Hey John,

I believe it is about time I emailed you for the Current Month section on SV650.org. I have been a fairly active member since August 3rd, 2003. I bought the SV, "SVen" on August 1st of 2003, when I was 16. It's been my first motorcycle and a good starting bike. I've respected the power of the SV and everyday, I find more power on it. This is the only forum, I have joined up to and never once felt like I should leave. Everyone here has 'taken me under their wing'; sharing their knowledge, stories, experiences, jokes, and not so wise knowledge. ;) I will continue to be a member here at SV650.org even if I step-up to another bike (as many have).

As many can vouch, the SV is a money pit. I have modded the SV to a point where I THINK I am done modding it... I am not sure that is the case, it may be never ending. :) Here is a list of the current mods in order of installation:

DIY Fender Eliminator, Rumble Import Rear Hugger, Rumble Import Carbon Frame & Iridium Lens Style Indicators Hamicad Radiator & Oil Cooler Grill Covers F.Fabbri Darksmoke Double Bubble Windscreen Suzuki Seat Cowl Suzuki Gel Seat Bikesliders Frame Sliders Tool Kit Re-Location Pyramid Plastics Front Fender Extender (Colour Matched/Crack Filled) Colour Matched Intake Vents Colour Matched Side Panels Polished Rearsets Clear Alternatives Integrated Taillight TankSlapper Skidmarx Dark Smoke Headlight Covers M4 Aluminum High Mount Slip-On Exhaust Philips H4 Vision Plus Headlights Poly 26 Belly Pan

I have to thank my father for all the help and advice that he has given me along the way with riding and modding.

I have attached some pictures of "SVen". I personally believe these are the best photos that I have taken of my SV. :)

Thank you very much!

Mitch "MitchC" Cave Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Sunny California 

John,

I have been riding my 2002 SV650S for three years now and still am thrilled every time I go to get on it. I switched to the smaller bike from a Yamaha FJ1100 and a FJ1200. I like it's light weight and nimbleness. You can't even feel the difference when you have a good passenger and a set of small side bags on it. There is nothing like a SV, a good passenger and a great area to ride !

I asked about the photo and Larry replied

I am based in Central California. The area in the background is Bass Lake at about 4500 feet elevation. Some good roads around there. I always keep watch on your site and have learned some interesting things. Also like the riders input. Good job and keep it up.

Hi John They are Ros di Rosmoto, is for a long time that we do not feel more, I send you some photos of Italian the Supertwins championship of 2005, and the photos of my new SV... SR 744, that will to make one's debut 27 November, to Vallelunga (Rome). we are the team champion supertwins 2005, with Franco Cristiano,

Sounds like you had a top season, the results table speaks for itself. Looking at the naked bike reveals a lot of modifications, How narrow is this bike! I wonder how much has changed in the engine? Well done, and good luck for next season.

An update from Ros

the motor is 744 cc, 97 cv to the wheel, the next year, will have the fuel injection, with the butterflies from 45 millimetre.

I have finally decided to e-mail some pictures of my SV to the best SV website on the net.

This one has been in the family since new. My father had it for 4 years and and put the double bubble screen & lenses on, along with a carbon look undertray and mini indicators. I purchased it off him and I have had it for 1 ¾ years. It is my first modern big bike after 7 years on a 1977 GS550 and what a stunning bike, I absolutely love it. For my first year I kept it as my father had left it, but after a heart breaking crash I decided it was time to put my individual mark on it. So a new right hand side fairing came, some new bar ends indicators and best of all that lovely Blue flame 2 port exhaust all via insurance (not sure what the premium will be next year..cringe).

I was pretty happy with that but then disaster struck again and my chain came off smashing into the hugger and breaking the clutch push rod. I know I was pretty fortunate that was all that happened. A nice new hugger in carbon look was ordered from Pyramid plastics and while I was at it a belly pan and seat cowl and of course a new chain. The stainless chain guard was a nice addition and not one I had seen before for a bargain £25 off e-bay. So here I am feeling pretty content and would recommend the parts from pyramid plastics and the beautiful looking blue flame exhaust all of them friendly people to deal with.

But as you know, once you have started, there is always something else to add (braided hose brake-lines, tuning that engine).

Regards,

Graeme Crooks

Sounds like you've caught the SV bug. Glad you enjoy the bike and the site.

Hi,

I thought this may be of interest to you.
A UK based company call Clockworx located at www.clockworx-dials.com   are selling replacement white SV650 faces. They are also listed on eBay.

Hope this is of interest.

Definitely, I want one now, to get rid on the felt tip and letraset version that Suzuki installed.
 

Hi John

Thought you and the rest of the gang on SV650.org might appreciate a sample from our 2006 brochure shoot.  I always ensure the SV gets plenty of exposure ;-)

Regards
Justin
Oxford Products Ltd

I left this image full size, I thought some of you might like this as a wallpaper J
 

It’s good to see a healthy heap of emails arriving from all over and with so many diverse interests.

I’ve included a few pics simply because it’s been such lovely weather (in between the biblical stuff) and I’m sure we all enjoy it when we can. This morning (Thurs 27/10/2005) I had some shopping to do and as the supermarket is less than a mile away I’m used to inventing tortuously long new routes when the weather’s good.

Living within about a mile of the A 57 though, you can find that you need to leave the snake alone sometimes and play with other parts. One brief diversion at the Sheffield end is an area called Strines. There is a pub by that name where bikes occasionally congregate but I don’t think it’s overtly biker-friendly – just civil with good service.

The roads are quite bumpy in a badly-laid tarmac sort of way but they can swallow you for an hour or more. Not so much all high-speed dash as Governor’s Bridge repeated over and over. Little u-turns slither over one-track bridges with surfaces polished clear of any grit – except the obligatory swathes at the edges. Elevations change as much as a metre or so in one bike length and one switch-back nearly had me off. I’ve developed this mountain goat technique that involves laying the bike hard down even at less than 5mph with a smattering of counter-steer. Slipping the clutch is often necessary – especially on the SVs – but can be hairy. Still it’s good practise for places like Costa Rica, where roads that hug volcano sides can be eaten and washed away.

The overhanging Strines forest (too much pine, not enough indigenous) opens out and straights of over a mile (more if you could see over the hills) beg you to whip them silly – beware that pheasants try to count your spokes especially silly young ones around springtime. Reservoirs glitter in alpine valleys and unusual rocks and buildings catch your eye. I used to do it midwinter but with low bars the snow isn’t quite as comical any more.

This time of year long streaks of brown mush announce autumn’s well on its way – yet today the blinding sun belies the fact that next month is Nofreakingvember.

The Strines roads can be reached by turning off the Snake either just after Hollow meadows from Sheff or just after the Ladybower pub coming from Manchester/ Derbyshire. They exist in a twining network that can bring you down into Hillsborough or across to the Woodhead road or over to Barnsley/Wentworth. There’s an ‘S’ bend sign that featured in a bike mag yonks ago because the graffiti (which still remains) is pro-biking. The ‘s’ in the red triangle has been turned into a bike & rider and the 5 in front of the word miles has been changed to an s –so it reads (biking) - ‘for smiles’.

Anyway, this wasn’t meant to be an article; but I may find time soon…

Alex

So what's new since last month? Well I took the new bike to pieces, I cant help myself, I do like to see what's under the bonnet. I bought a few bits and bobs at the bike show and I wanted to fit them. This included some mirror extenders that I bought from banditmania. I wasn't too sure how the fairing came apart, although I could see that it's was all in once piece, so it was a case of removing screws until it fell off ;-)

I assumed the mirrors were screwed through the fairing and sub frame with a nut on the inside hidden by the inner fairing skin, just like the mark 1 model. Nope, it was simpler than that.  I soon realised that the mirror screws also hold the fairing on. The other surprise was that the headlight come off with the fairing. So quite a simple and quick job. One of my plans is to rig up a light switch so that I can turn off the lights when required. It's not something I'd use a lot, but useful to have when the battery is low and the bike won't start, or if you need to work on the bike with the ignition on and don't need the lights flattening the battery. All the fairing electrics seem to go through one plug connector including earth, so I might just put a switch in the earth lead this would kill all the fairing lights which is fine for my purposes.
I put it all back together again and installed the mirror extenders. The extenders aren't the prettiest things on the planet, but they do make a big improvement on rear vision.

I also bought some nice R&G bobbins. Soon fitted, and a Pyramid fender entender as the standard front mudguard is a joke for the UK climate. I've got wait for this item as I wanted the carbon version. a hugger is also on my want list for later. (a month after the show and I'm still waiting).

Whilst messing I thought id take a look under the tank. I wanted to check where the vacuum take off for the scotoiler was. The scotoiler is turned up to max, much higher than on my old bike and I wondered if I was getting enough vacuum, as this might stop the valve inside the oiler for lifting far enough. Nothing looked familiar under the tank. No fuel tap and therefore no vacuum takeoff, instead it was taken off the rear throttle body. I noted the mass of foil insulation on the underside of the tank. I removed this and coated the underside of the tank with wd40, the paint here is always thin and rust will occur without protection. I took off the air box for a closer look at the FI. I was surprised at the size of throttle bodies the intake diameter seems much smaller than the carb version. there seem to be a lot more pipes and other components I don't recognise including lots of sensors on the airbox. I'll look at the manuals when time permits.

So how's life with the new SV.  A quick jump on the old model soon, brought a few things home. The clutch lever is much heavier than the new bike. The gearbox clunks. The old bike seems more skittish and is deflected more easily but uneven surfaces such as raised white lines. The old bike falls into corner faster, which can catch out the unwary. I used to think this was due to the heavy engine braking, but the new one doesn't do it. Close the throttle mid corner (slow corner) and it's much more composed.  The new bike seems happier with the baffle out on the Scorpion, seems to pick up better and feel crisper.

The weather is turning nasty now, so the bikes are getting ridden less. I'll pull the new bike into the workshop some time over Xmas and start making a few changes ;-)

Just a quick word on the recent loss of service.  This has been discussed at length on the forum, but I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who's donated cash towards repairs and improvements. I have just sent a first instalment of £890 to the server owner. The rest will follow soon.

By next month Xmas and the New Year will be a recent memory, so I'll wish you and yours and great Xmas now. Have a good one.

John