NOVEMBER 1999

COMMENTS AND INFO

hi, i am searching for a picture of the high level MIG can. does this soulution gives any problems with the rear pegs (backseat passenger) ?

Great site! - For the unlucky few still getting it together to buy one (January 2000 looks likely I hope) all the pics/words keep me going while I wait - the old adage of those who don't do it talk about it depressingly true!!

Either way, I did get to the NEC and saw the yellow SVS on the Powerbronze stand. The guy did admit to there being a discrepancy in the colour match which he put down to, in part at least, to the colour spectrogram being taken off the front wheelgaurd and the match therefore not looking quite up to the appearance under the show lights. Quite whether anything was going to be done about it he left me a little confused about! I thought the match not too bad though.

To the uninitiated the lower fairing looked a little on the flimsy side and it flexed very easily between the fingers. I didn't get to the competition and I'm no expert so maybe that's what you get for your money with this sort of thing - any comments?

In Powerbronze's defence all the prices seemed pretty good to me:

£17 Light covers
£45 Airflow screen
£17 Front mudguard extension (more if you want it coloured)
£120 Fairing lowers
£50 Belly pan
£35 Rear hugger
£45 Seat cowl
£55 Rear section tail guard

£384 Total........

They have a web page at www.powerbronze.co.uk if it's any help.

Thanks again for a really great site and keep me sane till I can pick up my 2nd hand bike in the new year. I hope all that helps someone and doesn't sound too much like a powerbronze ad!!

Hi John I make race parts for SV650 :

1. Piston kits 700cc, 750cc, 814cc.

2. Carb kits 39, 41 FCR's

3. Valve spring kits

4. Cam kits.

5. Clutch kits.

6. Ti and Co.Mo. rods

7. Ti and SS valves

8. Valve train parts

9. Ti bolt kits. and More.

I will send Pic's of my parts soon.            Dr Barry Seevers srdco@earthlink.net

Great site I have got a lot of Info on this site. I have a red 99 SV I test rode one a fell in love with it! So I sold my Yamaha WR 400 (Had to stop racing dirt bikes too many broken bones and time to hang it up at 40) And my 96 Suzuki 800 Intruder ( Cruisers are OK but a little boring Even though mine was a 900 and would wheelie ) So I bought one! the wife was not real happy.

So not one to leave well enough alone I started to tinker. Of course I took all the stickers off. Then I removed the paint from the  radiator To make it match the frame. and bare alum transfers heat better than  painted alum. I then relocated the horn. Then cut off the rear fender and mad a new tag mount. Put some short stalk turn signals on the front and removed the rear and used an Integrator ( www.flashalert.com ) that make the dual taillight work as turn signals. I put a National Cycle Flyscreen on the
front the shield is just big enough to cover the gauges and to get behind for top speed runs.

I then put a Yosh RS3 race exhaust on the bike then took off the air box and put K&N pods on it a jetted it my self I have not had good luck with Dynojet Kits. Pulled out the plugs and opened the fuel screw to about 3 1/8 turns shimmed the needles with 3 shims and I use a drill kit with small drills to drill out the main jets it is a lot cheaper than buying jets. I'm at about 152 main. The dyno showed 73.2 HP with these mods and the bike will wheelie better in 2nd gear than it did in first gear stock. So I'm
real happy for now but I think with a set of Kehien 39 mm FCRs and some head work 80 HP should be easy to get.

Oh yeah be careful using a tailbag it is not fun when it comes off at 115 mph and the bike skids so far it burns a hole in the tire and ruins a good pair of underwear!

Saw the posting from daz about the foggy mask and the fog city shield and had to reply. The shield may have some advantages over the mask but if you are an old fart like me who has to wear bins so you can see where you are sliding, then the only thing that works is the mask. I only started wearing glasses a couple of years ago and before that I got by with the normal remedies, since then winter had turned into an absolute bastard (I was often better off without my glasses - not a good thing). Anyway what is wrong with sounding like Darth (top bloke!)

My starter motor went like this last year - guess the coating isn't too good. I will be bunging on the fender extenda + a hugger for this winter MPS (http://www.thefastone.co.uk) seem to be doing some good prices / parts for the SV at the moment. (wished I'd stuck my extenda on a few weeks earlier and i may have avoided the staining, then again maybe not...)

The Pirelli dragon EVO tyres seem to be OK in the wet / cold and give plenty of warning and feel about sliding. (1500 miles and now about 1/2 worn)

Thanks to all for the info on the gloves - my fingers are still blue but the bank manager (wife) is now feeling sorry for me and has agreed to part with the cash for some new gear!

I'm waiting to take delivery of my red 650S. I get it this Friday. Can't wait. Heard so many good things about the bike.

I have a BMW GSPD now and this is my first street bike. Are there any special precautions I should take whilst running in. Like should I run in on mineral oil first before
switching to synthetic. (nah...just keep the revs varied and under about 5-500rpm, trying to accelerate hard but not over rev (difficult I know). Get your first service in and then you're away!)

Also will a Stage 1 dynojet kit + K&N remove the 5500rpm flat spot. That coincides with 110km/h which is the speed limit on highways here, so throttle response at that rev is important. (ummm...what flat spot? didn't feel like a flat spot to me...)

Thanks in advance and great work on the website.

Just writing to say I crashed my shiny black SV650 2YK, a pedestrian walked out in front of me in the rain and down I went trying to avoid the dope, 7 hours in casualty and 2000 pounds of damage. Luckily it was a fella  delivering food so I claimed off his resturant.

The bike was quite bent up with two broken indicators, a cracked fairing, bent exhaust, broken rear brake lever, chipped front wheel and a bent front brake lever (which is off a 1300 Hayabusa by the way).

Suzuki are charging 478 pound for a new exhaust can, 228 for a front wheel 108 for right hand fairing, 80 for middle fairing, 45 for a rear brake lever, and 25 for an indicator.

I was wondering if any owners get steam coming from the radiator while stationary in the rain. I don't know if the radiator has a hole in it but this morning the bike was smoking away at the lights with steam coming from this area. It never happens in normal dry conditions but when it rains it bloody steams. Its probably rain evaporating off a hot radiator but it does smell a bit of burning, Any thoughts?

I've also fitted the hugger from MPS which had to be sent back the first time due to a bad fit and the wrong postioning of drill holes. Gonna get the double bubble screen as the wind blast in cold weather is unbearable.

Anyway love the site, keep up the good work fella! (OK)

I have gone to this site everyday since late February. It is a great way to find out what others think and to help sort out problems (opportunities) associated with this fine motorcycle.

I bought my blue US version in March. I stumbled upon the SV via a Suzuki product brochure when visiting the Suzuki dealer last December. I couldn't believe what I was seeing especially when I saw the (dry) weight and HP stats. The good looks of the frame didn't hurt either! (the brochure also said it had adjustable rebound damping both front & rear).

I've been chasing my buddys' Hawk GT for the last 7 years up in the Northeast Georgia mountains - and surrounding N.C. and Tennessee. I have almost broken down during the years and bought a used Hawk just to keep up with him.  I've been chasing mostly with my old faithful a 1988 K75C and in 1993 I added a new chase vehicle - a 1990 CBR1000F that I bought used.

The CBR was traded when buying the SV. (it was hard to part with it - it was the red/white/blue color scheme and was a very competent 600 lb. bike) I haven't missed it a bit until last weekend when I finally tried to see what the top end might be. (up until then I had no desire to "see what she'll do") The SV gets to 110 pretty damn fast but then takes a while to ramp up to 120. I only miss the CBR from 120 on! It would keep rocketing up to 150!

I'm on my second set of Metzelers. The first set lasted 4,800 miles.  The rear was toast, the front had maybe another 1,000 miles left. I'm almost to the wear bar on the rear at 8,200 miles with the front still looking decent.  (it must be that the front doesn't get much wear with it in the air so much!!!)

I never wheelied very much until this bike came along. I'm 46 years young at this point but will probably get a ticket sooner or later. This bike is turning me into a hooligan! (I haven't gotten a ticket in 18 years by the way)

Problems:
Surging - I hated this bike when I first took delivery. I couldn't belive a bike for commuting was impossible to commute on! It would surge under steady throttle at almost any RPM. I was kicking myself for letting go of the smooth, easy to ride CBR1000F since the SV was only fun to ride if the throttle was whacked open all the time. (it still is fun to whack it) I compared this to another SV owner in town and he was experiencing the same surging problem. I complained loudly to the Service Manager and owner at the dealership I bought the bike from. They did something during the first service to eliminate 90% of the surging. They wouldn't share their top secret solution
with me though. But now I'm happier. Eventually I will put a jet kit in although I don't think I'll go to an aftermarket pipe.(I'm still waiting to see what appears out there in the aftermarket)

The clutch cable rubbed the headlight bracket and pinched and cut it! I pointed this out and had the dealer replace mine under warranty. I also pointed out that the SV in the showroom showed signs of this starting to happen!  Just turning the bars hard left pinched it. Their response to how they were going to correct it was to keep installing clutch cables under warranty! Not a good response in my opinion. I put a piece of rubber edging (I found somewhere) on the headlight bracket to cushion it when the bars were turned. This has prevented a reoccurrence so far.

I've put the SV tank bra on and put spools on the swingarm for my "Bulldog" rear stand. I also installed a NEP cruise control although it took some surgery on the throttle to fit it. (cruise control on an SV....that's gota be a first!)

That's it for now. Keep up the good work on the site. It is and has been very useful.

I followed Ian's fitting instructions which were spot on, thanks Ian..    I've yet to paint the screws red but here a couple of images of the outcome......image 1   image 2  image 3

Kevin

The oil seen in the air box is usually a normal thing for a twin that has been revved very high very regularly. I race my SV and do see some oil as a result of high revs. The pistons pressurize that crankcase quite a bit when your up on the revs. I wouldn't worry unless in gets excessive.

Given that lower fairings are such a hot topic at the moment I thought I'd send you three pics of my SV with the Tech-Line fairing. Not the best quality of photo but beggars can't be choosers. In my case these were taken with a crappy camera and scanned with a crappy scanner!!

Image 1   Image 2     Image 3

The bike is also fitted with a Pyramid Plastics double bubble screen, tank shield, and yoke protector. The Suzuki logo on the lower fairing was ordered from Tapeworks Graphics at http://www.tapeworks.com and the seat skins from Second Look. The rear hugger is from Powerbronze. Keep up the great work on the site.....

As soon as Suzuki released the TLS, I fell in love. I only wish they had a smaller version. I hoped for a TL750S with a single sided swing arm and a belt drive. I didn't know they made the SVS until now. This is my first time to see one and I'm almost hooked. I read a small article about the SVX's ("bang for the buck"), but I haven't heard of any performance numbers.

Has any bike mag tested the SVS? What is the quarter mile time? How much of a differences will dual pipes and a jet kit make on it's quarter times, horsepower etc. It looks like the SVS has ram air like the TLS. What other performance features does the "S" have over the "X"? How well does the bike perform with a passenger?

Your site has already explained how to take care of ordering in the states. Any response to my questions will be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

There are performance figures of a sort here. There is no ram air on the SV and the S is the same as the unfaired model except for gearing, the unfaired SV has an extra tooth on the rear sprocket to improve acceleration while losing a little on top speed compared with the S faired model. When looking at the performance figures rememeber that this is a 'budget' bike, you get what you pay for.

David here, I have a couple of queries, I have now recieved my pyrimid seat cowl but when I fitted it I seem to have more of a gap at the exhaust side (enough to get the tip of my fore finger in) has anyone else who bought one had the same problem and if so what is it fouling on? as I cant see what it is.

Does any one know of a company that will do a conversion for the exhaust like the Ducati 996 (I know the purpose of one pipe is weight saving but two from under the seat looks excellent) and the last thing is where is the best place for the Scottoiler?

Look at me with my wonderfull SV with black wheels (new model).       Click to view image

12749238492389742091030293097129074902379187918740987418787821982732         (is this "I think your site is crap" encrypted??)

That's my vote for you site.               

Yes, it is bloody cold........!    I can highly recommend Furygan gloves (I think the ones I have are called Furytex) which I purchased to replace my summer riding gloves a month or so ago.

They have these zipped pockets in the back, and are supplied with a couple of these "magic pouches" that heat up when exposed to a bit of water. Works great.......pop them in to the gloves before venturing out the back door and the cold is kept at bay for around an hour. I've got an 80 mile commute and they work very well.

About £75 from Motorcycle City.

Great site , very informative.      Click to view image

In reply to Steve Vaid's question (or SV as he pointed out), I got my SVS in Aug with 8000 km on it and am now up to 11,200 km (7000 miles +/-) with still a bit to go on the back.

I live in Germany and own a black 1999 SV650S, and i love it. I just passed 14.000km 2 weeks ago and had absolutely no problem (really! no clunking fork, only 4 false neutrals so far, everything perfect :-) until last week.

I did about 100 km when the bike suddenly began to stutter. This happened a few times, and my first thought was "Ok, now it got me too. Water in the tank :-(". But that was not the cause. I removed the air filter to check for any obstrusions and noticed the bottom of the filter case (Is this the airbox?) was filled with something that seemed like oil. (I had this too, wiped the oil away carefully with a rag and it hadn't reappeared the last time I looked - I better check again tonight..)

So the front cylinder occasionaly breathed that fluid instead of clean air. Problem was fixed using some handkerchiefs, but why did this happen? I noticed the drain, but it is closed at the end (at least it seemed that way, is this correct?) and was just filled up to the top.

So is this "normal behaviour" and has someone a suggestion on how to prevent this from happening again? Or do i have to blame my dealer for that closed drainage?

(You may have noticed that i´m not that techie-guy, so forgive me and also my not-so-good English :-) (neither am I and your English is 100% better than my German so I wouldn't worry)

Hi, I bought my SV650S in Holland at the start of the year and I've just brought it to the UK. I've found a company who will insure it with the Dutch registration, but they say it must be 'UK spec'. I'm having trouble finding an mph sticker for the speedo, or alternatively a replacement backing.

Does anybody have any idea where I can get hold of one?

Also, I'm looking for a set of UK lights (no luck from Partfinders) - any racers out there with a set for sale to save me paying the £133 for new ones? (replies to mrobiette@yahoo.com)

Handy site BTW, especially back in December last year when I was looking for info on a new bike that had not been released (I bought the first one in the dealers, and I've put 18000km on since February).

The only problem that people might like to know about was last winter, after riding through salt, my choke rusted on at the carb connection. The dealer cleaned and greased it under warranty and I've had no problem since. Just something to watch out for in the coming months...

(Regarding the wait for a replacement cam chain tensioner......) I've just spoken to John about this, and the dealer still does not have the new tensioner. They've now had his bike since the 2nd November and needless to say, John is getting a little pissed off. Suzuki say it's on back order.

I think the main pisser is that John is wasting a month of tax/insurance while his bike is sitting at the dealers. He gets the same answer all the time, the dealer are chasing Suzuki, and Suzuki have them on backorder. Nobody will give him a date. (please keep up up to date as to how John gets on...which dealer is it??)

In response to Chris's question, here is a dyno chart for the Micron system, which relates to the earlier email from Tom Kirk. It does not require re-jetting and gives an increase of 6 to 8 BHP in the mid range.

View Chart

I read a previous posting with someone saying that the Foggy Mask is good for keeping a clear visor. I got one and found that unless you get it just right your visor still fogs up. Even if you do get the fitting correct, it changes when you remove your lid anyway. (true, it does move when you take your helmet off but I find it always seems to fit OK when I put the helmet back on, if it doesn't then all it takes is a quick pinch of the mask where it meets the bridge of your nose and it's sealed.)

I got rid of mine and got a Fogcity shield which sticks on the inside of the visor. This works 100% all the time and is only a few pounds more than the mask. It also has the added bonus that you don't sound like Darth Vader and you never have to remove it or adjust it. It should last as long as your visor does too... (I tried this but on my Shark XRS the visor is curved both laterally and vertically and I just could not get it to stick to the visor without creasing and lifting.)

And no I dont work for Fogcity!!! (and I don't work for Foggy Ltd!)

Firstly usual compliment on site, wealth of info that Suzuki would not dream of posting, Well Done. Picked my Brand Spanking New SV650S up nearly three weeks ago, but have been unable to post anything coz been away. 1300 Km so far and not many problems.

Bike was picked up with Tech-Line lower fairing on already (Paid approx. 3400 sterling for Bike in Germany, personal import into UK, but still have to pay VAT approx. 500
sterling, still saving 700 sterling on UK price).

My first job was to order a flip screen from M & P (thanks Roy for the info) as the wind buffeting at speed is a pain to say the least. No other real problems to speak of, but aim to change exhaust and tires as a priority. Will post pictures when, if ever I stop riding the bike long enough to take them.

One suggestion, I know you are kept busy updating site, but would you have time to add a page with contact details, images, prices etc of bits for the bike, this would then prevent people from trawling through the postings and yourself repeatedly getting asked the same questions. (it's not a bad idea but prices keep changing and so do the parts on offer - I'd rather produce a generic table of parts/kit along with contacts and let you guys confirm availability and prices etc with the suppliers....I'll do this when I get a chance).

Keep up the good work.

Has anyone managed to diagnose the unpleasant clonking from the front end when hitting bumps and potholes etc. Sounds terrible. Is there a known cure? Does anyone of a front end upgrade for the 650s to improve the forks? (changing fork oil helps, I'm sure someone else will give details although this has been discussed in past months held in the archives Section)

Being on the heavier side of rider weight it would be good to be able to increase the preload. Any pointers?

Has anyone seen the dyno chart for the Micron system yet? Is it comparable with the M4 system? Do you have to re-jet the carbs? Questions, questions, questions.
If anyone has the answers (answers, answers) please let me know.

Great site, keep up the good work.(OK)

Haven't got much to contribute, but just like to say :

* Thanks for providing a top site. I've been checking it weekly since I got my black SV650 (non-faired) in July this year - 3000 miles including one trip to Normandy - top roads! So felt compelled to join in. (you're most welcome...)

* Quick question on tyres - I've been thinking about chucking the MEZ4's in favour of something like the Dunlpo D207's or Pirelli Dragon Evo's - any first hand experience? I know that Andy Downes the long term SV tester for MCN (who's broken his arm/wrist mountain biking and is therefore not riding (his SV!) at the moment) has been through both these sets, but just like to get any other views on practical road usage. This is my first bike (hooray) which I ride nearly ever day now (hooray) so I wanted to know if that vague feeling going over white lines / tar bonding was a general problem or a symptom of the SV's set-up / tyres (general I'd say) - also feels a bit unstable over broken up road surface.

(anyone who would like to reply to Steve's questions please do..)

Any hints would be greatly appreaciated. Also how long have the MEZ4's generally lasted on road usage for most people ? (5000 miles to tread wear indicator on rear for me)

* One last thing, I've got the same initials as my bike - Steve Vaid (SV). A bit sad but makes me laugh. (a bit sad? no Steve...very sad! lol)

Keep up the good work - maybe see you at next year's get together. Top bike.

24/11/99 SV650S FOR SALE IN UK !!

SV650S, T-Reg, still under guarantee, with the lower fairing on it, it has 2,600 miles on it, in perfect condition, (see attached picture), for £4150.

You're probably asking yourself, "what's the reason for selling?" Well, call me crazy, (OK, crazy...) but I'm going to change the SV650 for a Hayabusa (you are crazy), that's the reason.

Thanks for the info, I can possibly sleep tonight now!

I was too interested in riding the bike instead of reading the manual! We have rattly camchain, and the front end clunk, so it must be okay! The front end noise sounds very plasticy. Could it be the fairing hitting something on the forks?

I've managed to put 53 miles on it tonight. I'm desperate to get it run in before I have to start riding to work on it next week! It's a totally different beast from the NC24 that I've just put into semi-retirement. I know that I should use the Honda to get me through the winter, but I know it will be difficult to walk past the SV! I can't wait to open it up! A friend of mine has told me that it is a good idea to take it past the 5000rpm ceiling occasionally while running in, as it will help it loosen up a bit more, but without totally ruining the run in period. A good idea? I'm finding it difficult keeping it below 5000, as I'm used to watching my Honda going up to 16,000!

The V4 is great on that bike, but you need to keep it spinning to get the best out of it. The gear linkage snapped on it whilst I was riding to Norwich, and I had to ride from Cambridge to Norwich stuck in 6th gear! The torque managed to pull me out of that one! Pulling away from lights was fun, you could smell the clutch burning! Not as much fun as riding from Liverpool to Norwich on a 2 stroke 100cc Honda. In December! And then the chain snapped on the way home on Christmas eve! But that is another story altogether, and not something that I'd reccomend! (one of those laugh about it later incidents but not funny at the time....anyone else with disaster stories let me know and I'll post them, makes a change from all the questions and techy postings...)

I have a question for the European and U.K. people. I have run across a URL www.bandbxtremeracing.com. One of their specialties is various slip-ons and exhausts from the U.K. They have: ART, Extreme Performance, G-Force, Wolf, Carbon Can Co, Quill, and Venom. Has anyone bought or have experience with any of these products? I just want an alternative to the M4, Twobros, Yoshimura, Jardine, Vance & Hines products.

I have also read some email that says replacing the front fork oil with 20w oil makes a world of difference, even with no other modification. Keep up the good work, Kevin.

PS...Vance and Hines advertise an S4 slip-on for the SV650. Just received an email from them stating that it is a full system, not a slip-on. It will be $445.00 U.S. and will be available in February.

I was wonder how much the other people from other country pay for the periodical maintenance, cuz i payed about 100 US$ for the first service and more than 160 US $ for the second. I live in italy and i have a '99 SV650S.  Ahhh at the second service they even changed my spark plugs!! really strange only after 7.000 km!!!

Thanks to Roy (roybach@btinternet.com)...

In response to david.leopold's query regarding connection for the Scott oiler vacuum hose.- I connected mine to the vacuum hose going to the petrol tap, no problem with this setup so far.

Thanks to Jock (jock.addison@dial.pipex.com)...

Nice to have you back online.
I fitted my Sottoiler not long after I picked up the machine and put it under the pillion seat to hide it out of the way. I have now moved it to above the footrest so I can get to it a little easier and it no longer gets bubbles in the outlet pipe. I connected it to the engine by cutting the pipe that operates the fuel tap (its a vacuum operated jobbie on the SV, and most other Suzukis' I've owned), the bits you need are provided in the kit. The pipework to the sprocket is glued to the underneath of the swingingarm and doesn't look too bad (but is a pain with the paddock stan I have - I'll need to change it to one that uses bobbins. I have only had to adjust the chain once - and that was when I changed tyres. Guess it works pretty well!

PS. Bloody cold isn't it - can anyone recommend some good gloves? (I use thermal 'under gloves' that I wear under my Frank Thomas GoreTex winter gloves - they aren't bad but i still get freezing finger tips - I think heated grips are the only answer)
PPS - the Foggy anti-fog mask is about the only thing that I have found that stops bin wearers from steaming up in winter - excellent bit of kit. (here, here!)

Great page - keep up the good work.

I wonder whether someone who has fitted a Scottoiler could tell the rest of us where they made the vacuum connection to the carburetor? The only previous reference to a Scottoiler that I could find in your pages talked about where to put the oil reserve but not this (trickier) issue.

I asked the guy on the Scottoiler stand at the NEC and he confessed he didn't know!

Here is the initial response from Maxton regarding my enquiry about SV650 suspension:

Thanks for your enquiry, Unfortunatley we do not have a spec sheet on your bike but we have worked on few SV650's - Very breifley the front forks are under damped and under sprung and the rear unit is overdamped, we can modify the forks but the rear unit is a sealed one and therefore can not be modified.

If you would like to talk further about the modifications we carry out you can ring me on 01928 740531

I plan to call them soon.

Also I am about to book my first service (600 miles). I plan to take up the issue of the engine noise with the dealer. It is possible that they have a solution ready, but do not want to recall the bikes for a refit because of the cost. They only do it if the customerr complains, since not all bikes demonstrate such a problem. (I know that such a thing happened in the car insustry a few years ago). It will be interesting to see if the bikes that arrive in the spring of next year are much quieter!

With regards to the comments about the power delivery (see 09/11/99 Engine trouble for Peter) it is possible that the SV650 is running very lean to comply with emissions limits. If the bike is marginal on compliance with the regulations, then the normal production tolerances will result in some bikes feeling lean compared to others. (So far, mine seems to be OK.) My suggestion is to see if the carbs have different positions available for the needle jet (which controls the mid-range throttle opening period, and is where most bikes are used most of the time). If yes, then move them up a notch (one notch at a time please) and check the results. Of course, it is likely that no such adjustment is available which means you will have to see a specialist dyno shop for a replacement jet kit.

just back from the bike show (nec) thought the sv`s looked great! the micron system (see posting below) looks the business but I definently had to have the pyrimid seat cowl ,Ive got to wait 10 days though! the pyrimid hugger looked good apart form the tie wraps holding it on, my personal opinion the powerbronze belly panel looked better than the suzuki effort (it looked cheap) although the powerbronze one, did need something to fill in the space in front of the exhaust.

loved the powerbronze dark headlight covers but they were a wee bit flimsy. anyone notice the red stand which was holding the svs up at the powerbronze stand?

If anyone out there is interested in buying one I can sell them for £55, this allows front and back of the bike to lifted one at a time.

Well where do I start??? firstly I must say this is a great site!! but it must take up a hell of a lot of your time, (thanks for carrying it on I did expect you to fold as
it must be a big draw on your time)

well a bit about me now after 10 years of driving cars I got sick of Qing in traffic (and owning a dull mondeo didn't help plus i am getting closer to the 30 mark!) so I bought a little scooter (italjet 125 a right little pocket rocket!!) it did me for about a month when I just wanted more than the top 80mph I could squeeze out of the thing! so I went in for the direct access course and at the second attempt I passed (that hurt to remind myself of the first attempt) and while I was sulking and waiting for my second attempt I bought a very tidy gpz 500 (embarrassing I know!!) well my date arrived and it was only 7 days to wait but could I keep off the bike could I Hell!! (I am getting to the point honest) so after some "extra practice" I passed.(7th Oct 99) 3 days later I popped in to the bike shop where I took my test and there it was smack bang in front of me the most gorgeous bike I had seen (sv 650 unfaired one)

I did try to ignore it honest but I couldn't so I arranged to take it for a test drive as it had only just come in (second hand) they wanted to check it over so the date was arranged for the Monday afterall what did I care if I had to wait a day or so I was only trying it I wasn't going to buy it (yeah right) Well after nearly an hour of scareing my self and the shop owner who was beginning to think I had knicked it I came back and bought it on the spot! (oh those visas have a lot to answer to!!)

so there you have it and apart from 2 sodding punctures one today and a small oil leek that took suzuki 3 attempts and 6 days of my limited riding time to fix it (wankers! ) I am really enjoying it (could I blame suzuki for the punctures???) (Suzuki or your dealer?)

So keep ill let you get back to your bikes now sorry it was a long one (you can edit it if you wish) (Nah....can't be bothered!!)

Hello, I am the proud owner of a blue 1999 sv650 which, through the many postings of this great site has gotten better and better. I replaced the rear shock with a 97 gsxr 600 unit and 'raceteched' the front end and the difference was unbelievable. Maybe it was my size (220lbs) magnifying the lack of dampening and the soft front. But the bike has become rock solid stable since the change.

I also added a two bros oval slip on, removed the air filter snorkel, and shimmed the needles .020 with the washer on the back side of the c-clip on the needle. The bike now pulls really hard in the midrange and doesn't tail off so much on the top end. Oh yeah, and the pipe sounds amazing! I've gotten so many comments since that add-on, including one from a guy on a M900 with aftermarket exhaust! I also switched to the BT56SS tires which really transformed the bike. Corner speed skyrocketed and I can't say enough about how much more confidence they have given me opposed to the old MEZ4s which were fairly prone to sliding on the street.

Since I felt like the bike was really getting dialed in, I did a trackday last Saturday at Sears Point.  Being my first trackday my friend (on a tuned F3) and I started out in the slower group and let me tell you. The SV has got it over on so many bikes in the turns! I passed VTR?s F4?s etc. just by the ability of the bike to turn quickly, brake
later, and hold a stable line. There were a few other SVs out there as well, some in street trim, some more in race setup and they all did exceptionally well leaving much more powerful bikes for dead and generally annoying the 'fast' bikes.

Just one problem. During my third session, near turn 8, I was chasing down this 250 two-stroke when he suddenly just lost it forcing me to dump my bike as well. As we were doing around 90-100mph, there was significant damage to my bike. I however escaped with just some bumps and bruises.

Special thanks to HJC. Boos to Fieldsheer. Their pants burst at the seams. Anyway. I am now rebuilding my bike and I was wondering if anyone out there has any of
these items they would be willing to sell. A gauge cluster, a blue tank, blue tailpiece, blue front fender, and a headlight. There was a fellow who approached a friend of mine at the track and said that he might want to sell his raceteched forks to me but he didn't leave his number so if he or anyone else could contact me about these parts at jackp@dprinc.com I would really appreciate it. Thanks for the great riders site. Keep up the good work.

I've been following the ongoing debate about this 'water in fuel' problem and I thought I would recount my most recent experiences.

My '00 model SV/S has been running like a dream until yesterday, when all of a sudden the bike began to hesitate under acceleration in 1st and seemed generally down on power throughout the rest of the gears and rev range. Anyway, thanks to this fine site, I felt that I recognised the problem and called my dealer.

Speaking to the service dept, I told them that I would like to arrange for some warranty work to be done and explained the outline of the problem. Anyway, the service manager seemed extremely well informed about the problem - he was able to explain the cause (and the solution) to me in some considerable detail and the result is that my bike goes into the workshop next week.

The dealer also seems to have accepted that its a warranty issue - so maybe Suzuki GB has been busier behind the scenes than we all think......

Also just taken delivery of a single seat cowl from Pyramid Plastics. I hope to send you a pic soon, but colour match (red) is near perfect, although the fit around the base could be better. Really improves the lines of the bike though and overall, I'm pleased with it.

From: Tom Kirk <TomKirk@micronexhaust.demon.co.uk>
Subject: SV650 Exhaust system.
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 16:24:59 -0000

Dear Sir or Madam:

Thank you for your enquiry. For the SV650 we manufacture a full race system in stainless steel.

The price for the front pipes and collector is £150 + vat, these are available in High or Low level, then there is a choice of different race silencers to fit to these pipes.

The Alloy round is £90.96 + vat. (low level only)

Carbon round is £190 + vat (low level only)

Alloy oval is £95 + vat (high & low level)

Carbon oval is £225 + vat (high & low level)

Titanium oval is £250 + vat (high & low level)

Microme oval is (mirror finish, chromed stainless steel) £225 + vat (high and low level)

We have fully dyno developed the system and it produces 6-8 bhp more in the midrange than the standard bike (see figures below).

Many thanks for the enquiry.

Best regards,

Tom Kirk

Technical Sales
CLF INTERNATIONAL LTD
TomKirk@clf.co.uk

View Dyno Chart

Thanks Michalis but please use lower and uppercase next time (everyone else too please).....sounds picky but all uppercase is so hard to read....thanks.

Postings to resume this week sometime.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Suzuki "Factory" lower faring actually the Tech-Line in Holland Rocket faring? Unless I'm thick, I think that's what Jock was getting at. I wonder who will be cheaper? (you're not thick, and I won't correct you)

And also on the same subject, Jock (jock.addison@dial.pipex.com) confirms that he was 'getting at that'............

The bit about the fairing concerns the fact that they look identical apart from the paint job - or is that just my eyesight.... What do you think? (I think I missed the point somewhat.....I need a break! On that note I'll see you all in a weeks time....)

No ranting this time - I must be feeling better!

Just a short note, could anyone tell me what the two M6 holes are for on the backside of the passengers footpeg bracket? (hanging an extra pipe?)

I also fitted my blacked out indicator lenses to my bike today, i bought these for my GSXR but removed them before it went back, they fitted straight on and look very good. They were from M&P and cost £2 each.

Still waiting for a reply from Suzuki - guess it will be the same old line....

This attitude of Suzuki GB is really starting to PISS ME OFF. (perhaps I should install a 'piss me off' hit counter and watch it whirr away?)

DOH - we don't have time to find out what our customers think as were too busy talking to the dealers to find out why they can't sell our bikes.......

Perhaps if Suzuki started listening to the people who buy their bikes they might improve customer relations and the feedback would improve the bikes and then they might need more dealers as they would be selling more bikes so they would get more feedback and produce better bikes etc. etc. etc.

Alternatively they could hope the owners could be bothered to tell the dealers (untrustworthy SOBs who I wouldn't trust to tie their own shoes in a lot of cases) who could then be bothered to pass on the info. Perhaps they just count the number of spare parts ordered and work out how good the bikes are from that?. (or how bad they are..)

Perhaps it is a cunning plan to stop them overtaking Honda in the sales charts. Perhaps they don't give a F*@!K. (more like they feel comfortable with the dealers filtering out many issues and problems, no wonder we get customers posting emails here and else where describing the effort involved in trying to get their dealer to do something about a problem or the dealer denying there's any problem at all. All we're hearing about is people with internet access, there's many more thousands who must be going through the same as us only they are not aware of it, not until they get online and realise that they're not alone....what did someone once say...information is power?).

On to happier things :

About the show - Is this lack of navigation ability something common to SV owners? (I once set of on a 'touring' holiday with some mates on their bikes and managed to get us comprehensively lost within 14 miles!!!) (I hope it's not common to all SV owners or the get together in 2000 will be a disaster!!  Perhaps we should all get on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and start a channel up - something like #SV650 (original or what!). That way we could sit at home and all chat away together.....on second thoughts I'd rather risk it and get a map out....)

Sounds like the ride up was not much fun. (correct)

I was having a look at the new (?) Suzuki fairing for the SV and it must have cost them loads to develop (like £10).... Probably took as long as the Rocket fairing lowers (look at the pics and you will see what I mean). (I take it you don't think much of them then?)

I got back from the NEC show late this afternoon after a much better trip back (80 miles) than going this morning when there was thick fog for 75% of the route and it was freezing too (plus I went the wrong way in the pea soup and added about 30 minutes to my trip......navigation was never a strong point!).

Anyway, I enjoyed the day and here's some of the main points (the pictures were taken in lowest resolution and aren't great but at least they are not very big to download)...

All images posted in the Images Section.

1) I spoke with a Suzuki technical representative (Chris Holt) regarding the 'cam chain tensioner'  and 'water in the fuel' issues......

He stated that Suzuki Great Britain (GB) know of three cam chain tensioners being replaced, none had been near failing and had been changed because they were noisy. There would be (as far as he knew) no recall because there was no fault. He agreed they were noisy at about 3000rpm and that you should speak to your dealer and they would replace to quieten the engine down (not because they were faulty..). The recalls made on the GSX1300 and GSXR600 were due to failing tensioners.

Chris knew of the issue of the breather pipe, which goes from the fuel filler cap and exits at the rear underneath of the fuel tank, becoming kinked and therefore not allowing water collected in the channel around the openning in the tank to drain away. Whilst acknowledging this fact no other information was forthcoming, again, speak to your dealer about the problem (or follow Ian's advice below in an attempt to lessen the risk of the pipe kinking).

I explained the purpose of this web to Chris and it's size and the number of contributions made worldwide in an attempt to highlight to Suzuki the benefit to them of making themselves away of the views and opinions of their customers. As expected I was told that Suzuki GB interface with it's customers through dealers and that, I quote, "if we start to spend time reading sites on the web then we would have no time to talk to our dealers".....hmmm. Disappointing.

Moral of this encounter.....if you have a problem or an issue you must speak to your dealer, they are the *only* interface with Suzuki GB. If you feel your problem is a genuine fault then insist that it be rectified, do not take no for an answer. If Suzuki GB will not talk directly to it's customers then the dealers must do it for us. Whilst many dealers are very good and are also still those, in my opinion, who will put considerable effort into not having to deal with any problems they have not come across before, any SV problems are likely to be new to them as it's a new model on the market. The more people that go back to the dealers with faults and issues then the more chance there is that Suzuki GB will acknowledge them nationally and perhaps do something about them.

Those were the negative things, we also discussed the many merits of the SV and it's sales success in the market.

2) Chris and I also chatted about the new lower fairing that will appear in the Suzuki Accessories listings in the next month or two. Price is around £220-230 (sorry, I can't remember exactly...when the price list is sent to me I will post). Pictures in the Images Section.

3) I agree with Nick's assesment of the Micron full system bolted to a SVS, it looks very well made and I was told will be available next month although the first batch is sold out already, contact your local Micron dealer for information. Cost is said to be starting from around £300 for the whole system with the usual choice of end can shapes and materials. Should be a good seller. There's a pictures in the Images Section.

4) There was a lower fairing on offer from PowerBronze and a Belly Pan from Pyramid Plastics, both looked OK. Also from these two were huggers although the PowerBronze hugger was quite 'slab sided' on the chain side and the Pyramid Plastics carbon look hugger (£60) was a lot smaller and much neater looking but pressed against the rear swing arm and was fixed with two thick cable ties. I know this sounds crap but when you get close and look it's hard to see and seems to work well (pity it's so expensive for what, afterall, is only a small hugger that's fixed with two bits of long plastic!). Fenda Extendas were also fixed to a few bikes, some had been secured with four screws through the front mud guard, others were just stuck on for show.

Pyramid Plastics price list as of today (show prices I assume, rounded up/down to nearest UKP) As always check with them for latest prices :

Screens - standard £45, bubble £60, bubble colours £65.  Fly screens (handlebar mounted) - £36 and £60.     Headlight Protector - £22.   Seat Cowl - £95 (white £74).     Hugger - carbon £60, gloss black £57, matt black £50.    Belly Pan - £100 (white £55).   Extenda Fenda £14 and £19.     Under Tray for rear - £111 (black £74).

5) Scorpion Exhausts had some good looking cans on offer. Chris (the Suzuki rep) had one fitted to his SV and said it was loud and didn't need a rejet. Cut the original pipe, two sleeves are supplied by Scorpion, one for their end can and one to refit the original Suzuki can for MOT etc.

Price list as of today (show prices I assume, rounded up/down to nearest UKP) As always check with them for latest prices :

Round (all race) : Stainless £120, Carbon £199, Kevlar £229, Titanium £229, Anodised Titanium £269

Oval (all race) : Stainless £159, Carbon £229, Kevlar £269, Titanium £269, Anodised Titanium £294

Hope this helps someone.....Kevin.

Last time I wrote to you was to talk about Tech-Line's products, don't worry all, I'm like Kevin, I don't get commission : ) (yet). I was at the bike show (NEC) to look for products for the SV. I found a few. I found two more companies that are also making products for the SV. One is Pyramid Plastics, and the other is Parabronze. What I'm going to say is my personal opinion, and I won't take any responsibility for your decisions, just some comments for those who didn't see what I saw.

At the Pyramid Plastics stand, I saw their huggers/seat cowls/ and the belly pans, they don't make the lower fairing yet.

- Hugger - Small, (short), the colours available, only a few, check with them, as they promised they would come out soon. The material looks pretty firm, and the colour match look pretty good to me.

- Seat Cowl - Colour match good, specifically for the red I saw, but, at the connection with the seat, it looks like there is a small space/opening around the edge. The rest was ok.

- Belly Pan - Looks great to those who like them. Colour match good, and material was firm, the finish looked good.

All the material looks well made, but always make sure you check the product before buying.

Powerbronze: Hmmmmm... Leaves a lot to be desired, IMO. I didn't like what I saw. Starting with the hugger. Plastic was poor quality, flimsy, and the design was a bit ugly. The colour didn't convince me either, not good (IMO). The fairing, forget it... I saw it on the bike, it shook when the bike moved. I moved it with my hand and it was like jelly. Imagine at 100mph... The colour also didn't match, (I saw the yellow). The worst was the way it "fit" the bike. I got the impression that the fairing would get in the way of your feet. Someone with me said the same thing. It is cheaper though, I think it was around £120 - £150, or so for the fairing.

Conclusion, if you want to buy from Powerbronze, I would say really make sure you see the product on a bike before you buy it. I don't recommend it or like it.

Those are the companies I saw, that showed the bike with the parts fitted. Unfortunately Tech-Line was not there, but I have their fairing on my bike, and I can tell you that it is the best out of what I have seen.

I hope this information helps you all to choose your accessories. I also know that Tech-Line makes other products, but I haven't seen them yet, but basing on the fairing, they should be good.

Just thought I would write a short letter to tell you how much I am enjoying my SV650s (Black). I noticed about 3 weeks ago you had a letter in from a bloke that claimed he had done 140 mph on his SV650s. I thought this was a little exaggerated until 3 days ago. While out with two friends, (one on a ZX7-R and the other on a ZZR-1100) we had a little race down a flat straight peace of road about 2 miles long. The finishing order was as to be expected, but the grin on my face was a bonus. I had just got my SV650s up to and beyond the 140 mph mark, I reached 143 mph and felt with more road I could have reached 145 easily.

How on earth did you get 143mpg!!?? What add-on have you got, nitrous injection!

Well I am off to the NEC on Wednesday and I will try and get to the BMW stand at 12:30 and say Hi. Thanks for the great sight.

I was there at 12:30 until 12:45 - no one turned up so I went and had a cheeseburger....wished I hadn't!

Just found this article, not on (either) web site yet. Interesting review, but begs for the S model.

http://www.motorsports-network.com/SUZUKI/SV650/sv6502.htm

With referance to David`s coments about the SV being better than the GSXR, I would like to know what he is talking about.Both my wife and my mates wife have SVs`s and my mate and I have GSXR`s and while we agree the SV`s are very good bikes with superb power/weight and handling, they are not in the same league as the GSXR. I am not having a go at anybody that owns an SV as I jump on my wife`s bike whenever I can and I enjoy riding it, but David please tell me what you think the SV does better than the GSXR.

David's reply (not to Gerry but to my original question...)

Just a reply regarding my previous e-mail, the GSXR did handle very well but i felt that I always needed to be on the throttle, it was also a wee bit uncomfy and it didnt suit my girlfriend (it was not bought with her in mind!) but the SV has given me alot more confidence, this was evident  scrubbing my tyres in. handles excellently, so comfy and torquey! i cant get my girlfriend of the back of it.

Could anyone please e-mail me with the prices of the lower fairing ethier powerbronze or pyrimid, this would be appreciated. cheers ,

See my posting regarding the NEC Bike Show above.

Just wondered when and where the Unofficial SV650 Club are gonna meet up next year, because our wives wanna go on their SV650S's ,also have any people out there got any info on the HYPERPRO ACTIVE steering dampers. We want to how much they cost either in europe or the USA.

Also has anybody got any info on the high level MIG exhaust system for the SV650?

hi! just some info ive got on the 99 blue sv, the official colour code for those who need it is- "candy j blue y7e"..

I've got about 2ooo miles on mine and its running beautifully,went for a run  up to the NEC on sunday and my mate on his '99 Honda VFR800 was impressed with its handling and midrange punch, top end was in his dust though.. but who needs all that top end anyway!

I've got a few little extras at the moment like a double bubble from M&P, extenda fenda and rear hugger from MPS, the hugger was a bit dodgy in fit but its alright hopefully. im looking at a lower fairing from Powerbronze or Tech-Line, Powerbronze is cheaper but the display i saw at the NEC the fit was'nt the best, but could easyily be fixed.. will try to get some pics at some stage.

one more thing.. does anyone from the U.S.A know of a good place to get a few parts eg exhaust system in New York City? as im going there over   christmas and hoping to save a few pounds rather than buying in the U.K (you won't get it through the plane doors you know...)

thanks very much kevin, great site im a regular visiter and hopefully contributer in the future..

10/11/99 - UPDATE!!!!!!

In reference to my posting on the 9/11 (yesterday)there must have been a mix  up as the colour code that i posted is the 99 model blue not the y2k 2000 model shown in your site, hope no one ordered the wrong colour!

Also with the exhaust, I was shown a system from BSM spares and it looked  compact when in its sections- so hopefuul it will fit in the bags a christmas- or get an end can at least.

My SV650SY done 1000 miles now and the slight hesitating at about 3750rpm is getting worse. Theres been quite a bit of chat in the forum about it but do you know the true cause?

Do I have to take my bike back to the dealers or is it something simple like a duff plug?

The two suggestions that spring to mind after all the postings recently are check the front plug, make sure it's clean and dry and check to see if you can detect water entering the fuel tank. As you'll know both these things can cause symptoms such as power loss/surging at the revs you talk about. If it's nothing obvious and no one else comes up with any better ideas from this site then go back to your dealer and tell them to correct the problem.Don't be fobbed off and tell them of the common problems we've discussed on this site in the hope that they will check them out for you. Let us know how it goes please.

And do you know what the 'official' name is for the dark blue colour? My dealer didnt. He just called it VERY blue - which is true cos it is.

As Chris in the posting above says....it's   "candy j blue y7e" (Update 10/11/99 - Oh no it's not.....)

As a response to Roy's email, I too was up at the show on Friday (and got within a few feet of Foggy too.....) and was very pleased to see the SV in such prominence on quite a few stands, as Roy listed.

A few comments on what I discovered:

1) The Micron system was very impressive - definitely go and have a look at this one. The fit and finish of the stainless pipes was excellent, and the can really fits tight to the underside of the seat plastics, with the end of the can sitting very close to the standard indicator. The finish and quality were far superior to an M4 system I've seen. I definitely want a Micron system now. Their literature states their pipe work should fit with any standard can - interesting.

2) I particularly liked the seat cowl and rear under tray on the Pyramid Plastics stand. Again, fit and finish looked very good. One piece of info (obvious, really) - if you fit the under seat tray, it can't be returned to standard, I think the lack of a rear number plate light may be an MOT failure for the future?

3) Although the Powerbronze lower fairing looked good (and is cheaper than TCP), I didn't think the colour mach for the yellow SV was close enough - check it out and see what you think.

Have a fun day on Wednesday - great show, and a worthwhile trip for anybody considering some accessories and add-ons for an SV!

Yep, it happened to me as well. Thankfully I saw it when I was filling the tank, I haven't noticed any change in the performance of the bike.

As suggested, I tried to pull the drain hose from the bottom of the tank, to shorten it a little, but I couldn't get my hand in to get a good enough grip.

If you follow the pipe from the bottom of the tank, after about six inches it goes into the back of a T piece. The front of the T piece goes down to the drain on the right of the engine, directly in front of the frame. The tube from the side of the T piece goes to the left hand side of the bike, continues up around the left hand side of the tank, around the front and into a breather/overflow of the black plastic coolant tank by the right hand side of the airbox. Pull this tube from the coolant tank and unthread it all the way back to the T piece.

Just in front of the tank hinge is a small, black cylinder, about two inches long and 3/4 inches in diameter mounted across the frame. It's got two spade connectors on the left hand end, but I don't know what it is. Undo the right hand mounting bolt and the cable tidy should now come free. You should now have enough space to manouver the T piece so that side entry and the long tube to the coolant tank cross the frame in front of the strange electrical cylinder instead of behind it. This effectively shortens the tube from the bottom of the petrol tank and stops it kinking.

Replace the bolt that holds the cable tidy and the odd electrical thing, thread the long hose back round the side and front of the petrol tank and reconnect it to the top of the coolant tank.

Also....

In answer to a question that I posed a couple of weeks ago, the nearest colour to 1999 SV650 metalic blue is Ford Matisse Metalic. It's a little on the green side, but it was th closest that I could find. It works well on the plastics, because they are black to start with, but on anything pale you might be best to use a dark blue or black under coat.

One thing that alwaysed anoyed me is that the throttle squeeks. It didn't affect the operation or control of the bike, but it just anoyed me. Anyway, I fixed it. If you look up into the bike from the front right hand side, from under the radiator, you can see where the two throttle cables wrap around the pulley on the front carb (the throttle action is transfered to the rear carb by a push rod on the left. It looks like the balance adjust screw is here as well). There is the throttle return spring wrapped around the carb, I gave it a squirt of WD40 and now it doesn't squeek.

Just writing to tell you a bit about my SV. I have a Two Brothers System, Stage 1 jet kit, Custom painted blue: Both rims, both boot guards above footpegs and the radiator brackets, Mez-4's, Cut tail ensemble off up to the rear light, remounted the licensce plate under the wheel well, and made a custom licensce plate light under there which shines blue....looks trick at night reflecting off the mirror of the pipe!

I plan on getting a pic online real soon...I have 10,700 miles on it...been through a lot on it! Dropped it once when I HAD a Yosh system! Got a ticket last night for
doing a wheelie...reckless...ouch!! I had been standing on the pegs and nearly sitting on the tank...My buddies liked it a lot, the cop was pretty mad...

Well, I think the site is really great, love the images and comments...Happy riding to all!!

I have recently bought a blue SV650S, after more than five happy years with a wonderful GSF Bandit; I am running into the break-even period, so I can't tell anything on this bike performance, but I already have a little problem;

after about 30 minutes of use, my girlfriend scratched the fuel tank. Arggghhhh!!! Can somebody help me telling the Suzuki paint code for the blue 2000 model, or giving the official japanese Suzuki website? Thanks a lot

Yes they can see posting here.

Having visited the show in Friday I can point you o the following stands of particular interest.....

1 Suzuki stand have a red SV fitted with the TCP lower fairing and a tank bra, they were unable to give a price on the lower fairing as yet.

2 Pyramid Plastics have a red SV fitted with the following:- Rear seat cowl/ Hugger/Under seat cowl/Under belly fairing & Headlight protectors. Prices are available at the stand and orders can be taken.

3 Power Bronze have a yellow SV fitted with a Hugger/Headlamp protectors (and very neat they are to) and best of all a Lower fairing at about half the price of what the TCP one is.

4 Bagalux have a tank and seat cover set on display for the yellow SV.

5 Micron have a black SV with a high level exhaust /can fitted. Bernard (Bernard.Brame@btinternet.com) also says that they are £450 and pipe work and finish look very good.

I have some pics but I won't include them for fear of cluttering up your e-mail, however enjoy the show as I did, and I hope you get some positive response from Suzuki, I didn't.

I'll get some pics too and try to speak to someone from Suzuki but I don't expect much joy..

Here's a recommendation for all of ya. Fit your svs with white power front suspension (Springs and oil about 110 Euro, Installing by dealer 50 Euro). My Bike steers lighter and sharper, It is very stable while cornering even at high speeds and bad roads. And it doesn't dive any more while breaking, without any loss of comfort. It drives like a "real" supersport bike.

Since the front suspension is (was) the only "bad" thing about the sv it is now a perfect bike. White Power is a dutch company but there are also springs from Technoflex
and other companies.

So if there is on thing you buy for your sv, It is FRONT SPRINGS (and a race can)

P.S. Can someone give some info about dynojet for SV (mileage and power)

Great site,very informative,Thanks Kev. With regard to OB@earthling.net : previous posting..

My Beautiful one week old Blue SV took a tumble of its side stand in a similar situation to OLLY's - result Broken clutch lever, gear lever and scratched fairing,( GUTTED OR WHAT ) I am now paranoid that it will fall over every time I get off of it and I agree that it seems the stand doe's not come forward far enough.

Kev what make of double bubble do you have, as I was going to buy an M&P, I also saw a scorpion race can at CARNELL milton Keynes and it consisted of can and two lengths of pipe one of which I assume is to join on to your old sawn off system.

Bought mine from MPS (code SN-S39DB)...if I was buying again I'd go for a slightly taller screen but this one is much better than the standard screen..

Love the bike, Hate the stand. Would anyone fancy meeting up at the alexandra palace bike show next year January 29 - February 6, I'm going to the NEC but on sunday 14th sorry.

Hi Kevin, hi all, as promised here's my visual diary and a few comments of the kit and fairing I ordered from Tech-Line. As I said before, the service at Tech-Line was very good - no complaints there.. from the moment I got the first e-mail until the moment I received the fairing. (By the way, Tech-Line will send the fairing to any country).
Everything went as promised.

Some comments about the experience, from the top:

Delivery was on time. The packaging was very good, I had problems opening the box : ) that's good wrapping. The inner packaging was more than enough, possibility of damages 0.1% (excluding plane disasters/acts of your God). All the kit was present and well wrapped up.

You'll get a manual - which is a piece of cake, in English/Spanish etc. So, to the bike, and installation:

The manual says that the procedure should take around 1.5 hours, but the manual doesn't say if that's if you have all the necessary tools at hand, which was not my case, and because of that it took me three hours longer : ) Doh!

I only had a slight problem getting the angle right on the front mounting bar which comes with the kit. The rest was really very easy. Every little piece/screw/mounting bracket comes with the kit, and it all matches with the bike and looks good. Once you have followed the step by step process the fairing is really solid on the bike. You can do it yourself, you won't need to pay anyone.

Once the fairing is on, the first impact is great, but you will probably note a slight difference in match colour. In my case, (blue) it also seems to depend on the angle you look at it. You'll see in the picture I have attached. Maybe it's just because it's new, or it could be the material. I would say the colour match is between 95% - 98%.

Riding the bike:

I could be wrong, or my bike has changed its personality. I feel some very little changes on the bike. In my opinion, improvements. As I said, I could be wrong. In a straight line, torquing like I do, I feel that the bike grabs the road a little more, but doesn't affect the speed, IMO. On a curve, I feel the bike is more solid on the floor, but I also feel that you need to lean the bike a little more at speeds of 70 - 80 mph. The feeling is minimal, but for sure it holds the road better. I'm no expert in aerodynamics, but that fairing has made a pleasing difference. Not forgetting the advantages of less rubbish and dirt going into the engine.

Conclusion:

The bike looks great, no complaints about Tech-Line, and I'm very pleased.

Thanks Kevin, and thanks very much Erik. I hope to see you all at the Bike Show this week.

I have just completed the first 500 miles on my blue SV650SY (UK 2000 model) and can now access up to 8,000 rpm (oh bliss!). I traded in my CBR600FR about 4 weeks ago. Interesting to read your contributors comments on potential faults and improvements. For what it is worth, here are my comments.

1) The fender extender is vital. The SV650 engine has a lot of very exposed parts hanging out at the front (oil foilter, starter motor, oil pressure switch, exhaust downpipe) and the standard mudguard is not effective at keeping these free of muck. I fitted a Pyramid Plastics extender which seems good quality. One of your other contributor's notes on fitting proved very helpful - thanks mate. (that would have been Ian then...)

2) The front suspension is too soft, probably on both spring rate and rebound damping. Compared to my CBR600R the ride is very "floaty" and at full chat might even be unstable. Riding on the type of roads where even the 5,000 rpm running-in limit is exciting showed that the engine will outperform the front-end. Forget expensive engine mods and get the forks sorted. I am communicating with Maxton on the subject. I'll keep you posted. (please do)

3) Engine rattle. A number of your contributors mention a noise which is assumed to be camchain related. Up to the first 500 miles I had not experienced this. However, now I am using the engine up to 8,000 rpm I have noticed a similar noise, though not at idle. Mine occurs at speeds above idle up to about 3,000 rpm. At first I had not noticed because I usually ride wearing earplugs, but on riding home from a nearby friend's house a tapping noise became apparent. I will get my dealer to check it at the first service. (again, let us know..)

4) Exhaust end cans. I found an ad in Superbike for a new end can which comes with a sleeve adaptor so you can refit the original can if required.  Of course, you still have to take a hacksaw to the original pipe in the first place. The cans are not road legal and come in brushed aluminium or carbon fibre wrapping. I cannot remeber the manufacturer's name but the distributor is Top Dog motorcycle parts in Orpington, Kent, UK. Tel 01689 813030. Re-jetting reqired.

I have no comments on the rain in the gas tank issue, as I am still in the warm glow of new bike ownership, and refuse to take the bike out if there is a cloud in the sky!

I am definitely interested in the potential SV650 owners meet in 2000. I will keep checking your site for further details.

Thanks.

I bought mine yesterday - so far as I can tell it is little different - charcoal coloured wheels being the obvious. Anyway, its fantastic and also my first bike. I'll let you know how I get on...

Anyone going to the NEC on Sunday the 7th? (ummm....the 7th as in yesterday? Sorry about the late post, I'll get it right next year!)

Well, first of all I want to thank all the people who replied to my posting, as whether or not the SV would be a good first bike. I really appreciate everyone's input.

I did end up picking up a Blue 99 over the weekend and I love it! I was on it all weekend with out a single problem. I guess I answered my own question on the way home from the dealer...because it really is an easy bike to ride. Thanks again.

I really am impressed by the quality of this site and the enthusiasm of everyone, which never seems to slacken. I tried to send a few messages through to a couple of months ago but had no success. Maybe this one will get through.

In response to Paul's mailing (4 Nov), I'm not sure if i'm glad or sad not to be the only one to have had a biggish off on an SV.

I came off at approximately 45mph ish exiting a fairly easy bend. I have no recollection of the accident having almost converted my Schoei into a two piece and ending up with fractured ribs, a perforated ear drum and assorted whiplash type injuries to my neck and shoulders. The bike flipped itself off down the road but though it was unrideable it didn't look too bad. Basically all the sticky out bolted on bits like fairing, pegs and hangers, levers, exhaust etc. sustained some damage so it was off to the workshop for an insurance estimate which came in at just over £4000!! The insurance assessor agrees and has written the bike off.

There are two morals here and most people who might read this probably do not need to be reminded of them but I will anyway!

1. Without decent leathers and body armour there would certainly be less of me here now with a load of me for the crows to pick at on the tarmac and without a decent hat I would be dead - no question!

Without wanting to get on my soapbox (but I will) I echo this point....all the mods in the world count for nothing if you come off the bike and your kit is not up to the job. Biking is a balance of risks like everything else, try to weight the balance in your favour and make as much effort as possible to lessen your degree of injury if/when you part company with your SV or whatever. Why have I not put a new exhaust system on my bike? Because I just spent the money on decent gloves and winter suit to replace my freezing and paper thin waterproofs. Without decent kit your mince meat. With it you still might be mince meat but at least your done what you can and, probably, the kit will make a big difference and, probably, you'll be glad you put off that mod until next time.

2. Decent insurance like I have through the Suzuki scheme with Hill House Hammond is essential. Because I purchased my bike new and it's less than 6 months old they simply stump up for a new one (we'll have to wait to see what happens to my next insurance premium though).

By the way Paul, mine was yellow too. I bought it because statistically they are supposed to be involved in fewer accidents - Doh!!! (and 74.382% of statistics are made up...)

A couple of quick questions please:

1) how easy (& cheap) is it to lower the gearing of the SV650S to be the same as the unfaired version, and where can you buy the relevant part in Ireland or UK ?

There have been a couple of previous postings, here and here but I guess it's fairlu easy just a change of sprocket. I don't know the best place to get one but hopefully someone will write in and tell us.

2) when is the Year 2000 model released in Ireland or the UK? - see posting

Isn't it already? I hope to speak tosomeone from Suzuki at the bike show next week and ask about cam chain tentioners, water in fuel and this, etc, etc....

In response to Andy's post, I was in a similar situation a few months back. Co-workers (both Honda people) got me interested in motorcycles, and one let me ride his 1990 CBR a few times. Before I decided on a bike, I also took a Motorcycle Safety Foundation class. I was already interested in the SV650, so I went and took a test ride. Bought it the next day (as I live in the States, I only had to choose between red and blue, and the dealer didn't have a red one then).

I've had no problems with it; it is a very easy bike to ride. While Andy is lighter than me (5'11", 200 lb), I don't think he'll have any problems. My friend with the CBR also rode mine, once (it's difficult to let the bike go away without you being on it), and he also remarked about how easy it is to ride.

So, Andy, take a test ride and don't worry about the size. It's a great bike to learn on. Oh, but don't go above 5000 rpm in first gear until you get used to the low end power (it's very easy to do).

And whatever you decide, have fun and do alot of safe practicing. Good luck.

i love the site has a lot of useful information! i picked my sv650sy in blue last week after trading in my 1999 t gsxr600 and the sv is much better!

When you say better you don't mean faster and the gsxr handles top rate so how is the SV better? Cheaper? Easier to live with? Easier to ride faster?

i wish i had bought one in march instead of the gsxr , conditions are getting worse up in scotland so i will only get out now and again for a good thrash, cant wait untill springtime! keep up the good work!

After returning from a long ride with my wife on the back I have noticed that the hugger hits the under pan at 3/4 travel on the suspension. after looking at other
huggers eg on the R1 they sit a lot closer to the tyre. time for a snotty letter to M&P I think.

Someone posted that they saw a crashed SV650S and it seemed to have crashed quite well. My fast yellow baby and I went down at about 80mph last week. I got up again unscathed although the lovely yellow helmet my wife presented me with that morning was a write-off. I got a ride in a policecar with a delightful WPC :O)

As to the bike... Centre and RH fairings, screen, dash panel, RH mirror, RH handlebar and bar-end (but not the lever), both wheels, one tyre, tank, brake lever and strangely gear lever too and the complete exhaust system all need replacing. Total bill for the nice man from the insurance company is estimated at £2,536.14. (what's the 14p for????)

I'll make some pre and post pictures available soon.

I'm sending this on behalf of my friend John's (mysticmak@tinyonline.co.uk) SV650S. There was a very noticeable ticking noise comeing from the engine. It's most noticeable at idle. The SVS was bought in March and has covered approx 7000 miles (don't know if that makes any difference though).

I took the bike in for John, and Suzuki asked the dealer to strip the engine down and find out what was wrong. There is no damage to the rest of the engine, but Suzuki asked the dealer to send the Cam Chain Tensioner back to them for examination. They are also sending the dealer a new tensioner to fit.

I'll keep you posted with what happens, but if your bike makes a similar noise, contact your dealer.

PS. To whoever mentioned having to cut they're pipe to put a new can on (me), when Swona (www.swona.dabsol.co.uk) fitted John's double end can, they put a slip joint on the old exhaust so it can be fitted back on in minutes.

I had finally decided to buy the Suzuki SV650S after reading all these wonderfull remarks about this bike in your site. I am currently riding a CB400F3T super four and was quite unsatisfied with the torque and was hunting for a replacement bike that has plenty of torque and much more power.

The only sad thing is that I can't make those exhaust replacement here in Singapore as it is consider illegal here but should try it out with the jet kit in mind.

Most replacement end cans and systems sold in the UK are race cans and stamped 'not for road use' but they sell by the bucket load and it's almost out of the ordinary to fit a road legal can! I'm going off the point now (what's new) but sensible use of the throttle through built up areas helps big time (not just for speed limits but to keep the noise down) and usually getting stopped by the police with a race can on is not the end of the world. In most cases I have heard you are given a couple of days to get a legal can back on and report back to the police station as proof. For this reason I am loath to cut my standard system and fit an end can. I will save up and go for a complete system and rejet at some point.

I had found this site very resourcefull and very glad to here alot of opinions and praise regarding this bike. It help me to decide to buy this not so small V-twin.

Too bad is that I still had to pass another test as to qualify to ride above 400cc but I'm on the way now. Just cannot wait to had a feel on it...

Good luck Peter!

I know you can probably get soft bags for the s model but can you get hard bags? and can you get a taller windshield for the s model?

Panniers for the SV? You could try the big manufacturers like Givi and nonfango to start with (I dont recall their web URL's at the moment - sorry). Yes, you can get a taller screen in the UK and I guess elsewhere. I have fitted a 'double-bubble' screen and it does help with higher speed cruising. You don't say which country you are in.

This must be almost a full time job for you, keeping us sv freaks up to date with all news and facts, great site, greate work - thanks!

Here is a power and torque curve from my bike after the fitment of a MIG system and a dyno jet kit. I think it speaks for it self!!!!

Only hatc is the economy - i´m now at 12km/l gas!!

Greetings from wet Denmark

Since I was going to sell my SVS (not now) I looked into getting it across the border to a US buyer and found out it is to a US buyers advantage to buy NEW. Reason is that once I payed all my taxes I couldn't lower my price enough to be less than a brand new bike. So here's the scoop...

If you're willing to make some phone calls it really isn't that difficult to get a Canadian bike. Most people read what others have wrote about the experience and figure it's not worth it - but if you want the fairing it really is!

2 choices: Drive up here and get it or have it shipped.

The Dealership I called is Cycle World, they are probably the largest around here and they sell all makes and models. Contact is Norm Roessler he is the manager. They have one 2000 yellow SVS in stock but Norm said he has ordered 2 more for November, don't know which colors. We are at the end of our season here so orders are low.

All of our SV's are 49 state legal (sorry California) and have the EPS and the DOT stickers right on the frame. The only complication is the speedo so you may need to replace that with a MPH one or maybe you could just get those stickers that go right over top. Different States have different laws. Check with your State.

The easiest method for all of this is to hire a broker. The ones I spoke to said that they wouldn't even need that infamous letter from Suzuki stating the bike is 49 State legal. But they did ask about MPH conversions. I called a bunch of places and got run-arounds but I ended up with Sharon at Can-Am importers 1-888-317-4700. She said $525 U.S. fee for customs paperwork and she does everything. Also Duty on bike is 2.7% of the price. Look around - links below have cheaper prices.

O.K. Back to Norm. Canadian Price is $8049 MSRP he sells them for $7599 plus $75 freight from Suzuki, Set-up is up to you. They can leave it in the crate or they can prep it for you for $130 so when you get it you can drive it. Total is $7804 which is $5295 U.S. You have to pay your own State tax when you go to register it.

The web site is http://www.cycleworld.org/ go to sales and Norm's e-mail address is there. He is cool with being contacted by e-mail.

If you want it shipped you will need to find a transport company in your area that picks up from Toronto, Ontario - or wherever you decide to purchase from Canada. You call Norm, arrange payment, decide shipping method, he gives you the VIN # for the shipper and you're off. You have to pay Duty to get it across the border (Probably included in the shipping cost from the transport company)

That's all folks!

Read these other experiences, prices vary so shop around for a broker and transport companies.

http://userdata.acd.net/stratten/sv_import.html

http://www.inficad.com/~ecrigg/sasena/import/

http://www.rich.laflamme.net/importing.htm

Once you call a broker you'll see just how easy this is.

Hi there from sunny South Africa, home of some of the best biking blacktop in the world. The following road test appeared in a local bike magazine. I took the liberty of retyping it, as your readers might enjoy it.

This article taken from Bike SA, November '99.
=================================================
SV650S
Baby Badass
Story by Howie Zowie. Pictures by Michel du Paris.
(sorry, no pictures included)

One of my favourite stretches of freeway in Gangster's Paradise is the N12 from Comaro Street to Southgate. In each direction three lanes wind through the Klipriviersberg hills so that the road is typified by brilliant progressive sweepers which encourage flatstick riding. At sunrise on a coolish Saturday morning I went hauling off along the
N12 to meet with Mikely and Gus. Traffic was non-existent, the weather was perfect and the SV650S was in full cry. I tucked in behind the half fairing, nailed the throttle to the stop and blitzed into the first long left hander at an indicated 210km/h. Solid as a rock.

Even though the front suspension on the Suzook is not adjustable and the rear shock can only be adjusted for preload, I found the setup to be quite adequate for me to hold my line. Serious scratchers will eventually find limitations in the suspension but for Joe Citizen it is fine. The bike is so damn easy to ride that it reminds me of one of
those "mik en druk" cameras - just point and squirt and the baby V will see you through. Given the early hour I didn't expect any traps and so I simply held the bike at max speed for the next 40km to the turn off onto the N1 North. Not a grumble from the busy mill which was spinning contentedly at 10000rpm and seemed happy to do so all day long. It goes without saying that I was looking forward to the 500km day that lay ahead.

I didn't quite know what to expect from the little Suzuki when I collected it from TG's new high tech showroom in Strijdompark. I've previously ridden and written about both the TL1000S and the TL1000R so I'm familiar with the stonk that the big litre class Suzuki V twins produce. I personally prefer the S to the R because the S has a higher
hooligan factor and in my opinion it's a much better looking badass scooter with an attitude problem a big plus factor. I had been pestering Suzuki to lend me the 650 because in most aspects it looks like a scaled down version of the TL1000S and I wanted to oppertunity to see how the two bikes compared.

Did someone say scaled down? This is a light, compact and skinny scooter of note. I slung a leg over it, stood up straight and looked down on the bike from what seemed to be a great height. The seat, which is only 805mm off the deck wasn't even close to my bum. I rocked the bike from side to side between my legs and found it effortless to flip the 169kg mass left and right. I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite its Lilliputian dimensions I fitted on quite comfortably.

The rider's seat, before the stepped pillion seat, is long enough to accomodate a six footer without the bulge on the tank getting in the way of your knees. In fact the sculpting of the tank promotes a tucked in riding style so that when cruising down the freeway, bike and rider combine to create a nice streamlined entitiy. The streamlining continues through to the plastic nacelle which surrounds the pillion seat and which houses the tail light asembly. From the rear the bike looks as purposeful as it does from the front.

The motor is a little masterpiece. It's a liquid cooled 90 degree V twin with DOHC and four valves per cylinder. Bore and stroke are 81mm and 62.6mm and, thanks to the short stroke, the mill willingly revs to the 10500 redline. Easily usable power kicks in from 5000rpm onwards and builds progressively to about 9500rpm which is the ideal point at which to shift up if you really want to get going through the delightfully smooth six speed box. It feeds through a pair of 39mm Keihin carbs and the engine is managed via a digital ignition system so that power is immediate and predictable.

In keeping with the overall size of the bike the motor is a compact little unit which is suspended from the TL1000S lookalike aluminium alloy truss frame. The zorts is a two into one affair which spews out the burnt gases through a can which looks suspiciously like the pipe on the 600 Bandit. It's got a nice enough note to it but I imagine that the SV650S is a prime candidate for a derestricted after market pipe which will increase power and give it a more characterisitic V twin bark..

I duly met up with Mikely and Gus and we took the long road north.  During the course of the weekend they both took the oppertunity to ride the bike and were impressed with its performance. The one part of the journey which we particularly enjoyed was the 100km thrash from Nylstroom to Vaalwater and then on to Melkrivier. The bushveld road were traffic free and we bombed along at average speeds in the region of 180km/h with the odd blast up to 200. The Suzook was in its element and quite frankly it was an absolute pleasure to ride. It inspires confidence because it sits solidly on the road at speed and given the top end of about 210km/h it's unlikely you'll exceed your personal limits unless you do something exquisitely stupid.

Instrumentation is fairly basic with the only guages being the rev counter and speedometer. I would have expected a temperature guage and a fuel guage but these have been substituted with warning lights.

The front wheel, brakes and forks look identical to the 600 bandit and I'm prepared to bet a case of Black Label that they have the same part numbers. Is this a bad thing? No it's not. It's clear that Suzuki's objective in building the 650 was to produce an entry level bike which would not be out of place in the company of super bikes but which would be reasonably priced, easy to ride and quick into the bargain. In my opinion they have succeeded admirably in all these areas.

The retail price of the SV650S is just under R46000 (about 4545 UK pound or $US 7491) and for your money you will get an extremely user friendly little weapon which handles impeccably, stops well, can cruise at 180 all day long and get you to your destination in comfort. In addition you get a 16 litre tank and with an average fuel consumption of 13 to 14 km/l that's perfect for 200+km stretches from one Ultracity to the next. It is not, however, 2/3 of its big booming brother the TL1000S and does not have all the trickery which makes the 1000 such and awesome scoot.

If you're used to riding super bikes this is probably not the bike for you because it simply won't meet your expectations in terms of speed and power. But if you're a first time biker or maybe a lady biker or if you're looking to upgrade to a mid size sports bike then you owe it to yourself to test ride the SV650S.

As you know by now an SV650S is part of the grand prize at this year's Rhino Rally. Naturally you'll keep the Hayabuse for yourself but I guarantee you that the person to whom you give the SV650S is going to be your Cussin for life. (The Rhino Rally had as first prize a Hayabusa AND an SV650S!!)

Thanks to Steve Swanepoel and Suzuki for the loan of the bike.
=================================================

This is a bike that I have recently become interested in and am trying to find as much info as possible. I came across your site and what a good site it is.

Everything is were its supposed to be. All the links work and the quality of the articles and pictures are excellent.

Well Done.

The web might be created, built and updated by me (with technical server support provided by Steven - much thanks due) but the postings are all 100% readers contributions so THANK YOU TO ALL READERS for making this web work.

The kinked drain hose that has been blamed for numerous water-in-the-fuel problems may have another effect. The drain hose, I believe, is also there to safely drain away gas (petrol) overflow that may happen when fueling. If the hose is kinked and allows the buildup of water under the tank cover, it stands to reason that it also may allow the buildup of fuel and/or vapors in a place they are not intended to be.

Adding a homemade seal around the top of the silver trim ring might take away any small amount of venting that might happen through the openings there to flush vapors out of this area, and you might want to rethink sealing it off. I don't relish the thought of a potentially explosive mix immediately adjacent to a very valuable, if  underused, part of my anatomy.

So homemade seal + kinked vent pipe = bang? Hmmm....perhaps the seal is not such a good idea after all, even better, make sure the vent hose is running free as described here.

Might this problem be more than a mere  inconvenience? Is anyone at Suzuki paying attention? (I hope so but fear the worst.....)

So, I'm enjoying one of the last warm days of the year and a 3 inch nail decides to not only go into my rear ME4 but it comes out my sidewall. I kept the bike upright and $90(US) later the tow truck dropped me off at my place. So now I'm thinking that fixing the tire is out of the question because of the sidewall damage, right?

Well, I have 4000 miles on my SVX and I don't know if I should just get a new softer rear or a whole new set. The front seems to have a decent amount of tread left. I would greatly appreciate any recommendations on what type of new rear tire to buy or on what to do. Please help, winter is coming.

Quite a bit has been said about this (see last months postings in archive section). My advice would be to fit a new ME4 rear unless you're unhappy with handling/feel with the old ME4's. If you wanted to try softer rubber then consider Dunlop D207, Bridgestone BT56 or Pirreli Dragon Evo but change both and keep your used front for future emergencies etc.

What a great forum for discussion! Found the page a few weeks ago and have learned a lot about my new SV650SY (black), what a rocket ship <grin>. Thanks Kev!!! (it's OK Olly)

The main reason for this mail is to enquire if anyone else has had problems with the side stand on the SV. This is my first sports bike (great welcome to sports bikes, my poor jeans have holes in the knees, like me!) as I've always ridden and built choppers before, and I've never had a bike come of its side stand. My new SV has done this twice, once cold while idling (bars straight, very slight drainage slope) and once blown off its stand by the wind (in gear, pointing up hill).

I know no one who has had this happen with their bikes (Ninjas, Bandits, ER-5, Virago etc) and have never had it happen to any of my own or my fathers bikes. The dealer tells me there is nothing unusual with my SV's stand and told me I was 'unlucky', but having asked other bikers and a designer and let them play with the bike we feel this may be a design fault in an otherwise excellent bike, the angle of tilt of the bike and degree the stand goes forward being too little.

Has anyone else had their bike suicidally launch its self tarmac-ward? As I was the only person the dealer had had complain they we're not prepared to take it further but did say it would be different if there were reports from others. If they have then please let me/ us know, we might be able to get something done about it.

I'm sure someone else did report their SV going over on the side-stand but it was ages ago (in the archives section somewhere) and I've not heard of any others. The side-stand seems fine to me, you want to own a Ducati, then you can complain about side-stands!! (no....I never have owned one...not yet anyway although the 900SS looks and sounds so good.)

I now have to park my SV beside fences/trees (expensive cars? =) ) just in case and am going to have to welt up a proper stand now.

Right I'm off to try and bend, plastic weld, fill, wet and dry, respray, T-Cut and polish my battle scared fairing...

PS Since this is a totally new bike perhaps a list of faults/ possible recalls found could be compiled so we can back up any warranty claims we have to make? I may have missed this, but has anyone posted the jet sizes/other mods used in the Dynojet kit? I've read a lot about end cans too, any generally agreed best?

I aim to add the main 'issues' into the FAQ section. If anyone has jet sizes and other detailed techy information then you know my email address...

See previous posting

OK, here's the deal: Kenz Sports has a website which you can find at: http://www.kenz-pro.co.jp

Since the site is entirely in Japanese, here's what you need to know...

The 2 in 2 system for the SV650 is one of their Kenz ProFire Series and it costs 148,000 yen (which is about sterling £845 / US$1,410.

Good news: you can order directly from their website...

Bad news: almost certainly only if you live in Japan, because it's cash-on-delivery TAKYUBIN service.

Probably the best thing is to e-mail them at: info@kenz-pro.co.jp   (keep the English simple!)

As I told you yesterday (see previous posting in Oct section), my bike was picked up two days ago by the dealer when it refused to rev above 4krpm. Carnells fixed the problem astonishingly quickly and I picked it up this morning. The problem was indeed a bucketload of water in the carbs, due to poor filler cap design and a kinked drain pipe.

(An initial ride made me realise just how much the performance had imperceptibly but steadily decreased over the past couple of months - the bike now feels alive again! I'd say get your bikes checked as they may have gone off and you might not even realise it.)

A great turnaround time then, but I couldn't believe it when I was presented with a bill for 130ukp after the mechanic spent a reputed 3 hours working on my bike! Honestly, how long does it really take to drain the carbs and replace the fuel? I had stressed it was a warranty service when I  booked the bike in, and the manager capitulated and will be talking to Suzuki about the problem. Consequently, the more SV riders who have this sevicing done by a dealer under warranty, the more it will cost Suzuki, and the more likely they'll come up with a solution.

That's right.....don't take no for an answer.

On a related note I have emailed Suzuki GB with my and the sites (thats you the readers!!) concerns about the possible cam chain tensioner and water in fuel problems and have asked for a reply regarding information on recalls, whether Suzuki acknowledge the problems etc, etc. I stressed the wide readership of this web and the numerous articles posted as evidence.... I await to see what response is returned to me (if any at all...).

As an aside, they had a black Y2K SY model in the shop (sold of course) which was identical to my neighbours SX, except for the charcoal rims. I also saw a blue SY which had obviously been thrown down the road on its left hand side. The left front indicator was hanging off (but not trashed), the fairing was torn at the side, and there were deep scratches on the mirror casing, bar end, tank, fairing and rear plastic and indicator. Cosmetic mainly though, so it would seem the SV does indeed crash well, although let's hope we never have to find out ourselves :)

Thanks for the important update Paul.

Just noticed an ad in the November issue of Roadracing World for SV 650 " high compression drop-in pistons" from  Spears Enterprises, 100 Cristich Lane, Campbell, California 95008  Phone (408) 879 0724, Fax (408) 879 0762, e-mail; Biknfool1@aol.com.  No website listed.

No indication if these are merely modified pistons from another model where one might be concerned about balance factors or if they are dedicated SV models.

I'm extremely doubtful about doubling your stock torque figure as claimed in another posting but Torque IS King and you'll certainly see an improvement!  Just don't forget increased stresses elsewhere.

See previous posting...

Here's a photo of the bike I promised.

My name is Goran and I have been riding my SV650S for last 5 months and have about 10500km's on it. bloody great bike it seams to run better and better as the k's are growing. I'm still running the original ME4's probably another couple of k's left on them.

My only complaint is that of water in the tank, which my mechanic thought was a carburation problem.

If anyone has any Dyno figures on a sv650s with a can and jetting done please let me know since I'm on a bit of budget I'm looking for an alternative to get more ponies on my bike without breaking the bank. I'm just happy that our summer is here and I can finally take a long ride out of Sydney and stretch sv's legs.

I have to say what a great site you have, I have been reading your site since about 6 months ago and must say very impressive. (thank you)