Hello
Please can you put this into the forum - its where the 3Bs custom & classic rally is again this year. I think if people saw the rally site they may be more inclined to come along - its beautiful you see - set in woodlands next to a lake - with huge green lawns - superb!

Regards Clanger

I nearly forgot to post this, didn't realise it was this weekend, sorry.

Went out for a little spin today that turned into 190miles. But on the way back passed a field that I thought would make my baby look good - so here's a piccy.

Thought you might like it for the gallery

-Dan
(The Fat Monk)
Very artistic! Hope you don't suffer from hayfever!

Just I thought I should send a pic to represent Southern California in the sv nation, (if no one has done so yet!)

great site, keep up the good work!!

dmageinc
keith
so. cal.  u.s.a

Hi, Just thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that www.sgmotorsport.com  is the UK & European distributor of Ivan's jet kits. Well renowned on the web by other news groups. If you could be kind enough to put a link on the links page. All the best Stephen SG Motorsport 02392 789823 inquiries@sgmotorsport.com 

Hey John, this is in response to Stephen Spiteri's comments and questions (posted June 10). First off, thanks for the compliments! I plan to install a VFR single sided swing arm this winter so I think I'll take your suggestion into consideration on the black spoke idea. And on to the frame... I left the engine in, but remove the tank, dropped the radiator and cleared anything out that was in my way. I only polished about 3/4 of the way around the frame (the visible portion) . My reasoning was that it is higher maintenance to have a polished frame, and since these areas are very difficult to get to or see, I left them alone. I picked up some paint stripper (Aircraft Paint Remover). This should take off a good deal of the paint. Next, I used a rotary sander (3" pads) to grind off the remaining paint. Once you have the paint off continue to increase your grit size (600, 1000, 2000). Once everything appears smoothed out, drop some mag/aluminum polish on (I prefer Mother's mag/alum polish). If your really motivated, you may want to finish with some diamond paste paper. Lots of work, but I would do it again for the result that I got. Hope this helps and thanks again Stephen, Justin Matz

Hi John, Having fitted a screen to my naked SV650, I thought the following notes might be of interest to others. The screen in question is a National Cycle F16 High Screen, Light Tint, purchased from M&P. Firstly, I chucked away the bracing clips supplied because due to the joggles in the headlamp brackets, they clamped right on one of the bends and lost a lot of grip. I replaced these with a straight bracing arm secured to the lower headlamp bracket fixing bolt. For this to work you replace the stock bolt with a longer one which allows a spacer (approx 20mm long) to be fitted, to keep the brace straight. I made the bracing arms from some handy 3mm thick glass fibre sheet lying around at work. Rough sizes, 135mm long, 20mm wide hole centres 115mm. I also chucked away the supplied clip screws/nuts and replaced them with some M6 stainless steel socket screws and dome nuts. The final addition was a rubber washer each side between the fairing and the headlamp brackets on the headlamp fixing bolts to the brackets from being marked. An initial observation is that there is not much angular adjustment available due to the position of the tachometer casing. Other than that, it looks great in the flesh and blends in very well with the bike. Pete Sluman

Jun 22 'Followup from Daves Ramshead (see June 17) I asked if there was a CAT in the 03 SV650 end can'.

Hi John,
yes, it had a cat in the original, and weighed a ton as well! For performance gain, really you only need the power commander, but it was only when Paul Garrish turned up at my house a couple of weeks ago with one of the road legal CCC cans I thought I really must have one of those.
If you are doing the Ponderosa run you will be able to have a listen. (I am and I will) 

I have already tweaked the front end on mine too, I replaced the standard oil with a better quality 10/15w, just out of personal preference because I like firmer damping. Also set the static sag to my liking. speak to you soon, regards, Dave. 

Hi John,
Just thought I'd mention that if you're applying stickers the best way is to liberally coat the paintwork with soapy water first. This is what the pros do, so that the letters/artwork can be slid around to exactly where you want it and then using a squeegee (or any plastic edge) to scrape over the letters you squeeze out any excess water. And no, strangely the detergent doesn't lift the adhesive. All the shop canopies with vinyl lettering have been done like this.

Saves having a coronary when you get it wrong and then find you're wrestling and stretching the sticker!

Hope it helps. Regards, Greg Wallis.

Thanks Greg. I'd forgotten this technique, probably because I don't do this for a living. I've posted this tip on the bodywork stickers page also. 

I received this letter from Hope House today. I thought you all might like to see it. Thanks again to all who contributed.

Hi John, I went to the MCN summer show at Donnington the other Sunday and picked up some bargains for my new sv. I bought a power commander and Carbon Can Co road legal can (unbelievable sound for a road can).
Because mine was the first one they have done, they sent it to FW Developments for a custom mapping session on the dyno, free.. which I like!
Attached is the graph from the session.

The biggest gains are in torque and bhp at 6000rpm, which you can definitely feel. Peak power ended up at 76 bhp from a standard of 74.1, but the temperature had gone up from 12 to 22 degrees in the afternoon when the exhaust went on, so they said to expect a little more in reality to get a like for like comparison. Regards Dave

John, here is the first pic of the bike, it's been running for a few weeks now but starting to come together better now, I rode another SV at the weekend and can't believe how much different this is, its a totally different bike. still a few things to do and we'll find out how good it really is on the 5th at Lydden. Cheers Pete

For those that don't know, Pete planted his SV into a Suzuki Swift last month and did a Yuri Gellar on his front forks. See May 2002 for the original pix.

Hi John, Well, no sooner had I fixed me indicators than a lost Learner driver decides to change their mind at the last minute on a roundabout and forgets to use those things on the side of the car called mirrors.... :-( Here's what happens to the indicators when they slide down the road a bit...... sniff....

Still I am ok and the bike will be fixed as soon as the parts can be delivered, busted back brake lever and foot peg, scratched rear and front Fairing..... it could have been worse...

Here's hoping the bruising will not hurt too much in the morning..... Cheers Jody

Isn't that typical. Speedy recovery

My bodywork stickers arrived at the weekend, I'll be writing to those that have already enquired. Click here or follow the link on the home page

Jun 16 'Bodywork stickers from Singapore' from Albert Soo

Hi, I'm from Singapore and just did some graphic update on my SV.  All graphics are done using just vinyl stickers, I didn't even use  lacquer.  It doesn't cost much but it sure gave my SV a second look. Its really a  head turner now. Best of all, this sticker kit can be reproduced and I estimate it should  cost less than 100euros.

For more information, please contact Max Equipment(Singapore) via e-mail gyhee@pacific.net.sg

Just what I need, competition! They do look good though. .

Hi  there , I have recently bought  myself a sv  and I am very pleased with it. it's such a lovely ride and so smooth as well. i wondered if you could help me , I didn't get an owners  manual with and I'm trying to find my way around the machine . i will get a Haynes manual soon , when I can afford one . I thought I'd ask around first ,to see if anyone's got a spare.  hope you can help .          cheers .MK

Man of Mystery! If any one can assist please send MK an email at MKn62@aol.com 

Hi John,
I have just added on some baby indicators to my SV, I spent some time deliberating on how to fit them at the front as the originals have quite a bespoke fitting. I thought it might be worth sharing this with people who are also going through the same pondering as I did.

When you remove the originals you are left with a big gaping hole, but I found that you can modify the original rubber stalks to take a nut and bolt type indicator.

Once the original indicators are removed you need to remove the lens and the clamp inside that holds the rubber stalk to the plastic light fitting. Once this is done the Light pulls away from the rubber stalk. Then take a sharp knife and cut the rubber stalk at the point where it would go inside the plastic light fitting (taking care to cut straight... ). You are then left with a shorter stalk that just protrudes from the fairing. This stalk has a hole through the middle that is large enough to allow the indicator bolt to go through but not large enough to let the nut come through, which beds itself nicely inside the stalk.

I have attached a photo of the finished conversion, forgot to take photos as I was going as was too busy worrying in case it did not work, still it turned out ok in the end...... better than the orange beacons that come as standard I fink... :-)

Cheers, Jody

I had to crop Jody's photo down in order to show his mod as best I could.

The planned trip from Lands End to John O'Groats is now less than a month away - 5th July departure from Lands End. The list of interested participants has inevitably dwindled and now there are only three of us making the entire journey. (Stuart and Val Davies and myself.) That's not an entirely bad thing as it provides a greater degree of flexibility. Several others have expressed an interest in joining in for some of the trip and it would be great to meet some of you. I will be raising money for Hope House in memory of Kevin Jones and the Davies' will be raising money for children with learning difficulties. Obviously, any donations gratefully received. Please email me directly if you are interested in participating in any way.

John,
I have some photos where I mounted a Givi A750 on a second generation 2003 SV650(naked).
go to: http://homepage.mac.com/vinnyfalcone/PhotoAlbum13.html 
I think our fellow SV riders will be stoked at the prospect of an A750 on the new SV. Also, I needed a way to slide my bike into a corner of the garage. This is the most cost effective solution.

Vinny Falcone

Strange that two emails on the Givi fairing/new SV should turn up at the same time

As I never stop customising my mind is now grinding the idea of converting  my naked to a cafe racer. For a quick conversion I think I'll copy the Suburban Bars, I'm sure you've heard of them. The thing with these bars is that you don't have to worry about headlight brackets and other problems associated with clip-on conversion. Now I have to figure out their dimensions. Can you help, maybe you know of someone who has them? Not sure if it's a good idea to post this on the net though, bet Suburban won't be too pleased! :) (I don't think they'll mind, they don't have the patent on this design, it's been around for years, they were called Ace bars back in the 60's)

I'll end up doing the clip on conversion one day though as I still think its neater looking. You know me by now. I want everything to look perfect.

To convert to clip-ons new brackets have to be constructed, a new shorter brake feed pipe and re-positioning of indicators. This takes time. The problem with Malta is that we have no Winter, so no winter project season (don't expect any sympathy from me, or anyone else in the UK ;-). We can ride all year long, and come Sunday and my bike is not roadworthy makes for a very sad Steve! Sometimes even good things can be bad! (I can never get to much sunshine)

Regards,

zunkus
Think positive and keep the balance

Can someone help Stephen with some dimensions? If you have Suburban bars, it won't take minute to measure up and drop him an email on sspiteri@mps.com.mt

Hi John
Have also posted this on the forum. If any one in the midlands area or futher away wants a ride out on 10th August the Ribcrackers are running a treasure hunt round derbyshire with a B-B-Q in the evening see the attachement for futher details or www.ribcrackers.co.uk .Last year we had about 60 bikes out on the treasure hunt everyone enjoyed them selfs. Hope to see some poeple on SV's there I  ride a blue SV650S and have regullary used the site for information.
Thanks
Richard Hawkins(MOO)

I'm closing the donation fund today. Thanks to everyone who donated. I visited Karen last week and she told me that she is having discussions with Hope House about a permanent tribute to Kevin, perhaps buying something for the Hospice that a plaque could be attached to. Karen's own fund for Kevin is in excess of £1400, so along with our £325, there should be enough to buy something really useful in Kevin's memory. 

Karen also asked me to say a few words to you all. She and the children have taken great pride and solace from all your kind words.  Grieving isn't easy, but she feels extremely proud knowing what a positive impact Kevin had on the people he come in contact with and that he was so highly thought of. John.

Last month (May 22) we had an email from Pete Smith showing the damage to his SV after an argument with a Suzuki Swift. The forks were just a bit bent! He mentioned fitting GSXR forks and sure enough he has, here are is his comments.

oh yes...  what a change!!  they are pretty stiff and over the little bumps on the road a lot can go into your arms, but i can live with that as it corners so damn well it's silly. I went up my fav bit of road and could go through the corners about 15-20 mph faster than ever before and still felt like i could go faster. I'm going to need a track day to find out just how good they are...

I really like the work done by Justin Matz (see June 6), and am writing just to say well done! I also noticed the brilliant job on the frame. Mirror like polish. Did you do that with the engine in place Justin?
Can you write some details on how to get such a finish? I did some work on my brother's XJR400 forks, cylinder head. I also polished my levers and starter motor on my SV650.
The way I tackled it was:
1/ Remove paint with paint remover.
2/ File down with a fine file the heavy imperfections
3/ Sand with 1000 grit dry paper in one direction only so as to leave as few scratch marks showing as possible
4/ Sand down with 2000 grit wet paper, again in one direction only.
5/ Rub down with autosol until your elbows hurt.
6/ Buff down and polish with either a buffer (if you're lucky enough to have one), or with a polishing cloth.

One suggestion; I think you should spray the spokes black. The contrast is not good enough to show off the polished rims.

Only in Malta could you do this. Imagine how long this would last in January in the UK. Looks great though.

Hi John How's it going. I've been looking for a way to fill in the holes left by the grab-rail after it is removed and the seat cowl is fitted. Might be worth adding to the FAQ's if anyone else wants to try (or improve). Cheers Stu

  1.35M download. Doc format

I found this pic that a guy from the rideout website took at the MCN Summer thing at Donnington on Saturday. Nice paint job, don't you think? I have asked him if it was okay to send to you for the site, and he said okay. I don't want to be responsible for a court case!

Looks damn fine. Looks like someone had a more interesting weekend than me, unless you enjoy plumbing bathrooms :(

SV650 Suspension FAQ

Is the GSXR 750 front end a straight bolt in? From what yrs? 

Pre-SRAD gsxr stuff goes right on, only requires changing the steering stem bearings from ball to roller. EZ. The hot racing setup: get a 98-99 GSXR600 front end. Its fully adjustable and as light as they get. Its also (arguably) too short, requires a custom upper triple clamp that allows the forks tubes to sit lower than they normally would. You'll also need to press in the SV (or pre-SRAD gsxr) steering stem into SRAD lower triple clamp. Add gold valves and it doesn't get any better than this. The downside is cost, its the most expensive front end out there, the wheels are expensive, and the upper triple will set you back a couple of bucks as well. 

For pre-SRAD stuff, get a 93?-94? GSXR 1100 front end (kayaba forks). These are the longest gsxr forks out there, allowing the most adjustability. The 750 Showa forks work too, but are 15(?)mm shorter. If I did it over again I woulda held out for a 1100 front end, more ride height adjustability. 

Does this require changing the rear shock as well to maintain balance between the front/ rear? 

Yes. If you stiffen up the front end w/o increasing the rear ride height you will find that the bike has way too much weight on the back of it. As you get moving quickly (100? mph or so...) the bike will start wobbling, then headshaking. Bad. Very bad. When I bought my bike it was stock, it was friday pm, and I was racing the next day. Added preload to the front forks to get the proper sag. It wobbled BAD. Dropped the front ride height, and it still wobbled. Played around in EVERY morning session (pissed off race control..) trying to get the bike to work, then I gave up and put it back to stock preload and ride height and it stopped wobbling.

Is there a tangible gain for the average street rider? 

No. If my SV were a street bike I'd put emulators (and springs) in the forks and a GSXR shock on the back. For about $400 you'd have a top notch suspension setup. The emulators are outstanding, I raced them for 3 years on my hawk and highly recommend them. They provide 90-95% of the benefit of a cartridge+gold valved front end, and I honestly believe they work better than a non-gold valved cartridge fork. Nope, I'm not sponsored by race-tech, I just think their products are outstanding...

-Mitch in MI Maximum Overdrive Racing: http://www.reish.net/maximumoverdriveracing  Sharkskinz / Street-n-Comp / M4 / Reish.Net / Service Honda

Here are a couple photos of my latest mod; a 1997 rs250 Aprillia fairing. It was somewhat of a problem to fit (more discouraging than difficult). The project involved quite a bit of cutting and shaping to get the right look, while still retaining a semi-factory appearance. A lot of the "cruiser
guys" here in the U.S. think its an almost entirely stock setup (good for my fairly fresh fabricating abilities I guess).

Hi John, I got the carbon tank nearly finished over the weekend: sourced an SV tank, used the ol' PLASMA cutter on it (Wow, everyone should get one of these!) to section out the gas cap area, fuel outlet and low fuel sender bosses and bonded them into the carbon tank. I'm even running the overflow vent so I'll have the full factory connections for everything. I'll send pics once it's complete.

For today, I thought I'd send pics of my first track day at Thunderhill Raceway here in CA. These are from last year, prior to the yellow paint scheme but now that you've seen my leathers, you might understand the color choice.... So for those of you worried it was a trainer queen, the bike actually does run and gets a reasonable workout. The highlight of my day was going around the outside of a Mille R while holding off an RC 51 for the entire session. Battle of the Twins! But before you go thinking I'm fast, I also got totally humiliated by a guy on a KTM Duke and another on a stock FZR 400. But I can say with (biased?) authority, my bike looked cooler! Ride safely, Chris Baker

It's a great looking machine. It's a good job you don't live closer, I'd be around every 5 minutes to help work on this machine, and play with your toys....a plasma cutter.....I've heard it all.

A date for you diaries. I took this clipping from this months Performance Bikes. A good excuse for a ride out and after the b***cks the local press wrote about Kev's accident, a protest close to my heart. I'll do my best to be there. John

"Stories of Killer Death Bikers From Hell have been shifting copies of local newspapers ever since Al rode his Ariel Square Four through the local nunnery back in '59. But the situation in Wales is getting so bad disgrunted riders have organised a mass ride to protest against their image as 200mph suiicde junkies. One rider said 'It's a failure to educate drivers on how to look properly at junctions that causes the biggest problem. The local press is having a field day, even though at least two of the recently reported fatalities were actually the driver's faults. It seems the biker is guilty 'til proven innocent"

To that end, a rideout has been organised, starting at 11am on Sunday June the 29th, from the Ponderosa Café at the Horseshoe pass, to Colwyn Bay."

Hello john,   At long last we have our own Irish sv site.  http://www.irishsv650.4t.com  Soon to be irishsv.ie   Thanks John

Hi John - Just thought I would send you a picture of the low-to-high level can conversion I have carried out on my baby!! I had the hanger made for it - more pics can be sent if people want a closer look! Steve - a.k.a. Belfasts - belfastbiker2003,
 
 
Thanks john !!

Hi john,   Just recently bought myself an SV650. I recently fitted a set of Renthals which have made the world of difference. I could not believe the difference they make, they give the rider much more control over the steering and give a great riding position.   Also after reading some reviews on your site about exhausts I decided to purchase a high level race can from Carbon Can Company. I live in Blackpool which is only 10 minutes from where they are based so they built me one up from scratch. Its 50mm shorter than a standard can so that it doesn't stick out at the back. I cannot believe the difference this has made. I'm absolutely over the moon with it, it sounds awesome and is a real head turner. Fitting was a lot easier than first thought. After making the cut its simple from there. I definitely recommend it. I've attached a photo anyhow for you to take a look. Personally I think it looks well. I've a few more modifications in the pipeline so will let you know in the future.   Keep up the good work! Paul

Hi John   Hope everything's well,   These are the pics from the Glasgow rideout, 10th May 03   All in all there were 8SVS 1SVN and 1Hyabusa   Everyone had a great time and were looking forward to doing it again   Cheers Ross 

A lot of people have been asking if I have a large version of the site logo. Up until a few days ago the answer was no, but with the power of paintshop pro and a small chisel, I have managed to produce a fairly accurate copy of the original. I've saved it in TIF format to keep the quality high and the size should be more than big enough for anyone wanting to produce T-shirts and such like. Look in the goodies section 

Hi John my name is Gary, was wondering if you could add my site to your links page at all? its a site for us sv owners up ere in scotland, i only have the site running a short while but am trying to get it established within the sv world, the site is expanding and getting changed/updated daily, the site address is www.sv650.tk  cheers Gary. T'is done

Some of you may remember that Simon got taken out by a U turning geriatric some time last year in Malta. His brother Stephen, has been helping him rebuild the bike since with the help of the readers of this site. Glad to help.

Hi John, Well, I finally got around to laying up my carbon/Kevlar tank. It's 2 layers of carbon, a layer of Kevlar, then a layer of fiberglass and a final layer of carbon. The Kevlar is only running along the sides as that's the area most likely to take a hit in the case of an accident. Carbon is light, but drag it along the road and it grinds right away. Not the hot set up when there's fuel on the other side. A layer of Kevlar provides a nice safety net. Overall, it turned out pretty well for a first effort. Not perfect but it's getting mostly painted. And let me tell you, it was a royal pain to make. LOTS of complex shapes to cover. Still need to do final trimming then fit the gas cap and fuel outlets. Then the bottom gets bonded on and I'm away! I think I'll sacrifice an SV tank, cut the whole gas cap mounting area out and bond that in from the underside. Then I can run the standard locking cap. Not the lightest approach but very sano, matching key and keeping with the 'from the factory' look I'm hoping for. With a bit of luck, I'll have it done this coming weekend, assuming I can find a donor tank. Then it's off to the painter again. You'll be happy to learn it's going back to blue. I'm thinking about the blue on the Subaru WRX.. We'll see. Thanks as always for the great work on the site. Ride safely, Chris Baker

Looks absolutely delicious to me, it's a pity to paint it.

Hi there John! Just got my bike back from the first service. Asked them to rejet my bike while they where at it. The bike is a 02 SV650S and the Jet is now 142 and the needle is on the third groove.
Attached is my dynosheet, 71.6 HP, 61.9 Nm (that would be about 45.7 lbs/ft) without even touching the airbox. I am a happy SV owner :-)

Best regards. Anders - Sweden

Hi, John. I'm what you'd call a born again biker - having passed my test in April - and after a lot of research and some good advice I selected an SV650s as my first bike - picture attached.
 
After a thousand miles I'm still more than happy with this great all-rounder and would recommend it to anyone in the same boat as me. Now all I need is a sexy cut down number plate hanger, a new can and it will be complete (well apart from the numerous other 'essential' biking items of course).
 
Congratulations on a great site and a vital resource for newbies like me and I look forward to meeting up with some of the members next time they're at Box-Hill. - Miles Welcome aboard. You can plan next years rideout if you like ;-) (I  like the handle)

I'm writing this just after the rideout. A long trip for me this time but well worth the effort. The buzz of seeing so many SV's never pales and I can see that everyone feels the same way. It's great feeling when people come up and say 'Hi'. It's just a shame that there wasn't more time to talk to everyone. A nice aspect of this rideout is that I didn't have the worry of organising the ride itself, for once I could just tag along and let someone else drive, whilst I enjoyed the scenery. Thanks again to Steve, Mark and the rest of the team for doing such a good job. Not forgetting that the rideout was in memory of Kevin Jones, donations raised on the day came to £190. Adding this to the postal donations brings the total close to £315. I'm sure he'd have been well chuffed. 

May did not have the best riding weather I can remember, most of my trips have involved rain at some point. Happily the rideout was fairly dry. I finally got around to replacing the Avon front tyre and now have matching Contis. A strange choice I know, but I'm well pleased with the rear, it seems great in the wet, I don't recall one 'step out' except for an emergency stop in the wet, even then that was down to me being heavy footed. 

Stickers. I sold loads of site stickers on the rideout, thanks for that. I do make a profit on these, but this is being given to the server owner to buy new hardware. So the first batch of stickers has paid for a new 80gb HD. 

New server. A lot has been going on behind the scenes. Steve Nance who hosts this site has decided to build a new machine at his expense. The current machine is old and slow, consequently it runs earlier versions of Linux and web server s/w. Simply upgrading the s/w would not be enough to solve our current problems. The new server will be used for Steve's other projects not just this site. It will be a attached to a network that serves his local community and will have a nice fat T1 connection (loads of bandwidth), again given free. All this will aid reliability because the machine is physically close to Steve, whereas the current server is 200 miles away. You can see why I wanted to contribute something to this endeavor. The new server is up and running but not yet ready for live service. The next task is load a new forum engine, probably phpBB. This forum looks light years ahead of what we are currently using. With a new forum I can add more boards for people that need them, such as rideouts based on location. Once the new forum is in place, we'll move the rest of the site over and disconnect the old server. The old forum will be available in read only mode. The bad news is that you will have to re-register on the new forum, it's just not possible to migrate the data over.

John

Nächste Seite       Vorige Seite       Alle Seiten