Tyres for SV650S

[slofox]

Hope this is not a repost but I can't find much with the search engine....

SV650S owners - what is your preferred brand of tyre for your SV650S? What did you think of the originals (if you bought new) and what do you like about your preferred brand? Muchos Gracias.........

[breakaway]

Pirelli Diablos. Had em on my 650, sticky as hell, even with my not-so-smooth riding style.

[Ivan]

By Far the COnti Attack Range heapsa grip and they can slide when you want them to but wont if you dont want em to great tires by far

[Pussy]

Gassit Girl ran Sportec M1s on her K5 SV650S for road riding... she loved them

[GSVR]

The brand of tyre (if you are buying a quality brand) doesn't matter that much as they are all good.

What you have to decide is if you want to go with a tyre similar to what you took off and get the same sort of distance out of them or put on something really sticky and have to buy another set much sooner.

So in a nutshell if you do lots of highway miles get a more touring orientated tyre. If you just go out for short fangs in the twistys or trackdays then get something more sticky.The dual compound tyres may help a litle if you do both. Or if you are rich just buy a new set every week and change brands until you find something you like.

On my SV I liked the Pilot Powers on the road as they are good in the wet and wear reasonable. At the moment I have some near new Dunlop 208s that I brought off trademe for $135 for the set that some person took off becuase they didn't have enough grip for them. At $135 I don't give a shit as they are a good tyre and are wearing really well.

Metzler Pirelli Continental Michelin Dunlop Bridgestone all make quality tyres that will be OK on the SV.

I'm surprised Pussy hasn't told you that the biggest gain you could make would be to get the suspension sorted.

[Devil]

The brand of tyre (if you are buying a quality brand) doesn't matter that much as they are all good.


Apart from the profile of the tyre of course...

Standard Diablo's being fairly square and tend to slow turn in, with a trade off of pretty good stability mid corner.
Pilot powers being fairly tall with a quick transition to full lean, which on a nimble twitchy bike like my Speed Four just made it feel dodgy, particularly in the wet. Or the Metzeler M3 which has a very progressive feeling profile on turning. Making it my preference, which suits the bike...

[Pussy]

I'm surprised Pussy hasn't told you that the biggest gain you could make would be to get the suspension sorted.

Haha...touche, Gary! :D
The stock Dunlop 220s on the 03 onwards SV650s aren't that flash.
The biggest improvement we made to Gassit girl's SV was the suspension mods. Quite honestly, you can make an SV really primo by doing the emulator/spring mods in the front, and fitting an Ohlins shock on the rear. The stock components let down the potential of the SV.
When modified, you end up with a great handling and comfortable bike, and your tyres will last better. If you're going to keep the bike, I recommend it

[Number One]

Quite honestly, you can make an SV really primo by doing the emulator/spring mods in the front, and fitting an Ohlins shock on the rear. The stock components let down the potential of the SV.
When modified, you end up with a great handling and comfortable bike, and your tyres will last better. If you're going to keep the bike, I recommend it
+1 :yes:

My bike was improved beyond belief when we swapped hubbies suspension set up onto mine.....lurve it lurve it lurve it! BTW - he ain't getting those bits back now!!! :lol:

[GSVR]

Apart from the profile of the tyre of course...

Standard Diablo's being fairly square and tend to slow turn in, with a trade off of pretty good stability mid corner.
Pilot powers being fairly tall with a quick transition to full lean, which on a nimble twitchy bike like my Speed Four just made it feel dodgy, particularly in the wet. Or the Metzeler M3 which has a very progressive feeling profile on turning. Making it my preference, which suits the bike...

I was only talking about brand in the quote you took why introduce profile? You could just as easily have said compound, construction,or thread pattern

Well as far as the Pilot powers go you have a choice of fitting a 70 or 60 profile tyre to the SV and the 60 is not steep at all IMO. Only thing I don't like about the Powers is they didn't feel that stable under heavy braking but this is not the sort of braking I'd do on the road.

Of course the speed at which you tip in is just just as much down to the rider and the way the bike is set up as the tyre you use.

[GSVR]

Haha...touche, Gary! :D
The stock Dunlop 220s on the 03 onwards SV650s aren't that flash.
The biggest improvement we made to Gassit girl's SV was the suspension mods. Quite honestly, you can make an SV really primo by doing the emulator/spring mods in the front, and fitting an Ohlins shock on the rear. The stock components let down the potential of the SV.
When modified, you end up with a great handling and comfortable bike, and your tyres will last better. If you're going to keep the bike, I recommend it

Stock Dunlops are quite ok if you stick to the speed limit and use the bike to commute with the occasional ride on weekends to visit your Gran.

I'm sure by the time this threads been going for a while every good brand of tyre will be recommended as they all make a reasonable tyre for this bike and everyone thinks what they like to use is the bees knees.

[Number One]

I'm sure by the time this threads been going for a while every good brand of tyre will be recommended as they all make a reasonable tyre for this bike and everyone thinks what they like to use is the bees knees.

Indeed - how long is a piece of string kinda thread eh. Anyone mention slicks yet :lol:

[Devil]

I was only talking about brand in the quote you took why introduce profile? You could just as easily have said compound, construction,or thread pattern

Well as far as the Pilot powers go you have a choice of fitting a 70 or 60 profile tyre to the SV and the 60 is not steep at all IMO. Only thing I don't like about the Powers is they didn't feel that stable under heavy braking but this is not the sort of braking I'd do on the road.

Of course the speed at which you tip in is just just as much down to the rider and the way the bike is set up as the tyre you use.
Dont mean the profile on the side, I mean the actual shape of the thing, particularly the front. Can make huge differences in the way a bike handles.

A lot of people dont realise this and just put it down to "brand X is shit"

[Pussy]

From my personal experience..... the Sportec M1s in stock sizes/profiles felt bloody good on the SV, nice tip in and very stable

[svr]

Because of the dodgy forks they dont like big rounded / squarish or worn/ scalloped front tyres (harsh high speed compression damping + leverage = bump steer at moderate lean angles).
The trouble with 60 profile fronts is that they have bugger-all sidewall to help out the suspension, and not enough contact patch for grip. I used to use the old Metzler Rennsports (RS0 or 1 front, RS2 rear) - quality tyres on the track with a nice soft feel and lots of feedback, and despite all the crap you hear about race tyres not working on the road they were good there too.
For the price of emulators / springs / setup you could probably just about get a decent front end with brakes off ebay - a much better solution.

[GSVR]

Because of the dodgy forks they dont like big rounded / squarish or worn/ scalloped front tyres (harsh high speed compression damping + leverage = bump steer at moderate lean angles).
The trouble with 60 profile fronts is that they have bugger-all sidewall to help out the suspension, and not enough contact patch for grip. .

Makes you sort of wonder why Suzuki put 60 profiles on this bike in first place. And most dealers will tell you you will ruin the handling if you mention changing the tyre to a 70 profile. Wonder what they would say if you ordered a 190 to go on the back!



I used to use the old Metzler Rennsports (RS0 or 1 front, RS2 rear) - quality tyres on the track with a nice soft feel and lots of feedback, and despite all the crap you hear about race tyres not working on the road they were good there too. .
X race tyres are great on the road they are cheap and arent squared off . And because they are cheap you can afford to keep changing them.



For the price of emulators / springs / setup you could probably just about get a decent front end with brakes off ebay - a much better solution.
For the price of making an SV great you can buy a GSXR which is already great. But even then you will have people saying you need to spend over 10 grand on aftermarket stuff to get it right.

[Pussy]

For the price of making an SV great you can buy a GSXR which is already great. But even then you will have people saying you need to spend over 10 grand on aftermarket stuff to get it right.

Depends on what you want to do. Out of the box, a GSX-R is not bad, but not startling.
Throwing a gixxer front end at an SV isn't a five minute job, and requires a lot of work to get the geometry right.
The difference to Gassit Girl's SV with Ohlins springs, Traxxion damper rods, Ohlins oil and custom set emulator poppet spring preload and rate was incredible. It made a budget set of forks perform like well set up cartridge forks, for just over a grand including everything

[GSVR]

Depends on what you want to do. Out of the box, a GSX-R is not bad, but not startling.
Throwing a gixxer front end at an SV isn't a five minute job, and requires a lot of work to get the geometry right.
The difference to Gassit Girl's SV with Ohlins springs, Traxxion damper rods, Ohlins oil and custom set emulator poppet spring preload and rate was incredible. It made a budget set of forks perform like well set up cartridge forks, for just over a grand including everything

But what did you do about the SV's horrible front brakes?

[Devil]

Because of the dodgy forks they dont like big rounded / squarish or worn/ scalloped front tyres (harsh high speed compression damping + leverage = bump steer at moderate lean angles).

Agree! Feels terrible!

[Pussy]

But what did you do about the SV's horrible front brakes?

We put Castrol Response Super DOT 4 fluid in(the stuff that comes in the silver bottle), made a good improvement.
Gassit Girl didn't race her SV, it was just her road bike

[moT]

shinkos or kendas are my preffered brand

[svr]

We put Castrol Response Super DOT 4 fluid in(the stuff that comes in the silver bottle), made a good improvement.
Gassit Girl didn't race her SV, it was just her road bike

SV forks flex and the brakes fade with all oils. And they look crap...
You can get gsxr forks with radial brakes for about 1k. Its not a 5 min job it takes maybe about 3 hours (emulators etc about 1 1/2 hours)
Having done both I recommend to anyone that will listen to do the conversion.
I traded my gsxr600 on an sv. The sv now owes me about 17k and handles about as well as the old gixer... (but with 20 less hp).
Nothing rational about spending money `improving' your bike - and its a lot cheaper for the factory to build it right from the start!

[Pussy]

The sv now owes me about 17k and handles about as well as the old gixer... (but with 20 less hp).
Nothing rational about spending money `improving' your bike - and its a lot cheaper for the factory to build it right from the start!

But you've spent 17K on a 2001 SV650, when you can get a brand new one for 11K?

Gixxer front ends may be an easy fit for a F3 bike (no speedo etc), if you like the stock valving, and don't mind changed geometry

[Robert Taylor]

I think its a little misleading to make a generalised comment about specific brands of tyre performance when there are so many dynamic variables that affect same. For example a specific brand, model and compound of tyre may feel very good on bike brand 'a' but will feel very average or even horrible on bike brand 'b'. The steering geometry, how the bike fore and aft weight transfers and the suspension calibration will all affect tyre performance and feel to the rider. It is overlooked how tyres are also part of the suspension action and how both should play their percentage part. In extreme cases such as ( for example ) the VTR1000 and the old Suzuki TLS / Rs the suspension was so non compliant and burdened with friction that the response to surface irregularities was abysmally bad, this meant that the tyres were attempting to carry much more of the burden of bump absorption. And this is exactly why bikes like these screw their tyres in a very short time. Ive ofen shaken my head when riders of these bikes have blamed the tyres when the tyres are not the source of the problem !!!
The standard SV forks are so woefully short of damping response that FRANKLY I dont think you can accurately assess the true performance of any front tyre on that bike. And in fairness a few other models with damper rod forks.
A word about the Traxxion damper rods that Pussy mentioned. The advantage with these is that they are actually straight and the bottom seating surface has more clamping surface area so that when bolted in, the damper rod centreline is actually on the same centreline as the fork tubes! This, allied with a top hat that is more closely toleranced means that there isnt a whole load of uncontrolled bleed as with the standard rods. The rebound hole size and this tight tolerancing means that when combined with a high quality wide temperature stability oil the performance is a lot more stable than with standard rods. Because of these advantages we have just landed more of these rods ex Traxxion. Added cost, yes. Better job, most definitely yes.
In deference to 'GSVR' pondering why certain manufacturers dont do 'this or that' the answer is simple, cost reduction. Fact.
And I have little idea where the 10k figure came from? Stock suspension on all makes and models can be improved, often substanially. And for less than half of 10 k using the very good bits. Or less again. Its a choice between a desire for excellence or an acceptance of mediocrity. As for me I always aspire to improve things and to my knowledge I dont yet think that is a crime.

[Robert Taylor]

SV forks flex and the brakes fade with all oils. And they look crap...
You can get gsxr forks with radial brakes for about 1k. Its not a 5 min job it takes maybe about 3 hours (emulators etc about 1 1/2 hours)
Having done both I recommend to anyone that will listen to do the conversion.
I traded my gsxr600 on an sv. The sv now owes me about 17k and handles about as well as the old gixer... (but with 20 less hp).
Nothing rational about spending money `improving' your bike - and its a lot cheaper for the factory to build it right from the start!

In fairness I think we all forget that the SV650 is made as a commuter bike only, and the factory never intended for it to be raced. And of course for Pro Twins you are only allowed to run the stock forks, allowable mods emulators and springs.
Anyone looking to 'refork' these or any other bike has to be very mindful of whether its going to adversely affect the rake and trail figures.

[GSVR]

In deference to 'GSVR' pondering why certain manufacturers dont do 'this or that' the answer is simple, cost reduction. Fact.
And I have little idea where the 10k figure came from? Stock suspension on all makes and models can be improved, often substanially. And for less than half of 10 k using the very good bits. Or less again. Its a choice between a desire for excellence or an acceptance of mediocrity. As for me I always aspire to improve things and to my knowledge I dont yet think that is a crime.

Actually Robert I was only pondering why the SV is fitted with a 60 profile front when SVR stated that a 70 offers more performance (according to SVR)? Maybe the 60 is a better tyre for the majority of riders that buy this bike.

The 10k was just a figure I plucked out of the sky. This is becuase there are people that will tell you to make a GSXR good it will need many aftermarket enhancements. Personally I think in stock form its better than 90% of the bikes on the road and 100% better than any HD so its all relative huh?

And people saying how this and that feels terrible on the SV its all relative again. It feels good compared to some of the other bikes I've owned in the past and some of them where great bikes in their day. Its a bit like someone saying that some cheap car doesn't perform like an expensive sportscar. But how many of these expensive sports cars do you see in the carparks at the supermarket? Hell if you turn up to a ride with a fast bike tricked out with all the top gear people are going to expect you to get a ticket. If you turn up on a standard GN250 and keep up thru the twistys with you'll get more respect from me.

[Devil]

I think its a little misleading to make a generalised comment about specific brands of tyre performance when there are so many dynamic variables that affect same. For example a specific brand, model and compound of tyre may feel very good on bike brand 'a' but will feel very average or even horrible on bike brand 'b'. The steering geometry, how the bike fore and aft weight transfers and the suspension calibration will all affect tyre performance and feel to the rider. It is overlooked how tyres are also part of the suspension action and how both should play their percentage part.
This is what I was wanting to say when referring to how the different tyre curvatures affect the handling of a bike and how some just dont suit certain bikes, but couldn't be arsed with so many words! Now get back to improving your turn-around time, Robert!

[Robert Taylor]

Actually Robert I was only pondering why the SV is fitted with a 60 profile front when SVR stated that a 70 offers more performance (according to SVR)? Maybe the 60 is a better tyre for the majority of riders that buy this bike.

The 10k was just a figure I plucked out of the sky. This is becuase there are people that will tell you to make a GSXR good it will need many aftermarket enhancements. Personally I think in stock form its better than 90% of the bikes on the road and 100% better than any HD so its all relative huh?

And people saying how this and that feels terrible on the SV its all relative again. It feels good compared to some of the other bikes I've owned in the past and some of them where great bikes in their day. Its a bit like someone saying that some cheap car doesn't perform like an expensive sportscar. But how many of these expensive sports cars do you see in the carparks at the supermarket? Hell if you turn up to a ride with a fast bike tricked out with all the top gear people are going to expect you to get a ticket. If you turn up on a standard GN250 and keep up thru the twistys with you'll get more respect from me.

Tall poppy syndrome? Same rider, stock bike and then same bike tricked out...what will be faster?
The reality is that many bikes with damper rod forks have woefully bad damping control and that is just unacceptable in this day and age. With that last commuter bike you cited do you realise you can bottom out the forks just pushing on them? Do you not think that that is in fact quite dangerous? How many commuters on these have suddenly grabbed a handful of brake, tucked the front and promptly fallen off?
Different people do indeed have different expectations and short of continually arguing the point I think what I said was a fair and worthwhile contribution. I didnt pluck anything out of the sky and therefore effectively mislead people. I remain unapologetic about having high expectations of how things should work and absolutely do not subscribe to the dumbing down now so prevalent in our society.

[GSVR]

Tall poppy syndrome? Same rider, stock bike and then same bike tricked out...what will be faster?

If the speed limit is 100kph the faster of the two may end up actually stopped due to demerit point limitations!



The reality is that many bikes with damper rod forks have woefully bad damping control and that is just unacceptable in this day and age. With that last commuter bike you cited do you realise you can bottom out the forks just pushing on them? Do you not think that that is in fact quite dangerous? How many commuters on these have suddenly grabbed a handful of brake, tucked the front and promptly fallen off?.

It was quite funny to see the wear on the brakes of my one owner bike when I brought it. The back brake disc was really worn and the front looked like it had hardly been touched. My conclusion was the rider used the back wheel as the main means of slowing down.

I think the reason comuter bikes have poor front brakes is to lessen the chances of the the rider going over the front panic braking. If they had better brakes they would not be as safe!

Everything has it limitations and a competent rider will know the limitations and not exceed them. My bikes got shit standard suspension and tyres that someone else rejected due to them not being grippy enough. I havent fallen off yet and when I do it will be most likely to be down to me not the bike!



Different people do indeed have different expectations and short of continually arguing the point I think what I said was a fair and worthwhile contribution. I didnt pluck anything out of the sky and therefore effectively mislead people. I remain unapologetic about having high expectations of how things should work and absolutely do not subscribe to the dumbing down now so prevalent in our society.

And I stand by assertion that its much better value to by a better bike in the first place than get a cheaper bike like an SV and try to get it to the same level of performance. Its not just the suspension, its the motor,brakes,overall weight and styling plus other factors I may have overlooked.

This thread was started by a guy wanting to know what tyres SV riders liked.
I tried to explan briefly that it depends on the sort of riding you do and the way your bikes set up will determine what tyre you would prefer. Devil made his point about the feel of different brands and profiles. All good. Others just spouted information with no real reasoning behind why.

Ideally I would prefer to fit new tyres every other week. But if I had a choice between this or being able to buy a better bike with the money I've saved in tyres alone the choice would be easy.

[Robert Taylor]

If the speed limit is 100kph the faster of the two may end up actually stopped due to demerit point limitations!



It was quite funny to see the wear on the brakes of my one owner bike when I brought it. The back brake disc was really worn and the front looked like it had hardly been touched. My conclusion was the rider used the back wheel as the main means of slowing down.

I think the reason comuter bikes have poor front brakes is to lessen the chances of the the rider going over the front panic braking. If they had better brakes they would not be as safe!

Everything has it limitations and a competent rider will know the limitations and not exceed them. My bikes got shit standard suspension and tyres that someone else rejected due to them not being grippy enough. I havent fallen off yet and when I do it will be most likely to be down to me not the bike!



And I stand by assertion that its much better value to by a better bike in the first place than get a cheaper bike like an SV and try to get it to the same level of performance. Its not just the suspension, its the motor,brakes,overall weight and styling plus other factors I may have overlooked.

This thread was started by a guy wanting to know what tyres SV riders liked.
I tried to explan briefly that it depends on the sort of riding you do and the way your bikes set up will determine what tyre you would prefer. Devil made his point about the feel of different brands and profiles. All good. Others just spouted information with no real reasoning behind why.

Ideally I would prefer to fit new tyres every other week. But if I had a choice between this or being able to buy a better bike with the money I've saved in tyres alone the choice would be easy.

Your skills in advocating mediocrity or worse are very admirable!

[Tony.OK]

I think the reason comuter bikes have poor front brakes is to lessen the chances of the the rider going over the front panic braking. If they had better brakes they would not be as safe!


:gob: :gob: :gob:

[GSVR]

Ok when a novice rider gets into a panic situation one of the survival reaction things they are likely to do is grab a handful of front brake. If the front brake is "better" capable of locking up the front wheel with just a reasonable pressure then the chances are greater for the front end washing out or the rider going over the top. The exception to this is if the bike had ABS but this is not on many commuter bikes I know of.

Maybe the use of the word "better" wasn't the best choice knowing how pedantic some kiwi bikers can be.

[Robert Taylor]

Ok when a novice rider gets into a panic situation one of the survival reaction things they are likely to do is grab a handful of front brake. If the front brake is "better" capable of locking up the front wheel with just a reasonable pressure then the chances are greater for the front end washing out or the rider going over the top. The exception to this is if the bike had ABS but this is not on many commuter bikes I know of.

Maybe the use of the word "better" wasn't the best choice knowing how pedantic some kiwi bikers can be.

GSVR, if you are already in a hole the best advice is to stop digging! Your argument(s) were already getting very thin but this takes the cake. The brakes are indeed already relatively weak on many commuter bikes BUT the inescapable reality is that the front end damping control ( and springing ) is woefully weak which causes them to blow through their stroke very uncontrollably. A correct engineering solution is to fix the source of the problem, not to fudge it by de-engineering the performance of a related component that exacerbates the problem. ( 3rd world mentality )
My original post on this thread was to illustrate that the suspension deficiency ( especially lack of forward pitch control ) has an adverse affect on front tyre feel, and to that end it would be unfair to malign the performance and feel of certain brands and sizes until the front is working properly.
So the comments were justified and in the spirit of offering thought without further silly recourse of splitting hairs.
Years ago I recall fitting a Pro Circuit exhaust to Shayne Kings then standard YZ125, when dynoed it lost a little horsepower to stock, when jetted to suit it picked up significantly in delivery and peak power. Later, after we ported the motor we redynoed the stock pipe and then the Pro Circuit, the gain with the Pro Circuit was then huge. Combinations.
This country is full of ''knockers'', someone may have tried the Pro Circuit pipe on a stock pipe, failed to jet to suit and then described to all and sundry that the product was rubbish.
As long as products are engineered by accountants there will always be issues, and to speculate that things are what they are for other reasons is ( frankly ) naive.

[svr]

But you've spent 17K on a 2001 SV650, when you can get a brand new one for 11K?

Gixxer front ends may be an easy fit for a F3 bike (no speedo etc), if you like the stock valving, and don't mind changed geometry

My bike is a road / race bike - retaining the speedo drive is easy if you use the standard front wheel.
The bike cost 10k new in '01 - I've since spent 6k in 7 years ensuring that its the bike I want to keep riding / racing.
When I first road an sv I couldnt stop smiling - its a fun bike - you just have to `finish building it' yourself because as RT said the accountants had the last say on it.
I've ridden gsxr's r1's zx's etc on the road and they make no real sense to me!

[svr]

Devil made his point about the feel of different brands and profiles. All good. Others just spouted information with no real reasoning behind why.


Aw gee thanks Garry!

[Pussy]

And that's exactly why we got the suspension modified on Gassit Girl's K1 and K5 SV650S, to make the bike she wanted. She now LOVES her K6 GSX-R750...with it's modified suspension

[svr]

Making a bike more capable of going faster has not necesarily meant that road bikes are far more enjoable to ride. In the early 80's your gs 1100 would weave a bit, the footpegs would drag, and you thought you were `on it', at say 100 around a 50km/h design curve. Now on the same curve we have bikes that can do, say, 140 around the same corner with the same visibility, road hazards and heavier policing. Do 100km/h and it feels like the bike is just laughing at you - where's the fun in that?
I'm not saying `ride crap handling bikes' I'm just throwing that out there as another variable when considering the bike you should ride for maximum sporting enjoyment.

[Robert Taylor]

Making a bike more capable of going faster has not necesarily meant that road bikes are far more enjoable to ride. In the early 80's your gs 1100 would weave a bit, the footpegs would drag, and you thought you were `on it', at say 100 around a 50km/h design curve. Now on the same curve we have bikes that can do, say, 140 around the same corner with the same visibility, road hazards and heavier policing. Do 100km/h and it feels like the bike is just laughing at you - where's the fun in that?
I'm not saying `ride crap handling bikes' I'm just throwing that out there as another variable when considering the bike you should ride for maximum sporting enjoyment.

Yes I hear what you are saying, I think though that there are a lot of bikes out there that are bordering on dangerous. Like the novice rider grabbing a handful of front brake on a low cost commuter bike that is undersprung and woefully underdamped. Its a sad indictment that on such bikes suspension technology has not advanced in over 30 years. Price pressures from the very shonky offerings from mainland Asia further stunts any progress in this area.
I look back at the stuff I used to ride in the 70s and 80s before I got sick of riding. Frankly, I prefer the march of progress and would much prefer to ride a modern machine with well sorted high quality suspension.

[svr]

Agreed - its a pity manufacturers dont put the same sort of effort into producing quality suspension that they put into a few more hp and revs every new model - particularly for nz roads which are rough as guts (do you nz road bikes would suit say 200mm travel?)

[Robert Taylor]

Agreed - its a pity manufacturers dont put the same sort of effort into producing quality suspension that they put into a few more hp and revs every new model - particularly for nz roads which are rough as guts (do you nz road bikes would suit say 200mm travel?)

Its not so much the length of travel ( although that kinda helps excepting pitch control / balance issues ) its the quality of that travel. Here in NZ we are becoming more and more attuned to sorting out suspension because of what you say, a high proportion of rough roads.

[slofox]

My thanks to all who have taken time to reply to this post. I have read pretty near all of your contributions.

In fact I was merely interested in preferred brands - not so much as to improve performance but to see what other riders liked and whether there was in fact a brand preference.

When it comes to performance, I am quite happy with what the SV does. Whilst it is not perfect, it is vastly better than many of the bikes I have ridden in years gone by - I started out on a 1953 Ariel with "linked plunger" rear suspension..(means "none") and went from there to several better machines over the years. At the moment the limitations of the SV are not so great as to make me want either to swap it or modify it. Instead, I choose to ride within its limits, which still gives me scope to hoon a bit when I want to, but keeps me sensible at the same time. I have no trouble with the front brake, not even under emergency stopping - in fact I didn't use the rear brake at all for the first few weeks on the new bike....... The first time I did have to stop in a hurry, a combination of change down and both brakes did the job admirably - better even than my little Benelli 250 would have done and better than I had expected.

Yes, the front forks are pretty crap and could be way better but like I said, I know how they function so just work with what they can do. The fun factor and general rideability of the SV is undeniable and the wide recognition of that fact was a part of my decision to buy it in the first place.

Thanks again all.

[Robert Taylor]

My thanks to all who have taken time to reply to this post. I have read pretty near all of your contributions.

In fact I was merely interested in preferred brands - not so much as to improve performance but to see what other riders liked and whether there was in fact a brand preference.

When it comes to performance, I am quite happy with what the SV does. Whilst it is not perfect, it is vastly better than many of the bikes I have ridden in years gone by - I started out on a 1953 Ariel with "linked plunger" rear suspension..(means "none") and went from there to several better machines over the years. At the moment the limitations of the SV are not so great as to make me want either to swap it or modify it. Instead, I choose to ride within its limits, which still gives me scope to hoon a bit when I want to, but keeps me sensible at the same time. I have no trouble with the front brake, not even under emergency stopping - in fact I didn't use the rear brake at all for the first few weeks on the new bike....... The first time I did have to stop in a hurry, a combination of change down and both brakes did the job admirably - better even than my little Benelli 250 would have done and better than I had expected.

Yes, the front forks are pretty crap and could be way better but like I said, I know how they function so just work with what they can do. The fun factor and general rideability of the SV is undeniable and the wide recognition of that fact was a part of my decision to buy it in the first place.

Thanks again all.

Glad you got something out of it despite ( for want of a better way of describing it ) all the ''to and froing''
I stand resolutely by what I said in that the front ends of bikes fitted with damper rod forks can be improved enormously. And that really we should all expect more, this ''technology'' has been stagnant for 30 years or longer with the only significant improvement friction reduction via the introduction of DU bushings. Arguably though that causes the forks to blow through their stroke more readily.
One day you might have to do a very sudden panic stop and you will curse those forks for their very poor brake dive control. I know I would because I know what improvements can be made, at reasonable cost.
The thread started as a question about tyre choice. I also resolutely stand by what I said, that suspension character affects tyre feel. Point of fact many problems blamed on tyres are in fact the fault of the suspension. Improving suspension to work as it should makes a significant and positive impact on tyre life. If the suspension is not working properly it overloads the tyres and their life suffers.
''The best youve ridden is the best you know'' We are in the 21st century and frankly we should expect better.

[slofox]

''The best you've ridden is the best you know''

Thanks Robert - your comment here certainly applies to me - one day when I am rich again I will wheel the bike into your shop for some upgrades.......

[Robert Taylor]

Thanks Robert - your comment here certainly applies to me - one day when I am rich again I will wheel the bike into your shop for some upgrades.......

No worries, the intent was one of information and provoking thought, not any commercial intent, as such. We are ever mindful of the affordability or otherwise of doing such work. I also think SVR made a very valid point, to the effect that manufacturers spend ever more on engines and other components etc but do little to improve suspension. In many ways very little progress has occured and we keep evidencing components that have gone to the PCD ( product cheapening department ) prior to production.
Its dissappointing that there are those that post who become in effect apologists for what the buying public are ''rationed''. Yesteryears Suspension Science is just not acceptable in this day and age of ( perceived ) progress.