2004 Suzuki SV650 Naked -Dr jeckle and mr hyde

[Motoracer]

ok ...so who is brave enough to spill the beans? Like I wouldnt have guessed as I know how fast MR goes

Ok I will.

I wasn't reving past 6-8K or so. When he got the stone chip, we must have only been going at near legal speeds.

I only had to open it up when I was trying to keep WT and Cycosis in sight and Frosty wasn't around at that time.

He took real good care of your baby

[SteveNZ]

I've got the '03 model, the differences are pretty minor between the two, mostly alterations to bits of the rear subframe etc.

Brilliant little bikes, lots of useful power/torque, handles well, brakes are "okay".

Mine has had a few things done to it, so it looks (IMHO) a lot better, is more comfortable, handles better and accelerates better. Apart from the Neptune exhaust, I imported everything from the states, as prices in NZ are bordering on theft for OEM parts.

The standard seat is not particulary comfortable at all, so I replaced it with the OEM gel seat which is a massive improvement. (The seat is something like $600 if bought from the agents, I paid about half that from Oneida Suzuki - www.oneidasuzuki.com - in New York).

Lots of carbon-fibre protector bits (fuel cap, zip-guard, triple-clamp guard etc.). (Oneida)

Neptune pipe with removable restrictor (gets a bit "too" loud when combined with the below) (www.neptunemufflers.co.nz)

Renegade/Pipercross airkit - basically amounts to pod filters. Big improvement to responsiveness, and the induction roar is great. (www.renegadeproducts.com)

Dynojet PowerCommander3 USB - big improvement to power delivery, much smoother. (Ebay)

Fender eliminator - got rid of the god-awful "snow shovel" rear mudguard and minaturised it (Ebay)

Timing retarder bypassed - Didn't want it, didn't need it, I prefer my throttle-response thanks very much...

Heavier fork oil and 10mm spacers - massive improvement to the front-end handling, no longer bottoms out anywhere, and still has enough give that my throttle-hand doesn't bounce about when riding over lumpy roads (i.e. - just about any road within 5Km of home).

Ironically, the naked version is more comfortable for taller people due to the slightly more upright riding position, but you lose the wind defence due to not having the fairing. As I rarely exceed 100Km/h (honest guv'), it isn't too much of an issue except when there's a strong headwind. I've never owned a bike with a useful fairing (Being 6'2" doesn't help), so I really can't say how much better the faired model is at speed.

Absolute bargain of a bike for $10K, but it hugely benefits from a few small modifications. (Needs a new pipe to get rid of the big hole in the midrange caused by the catalytic convertor and needs the front suspension dealt to ASAP).

Bear in mind, I can't be bothered with sportsbikes. I don't need to do 200Km/h+, and I couldn't use anything beyond 90hp...

End result:

[FROSTY:Me]

that wont pay for my braided lines MR and um keep in mind she knows we beat the main pack to kaiwaka. lol
They were um legal speeds? --where on the german autobahns

[merv]

OK reading this thread I'm happy to take it that this is MadDuck's bike and that the damn shop hasn't done two like this.

[FROSTY:Me]

OK reading this thread I'm happy to take it that this is MadDuck's bike and that the damn shop hasn't done two like this.

well You can think that but I can neither confirm or deny

[MadDuck]

OK reading this thread I'm happy to take it that this is MadDuck's bike and that the damn shop hasn't done two like this.

Yeah its my bike Merv. And if it wasnt for these nutters testing it and taking it to the limits I would now be back to walking. If not I could have been the next blasted statistic. My aim is to ride to the SI in December so got the bigger bike in heaps of time to get used to it.

I guess I will take stock over the next few days before I make my next move. I really dont think it is acceptale to send any rider out in the road on and unsafe bike. Maybe I am being nit picky but ....

[FROSTY:Me]

nutter --she calls me a nutter -sheesh a more sane person you could not find
Now wheres My bloody prozac
all was done in the name of rider safety.

[merv]

nutter --she calls me a nutter -sheesh a more sane person you could not find
Now wheres My bloody prozac
all was done in the name of rider safety.

Like any good test pilot would eh!

As for the shop, it only reinforces my view that as far as bikes go its best if you can do most thigs yourself given its mainly your life you are risking.

Glad you are getting this bike sorted.

[FROSTY:Me]

hmm--now it seems that a crowd in uk are doing after market front spring kits for SV's. The old Gs400 handlebar fairing I have lurking under my house might fit -what a cool bike to customise Im thinking

[svs]

Racetech do aftermarket spring kits for the SV, and emulators to make the suspension more like the higher spec cartridge types.

I own 2 SVs now. An '02 naked with sorted suspension (race tech springs and emulators front ohlins rear) on the race track and a '99 half faired SVS on the road (heavier oil and spacers up front GSXR750 shock on rear). Fixing the suspension is the best thing to can do to these bike.

I've never had any problems with comfort and can ride all day on the road without problems. Also covered close on 50 thou on the road with nothing breaking (It has been serviced properly tho)

[HenryDorsetCase]

this is the thread I have been trolling for.

thanks for the references, particularly Oneida

I have the opposite problem: I am really short, so my arse is too far forward on the seat and its very uncomfortable: I did 1150km in three days earlier this week and every night was walking like John Wayne.

gel seat sounds like a plan!

[FROSTY:Me]

An interesting development. I bought an SV as a race bike and the first thing I noticed was the incredibly thick seat padding.
It just felt totally wrong to me.
I took the padding off of the seat base and just glued a 12mm thick piece of
high density foam on to the base. It made a huge difference to C of g and to how planted I feel in the bike.
I cant recomend going quite that far but loosing 50mm of the seat padding will make no difference to comfort levels but will make ya so much more planted when stopping and starting.

[zadok]

Have you heard of the Hyosung? It is the SV650 only made by a different company.
http://www.hyosungmotors.com.au/ROADBIKES.html

[FROSTY:Me]

its not quite dude--its heavier and has less HP also it has yumee upside downers dag namb it.
I wish in hindsite Ide bought the cagiva raptor 650 -which had the highest specs of all ot the SV based bikes.