My new(ish) bike.

[DarkLord]

Well, the time has come at last - I have finally upgraded from the GT250R, affectionately dubbed the "Hyoslug".

Last night I picked up my first "big" bike - a silver 2001 Suzuki SV650S. After an extremely boring bus trip to Auckland, which mainly constituted of staring out the bus window as we chugged along at about 90kmph and inwardly complaining that I was having to travel to Auckland without the constant roar of a de-baffled V-twin in my ears, I got into the central city and after much going round in circles I was able to catch a bus out to the sellers place, which was only a short walk from the bus stop. Money was exchanged, forms were signed, pack racks were fitted, gear was put on and both parties emerge in a happier place - one substantially richer, the other substantially poorer but with a new set of wheels and the honor of being able to say that they no longer owned a Hyosung.

From then on I was expected at my friends place for the evening. Had a lot of fun trying to find my way around Auckland, as per usual. Eventually I was able to find State Highway 16 and got a good chance to have a bit of a play with the power. Some people in cars for some odd reason saw fit to try and race me, so I very quickly put them in their place - something I was never able to do on the Hyosung. During the fun of this, and trying to find my way around Auckland at night, I managed to miss my turn off and get lost a grand total of twice before I finally ended up at my friends place at about 10:50pm. Beers were subsequently downed to celebrate my newly found Suzuki ownership.

This morning - I am woken up with "lets go for a ride!!" as it was a beautiful day in Auckland, so we went and did scenic drive. We loaded up on breakfast and coffee before hitting the twisties - which I soon discovered was not a good idea as I found myself pulling over and lying on the grass by the side of the road due to nausea.

Late morning I pack my gear up and ride back to merry old Taupo - my first real long distance ride on anything bigger than a 250cc bike. The weather was good, and both the bike and I were certainly up for it, which was fun as it gave me a good chance to really experience the power and how to use it. I can't get over the fact that the thing has 6 gears - I still don't really know what I am supposed to do with them all. I can quite happily cruise at 100 in 4th and it's only sitting at about 7,000 RPM. The roll on power is nice too - don't need to change down gears to pass cars, even in 6th. The ride back flew by pretty quickly - especially on those long straights on the back roads out towards Tahuna, Morrinsville and Matamata - yee haa!!

I get home, and I decide I am not satisfied yet so I give it a damn good top-to-tail clean. Turns out it scrubs up quite nicely and the grease and dirt actually comes off the metal quite quickly and easily - more than I can say about the Hyosung. Tomorrow afternoon I am off for a ride with my mate who's bought my old bike and psycho22 - we are apparently going out to Raglan!! Should be fun.

Good points -

1. The bike feels solid, well designed and well engineered. I got so fed up with the cheap, tacky, clunky feeling I always had on the Hyosung. This is a noticeable step up in quality.

2. The power, though not astronomical, is more than enough for what I intend to use it for. I can pass cars without having to plan 2 weeks in advance to do so.

3. I paid for the thing in cash - no more pissing around with loans, interest rates, monthly repayments and all of that crap. I own it, baby.

4. It's not a Hyosung.

5. It's not a 250cc.

6. It's a Suzuki.

7. It's a V-twin with a debaffled pipe.

8. It's not a Hyosung.

9. Did I mention it's not a Hyosung?

Not so good points -

1. The rev range seems a bit funny at times - sometimes when I open the throttle, the revs seem to drop before suddenly increasing. Anyone know why this is?

That's really about it for the not so good points at the moment. There are a few areas of cosmetic damage on the bike which are going to be interesting to try and fix, but I am sure I will figure something out. The engine seems solid and I am sure it will serve me very well. I promise to put up some photos once I get some of that Mothers Chrome Polish stuff and get the headers looking brand-spankin' new.

Also - anyone know what the best tyre pressures for these bikes are?

So yeah, that's about it from me. Feeling pretty good right now. It's nice to be a Suzuki owner and to finally be part of the BBC (Bigger Bike Club!)

Cheers and beers!!

DarkLord.

[megageoff76]

Hey, good stuff mate, and welcome to the SV club.

[p.dath]

1. The rev range seems a bit funny at times - sometimes when I open the throttle, the revs seem to drop before suddenly increasing. Anyone know why this is?

Are you perhaps making the engine labour by being in a too higher gear (aka, revs too low)?
If your not doing, say 7kRPM, and you want to poor power on, then change down first.

[LBD]

Congrats...I have heard mostly good about these, rode one recently....nice, except seat like plank.

Enjoy!

[DarkLord]

Photos of the new beastie... taken out at some random dam I ended up at when I went riding with a mate this afternoon.

[Blue TLS]

Nice, congrats and welcome to the v twin club of suzuki. Now go sign up at
www.tlzone .net they have an sv section and will be glad to answer any questions about your new wheels as well as providing a wealth of information on stuff you dont need to know Really great bunch of guys some of us are even members here

[davebullet]

Congtats DL!

I've had my SV for about 6 months. It's major weakness is the budget suspension IMO.

It's a great bike to own from a tweakers / tinkerers perspective.

Get yourself onto the following major SV dedicated forums for your throttle question:
http://forums.sv650.org - The British one.
http://www.svrider.com/forum - The American one.

For your reference - the frame changed and engine from carburettor to fuel injection with the 2003+ models. The first generation or "curvies" (pre 2003 - ie. X,Y,K1 and K2 models) as the brits call them, and 2nd gen or "pointies" are 2003 (K3) +.

Mods I've made to mine so far:
Oxford heated grips
Bar risers
Loobman chain oiler

I've just got a set of Intiminators delivered (front fork catridge emulators) to see if they improve the bump compliance / pogo nature of the front suspension.

Many folks on svrider.com have swapped out the rear shock with a Kwaka ZX10 or GSXR shock.. even GSXR front end swaps.

Search around on the above SV forums to grab a sevice manual.

The engines seem to be pretty robust and on the FI models (2003+) only seem to need tappet clearance adjustments / spark plugs and that is about it. Cam chain adjusters seem to be the only thing in the engine that can give trouble. My 2004 (K3 / 2003 model / year) has only done 13,500 and runs very well. Can't tell the exhaust you have on, but I recommend you wear ear plugs as the noise will damage your hearing in the long run. Check out plugs for lugz or ear buddies on here (they offer KBers a discount) - I bought the latter.

Welcome to the SV club!