Quote from S14 DRIFT :

Only thing that's a bit worrying about them is tyre sizes. I rather liked the industry standard 120/70- 180/55. This gave me lots of choice in terms of tyres and stuff.

How will going to a 160/60 and a 120/60 affect both choice and handling?

Choice is just as wide ranging, every tyre you would have considered for your Kwak is available in those sizes too.
Handling wise, you won't notice the narrower tyre if that's your question. Most people use sport-touring tyres, I do, but I'm tempted to try something more racey this summer.

I'd say have a go on one somewhere, at a dealership. The v-twin isn't to everyone's taste, you'll find the engine braking intense after your Z, and not everyone gets on with the S riding position either. The brakes are cheap, but as long as they're well serviced are ample (a K4 will be due brake hose replacement btw). It's better than the sum of its budget parts though, and with a few fairly cheap add ons can be made a fair bit better still.

I've ridden plenty of faster bikes, and some much faster bikes. I occasionally feel like a change, but the SV just seems right for me, at least for now. More than enough to embarrass bikes with twice the power on the B roads too. "That a thou'?" "Nahh".

I plan to fit braided hoses, unless of course they are fitted already! I used to have an RS125 and after I got used to it, preferred the extra feeling and racey position of a sports bike. I'm about 6ft and I read it would be a bit of a cramp but hey, I can take it.

Can't borrow one, most of my gear has gone to shit and I need new helmet, gloves and probably boots at the least. Getting a helmet at the weekend hopefully and ordering the gloves tommorow!

Besides, I'm on a restricted licence at the moment and I doubt any place is likely to get one restricted just to let me test ride it.

Most of my riding is commuting although I do enjoy a bit of B-road scratching on the weekend, so stickier rubber is preferable! I'll see what comes.

There are only a few select tires (Pirelli DCIII's, some slicks) that don't come in a 160 rear.

Use a 120/70 front instead of the 120/60. You'll get a better contact patch, especially at full lean. You may need to raise the forks in the triple clamp about 12mm to account for the difference in sidewall height and maintain rake angle and trail.

Quote from Forbin :

There are only a few select tires (Pirelli DCIII's, some slicks) that don't come in a 160 rear.

Use a 120/70 front instead of the 120/60. You'll get a better contact patch, especially at full lean. You may need to raise the forks in the triple clamp about 12mm to account for the difference in sidewall height and maintain rake angle and trail.

So when I get new tyres fitted, I'll ask them to raise the forks about 12mm?

Btw thanks for your input on this. I'm quite looking forward to getting back onto the open road and getting back to my old habits(although not round any roundabouts!! )

http://forum.svrider.com/forums.php

Probably not a bad idea but they may charge you for it. It's pretty easy to do yourself if you have front and rear stands and a torque wrench.

They may also misunderstand what you mean, so you have to be clear that you want the front of the bike lowered by 12mm by sliding the bike down on the forks. Maybe also explain it's because of the higher sidewall.

"Can you fit a 120/70 front and lower the bike approximately 12mm by sliding the bike down the forks". Sounds simple enough. xD

Unfortunatly I don't have any stands or anything so I'll have to get them to do it, I'll just book it in for tyres and that and get the whole thing done as an hours labour.

Or just stick with the 120/60, it's absolutely fine. Change the fork springs and oil if you're looking to improve the front end.
Don't worry about the dimensions btw, I'm 6'3" and a bit, and I find it roomy.

I have a Kawasaki 650R which has a 160 rear tire, and yes you can get pretty much any tire you want in a 160, but I do find that the package deals and special offers are more often for the 180 rear tires...

As for the power of a SV650, anyone who really thinks they *need* more power for the street is compensating for something. An average biker on a litre bike wouldn't see which way a very good rider went on an SV650 if the road is twisty enough. Yes, a more powerful bike will give you bigger grins when you crack the throttle open, but in the real world, something like an SV650 has plenty of power for the street.

Quote from Michael Denham :

I have a Kawasaki 650R which has a 160 rear tire, and yes you can get pretty much any tire you want in a 160, but I do find that the package deals and special offers are more often for the 180 rear tires...

As for the power of a SV650, anyone who really thinks they *need* more power for the street is compensating for something. An average biker on a litre bike wouldn't see which way a very good rider went on an SV650 if the road is twisty enough. Yes, a more powerful bike will give you bigger grins when you crack the throttle open, but in the real world, something like an SV650 has plenty of power for the street.

yeah i ridden sv650.. they are great bikes!

i might get it this summer.. it's looks exactly.

Well, if everything goes to plan I will be collecting a beautiful blue K4 SV650s within a week. Although I doubt it very much, the bloke wants £2250 for a low milage (8600), with a full service history, with tax and MOT till the end of the year and new tyres, pads, battery and a couple of extras like single seat unit, crash bungs, tail tidy and noisy can with rem. baffles..

I very much doubt I'll be able to get it though - Which is a shame because for that it's a bargin, and very few will come along that are good like that.

what year? 04?


i might get a 03 sv650 7,000 miles on it for $2800 if this bike havent sold this summer.

Yeah it's an 04. Annoying thing is it has everything I would want done to mine. Doesn't seem like I'll get it though... and another one like this for this price will be hard to find.. everything's done to it, recently serviced and new consumables..

I'm guessing $2800 is a good price although I'm not sure of the condition (obviously) and any other modifications, let alone the exchange rate!

$2,800 = £1,932.56

Yeah seems reasonable enough.

Quote from Michael Denham :

As for the power of a SV650, anyone who really thinks they *need* more power for the street is compensating for something. An average biker on a litre bike wouldn't see which way a very good rider went on an SV650 if the road is twisty enough. Yes, a more powerful bike will give you bigger grins when you crack the throttle open, but in the real world, something like an SV650 has plenty of power for the street.

It's true that you normally won't ever use all of a bike's power - be it a 650 or a 1000 - on public roads. Except maybe on straights. However, I prefer a thou over a 650 because of the extra torque. The thing I love about my SV1000S is I can pretty much leave it any gear I want and I'll have ample power when I open the throttle, even at very low rpm's. When I'm riding my girlfriend's 650 twin (not a SV, though) I always find myself shifting gears a lot more. Plus of course you've got more juice left when you're already doing 130 km/h on a highway, for example, and you decide to overtake a bunch of cars or just let it rip for a minute or so.

That being said, the SV650 is plenty of bike for anyone on public roads

My first bike was a '99 SV650 Naked and it was a great bike. Real fun to ride, too. The main reason I traded it for my SV1000 was because I ride a lot on highways and the fact that the 650 was a Naked bike began to bother me. It was fine at speeds around 100km/h, but faster than that it became uncomfortable for longer trips. And considering that the speed limit on highways is 120km/h over here, I'm not one to be going 100 km/h on the "slow" lane So I started looking for something that would get me a bit out of the wind. I didn't want a supersport, though, so after doing some reading on the internet I decided that an SV S would be ideal. And while I was at it I went for the bigger version

So yeah, an SV650S is definitely a more than decent enough bike

I just got done doing a bunch of upgrades to my SV650S. I'll post pics after my trackdays this weekend.

Granted, it's not much to look at ATM. No front cowl or fairing to speak of for now till I get some race glass. I was planning on using the stock cowl for a while but it interferes with the clip-ons too much for my liking.

Upgrades include:
- Woodcraft clip-ons
- Woodcraft rearsets and pedals
- Woodcraft frame sliders (crash bungs)
- Motion Pro clutch cable (stock one was interfering with the fairing bracket, largely due to poor stock routing)
- Galfer superbike brake line kit
- Vesrah RJL front brake pads
- Motul RBF-600 racing brake fluid (DOT4)
- Goodridge rear brake line and fittings (the new rearsets mounted the rear master cylinder too high for the stock rear line, so this one is 2 inches longer)
- Repsol 10W-40 full synthetic oil
- Engine Ice coolant/antifreeze
- Bridgestone BT-016 tires (will be mounted this weekend)

Mods:
- hacksawed rear fender off
- removed all lights and reflectors
- flipped shift linkage around (to make it a GP shift pattern )

Nice set of upgrades there..!

Can't wait to see some pics. Stay sticky side down dude.

The BT-016 is a great tire, especially for the money (here at least they are a lot cheaper than Pilot Powers).

Oh yeah, and I switched it to a GP shift pattern.

Quote from Forbin :

I just got done doing a bunch of upgrades to my SV650S. I'll post pics after my trackdays this weekend.

Granted, it's not much to look at ATM. No front cowl or fairing to speak of for now till I get some race glass. I was planning on using the stock cowl for a while but it interferes with the clip-ons too much for my liking.

Upgrades include:
- Woodcraft clip-ons
- Woodcraft rearsets and pedals
- Woodcraft frame sliders (crash bungs)
- Motion Pro clutch cable (stock one was interfering with the fairing bracket, largely due to poor stock routing)
- Galfer superbike brake line kit
- Vesrah RJL front brake pads
- Motul RBF-600 racing brake fluid (DOT4)
- Goodridge rear brake line and fittings (the new rearsets mounted the rear master cylinder too high for the stock rear line, so this one is 2 inches longer)
- Repsol 10W-40 full synthetic oil
- Engine Ice coolant/antifreeze
- Bridgestone BT-016 tires (will be mounted this weekend)

Mods:
- hacksawed rear fender off
- removed all lights and reflectors
- flipped shift linkage around (to make it a GP shift pattern )

No suspension changes? Stock fork springs are far too soft for the track, unless you're a tiny chappy. The rear shock would be immediately discarded if I were building one for the track too.

I'm 5'7" and 150 lbs with full gear (130-135 without). Think Casey Stoner size.

I did alright on the stock suspension on my 1990 EX500 (albeit with aftermarket links to raise the rear 1.5") and that bike was even softer. The fork oil in that bike was probably never changed, either. Plus I'm still in the intermediate group.

Suspension mods are coming, though. They're going to be about $2,500 total.

My bike - well 50 lol

Pics of my old bike just been sprayed, getting sold tomorrow and my new bike.

Ning..ning ning ning...ning... ning ning ning ning... ning.. ning ning ning.. ning... BAWWWWWW

It's ok I guess. :rolleyes:

On topic(mine at least) : Seems like I'll be stuck with some commutery bike, TBH I'd happily have something like a CBF600S.. I'll see what money I can get together and go from there.

(want a hornet!)

Quote from Forbin :

I'm 5'7" and 150 lbs with full gear (130-135 without). Think Casey Stoner size.

I did alright on the stock suspension on my 1990 EX500 (albeit with aftermarket links to raise the rear 1.5") and that bike was even softer. The fork oil in that bike was probably never changed, either. Plus I'm still in the intermediate group.

Suspension mods are coming, though. They're going to be about $2,500 total.

If your class allows it USD GSXR forks are the obvious choice, with upgraded internals - whilst a race shock from Ohlins/RaceTech/Nitron etc etc is the money no object rear end solution.
I guess you'd be looking at cartridges/emulators if your class regs dictate you need to use the same forks as standard.

The front springs are just so soft. Even your fairly light frame is too much for them, particularly on track. The stock spring rate is 0.67kg/mm...... you'd want 0.80kg/mm or so at least I reckon. If you've improved the brakes you're only making things worse for the front end.

It doesn't have to be expensive to make a big improvement. £70 for linear springs at the required rate and fork oil to suit, and a gsxr shock for £45 makes a world of difference to every element of handling. What's that, $160 or so?

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

Ning..ning ning ning...ning... ning ning ning ning... ning.. ning ning ning.. ning... BAWWWWWW

It's ok I guess. :rolleyes:

Did'nt you have one of them