade.

SRDCO USA has a new 750cc kit for SV650's.  They are sold by JAMES HOLLAND SERVICES in Bristol UK.

Thank you Barry...if anyone has anymore information on James Holland Services then please forward it here....

I managed to meet up with yourselves at the Motorcycle museum and had a great time speaking to others with a taste for the SV. It has given me a burning desire to do something with my exhaust. 

I had just fitted a scottoiler the night before and had not adjusted it correctly, now running better, I have found a better tidier route for the feed pipe up the inside of the swing arm if you would like I could send pics. When it came time to leave the Museum I had to head for the M6 so I missed all the fun at Stratford. The procession of SVs round the Island looked brilliant I only wish I could have been part of it. 

Are you contemplating another run? if so I look forward to taking a full part in it. I won't be organising another this year but I'm more than happy to post information (or link to another webpage) for anyone else who will arrange an SV meet up..the offers there.... (see Emma's comment below)

WOW - what can I say, I had a fantastic time on Sunday. ( SV Ride out to Stratford).  I didn't know quite what to expect (me neither!), and I was a little bit nervous about meeting up with experienced SV riders. ( having only had my SV for 6 weeks). However, there was no need to feel nervous, as everyone was really friendly, down to earth and up for a bit of fun (see what the SV brings out in all of us!) 

Thanks again for organising the ride out, not to mention the web page. We'll have to do it again soon. Plus if anyone's in the Birmingham area and wants to meet up for another trip to Stratford, drop me a line. (see Chris' comment above)

I have a yellow SX which i adore! Also some info on aforementioned exhausts which may be of interest.

Spoke to Mike today at 'G-Force', they make some very attractive exhausts for SV650. Two models available, a slip-on end can (cutting required) and a 3/4 system where the existing front cylinder downpipe is maintained. Power is claimed to be up by 4 bhp or 7 bhp with 3/4 system. Alloy, Carbon, titanium available and prices range from £140 for round alloy end can to £405 for 3/4 system with oval titanium.

I do not work or have any connection at all with this company but found Mike very helpful and knowledgeable concerning SV650 so decided to share info. I am saving for a 3/4 system with round carbon (£340). Their telephone number is Tel 0115 9441032 (Ilkeston, Derbyshire)

Anyone running a G-Force exhaust with further comments?

I have heard of a full race line from Leovinci for the SV. Any opinions/photos available ? anyone comment?

I have also noticed as well an Akapovic line on a blue SVS on the rideout's photos. How does it feels/sounds ? care to write in?

I'm a big Bandit 1200 fan, but I do have a hankering to race an SV one of the days. In the States, the primo supplier of Bandit go-fast goodies is drag racer Dale Walker, who runs Holeshot Performance in California. He's most famous for his electric powershifter you'll find in Yoshimura's official catalog, but he makes exhaust systems and various custom parts for many other bikes.

So I noticed that Dale is selling a flyscreen for the naked SV650, including all the necessary brackets to mount. When I strolled on over to your web site to see how many people have already posted images of it, I was surprised to find none. 

I think Dale may have just posted the SV screen on his web page in the last week or so, that could be the reason. Regardless, check it out at:
http://www.holeshot.com/sv650/sv650fly.html

He sells basic black, or professionally painted blue or red to match the stock Suzuki colors. I had one of these screens on my Bandit (which I traded for a gold/brown '96 GSXR750 last week), and the flyscreen did a fine job keeping the windblast off my body. It's still not as much wind protection as a full fairing, but far better than no screen at all. Plus it looks righteous and muscular. 

Here are some pics of my SV with polished frame, rear pegs and wheels. It was a lot of work but the result is very good. Great site b.t.w. Keep up the good work.

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3      Image 4      

Take a look at www.npgraphics.com. He's coming up with some neat stuff for the SV.   not too sure about the yellow screen and red paint work! ;- )

Also....with regard to this posting...

Don't know if he ships to Europe, but try www.cycleshell.com. These are just the thing for bikes that sit outside all the time. As to slip over covers, I find if I order the next size larger cover than is shown for my application, it seems to work better. I have bought Dow covers in the past with good results.

Thanks for the input on your screen. I like the tint level on yours but I think I'll go for the OEM shape. I e-mailed MPS but they want £35 for shipping to Canada. I only paid £20 for my Tech-Line lower from Holland! Their service is great however as catalog requests and tint samples were here within one week.

On the SV rideout... I'm envious. I'm wondering what the confusion was like when it came time to find tour OWN bike in the crowd!   there were quite a few red but masses of yellow (I originally wanted a yellow but guess what......yep, couldn't get one for love nor money back in March '99)

Keep up the great work, one day Suzuki might realize the sales they've made off this site and reward you... sorry, what was I thinking!   if I can't get a decent reply out of them about the known SV problems I'm pretty sure that getting anything else out of them would be similar to stumbling across hobby horse muck!

Just a quick word to say thanks for the excellent web site and arranging the get together on Sunday. It was great to talk with other SV-ers at a top venue ! Somebody mentioned putting email addresses somewhere for future rides, so if anyone fancy's hitting the Dales in Yorkshire / Lancashire or the Peak District, drop me a line. I'll certainly post a list if people send in their emails..

Hope everyone got home safe !  I second that..

Sorry I missed the ride out, but as you can see from the picture (guess who's got a new camera :) I was up the road cheering on our lads in the WSB. Excellent 2nd race with the brits getting 1st and 2nd. I did notice a  couple of SV's in on the campsite and in the car park, so I feel better knowing I was not the only one not on the ride out.

Looking forward to the next one (but please try and make it a non racing weekend). well....if they will go and schedule WSB racing knowing it was the ride-out weekend what could I do about it? ;- ) As an aside, I'm still waiting for my Goodridge brake lines (compared mine to a German girls  SV with steel lines, and found mine lacking) oh and that fenda extend must have taken a world cruise, coz it's not arrived in my mitts yet. Any way, glad
the ride out turned out ok (how many others lost weight due to wearing leathers in that heat), and will catch you on the next one..  the only thing we lost was our way!

Anyone out there have any experience with chain wax? I'm trying out a ceramic wax that turns the chain slightly white (I think its called techflow). Will it do a good job compared to ordinary chain lube? It certainly is about 20 times cleaner to use. This stuff really doesn't fling off. Everything stays nice and (relatively) neat.  no experience with chain wax...only a Scottoiler which is just the job..

I know that most owners seem to change their tyres from the original Metzlers, but what are the best tyres for the SV? I'm not unhappy with the Metzlers in the dry, but in the wet I get slightly nervous to say the least. Any suggestions out there? It depends. Consider wear, grip, cost, availability etc, etc...all I can suggest is searching through the archives. I'm happy with my BT56's but I know others like Dunlop D207's and similar. There are harder tyres that will last longer. I think I need a tyre section.

Also, I cant believe there are no takers for my amazing exchange offer! It is genuine. The only reason I want to change to an unfaired bike is a back that prefers sitting more upright, otherwise I would'nt change it for the world! give it a few days....also, a lot more SVS's were sold here than unfaired bikes so you may not find anyone with an unfaired who wants to change. They had a choice so maybe they like their SV's...

Wish I'd gone for the ride out now looking at all the pictures. Beats the endless DIY I was forced into. Hope everyone had a good time. that'll teach you for not being there!

What a day for the ride-out yesterday! Well done on organising it and hope we can sort another out soon. It was brilliant to see so many top SV's and those Renegade exhausts - gruntmania!! 

Unfortunately though, when I got back I noticed that my bike had leaked a bit of coolant (see attached pic). Any ideas as to why this would happen and is it a serious problem? 

Thanks again for the top website and keep up the good work.

Image 1

Just like to say thanks for a great day out. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say what a good time we all had and how we appreciate all your effort.

I'll post some photos on my website soon. Here's looking forward to next year.

A big THANK YOU to the 33 (I think I heard 33 mentioned as the count) people who turned up for the ride-out yesterday (and those who meant to attend but were late..?? let us know what happened!). The weather was fantastic, hot and sunny :- )  After meeting up and having a chat we rode to Stratford-upon-Avon and chilled out by the river with chips and ice cream (nice!?). There were already hundreds of other bikes there and the appearance of us lot turned a few heads! Check out the images, I don't suppose so many SV's have been seen together. From Stratford we drifted off towards home with riders joining up where routes were the same. 

For me the highlights of the day were meeting the people behind the emails, the ride itself (someone's throaty end can in front and loads of bright headlights behind!) and the glorious weather.

Funniest moment....for me it was pulling into a lay-by when the group I was with realised we were lost. As everyone stopped and waited looking puzzled I thought I'd take off my glove and find my printed directions. No sooner had I unfolded the paper than someone went past pointing forwards and the group I was with roared off into the distance with me frantically trying to put the directions back into my pocket and pull my gloves on! By the time I was ready to pull out I glanced around and there was no one to be seen....great...thanks guys!! :- )  I ended up stopping for petrol anyway and knew I was in the right area when I approached a roundabout in Stratford only to find two yellow SV's going around (for what looked like the second time!). I tagged on the back and soon we were all parked up. Sorted.

So...thanks again to everyone (don't ask me to remember all the names!). There were people from the South Coast, one guy from the South West, one from Scotland and also from Yorkshire and loads of other places...thanks to you all. I just hope you got as much as out of it as I did.....if so we'll do it all again next year!

I installed a pair of frame sliders from Intuitve Race Products (www.inturace.com) and thought your readers might want to see some pictures. 

I had wanted to buy some for a while but couldn't find much information or any pictures of where the sliders mount and my Suzuki dealer was no help at all. I decided to go with ebony (black; part # EFS-21) but ivrie (white; part # IFS-21) sliders are also available and can be seen installed on a blue naked SV on the site above. Click on products, then frame sliders, and scroll down to see the SV pictures. They cost $49.95 US which worked out to $87.30 Canadian including shipping from California to me in Eastern Canada. The longer bolts and washers are included along with instructions for installation which took 10 minutes. The right slider is 3 1/2 inches long while the left is 2 1/2 inches because the right one is mounted closer to the motor. 

The service from IRP was outstanding and I would like to thank Derek McKesson for answering all my questions. He replied to my e-mails promptly and figured out the exchange rate to Canadian dollars and shipping cost before I placed an order. I didn't buy the frame sliders for racing like most people but I know they would protect my bodywork, tank, and frame from a fall. They cost me a little money now but might save alot in the future if the unspeakable were to happen. Call it insurance I hope I never have to use. IRP is developing frame sliders for use with a full race fairing which use the 12mm bolts instead of the 9mm ones and should be available soon. 

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3      Image 4

I reply to kerri on the micron exhaust and the comments at the end of the post.

I currently own a TL1000sv , you are quite right these animals cost more for insurance, petrol, tyres . I took an demo SV650 out the other day, as soon as I came back,
I put the TL up for sale and ordered a yellow one. The TL looks brilliant but for everyday use, i.e. scratching , commuting , touring , nipping down the shops (150miles away) the SV is perfect in the real world. Excellent site keep up the good work

Thought you might be interested in this racing link, it's an Australian site and the class is Formula Xtreme, not sure if this is a world wide class or not. Anyway, within Fomula Xtreme there's another class called NK Lites, basically smaller capacity bikes and guess which one is leading the championship.... The SV650S, it's up against bikes like the Hornet and the Fazer but also races in the same races as ZXR1100s and Buells. 

The only results I've seen so far are for Eastern Creek Raceway which has a loooong front straight yet the little SV was still beating some of the bigger bikes around there. Anyway..... Here's the link, go to racing and then anything labelled as NK Lites to see the SV results. 

http://www.formula-xtreme.com.au

P.S Great site and very influential in my decision to get a SV650S      another one.... :- )

This is a reply to an "internal" discussion with Jonathan, further to his "how to fit Micron full set", with all my thanks for the useful advises.

I did the fitting of a Micron full system with oval alloy silencer in the "standard" (low) position last week end. Took me 4 hours also, but it's because I had a problem with the "studs" out of port 1. I must be very bad in english because I never really understood the stud removal procedure... Thus used at first one nut previously removed, screwed it and... got screwed. Impossible to remove as it was turning loose. Then I inserted a second one and it enabled me to release the first one. However, the stud never moved.

Q1 : How did you do it ?! Two nuts to be bolted upside down ? I confirm Micron's remark : it is very difficult to insert the Micron in port1 with the stud, indeed, but not impossible. I had a leakage at first, but then seriously bolted the front pipe and after it was OK. Anyway, there is still a light "peuf peuf" sound at the engine level / front pipe, I think it's the sound of the engine modified by the extremely open air exhaust.

Q2 :Do you have the same ?
The low "standard" position is fine, looks great and enable the use of soft pannier. I also feared that the passenger leg could be burnt by the high level position, even though it's well hidden behind the footpeg. I have a passenger 90% of the time, so these considerations are important.

Anyway, I don't want to leave my bike now ! The sound is incredible, a little "embarrassing" when I'm leaving my garage or crossing a police car, but so pleasing, revealing the bike fabulous engine, transforming the sv in a "full style twin". The gain of power, if not immediately perceptible, is certain in acceleration. I will try to have pictures of my blue sv y2k with this "standard" position micron oval alloy system, the modified rear and the windshield.


Windshield :
Here's a site where you can see the Axair catalog, price list and order possibility in Canada.

http://www.colba.net/~mecamag/boutique-qc/parebrise/lesparebrise.html

Sorry, it's from our french speaking Quebecois cousins... For delivery in Europe, you can contact directly the french manufacturer AXAIR,

Circuit Carole, ZAC Paris Nord 2, BP 50371, 95942 Roissy CDG Cedex.
Phone/fax 33 1 49 38 05 78.

I took the "Dragstair 1" model and am very satisfied with its look and efficiency. 150kmh cruise speed is comfortable on a 500km trip ! About £60 in a lot of colors (I took grey). Good Vibrations to all !

could anybody tell me where i can get a smaller front sprocket, and is it worth changing? eg for wheelies

Some info in response to the following posting:

04/05/00 - MORE ON EXHAUST NOISE LEVELS - Thanks David (David.Lear@cwcom.co.uk)... 


David is correct in that the 'A' weighting scale applied to noise levels is indeed to reflect the freqency response of the human ear. However, it is common when quoting differences in noise levels to drop the 'A' from the suffix.

So the difference between 80dBA and 83dBA is often quoted as 3dB rather than 3dBA. Either way, it means the same thing.

You might already know this, but a deciBel is not a unit - it is a ratio. 

Noise levels are measured by microphones as sound pressure (usually quoted in Pascals, the SI unit for pressure) and the deciBel is the ratio of the measured sound pressure to a reference pressure (20micro Pascals, the lowest pressure tha the human ear can detect at 1000Hz). This is done because the human ear can respond to a very wide range of sound pressure levels, from 20micro Pa to 100,000,000micro Pa. It is quite inconvenient to use a scale of over 1 million to 1, and in any case the sensitivity of the ear is not linear but more logarithmic. Therefore a method was developed of measuring and quoting sound pressure in convenient numbers - the deciBel scale (named after the scientist Alexander Graham Bell). 

Because it is logarithmic, you get 3dB as a doubling of the sound pressure. The human ear and brain however, can only just detect a 3dB difference with 5dB being clearly perceptible and 10dB percieved as a doubling of the volume. Remember, though, that frequency content and tone are also significant factors in perceived noise levels. It depends, of course on the ear in question. After years of riding bikes without earplugs, mine are not as sensitive as they were!

It is also necessary to note that the sound pressure level is very dependent on the distance between the noise source and the listener, and the operating conditions of the vehicle. The 80dBA legal level for new motorcycles is taken at 7.5m from the side of the bikes path while it performs a full throttle acceleration from 50kph in 3rd gear over a 20m zone. The noise is measured on both sides and the highest is the reported level.

If my memory serves me right, the racing regulations, which often quote 105dBA as a limit, require the measurement to be done at 0.5m from the exhaust pipe outlet at 45deg to the centre line. The bike is revved up in nuetral to about 2/3 of it's maximum revs.

Therefore the exhaust system noise level and the whole vehicle noise level are not directly comparable. Be sure to ask the measurement procedure and operating conditions before comparing any noise level to another. 

Sorry to bother you.... just wanted to know what you feel (or have heard) is the best motorcycle cover for the SV650-I have to store my bike outside, and it would be great to have something water-proof that fits the profile of the bike well. Thanks for any advice. 

I have a general fit canvas cover which is OK but doesn't fit properly and needs bungee <sp?> hooks to secure. If anyone else knows of a specific cover for the SV please let Michael know...

Does anybody know where is the best place to put a fuel filter for the SV?

I love this site Kevin. It's easy to navigate and not too many distractions. I'll have to change that then!

Anyway, I recently bought  a blue US '00 SV. And, very recently I wrecked it (so sad). 

Well, according to another sv site (svrider), supposedly we can use a 93 or 94 gsxr 1100 front end with very minimal modification (a change of the steering stem bearings from ball bearings to roller bearings). I can get the parts, however I was wondering if anyone knows if you need the entire front end? 

Besides the forks and the triple clamps, do I need to get a new front wheel and brake set? Will any of the sv parts be transferable to the gsxr forks? Have I forgotten about any other parts? I'm not worried about handlebars, 'cause I'm gonna get clip ons. 

If anyone knows the answers or has found them somewhere else, it would be of great help. 

I'm looking to put a smoked screen on my SVS and I'm wondering what opinions are out there as to which one to get. I want to stay with the OEM shape and be smoked VERY dark, but not opaque.   I have a tinted screen from MPS but you can see though it so I guess that's no good. Anyone know of a solid coloured screen? (Saw a green one on a ZX6 yesterday....looked dreadful!)

Just tried e-mailing Jon.Eardle@btinternet about the parts he has for sale but the e-mail keeps coming back as if the address is wrong. Could any body help with is address or is the address wrong????

Has anyone out there got an unfaired SV when they wished they had bought a faired one? If you have perhaps we could do a deal. I think I would have preferred an unfaired one and am looking to do an exchange if anyone is interested. Pictures of the bike were posted the other week, the yellow one with pyramid-plastics belly pan. 

You can contact me on this e-mail address at work or at home on Russell@gladwish.fsnet.co.uk if you are interested.

Rob Barnes on my SV650S will be touring Italy between 19th and 29th May complete with freshly fitted Renegade Twin High Level pipes. They look great and sound even better. They make 6 more ponies at the top end and over 8 more between 5000 and 7000RPM. 

Meet up with me at the Ducati Museum in Bologna, and have a laugh, on the 29th.

A friend of mine, Big Sid Biberman, is a legend among Vincent owners. (He built the 1000cc Vincent engine in Jay Leno's "Norvin", for example). Sid is also very fond of "Geisha Gal", his beautiful, blue SV650. He's  written a classic bike book called "Vincents With Big Sid," and for those not familiar with it I've written the following review. Go visit his site!

Vincents With Big Sid
By S. M. Biberman
Reviewed by John Morgan (AKA Mountainman) 5/9/00

Who should read this book? Anyone who loves motorcycles, that's who! This is not your usual "facts and figures" bike book specific to one marque, but rather a very personal, very well-written recollection by a living  legend of the sport: "Big Sid" Biberman. Big Sid is a preeminent builder/restorer of the legendary Vincent line of motorcycles. Jan Leno wrote the introduction to the book, and Sid built the motor on his "Norvin," a Norton frame containing a Vincent 1000cc engine. With this book, Sid also becomes the poet/historian of the line, as well.

The photos alone are worth the price of the book. If you aren't absolutely drooling over them by the end of the book, you have no soul. Certainly today's bikes are more advanced than the old Vincents, but no other  bike, before or since, has had such a sculpted, machined look about them. The photos capture this ineffable correctness of form quite wonderfully.

The prose is certainly the equal of the photos, as well. Reading this book brought back some powerful memories of the earlier days of our sport for me. Reading about the "old style" bike shops, the early speed record  attempts, the road races, the early days of drag racing in America; it took me back to those glorious days in a powerful, wonderful way. Reading, I could  actually recapture the sounds and smells of those days: the sound of open megaphone exhausts, the pungent aroma of hot castor oil, methanol and nitro fuel.  Good stuff!

Sid has done a great job tracing out the history of the Vincent, also. His accounts of the origins of the line make for great reading. How "PCV" (Philip C. Vincent) built his first bike, his meeting with Philip E.  Irving and the incredible result of the partnership they formed, the steady evolution of the line into the legend it became; this is history at its  most readable best. Nothing dry about it, the characters become real, flesh-and-blood people on the page.

Those who already love Vincents will devour every page of the book. Those unfamiliar with them will love them by the end. What's not to love about a bike (the Black Shadow) that debuted in 1948 with a showroom-stock top  speed in excess of 125mph? And with the reliability and handling to properly harness what was then unheard-of power. Any yes, the photo section  contains the famous picture of Rollie Free in swim trunks, slippers and swim cap flat-out on his stomach on the rear fender with his legs out behind him, setting the land speed record of 150.3mph that same year!

I had the pleasure of riding a Black Shadow way back in 1963. To this day, the memory of that loping engine generating volcanic torque remains sharp and fresh in my mind. Big Sid's book reinforces that memory most wonderfully. To get your own copy, just visit Sid's website and order it online. The URL is:
http://www.mindspring.com/~bigsid. Go get one, you'll thank yourself  for it!

Questions on the twin exhaust systems: 

Do they use a crossover pipe between the header pipes from each cylinder? Are the header pipes for both cylinders the same length? Just remembering my days with two Honda V-4s (VFR & V65) where the header pipes for the front cylinders were much longer than the rear cylinders and all dumped into a common can often called a sub-muffler under the engine and then into two mufflers. This was the stock system and reasonably efficient and very quiet of course. Problem was the jetting on the carbs had to be different because of the different header pipe lengths that tuned to different RPMs. The factory had done this for the stock system of course, but if you modified anything you were on your own. Even the the CV slide return springs were different on the front vs. rear carbs! 

To apply this to the SV-650 would mean the jetting would have to be different on the cylinders if the header pipes were of substantially different lengths. You can see an attempt to not have to do this with the way the rear pipe on the stock system is curved around to get more  length. It still doesn't look as long as the front pipe though. Does anyone know if the carb jetting is different front to rear when stock? The key to efficiency in exhaust systems is volume in the mufflers to get both low restriction and adequate silencing. This is why a dual exhaust will look better as the volume can be split between two mufflers without being large and bulky like the stock silencer. A crossover pipe often helps by allowing each cylinder to exhaust its pulse of gasses through both mufflers. The problem with a V-twin can be that the pulses are not evenly spaced like a vertical twin or a boxer flat twin. This uneven spacing also gives you the distinctive sound of a V-twin so beloved of Harley and Ducati owners. The fact that all these modifications are not adding all that much to the power or RPM curve tells me that Suzuki has a very efficient design here, half-a-BUSA indeed! 

Just took delivery on my red SV in Eureka, California a few weeks ago but only have a few miles on it. The Lost Coast decided to make up for a dry Winter with a long rainy Spring. Being an old fart who doesn't like to ride in the rain or clean up a dirty bike afterwards I'm making myself wait for dry weather. Love the SV already as it handles as quickly as my old RD & RZ with broad smooth power like my original Triumph twin and the bitchin sound of my bevel drive Ducati twin. Yeah I've survived a long time since I road raced a Triumph 650 TT Special at Cotati Raceway against Ron Grant and an RD350 at Sears Point. Take it easy riding your motorcycles my friends and you can survive long enough to ride the latest thing in your retirement. I highly recommend some track time to really learn to ride up to your capabilities -- it's so much safer than the public roads and you learn a lot faster too! If you've never been on a track "in anger" you don't know what you're missing -- just ask your racing buddies. Start with a high speed driving class on a track if you wish, that may be enough for most people. You will forever have an edge over other riders, especially in knowing when to back off and ride another day. 

I have a unique situation here at my new retirement home on the Lost Coast of far Northern California. Shelter Cove is a thirty year old development that never developed, meaning it has four thousand lots and only three hundred houses all clustered around the 3600 ft. airstrip. So I have about fifteen miles of deserted streets winding through the forests by the ocean with no traffic except deer, fox, bobcat, and the occasional mountain lion. Talk about a private road literally at your front door! So I take a short ride before dinner when it's dry over some streets I've never been on before to check out the few new houses going up and see if I can surprise the elusive bobcat and not have to argue with the local deer who think they own the road. Tough life huh? --old racer Steve 

P.S. I assume you all know that Sudco (www.sudco.com) says they have a Keihin CR flatslide downdraft carb conversion for you maniacs with too much money. Based on hearsay evidence of these carbs on Big Singles and Ducatis this could be the way to get that peak horsepower curve past 10,000... 

P.P.S If you're in my area drop me a line, I need some ridin' friends! I do dual sport on a KLR too... 

I want to thank whoever recommended Mother's polish for the exhaust. I tried it today and removed the stains and yellow appearance of the connecting pipe behind the front tire. I was told by the Suzuki dealer to use Autosol which worked ok but left black residue in the welds, which Mother's removed, and wouldn't remove the aforementioned stains. 

It comes in a 141g container and cost $7.99 Canadian. It reads: Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish, Perfect for All Metals. I installed my Intuitive frame sliders today and will send pictures tomorrow. no...hold on until next week please..

Good site, keep it up etc. Could you post a mail for me as a wanted ad. yes.

I'd like a standard silencer/system for my SV. I can then get the guys here (no its not pushchairs) to cut it in half and modify the internals, re-weld it up, and it'll still look standard. OK...I've got to ask...why? Why not buy another can instead of going to that trouble?

P.S. How about doing a parts for sale / wanted section, so that we can move parts around. SV's have been around long enough for there to be parts available everywhere. I will. I'm going to revamp the design a little soon...

Thought I would drop a note since everyone is talking exhausts these days.

I just purchased a micron system from HRS Motorcycles it cost £294 delivered to sunny Scotland and the service was excellent , I ordered on Tuesday and it arrived on the Thursday, it took one hour to fit, (I already had the rear bodywork off as I was fitting a undertray) and it sounds totally brilliant and this may cause some dissatisfaction with some readers, but in my opinion looks much better than the renegade exhaust. If these readers want there bikes to look like "baby TL 1000" they should have went and bought one in the first place. That's a bit unfair...the TL is a totally different beast offering a different riding experience, it's also more expensive to buy, run and insure and more intimidating for many riders. How a particular exhaust system (or anything for that matter) looks is very subjective and wholly down to the individual. What can be measured is the changes that the system makes to the performance of the bike, the sound difference and the service experienced by the customer. Also, to be fair to Renegade, their systems are hand built and designed to be renewable whereas the Micron systems are more 'mass produced'. It's horses for courses and all down to what you want and are willing to pay for. I'll shut up now.

While I was doing the exhaust , I also shimmed the carbs i.a.w bretts instructions in the "how to" section and it was a great guide really spot on. The biggest problem was getting the rubber diaphragm to seat correctly. The bike is really sounding and moving a lot better I would recommend this mod to everyone but again this is only my opinion.

Regarding the undertray this took a little longer due to the uncertainty of where to cut the old one so the new undertray would fit, I got it cut after doing a little bit at a time, any readers need any advice feel free to mail me. I also painted my pyramid plastics seat cowl with an excellent match of the year 2000 blue if anyone would like the match mail me as I don't have it handy while doing the posting.

Thanks for the site, great tips and information and a chance to voice opinions   no problem

Also please don't send in anymore email until after 15th May, I am not around to make updates for the rest of this week and will be at the ride-out on Sunday..thanks.

I was able to get some info from Don about that cool fairing he has. It is available from RedRacing (red@redracingparts.com) in Italy. Price quoted was just over $200 delivered to the USA. It is made to fit the Monster 900 and the Suzuki Bandit 1200. Modifications are necessary to make it fit the SV. 

There is another company (www.valtermoto.com) over there that will do the mods but they have not responded to my emails yet. Somehow I am going to get that screen on my bike! If anyone has any better info, please let us know.

Great site.

I was thinking of starting up a motorcycle web site and wondered if you had any quick advice on hosting, advertisements, bandwidth usage that might save me some learning pains. Also if its a nightmare let me know that also.

Advice? DON'T DO IT!!!  

Only joking....(I think). Be clear about what you want, why you're doing it and the amount of resource you have available to put into it. Decide whether you're doing it for financial reasons or just to spread information and provide a free 'service'. Only start it if you're going to stick at it, it's easy to get snowed under pretty quickly if it's successful. 

I would say keep the site simple and quick to load (say's me with info pages over 200k by the end of the month!). Design is a personal thing and there's plenty of examples to follow. With regard to the SV I guess this site and Rob's (www.svrider.com) site are the extremes, mine with a lot of reading and simple structure, Rob's with a professional design and artwork (together with good contents as well before he says anything!). 

Steven kindly offered me free use of a web server he manages and I only have to pay for registration of the domain name (which Steven went halves with as well!). Support of this kind is invaluable for me, I would not be running sv650.org without it SO A BIG THANK YOU TO STEVEN !! The actual web server is located in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. I don't know how much bandwidth I'm using...Steven would know but thankfully doesn't bother me with that sort of thing. I post information, you guys download it. Simple.

I have read some posting from fellow SV riders regarding putting Buell screen on SV650. I have found some pictures at the bottom of http://svrider.com/index2.htm where a SV was equipped with a Buell Cyclone M2 screen (please note that M2 Cyclone screen is different from X1 Lighting). I also recall from some old posting saying the installation requires no modification (?). However, when you order the fly screen (wind screen), make sure you also order the mounting hardware. The cost is about
US$85.00.

In the middle of the same page, there is also a blue SV with Ducati wind screen.

You drill around the outside of the inner exhaust pipe (where the actual exhaust comes out). It is a lip, but also has a depression around the inner pipe (hard to see, take something small and thin and you can feel it). I drilled down into the depression and into the canister so you can't see the holes. Not very good at explaining sometimes. 

Thanks, I understand now....I'd like to hear your SV on Sunday if possible..give me a shout but explain who you are! 

There always seems to be a lot of queries about huggers so I thought I would share my experience.

I fitted a Powerbronze Carbon-looker hugger to my blue 99 SVS earlier this year. Since then I have covered about 1000 miles, unfortunately the plastic around one of the mounting hole has broken off and the Carbon-look is beginning to peel off. The whole thing is very flimsy and very slab sided looking (from the sprocket side). As you might imagine I don't recommend this product.

Great site, keep up the good work and hope to see you on Sunday.

I found these beautiful tunings in the last issue of Option moto N°45 (french magazine) These incredible modifications were made by a guy named CHRIS WAOUH !

Does the magazine have a website? If so I'll link to it..

Image 1      Image 2

If anyone is interested in buying the belly pan and exhaust system from my SV then contact me at Jon.Eardley@btinternet. £175 buys the two or may split.

Tania has asked for us to send you some pictures of the SV650 and some Dyno Charts.

One of the charts is the std exhaust + our Single and our Twin System. The other is Std+our Twin+our Twin with dynojet. As you can see the engine improves a lot with the Twin and at the same time the sound is a lot lower more like a baby TL.

Regarding the jetting, we tried to get more power then what you see, different combinations with air filters, etc and the best we could achieve is in the chart. Basically its up to the individual to jet it or not.

Because we are exhaust manufacturers and have tested the SV with many different sizes of exhausts we feel that we have dragged out of the engine the maximum power possible and the jets were just a compromise. However other manufacturers may do better. Having read some of your mail and with fairness to our competitors regarding dba's, your readers have to understand that the SV is a Twin with 650cc and to quite the sound down with a single can, you either end up with the size of RSV mille or sacrifice power. The answer is twins,but for Suzuki to fit twins as standard (and I am sure they would like to) the price of the bike would be a lot higher.

PS. whatever we can help regarding exhausts, no problem we are always ready to help. Thank you for putting our WEBSTER address on your very well constructed site. no problem....and if you get lots of custom from this site and have a spare system laying around you could always fit it to my SVS! ;- )  (worth a try!!)

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3      Image 4       Image 5      

A good example of the sort of feedback I'm looking for when you're happy/unhappy with the service you've received...

Thought you might be interested in the following:

Yesterday I spent the whole day with Renegade exhausts, and I must admit, they made me feel really welcome and looked after me throughout the day. And that was the first thing to hit me; the friendly atmosphere and hospitality. Where else can you go to get an exhaust fitted, who serve bacon and sausage sandwiches in the morning then supply you with coffee and chocolate biscuits throughout the day?

The second thing to hit me was the sv650s parked outside the unit, sporting it's high level twin cans, knowing that only hours away my bike too would be sporting that sexy look. Then I met Jorge, the owner, and I can tell you this guy knows his stuff about the Sv. In fact he knows his stuff about any bike but it seemed to me that he was out to prove something with the Sv. He loaded it onto the Dyna before the cans were fitted so he could get an idea of performance with the standard system. Then, he took me through the process of building the can itself and it was like watching an artist at work. Fitting the new cans didn't take too long and I was kept occupied 
by the bacon sandwiches and coffee. Just keep 'em coming.

After the new cans were fitted we did another couple of dyna runs which showed a great increase in performance then I took it out for a spin and wow, what an improvement. The difference was apparent immediately; the acceleration was much smoother and the extra torque was noticeably better. But best of all, was that sexy 
grunt and the head-turns I got out on the road. The other thing is it's not too loud., measuring at about 93db compared to 104db for the Micron, meaning that you're less likely to draw the attention of the fuzz (police).

The standard system measures at about 71hp on the crank and 75.1hp with the Renegade system. The most improvment is at about 5000rpm where the standard 
system would dip suddenly but with the Renegade it just kept on climbing. I took the bike out for a 100 mile run today and I must admit that it's now like riding a completely different bike and it scores 10/10 for the grin factor, making the ride though town centers such a joy and catching the attention of passers by.

When leaving Renegade, Jorge came running up to me and asked me to stay to do some more tests. He took the new cans off and replaced them with bigger ones then ran it on the Dyna one more time to see if he could get it over 76bhp. He also tried raising the tank on spacers but the most we could get was 75.8bhp. He assured me that even with a Dynajet kit and air filters, you still wouldn't get it over 75bhp so that's worth bearing in mind before you splash out on a Dynajet kit.

Overall, it was a really fun day. I met some other Sv riders there who were considering the high level system and we stood together in the sweltering heat to exchange stories. I also met Ozzy, who owns the amazing custom Sv (photos attached) and drooled again for the second time that day. The service that Renegade offer is incredible and I must admit that I've never experienced such a service like this before. I've never been to a place that make you feel like a member of the family and I'd recommend anyone to use them. Forget Micron, splash out the extra cash for the high level twins and make your bike look and sound like a TL1000. Believe me, you'll be picking the flies from your teeth months afterwards.

(photos of my black sv with polished twin cans coming soon). Here they are -->  Image 1      Image 2      Image 3      Image 4      Image 5      

Image 1      Image 2      Dyno Chart

Where do they hang out Al?  If anyone else experiences good or bad service with any of the suppliers mentioned on this site then please let me know. 

Find attached a Dyno print out of my SV following the fitting of a Scorpion Road Legal end can, there is about 1 hp. gain (I had hoped for a bit more) and a fraction of gain in torque, the main gain is a very nice sound which is not rorty like some race cans . Initial fears I had of some power loss at the top end when the can was first fitted went after I drained some water out of the petrol tank, so it's all running fine now, hope to see you on the 14th.

View dyno graph

Just returned to the States from Paris & one of the bike shops I went in (hey, what better way to relax in Paris then visit bike shops!) had a SV650 with a really cool dual seat (one piece for rider & pillion) that I've not seen in the states. It looked a lot like the sargent seats that are made for Ducs with regard to shape.

The name imprinted on it was MFC (?) and it had a picture of a Rhino. If you're looking for a replacement seat or just to change the looks of your scoot it'd be worth trying to get more info. The shop was on bike row just beyond the Arc de Triomphe (Rue de Grand Armee.) Very cool seat & it completely changed the look of the bike.

One of the many toys & bikes they get that we don't!

Thanks for the advice, and thanks for the trial run Kevin! I thought that might be the case but I was a bit wary about risking my new (expensive) headlight unit...

I'll try some 55/60's and see how they get on, and thanks again for the site - hopefully it's just saved me a fair chunk of change! copied email text follows..

"From: "adam nesvick" <anesvick1@home.com>
To: <mrobiette@dknet.co.uk>
Subject: headlight Bulbs for SV650S 
Date sent: Fri, 5 May 2000 19:23:41 -0700

> Use the 60/55 bulbs, they wont melt the plastic or hurt the electrical
> system, and they're brighter anyway. "

I am going to the rideout on Sunday, and was wondering if the Scottish riders coming down want to meet up somewhere near here before riding down to Brum. I am going to go through the back roads, past you (you said you may want to join up?).

There is possibly 2 SV's, and definitely one CB500 (He may be converted! You try and talk him into it!!.) not me mate....I just make the information available...now, if Suzuki were paying me it would be a different matter!

Also on the subject...this from Tony (paganini_n@hotmail.com )...

If anybody is interested in going up to the SV rideout on the 14/05 and are travelling up from the south, I have arranged a meeting place at the westbound GRANADA services between jcn 11 and jcn 12 on the M4 (map attached). Meeting time - 9.30am. Planned route is M4, A34, M40, M42.

Please e-mail me if you are interested in joining this convoy, so that I am roughly aware of how many SV riders to look out for. Tony...I'm not even aware of how many people are coming!!!

click to view map

After years of angst i finally got my first bike. An unfaired US spec SV650 (which is handy because if it was something else you would all be wondering why I was posting here). 

I have run her in, as per the handbook and have ordered a fly-screen and the aluminum chain guard. So far the only mod I have made from stock is to remove the mudguard extension. Waiting on ordering a new exhaust until I can work out which ones work best - Renegade seem to have a big following on this site. only just been mentioned...most talk early on was of M4 and then more recently Micron, Scorpion, BOS etc, etc...

Anyway, if any of you find yourself in South California and fancy a blast up the Ortega Highway let me know.

It's me again

Your question was what was the horsepower at the wheel, I think? I've got the graphics from the test from a SV with the BOS complete exhaust system. The top speed is plus 5 miles and the powerloss between 3500 and 7000 is gone. (what power loss? feels OK to me..) I'll send them with this mail. ( the red line is the aluminium one the black line the standard exhaust) This graph shows why BOS is a very good manufacturer off exhausts.

What did you think from the look from the BOS exhaust. It is easy to put it on the bike, not as the original one.

Thanks to your site, I found a SV biker that contacted me to do some trips. Pictures will follow in a few weeks. He has a standard SV.

Click to view graph

First of all thank you very much for the site. The information you provide was highly influential in me choosing an SV650S which I collected from D & K last Saturday. After a 14 year break I bought a GPZ500 which I ran for 3 years but the SV650S is streets ahead despite still running in and only having covered 250 miles to date.
I have 2 questions for you and you will excuse my ignorance but I am no mechanic. (nor me..)

Firstly, do I need a paddock stand if I intend to do no maintenance myself apart from adjusting the chain? If I adjust the chain with weight on the back wheel, am I putting a strain on the adjusters?

Secondly, I have noticed a certain lumpiness between 3500-4500 revs., especially if I try and hold the bike at a constant speed. A pal of mine tells me that this is probably to do with controlling emissions and that a putting new needles in the carbs and lots of other bits would cure it. Once I hit above 4500 to 5000 (the limit at the moment), things begin to smooth out. You mean surging? Yes, most people have/had it..I did but either don't notice anymore or ride 'around' it without thinking.

I will probably be back again soon with lots of other boring questions, but it is really good to have a bike with such a good site to support it. I don't mind questions but please take a look through all the archives because it's probable that your questions have been asked before...and yes, I know there's a lot to read!

Went for a long ride today. 

My observations on the drilled out stock exhaust are thus: 

Noise is more noticeable, but not what I would call loud. It has a growl, rasp, deeper note, especially revving through the gears. The idle and low speed is throatier, especially in traffic. Blipping the throttle sounds good now. Out in cruise mode, the wind still drowns out the exhaust sound. In conclusion, deeper, more noticeable, but
not loud. Just remember, you only have to drill one hole at a time, check sound, and drill another till you are satisfied. If nothing else, will be an excuse for installing aftermarket exhaust. To clarify this finally when you look into the exhaust there's the outer alloy cover and then you see the circular metal tube of the exhaust itself. Between the two there is a circle of metal that looks like a lip. Is it this, and through into the exhaust, that you drill?

I have a 1999 blue SV650 US model. Is anyone our there parting with the parts for the faired version?? I would love to get my hands on the whole parts package. 

I noticed a posting by Don (e-mail rdr@ciaoweb.it) on 25/04/2000 with several pictures of his yellow SV with a wind screen I have never seen before. I have e-mailed him with no reply so far. Does any know where you could purchase a screen like this one? Is it a Suzuki part or aftermarket? How much does it costs? 

on harley web site, they show the buell screen in corbon fiber, does it fit my sv. if so do i need to modify? or do i just need the mounting brackets. thanks for your site. it helped me to buy the best bike of my life.

in the part 3 of images, what brand is the fly screen in shots 28, 29, 30? need help.

I've put a total of 500 miles on the SV so far. It is such a blast. In twenty years, I've owned faster bikes, bikes that were more comfortable, and bikes that cut a better profile. It's hard to think of one that was as much FUN as this one.

As a new owner, some may think my passion for this motorbike is premature. For a (too brief) period in 1982, I owned a Yamaha Seca 650. All the cycle rags touted it as one of the best all-purpose street bikes of the day. One still occasionally sees an editor writing, as I sometimes do, about how he wishes he hadn't sold the one he'd had.Ten, fifteen, even twenty years from now, the same things will be written about the SV650. Many young riders will want to move 'up' to a more powerful mount, say, the TL1000. Or maybe you think your kind of riding calls for a BMW or HD. But mark my words: you will rue the day you gave up your SV. 

I'll be keeping mine this time.

Just wanted to let you know that you have a hyperlink to Renegade exhausts in your link section. I couldn't view the photos on their site, so they very kindly emailed them to me, and I have done the same for you. If anyone is interested in a twin pipe set up, this one looks quite impressive.

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3

More on the Renegade twin can system....this from Al (LOUGHERA@BUPA.com)..

I have just purchased the high level twin stainless steel system for UKP 540, including fitting (which takes 2hrs). Renegade reckon you get 10-12bhp midrange and 5-6bhp topend. They also fit a bracket to your existing silencer so you can refit it at a later date if you want. The system itself looks fantastic, giving the impression from the back that you're riding a TL1000. I'll send another message on Saturday after I've had them fitted. let us know..

I don't know if there is anyone out there who can help - here's the story... 

I brought my SV650S back to the UK from Holland, and I wanted to convert the headlights. As they haven't been out that long I couldn't find any used headlight units so I coughed up the 130 pounds for a new one. Next I find I also have to pay 85 quid for a new front wiring loom - OK, OK I guess its needed. Then I discover that a new set 
of headlights from Suzuki does not come with bulbs, and the official Suzuki bulbs are 43 pounds EACH! What!!!?? You must be f**king joking - I'll use aftermarket ones for a tenner....

Next, I find that the spec for the British SVS is for 45/45W bulbs, and nobody makes these aftermarket - you can only get 35/35 or 55/60. I was advised by the dealer not to fit 55/60 cos of having plastic lenses, and the possibility of melting them, so I got 2 35/35 H4 bulbs. After having to file down one of the tabs cos Suzuki has made the housing a slightly different size (to try and force you to fit their outrageous bulbs I guess), off I rode...

After 2 months both bulbs had blown, so reckoning I might have got a bad batch I put a couple more in. These lasted 3 weeks before they both blew. much more of this and I might as well have put the Suzuki ones in! I've been in touch with Suzuki UK who say that there should not be any problems with compatibility of the electrics, and it doesn't sound like a reg/rec failure otherwise I'd be blowing fuses and suchlike. Their suggestion is that the 35/35 bulbs have thinner filaments and are not designed to cope with the vibration of a v-twin, and if I fit their special bulbs there should not be a problem!

Apparantly the Suzuki bulbs are made by a company called Stanley, but I haven't been able to find any way to contact them. I could take the easy way and get them from Suzuki, but I still find myself resisting paying 90 quid for 2 bulbs - I think I'd rather put my Dutch lights back in and be illegal!

If anyone has any suggestions on how I might get round this, please let me know or post to this site. Martin, I replaced the two standard 45/45 bulbs with two 60/55 bulbs in my SVS and have had no problems, no melting and no blows or electrical problems (that's tempting fate!!).

It's been raining here , so I haven't had a chance to ride (I know, I'm a wuss). I could send you a picture of the drillings, but you wouldn't see anything. If you walk out to the SV and run a finger around the exhaust spout, you will feel that it is in a depression. That is where I drilled. Top, bottom, right, left, and then split those with four more holes. I guess by shining a light, you , maybe could see something. 

Hope this helps, and as soon as the roads dry, I'll try to get out. Does this make the can too loud? If you had to backout for somereason you could hardly refit the original as it's the original you've drilled...just wondered.. 

I took delivery of my SV650S today and immediately discovered a problem that I thought you ought to know about. 

After the delivery driver had left and I was looking over the bike, I tried to fire it up to show the wife and it wouldn't start! All that happened was a very high pitched hum/buzz and a burning smell. I tried again a little later on and the wife said "Quick, get off, it's smoking!!" Upon further investigation, I found that the main cable to the starter motor, from the terminal connection under the seat, had routed itself out towards the rear cylinder down pipe and had melted onto it. Therefore, every time you tried to start it, it was shorting straight to earth!!! 

I will be informing my dealer first thing in the morning to get the problem sorted but I thought it would be a good idea for all the people you have reading your web page to just check the route of their cables and make sure that they are no where near the exhaust pipe. Potentially very dangerous...

Hope this alerts you to a potential problem being resolved...

The Micron stand comes with cups as standard. Micron do a bobbin conversion for this stand. I bought this and whilst it is a lot easier, it could be better. The cups are replaced by hooks that look like an upside down "?". I also put some spacers in to hold the hooks the right distance apart. The conversion costs about £19. 

I've heard of this piece installed on the SV. I have a 2000 SV650Y US spec and I was wondering if the Buell screen needed modifications for SV use?

I passed my test in '98 on a CG125 and so got restricted to 33bhp for two years. I bought my yellow unfaired SV last September and had it restricted down, just thought I'd let you know what a restricted SV does. Around town you would not know, but take it on an open road and you find it accelerates hard up to 70MPH, but rapidly tops out at 80 MPH. You just have to remember not to tangle with the local yoots in their K&N equipped Nova GTE's, because you can't get away.

I still get about 55mpg from it, so no change there.

When I insured it I thought I might get a discount when I declared my modification?!? :-) (I never did when I ran a 33bhp CB500S....mind you I soon got fed up with it and took the restrictions out of the carbs and ran it full power then after a month or two took my 'full' test and was all legal again) Excellent site, I check on it weekly.

You are doing an amazing job with the SV650 site, please keep it up, if I can find you at the rideout I must buy you a beer. In that case I'm one on a red SVS (as if there's only going to be one!!) with black and yellow leathers (or my trusty Hein Gericke winter stuff if it's bad weather as per my pic in About me). 

I am an "old biker", having just seen the light after a succession of British bikes and I would urge anyone whose Triumph twin seems a bit long in the tooth to consider an SV650, you really dont know what you have been missing. I've had more fun in the last three months on my SV than I've had in the last several years on my Triton.
Just bought a hugger from MPS, (black fibre glass £65), looks good on a yellow bike. See you on the 14th Glad you're enjoying it.

Here are two URL's:   www.lonestar.texas.net/~beffie has a sound file on the Micron exhaust. www.geocities.com/catpoopman (nice URL) has a sound file and instructions on installing the Vance and Hines S4 system. 

BTW, I went out with my trusty "Sears" drill motor and a 3/16" bit and drilled 8 holes around the spout of the exhaust canister. There is a depression, crevice, moat , whatever around the spout and you cannot see the holes that are drilled. The sound is very good . quite a bit deeeper at idle and a bark as it revs up. I haven't ridden yet, so will let you know how it sound later. Please let us know how it goes and maybe a picture of the drilling??

Let me start by clarifying some points regarding exhausts/silencers/mufflers/cans.

1 - there are two kinds of exhausts. The legal and The Not legal. that's it. 

The Legal/BS approved/EEC approved/JMCA, japanese approved or anything else approved are exhausts that meet the noise levels approved by those Countries or Bodies. They have to meet some noise levels or dba's, if they don't then they are not approved so they are illegal/race cans most commonly known. However Race cans are a special breed of exhausts but everybody tends to relate them to illegal can. Race cans are exhausts made to improve a bike's performance to its maximum regarding air outlet and different engines take different sizes including same model. Non race exhausts (baffled), known to the general as road cans don't necessary 
have to be legally approved, they are noisier than the legal hence not approved. Just because it does not say "Not For Road Use" it does not make it Legal (I agree). In other words if it does not have a BS or EEC + as Above stamped then does not matter what sound it makes .ITS ILLEGAL. 

2 - Regarding insurance. well its up to you to stay with your insurance or change to the ones who accept after market exhausts. But if you explain to them that if you drop your bike eg.SV650 and damage your factory exhaust, they have to fork out £600+ but if you keep it in the Garage wrapped in mummy's blankets and fit an aftermarket exhaust that costs around £250+. which one would they like to pay? Tell them that an aftermarket exhaust also may save your like as at least non deaf people may hear you approaching. (you can tell them but that one won't make any difference) The guy who hit me recently was on is mobile so I was second choice Sound. Also if a third 
party is involved and you are the injured party they have to prove that your exhaust has caused the accident not is girl friend's mini skirt. So to those guys who have approved exhausts but are louder then their originals well done, the problem is the manufacturer who stamped it, unless the code belongs to a different model. Got You. you see a legal exhaust from one model, is not necessarily legal on another model. So unless you have an invoice specifying your model-bike, then you are still in the wrong. There is no Escape.

This is regarding Insurance. regarding our good friends in Blue . DO NOT USE SMALL NUMBER PLATES OR BLACK VISORS or be a Prat in the high st. and you 
hardly are disturbed and if so let us know why you were Stopped "SPEEDING"?

Hoping you get my message ( I got it....and think I know what you're getting at. I do agree that without a BS mark then a can or dark visor is illegal in the UK. I also think that if you fit a can or system and it increases power then you can expect to have problems with insurance if they find out when you need to claim - any excuse and they're out of it. If you can inform your insurance company and pay more for the extra BHP gains then maybe think about doing that if you think it will help in the event of a claim. Whether they give you this choice or not I don't know, you've got to contact them). 

I thought your viewers might want to see my new 2000 SV650 in front of the Lincoln memorial in DC.

Image 1

Renegade (http://www.renegade-exhausts.com) had an SV 650S doll'd out with their twin exhaust set at Alexandra Palace Show earlier this year, and it did look gorgeous. It almost, but not quite, convinced me to buy a second hand machine and add them on - got a new one April 1st instead, and will have to wait until I drop it before splashing out on the Renegades - 652 quid for Carbon oval twins! e-mail is Renegade@dial.pipex.com, see you on the 14th (in the crowd??) - Great Site!!!!!

Also on the Renegade subject...this from Tania (JAPORTESE@aol.com) who raised the subject below...

I'm surprised how fast you printed my letter (so am I !), now you got me hooked on this site. well here it goes.

1- The name is RENEGADE, I'll forgive you. (you're so kind....)
2- Their contact is already in the Site, http://www.renegade-exhausts.com  or UK Tel: 01474-852255.
3- They also make Titanium CHEAPER than Carbon but their prices are not listed on their website yet.

I have today visited Renegade and had my SV Jetted by them and an extra 2bhp was achieved on top of my other 6. However they were not happy with the results for the extra expense and are testing again tomorrow. I have Twin Renegade Carbon (noting my image size plea at the top of the page)..

Having read some comments on the site I notice that there are a lot of confusion regarding exhausts and noise and legalities .Going for dinner now  but if you find my info useful I come back latter and give you some comments on the above. (and they are posted above..)

Just a few pictures of my SV with a Pyramid Plastics belly pan. I haven't seen any pictures of this belly pan and thought it may be of interest to someone. Otherwise the bike is pretty standard with only the tinted double bubble screen, and tank protector. The old bloke on the seat is a non-standard fitting called 'Owner' (I've got one of those). Had to get the pose picture in!

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3

Bodywork removal:
I had to remove the rear bodywork to change my brake fluid. The shop manual doesn't do a very good job of showing how to remove the rear section. After removing the 6 bolts that you can see from the top, there are 2 screws pointing up underneath each side of the tail section. (near where the turnsignals go in I think) Remove these 2 screws. Then there are two grommets on either side of the bodywork that the bodywork has tabs that push into them. (the manual never mentions these - you can't see them until the bodywork is off) Pull carefully on the sides until they pop out. I tore one of my grommets trying to figure this out. It should be off now. You might want to put a little grease on  the rubber grommets so the tab will slide out easier next time you have to remove the rear section.

Corbin Seat:
The corbin is a huge improvement in comfort. I can go all day mountain riding in N. Georgia with little butt soreness. The stocker left me sore after a short while and I was wanting to get off frequently. The drawbacks are that it is a little shorter than the stock seat which crunches up my legs a bit more than it used to. Also the way the sides of the seat are formed (shaped) it tend to bite into your thigh a little when you put your foot down at a stop. No big deal to me as I seldom stop! And it is a little harder to take off and put on as the mounting tabs ride up against the frame bolts. Just hold the tabs apart a little with both hands as you slide the front of the seat down. (this is even harder with the Suzuki mounted tank bra. It tends to start bunching up as the seat slides down against it. You kind of need 3 hands almost)

BT56ss:
I spooned my 3rd set of tires on prior to a trip to N. Geogia last month and put on BT56ss this time. (my second set was MEZ4's again) After 930 miles in 4 days of mountain riding I must say I prefer them to the Metzelers. They provided a more confidence inspiring ride. The Bridgestones felt planted and seem to steer just where I wanted it to go at slow, medium, and fast  speeds and corners. The Metzelers seemed vague at times especially at slower turn in speeds. I've been running Metzelers forever on my other machines but will try Bridgestones next time. (my BT56R rear is starting to square off now and beginning to feel like my original Metz..unfortunately..)

Suzuki Flyscreen:
I put the Suzuki flyscreen on last month. It doesn't look too bad to me. You almost don't see it. It does a minimal job of wind deflection but it seems to me to help with the fatigue factor on my arms. This is my first naked bike since 1975 (KZ900) and my arms were always tired and sore after riding 20 or 30 miles at 50 or 60mph. The flyscreen seems to have cured that problem of which I can say it was worth the $70.00 I spent on it. I don't detect any big change in wind noise other than sometimes I get a little whistling noise through my Arai faceshield when I have it cracked open a little. You can adjust the angle of the screen 10 or 15 degrees in (until it starts to hit the instruments)  or out. I kind of tried it straight up and then laid down and settled on about halfway.

That's it for now. I hope this isn't too long but I felt compelled to share my experiences. (not too long at all and all good relevant info)

If you look at the piece that I wrote about fixing a Givi Monorack, part of the tells you how to get the rear plastics off. It sounds like you haven't found the two screws the screw up from under the bike, just inside the indicators. The only other problem you'll have is how to remove the rear seat catches/cable/lock. 

Any of you guys out there close to Ohio? Might be nice to have a ride out on this side of the pond. I've only ever seen one other than mine outside the showroom, so it would be nice to ride/chat with other SV'ers. Part of the mystique! Let me know!

Here's some info on the micron exhaust and a dyno graph as send to me  by Ian Bennett who checked up on the rating.

-----Original Message-----

From: Tom Kirk [mailto:TomKirk@clf.co.uk]

Sent: 09 March 2000 13:04

To: 'Ian Bennett'

Dear Sir

Thanks for the e-mail. The noise rating is 104db. Please see a torque graph enclosed.

Regards,

Tom Kirk

Technical Sales

CLF INTERNATIONAL LTD

Tomkirk@clf.co.uk <mailto:Tomkirk@clf.co.uk> 

This is where I got the figure from, and is the only confirmation I have. Told you it was loud ;)

Download MS Word document (27Kb and not virus checked)

In response to Ocaylus mail about noise levels, it is my understanding that a 3 db increase is a doubling of noise levels except where exhaust noise levels are concerned. The noise levels are stated in dbA, which is an adjusted scale which accounts for the human ears sensitivity to different frequencies. In this scale, a 10 dbA increase is twice as loud.

In the UK, the legal limit for NEW bikes sold after June 99 is 80dbA. I believe this is an EC directive so will be same in France. (Look at the stock Suzuki can and you will see the 80dbA stamp.)

Any one used G Force exhausts for the SV?

Oliver (ojv@supanet.com) asked about removal of the bodywork around the seat. 

In his posting of 02/03/2000 (SOFT PANNIERS FITTING), Ian describes how to remove the bodywork to gain access to the wiring when resiting the rear indicators to avoid fowling soft luggage. 

I guess it may also be useful to have a look at the posting of 29/03/2000 from Des - MODIFICATION COMMENTS - in which some useful advice is given on removal of the black side covers. 

In view of your earlier comments, Kevin, I'll not heap further flattery and praise on you for the site but advise you to keep doing the lottery, as, pending a reversal of far eastern economic decline and the accepted greed of the motorcycle business in the UK, it's the only way you are likely to get your hands on anything like the money Suzuki ought to be coughing up for you.  See you on 14 May.   (with a heavy briefcase full of cash?....you're too kind!)

In reply to Tim's query about a front end bike stand; I bought an Abba stand from M&P (in the U.K). This cost £100 and works like a centre stand, it engages in the swingarm pivot and lifts the rear of the bike clear of the ground. To lift the front end you then just jack-up the engine. 

I've done all of this and think it is much better than paddock stands, especially if you want to change the head bearings, as front end paddock stands engage in the steering stem, which would obviously cause problems.

As an SV owner I am grateful to find your creation but am surprised not to find any info on Renegade exhausts, it looks as if your visitors don't know of their existence and their twenty four different versions of exhausts for the SV. all of them using the existing pipe work all always able to fit back the original silencer. Also their 12bhp power gain, no jetting, life warranty. And their SERVICE. Call them and find out. Do you have any contact details?

UPDATE from Mike (mickclark@talk21.com)...thanks..

http://www.renegade-exhausts.com

I bought a red Y2K SV and love it! So far I've destickered it, removed the grab handle, removed the rear fender extension, slapped a tank protector on, bought a Marsee magnetic tank bag and installed my lucky Grateful Dead emblem. Now I'm looking at flyscreens, pillion cowls and aftermarket seats. After it's broken in I'll look to upgrade the exhaust and suspension.

My question to you all is this: how do you like your Corbin's? Does their carbon fiber cover look good? Is their a better option than Corbin?

I was wondering if there are any underseat pipes (ala ducati 916/996) for the sv? I thought I saw someone on this site with some... but I can't find the pics? any ideas?

HELLO AGAIN FROM RAINEY KANSAS, A FEW MONTHS AGO I WROTE IN TO SAY HELLO.  I AM 21 WITH A RED 99 CANADIAN SV....THIS TIME I ACTUALLY NEED A HELPING HAND... 

I WILL BE LEAVING FOR FLORIDA AND THEN UP THE EAST COAST THIS SUMMER TO KINGSTON NEW YORK, IM PRETTY BROKE AND NEED SOME STOPS ALONG THE WAY TO RESTUP. IF ANY ONE FEELS THAT THEY MAY LIVE ALONG THE WAY OF MY TRAVELS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW- I CANT PAY BUT A GOOD CONVERSATION AND RIDE ARE NEVER HARD TO COME BY. 

I HAVEN'T FIGURED MY ROUTE YET ALL I KNOW AS OF THIS MOMENT IS THAT I WILL BE STAYING A FEW DAYS IN FORT LAUDERDALE AND DAYTONA TO 
SCUBA  DIVE. ANY HELP WOULD BE WONDERFUL, YOU GUYS HAVE ALL BEEN WONDERFUL. 

Jennifer...please send the rest of us unlucky enough not live on your route some pics of your trip...it would cheer us up no end! See previous posting here.

I've got a smallish scrape along the left rear side of my bike and was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to remove the rear bodywork panel. I've been down to a company called Kandor in North London (see listings in MCN) and they said that the only way they could do an accurate colour match for a respray was to do the whole panel. Anyway, I tried taking the thing apart but it still seems to be joined somewhere near the back end and I can't find the connector...it can't be that difficult, can anyone help me out? I'm sure someone can....please send in the instructions and I'll post in the 'how to' section of the FAQ's.

Just thought I'd pipe in with a little info... I just got off the phone with Factory, and they told me they are coming out with a kit that will include a rejet kit for the carbs, and new air filters that will take  the place of the existing air filter, and box. That puppy has got to sound throaty! Don't know about you guys, but I'm racing everyone to get my hands on the first one! 

I'll send an update when/if I hear back from them, they said they would call when it was available. I'll also let you know how much I bust up my fat knuckles installing it. Keep up the good work!

For sale. 1999 sv650, red, 5000miles, brand new dunlop 207's, M4 exhaust system with stainless exhaust can, dyno jet kit, cfm rearsets, stainless steel brake lines, ebc hh pads, rental superbike bar, Buell flyscreen. 

Have all stock parts. $5400 obo.

Cost of racing my 600 supersport bike forces sale. Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania, USA. E-mail cjmadm@aol.com 

The new images section looks great. Here are some close up shots of my Corbin seat and Givi case which I had sent earlier. I've gotten alot of e-mails asking about both so I thought people might want to see them on your site. I highly recommend both for anyone doing alot of commuting / touring. I ordered Intuitive frame sliders yesterday and will send you a picture when I install them. Please do.

Image 1      Image 2      Image 3      Image 4      Image 5      Image 6

Thanks for the numerous email regarding the exhaust(ing) concern.

Douglas : the figure of 104dB is scarry ! My french bike licence mentions a stock 87dB at 4500rpm. I have to study my physics again, but for me +1db means twice as much noise. We are talking about a 15 factor ! (that can't be right...if it's 15 times louder then I'd be able to hear you in the UK!!)

I'm still hooked on the micron full set thought, actually because I placed an order at a London dealer... but still to confirm the model. I gathered pictures of high mount system, with the following pros : good look, keep the passenger footpeg. One cons maybe : impossible to fit rear seatbags (not mentionning the risk of burning the driver shoes and the passenger leg...)

Anyone has picture / experience of the "normal" position oval system ? Regarding the noise, has anybody bought a "road version" of micron ?

Keeping the stock system at home, it's still nonsense to buy a road version, unless the noise / performance are between the race and the stock version. Thanks for your comments and greetings from France.

I'm in the market for a ducati monster flyscreen which I'm told fits perfectly on the naked SV. I was wondering if there is somebody out there who has done this already. If so mail me back with instructions. 

Kevin you're right about the svrider site being cool however, the motto with us SV riders is 'THE MORE THE MERRIER'. Keep up your great work and dedication! It
shows. And I thought it was it's not the size that matters but what you do with it...

As I had chosen Stratford as a destination for our rideout, due to the popular bike meet there on Sundays, I was interested to read the attached article  in this weeks Motor Cycle News. A couple of weeks later, and we could have joined them.

A couple of notes about the route;

1. There are no Gatsos that I could see, although some of the roads warn of speed cameras, particularly the A3400. It is a 50mph limit but a much "faster" road with discretion.

2. Because of the bikes in Stratford, beware of Plod on the approaches. I think they are fairly tolerant, but.....

3. I chose Stratford because of the meet and thought it would break up the ride in a particularly historic, and beautiful part of the country. However, Stratford can be very busy in the summer, and I realise from the site that some folks will have already ridden a fair few miles to get to the Motorcycle Museum and won't want another 
long ride once they get there. All this is leading to me proposing a couple of variations to the route, one to make it shorter, and a second slightly longer, but both by-passing Stratford.

Thanks Roger but the directions and maps you've done already are ample. 

The ride-out follows the same principals of this site....we put the information here and the readers take it or leave it........no pressure....we're just trying to be helpful but people will do what they want anyway (which is how it should be!).

I've heard people mention switching front ends from other bike to get better suspension and brakes. one article mentioned GSXR1100 (the over kill I was looking for), but no year. Also thought about widening my wheel one try going to a wider one.

Any thoughts or experiences you'd like to share is greatly appreciated.

I know that some of our canadian and european brothers and sisters are fitting out their bikes for racing and have changed out their stock half fairing. I would be interested in purchasing the entire thing including mounting brackets and lights if anyone is interested in selling. I love my sv but the Suzuki quarter fairing is all that I can get my hands on in the US and I just mounted it up and.... blah!

Just thought I would add a link to my page on my recent experience of finding/buying an SV650 in the San Francisco bay area. It contains some OTD prices too.

http://www.magicookie.com/sv650/buying.html

Is there another country that uses a MPH Speedo instead of a KPH Speedo for the SVS? If so can someone get a price on the thing? (does Australia and NZ use mph???)

SV650SX, '99 'T' reg, Yellow, excellent condition, 6 months road tax, 8500 miles, full Suzuki Service History, 1 Owner, 'G Force' carbon end can (with Suzuki original),
£3400 ovno

email ben@dungait.ezesurf.co.uk or telephone Ben on: (01179) 130458 day or (01454) 852190 evenings.  Near Bristol but I am wiling to deliver within 100 mile radius

Do you know or has anybody heard of a single sided swingarm for the SV? 

Hey all! I'm inquiring about an inexpensive way to stiffen up the front forks that would be road safe. ( I've heard about the various perils of fork oil) I don't want to invest in fork emulators at this time, but seriously need to do something about the soft front end. 

I went around a corner last night and slid the front wheel because the front end was too loaded. I'm 215 lbs so I guess it's a little worse because of that. Luckily for me, I was able to pull it upright and stop it before low siding. Any help would be much appreciated.

What a great site you have! I have convinced myself that I NEED an SV650 and it will arrive a week from today.

The first thing I have been looking into is upgrading the end can. Is it true that you need to saw off the original pipe to do this? Is there any way around this? If you want an end can only then yes you must cut otherwise fit a full system - for cutting info see here.

Thanks for a great reference for everything SV!

Hey Im just writing in with a concern about my SV. Its a 99 and it has nearly 14,000 miles on it. Just today as I was riding, I came across a fellow on a ducati-so I kept up with him around 120-at the most only 130 Miles Per hour. When I began to slow down, my SV began to make strange noises from the engine area everytime I gave it gas. I thought maybe my head pipe was loose and the exhaust was being noisy. I thought totally wrong. 

I heard a snapping noise-and It kinda sounded like a chain or metal on metal contact of some sort. After the snap, my SV died right there in the woods on this twisty 
road. I stopped it luckily got a ride back home and left it at my girlfriends house. Im really annoyed that this happened-its only a bit over a year old. 

Would Suzuki cover something like this under a warranty (if it's a design fault they must)? Has anyone had this problem before? I'm thinking it might be a valve or the chain tensioner. 

I'll have to have the shop tear it apart and charge me an arm leg and a back to fix it (no, if it's broken internal not caused by excessive riding then they should repair it under warranty). I just hate my SV for leaving me stranded like that-I thought it was a reliable bike and it obviously is not. (I've not heard of another case like this) Of course on the occasion I do a wheelie-but i change the oil every 3000 miles, and keep it running as best as possible. If anyone knows what might be the problem , please help me! 

Its getting warm out and my SV doesn't want to play anymore. :(

Get the bike looks at under warranty, stick to your guns and don't be fobbed off. Let us know how it goes please..

Sorry in advance for being so dense.  I need to work on the front end and don't have one of those fancy front end stands. How do I lift and hold the bike? I can't find it anywhere in the service manual.

There appears to be a long tube mounted in the bottom of the engine which would be perfect for a steel rod that could then be suspended. Is that the place to support the front, or should I just use a series of wood blocks? (ummm.....perhaps someone could write in with a safe method of front end lifting, I've not done it so can't help much)

p.s. do you get tired of the "great site" comments? yes I do, I think "here's some money for you Kevin" would sound much better ;- )

Hi Chad, I'm Nick, from Italy (the one, in the picture on one of the latest e-mail in the SV page, that "someone" said I'm a girl...Right Kevin :-))) (who? me?)

By the way, if I'm not mistaken, you are looking for the aluminium protections for the engine and frame? I have them on my bike, you can see it on the same picture I said up here, just at the end of body, near the air intake opening next to engine (sorry for my bad explanation, but I'm not really prepared yet on technical terms!) If you don't see it and want to have a close up, I can send you an image later...also for the SV page, OK? send it in...

I checked the front brake pad pins today. They are very visible being at the bottom most point of the calliper. They looked very rusty, so I thought I'd whip them out for a clean and a quick squirt of antisieze. The left came out fine but the right was rusted solid. Sh*t.

To cut a long story short, the pin will only come out in one direction and you can't tap it out from behind because the second hole is blind, you can only pull. The trouble is that the end of the pin is small and there's not much to grip with the vice grips. I squirted some penetrating oil into both holes that hold the pin and gripped the pin half way along between the pads and twisted. I got the pin out eventually, although it's covered in teeth marks from the vice (mole) grips.

Better to get this sorted out now on the warranty, than find out when the pads need replacing. You could get a big bill from the garage.  To check, you should be able to rotate the pin a few degrees using your fingers. The retaining pin stops full rotating. You should be able to jiggle it from left to right a bit too. 

As an experiment to stop a re-occurrence, I covered one pin in copperslip (which is much my old and trusted method) and the other in antisieze from Mr Fast'ner. 

Me again. I keep reading these other articles about adding isopropyl alcohol to tank, can anyone inform if this is the base for Fuel Injection Cleaner as it does state that it removes water from fuel & as I have used it before on cars with water in fuel I know it works.

If it is the same then it just makes it easier to buy as any car shop stocks it and it is only between £3.50 to £5 for a bottle that will do upwards from 5 tankfuls or more depending on how many litres it says it will mix with.

(and note the past articles warning of possible damage through use..)

Please could somebody out there offer me some help. (we'll try...)

I have had my bike for a year now and love it but despite having some padding taken out of the seat and lowering the suspension I am still finding some difficulties. I'm okay when riding but have to plan where I'm going (spontaneity out of the window) because maneuvering the bike is a real chore. I can't quite get enough of my foot on the ground - I only need about another inch - any ideas. 

I really don't want to have to sell Jack (his name) out of sheer exasperation. Help me please!!!!

Thanks for putting my mind to rest regarding the noisy camchain I'm getting happier with the noise now.

You mentioned that the misfires I'm having could be down to the spark plugs, so I've changed them. The dealer did say that he had spoken to Suzuki, and they told him that a more suitable spark plug is either in production, or available shortly. Do anybody know anything about this? or is the dealer just trying to get me to buy something extra. (first I've heard..)

Superb web site by the way, it great to have somewhere to refer to for good honest answers to those little niggles, that would normally take 4 or 5 lengthy phone calls to get to the bottom of. (the ratio of questions to answers must be about 10/1 but it's better than nothing...)

I am looking for a standard exhaust system for it with a damaged silencer or even a good one. 

If any one can help please e-mail me. 

Just would like to let you know that I just received a reply from Don.  With the website address where he got his parts from:

www.redracingparts.it 

I did not find the bikini fairing in the site, but I will send a mail to the shop to ask for it.

UPDATE 03/05/00....

I have received an e-mail from www.redracingparts.it and they told me they do not carry the bikini fairing (1/4 fairing) that I saw on DON's bike (see posting 25/04/2000 - YELLOW SV IMAGES - These from DON (rdr@ciaoweb.it) )

So, here I go again. If anybody knows where to get the bikini fairing  on DON's bike, please send me a note.

Having recently had a Scorpion (road legal) end can fitted I can confirm that it would probably meet "ocaylus' s" requirements as it's not too loud, but loud enough to make my SV sound like a real V twin. Performance wise I feel as if I've lost a bit off the top end and the dealer who fitted it has arranged a Dyno run for my bike next Saturday , I shall keep you informed of the results. 

Mindful of the ' water in the fuel ' syndrome that has been publicised I drained my petrol tank last weekend to see what was inside (I'm like that), and lo and behold there it was, around half a cup full of brown rusty water. I may add that I had modified the drain pipe a long time ago when it was first mentioned on your web site, so it's possible that the water was in the tank prior to me doing the mod and as I have never run with a low tank, I have been fortunate in not having the water get to the carbs.

Oliver is correct about the noise levels (I believe it exceeds 104 dB) with the Micron full system. I was surprised to find that if I wanted to use my baby at Castle Donnington track, the pipe would be too loud. It does attract attention in UK. Luckily I use mine more in Holland, and on the continent, bikers with choppers seem to have just a straight pipe with no bafflers as standard. Makes mine sound like stock. Also as the Race Only mark was just a sticker, unless someone checks the dB's, there's no obvious indication that its a race system. 

It could benefit from some sort of silencer device you could add to reduce the noise. I know there are some types of end can where you just insert a pipe to reduce the volume (can't remember the brand, think I saw it in the postings)

At the end of the day it:

Smoothes out the dip between 4K and 5K rpm
Increases power
Sounds great.

Can't ask for more ;)

Picked up my blue 650s yesterday and did my first 100 miles today. Had a test ride from the dealer, so knew I'd love it and I was right. 

I bought a Micron paddock stand for it but being a novice with this device I'm having a hell of a time getting the back wheel off the ground, in spite of a demo (on a Honda) by my dealer. Does this stand work with the 650? Any tips from more experienced owners? Does it have cups or bobbins? If cups then locate them under the swingarms (away from rear brake pipe) and ensuring the handlebars are straight then push down on the stand and the back will lift. If using bobbins then locate them onto the stand slots and do the same as before.

I'm getting ready to buy an American SV in a few weeks. I'm not overly anxious to add parts and add-ons since I'll feel privileged just to own one of these bikes. I'm sure that will change in time. I have been keeping up to date on everybody's posts (especially Yanks) and wondered if anyone has seen or had experience with any of Airtech-Streamlinings products http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/suzuz/suz2000sv650.htm. 

They offer an upper fairing and seat cowl and look like their getting ready to release an SVS style fairing for the SV. If comments have already been made in past
archives, I apologize for being redundant. yes, Airtech has been mentioned quite a few times...download the archives and do a search on the 'airtech' text to find them all..

I would like to fit an after market exhaust system to my SV to improve the sound but had concerns about how my insurance company might treat me in the event of a claim, so looked around for some answers.

Searching the bulletin boards on various sites, it would seem that a lot of people have the same concern but don't really know the answer, so here is what I found out in case it is of use to anyone.

I asked a couple of the mechanics and the service manager at my local bike shop and they said that the bottom line is that it is a gamble, some people win, some lose. In the event of an accident, if the rider is capable, they will change the exhaust system back to the original before the insurance assessors check the bike. Those that don't or can't do this take the risk that the insurance will not pay out, and they tell me that they do refuse to pay out in some cases. In the case that you make a claim for a large sum, such as a serious personal injury claim, you wouldn't win.

I have contacted my insurance company and they tell me that under my policy I can fit an aftermarket exhaust as long as it does not increase the power too much, for an increase my policy of 15%. The insurance bloke said that some companies will not touch these systems and will cancel the policy if one is fitted, but there are several companies that do allow them at the extra premium.

I am still concerned that even though they are stating the acceptance of the exhaust system for the additional cost, they could still refuse to pay out if the system is not road legal, does anyone know any solicitors who can advise or state any case law (English for me) , since there are potentially many people riding around effectively un-insured because of this.

My quest to find the real answer goes on -- let us know please..

From all I have read about the SV it sounds great, I am afraid I have to admit to not having one at the moment, I have a bandit 1200. It may sound a bit strange that I should be thinking of an SV but there has been some big changes recently. I am married with 2 kids and have recently done the role reversal. The wife now works and I look after the kids. We have upped sticks and "emigrated" to the Isle of Man.........So the B12 is a little over the top for my requirements now!!! 

The only thing that bothers me is the lack of power compared to the B12 but it would probably make up for some of that with the better handling!!!! Any opinions on this? True but you would miss the 1200 power big time.....try your mates first.. My sister should be coming over in a couple of weeks on her boyfriends SV (which should be run in by then) so I will be able to give it a go. The only other trouble is that it will cost me a bit to change (the B12 is paid for, so no "monthly" on it)

Anyway, keep up the good work, it really is a great site (the Bandit sites I have found don't seem to be as informative or as well maintained) and if anyone is over for TT, we could meet up! Now there is a "ride out". Better still, come after TT, its cheaper and you get the roads to yourself!!!!!!!! I'll look you up!

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