Bagobones SV650

[bagobones]

Another bike as been added to the garage. It's a 2001 SV650 with about 10K miles. I have ridden Mr. Bones two SV's and have always thought it would be a blast to have one.

I bought it from a German engineer here in the USA on a short term work contract. He had to leave the country in a week, so he was ready to deal. I stole it for $1300. He had it listed for $2000 just one week earlier. I got with it an extra set of bars, bar ends, the official shop manual, some spray-on chain wax, and 2 quarts of synthetic bike oil. He had a short add-on muffler made by "schueller" that he was trying to get me to buy too, but I passed. It looked kinda goofy and was all scuffed up.

It needs a few things. First off, it needs some gauges. I'm not really sure where the original ones went-they are just gone. He had some kind of goofy little digital bicycle computer hooked up to the front wheel. It works, but....no. I found one of these "Vapor" dashboards by Trail Tech.

https://netsalesnw.com/75-600.html

Does anybody have any experience with these? It looks like just what the doctor ordered. There is an add-on kit that has a bracket and faceplate with customizable dummy lights too. Perfect?

It has Renthal bars on it so thats good. Slightly higher than stock and stiffer so I hear. He had made some kind of wacky crash bars for the grips out of aluminum stock that I have since taken off. They are pretty serious. He was an engineer after all. I think in Germany he rides down the center lane all the time and is always concerned about hitting the rear view mirrors of cars. Whatever. They are already Gone. The levers are carbon fiber-looking so those are aftermarket too. The original grips have to go. I have some nice spare Italian ones in the garage already.

Have gave me a mis-matched pair of mirrors. I think I will grab a set on Ebay that has the turn signals built in. This bike is missing it's front turn signals. Suggestions, anybody? maybe this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Motorcycle-Mirrors-Integrated-LED-Turn-Signals-/220707682724?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item336333f9a4#ht_2516wt_1161


The ugly fender is gone from the back. I would have scrapped that anyway. The license plate is bolted on under the seat all the way up under the back tire under the seat. An LED light is attached under there that illuminates the whole bike between the back tire and the bottom of the seat. I think it's legal, but barely. There are two LED turn signal markers mounted in the side cowling on either side of the pillion seat. I'm not sure that's enough visibility for me. Maybe an integrated LED signal/tailight?

I think I shall do the Mr. Bones SV650 muffler-ectomy and rip out the baffle pipe in the muffler. When I rode it today, it seemed like it needed to breathe better. Plus, Mr. Bones' bike sounds pretty bad-ass. The stock muff is too quiet it it's original form. As an aside, I have never before looked at upgrade can-mufflers. Holy smokes! They get expensive QUICK! I can't afford one of those. Gotta get out the hole saw.

The tires are also serviceable, but I would like some fresh rubber for the next riding season.

Now that I own a sport bike, do I have to get one of those stick-on mohawks for my helmet?

[dt]

That Vapor computer display looks pretty neat for that price. I had something similar on my BMW…all kinds of bells and whistles. I’ve never heard of that retailer though and they actually disclose that they don’t carry the full stock of their offerings in their about us page (a rare sign of honesty…hah!). Anyway, it’s in bikebandit too, and a few bucks less.

Now that I own a sport bike, do I have to get one of those stick-on mohawks for my helmet?

Yes. Yes, you do. 

[mrbones]

Great bike!

The vapor display looks pretty nice. I've used a Trail Tech on my ATVs before and it held up great except for the speedo sensor gave out after 6 months of abuse on the trail. I think that's expected in that application though. You'd probably be using the existing sensor on the SV. I like the stock gauges though as they seem nice and retro. A GPS is a good compliment to the standard ones. BUT, I also liked the digital gauges on my old '04.Where are the dummy lights? I can see the turn signal indicators. Overall, it looks pretty slick. Even has an hour meter and stop watch/timer. Is it water proof?

The ugly rear fender can be handy for mounting saddle bags since they give you an extra mounting point. I got rid of the rear signals and went with the integrated rear light. That also gave more space for bags. I was even able to mount my Cortech bags under the rear seat so no one can take them. But, no helmet lock. A couple of Givi hard bags would be best, but too expensive for me.

It's great owning a bike with such a large enthusiast community. Well, your Goldwing has one, too. But, not quite the same as thing since yours is the ANTI-wing!

[bagobones]

Update:

Been doing the obligatory reading and research that always goes with buying a new vehicle (when you're also your own mechanic). I have learned a few interesting things about my SV650. Forgive me if you have heard this info before.

Turns out that Suzuki went cheap on the suspension on these bikes to keep the retail price of the bike down.

Stock, the front forks are softly sprung and filled with very thin 5W fork oil (some say its 10W). They aren't air-filled like cruiser forks, and aren't adjustable in any way. Now, I can't tell what fork oil is in my bike, but I can change that easily enough. The springs, well... also hard to tell without taking the forks apart.

But looky here.. aftermarket preload adjusters. So I do have that adjustment, at least. Does the presence of these aftermarket pre-load adjusters hint that maybe the springs aren't original either? They seem stiffer than Mr. Bones' SV forks, but I can't say for sure without disassembling them. I think I'll add the recommended 20W fork oil, play around with the preload,  and see how it goes....

Also, there is evidence that this bike once had a rear shock upgrade....

The stock rear shock is a bit of a POS design. Preload adjustment only, no dampening or rebound adjustment. Stiffly sprung with not much travel and they bottom out easily when they wear out (like mine). I did some some research, and it's a pretty common mod to take a better-designed shock from another Suzuki like a GSXR or a 'Busa and fit it onto the SV. Those models had shocks with all 3 of the above-mentioned adjustments. The only real hassle with this upgrade is cutting onto the plastic battery tray to make room for the top of the shock.

But looky here...The battery box on my bike has already been cut!!!  However, the original shock was re-installed. SO, I have a low-mileage 2005 zx10R shock on the way-shipped to my door for $25. Of course, there are many BIG $$$ aftermarket shocks that bolt right on but those are made for track day gurus, not street warriors like me.

 

[bagobones]

The huge rear fender/license plate/turn signal assembly was hacked off this bike by the PO. He didn't do much to make it look cleaner - he just left the hacked off bits sticking out a little and tied some things down with zip ties. That's not how I roll. I found a great alternative to the $100 "fender eliminator kits" sold online that involves cutting a simple replacement plate and fitting it into the tail. There is a great writeup of this procedure and a template for the aluminum plate located here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/junej.hendry/scottishsv650site/fendermodtemplate.htm

and here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/junej.hendry/scottishsv650site/rse_end.htm

Kudos to the chap who did this write-up. I used more delicate and precise tools than he did, but this will explain the basic idea...

Below is my progress... Needs a little more trimming and some paint. I also didn't cut out as much of the undertray as he did. I wanted to only remove what I absolutely had to remove.

 

[bagobones]

Mufflerectomy performed Mr. Bones style. Some people just jam a long drill bit down there and put holes in that inner plate. Mr. Bones' trick with the dremel extension gets the whole inner pipe out of there. She sounds 1000 times better and seems to rev better too. I haven't yet had her out on the road to check on the performance, but it sure does sound AWESOME. I started to grind away all of the opening left by the hole saw, but it got tedious and it was killing too many dremel extensions. Not worth it. Black grill paint, done.

Also, official Suzuki rear luggage rack added. Gotta get whats left of the warning sticker off of there.

[dt]

It's looking good! 

Nice work on the fender.

[danh600]

Very cool thread. It's neat to see an old bike get a new life and owner. I am not much of a mechanic but love detailed stuff like this. Hopefully one day I will learn to work on my own bike.

[mrbones]

Nice progress! I've never seen a rack like that. Is that just OEM?

[bagobones]

Very cool thread. It's neat to see an old bike get a new life and owner. I am not much of a mechanic but love detailed stuff like this. Hopefully one day I will learn to work on my own bike.

Old?  Who you callin OLD?   I have been enjoying it's relative "newness". This is the newest vehicle I have ever owned and the only one I own made in this millennium.  

Years of my present vehicles:

1958
1981
1981
1984
1987
1992
2001

Glad you like the writeup. I thought it would bore people.

[bagobones]

Nice progress! I've never seen a rack like that. Is that just OEM?

Yep. NLA of course. Got that one on Ebay in a bidding war.

There are a couple of places online that sell aluminum racks that are edgy and more modern looking - and also cost $125+. I paid about half of that for this one. Still expensive, but like you said, I have never seen another one so they must be relatively rare to find used. The curved tubes look cool with the curved tube frame of the bike.

[dt]

Years of my present vehicles:

1958

I noticed that you keep finding projects to put in front of the Edsel. 

[bagobones]

Hmmm...  you're on to me.

[dt]

 

[bagobones]

 

I've been burned! Man, thats so funny.

I'll try to get something done on her soon.

[dt]

Here’s the LINK to return fire, no doubt when I least expect it. 

[bagobones]

.

[dt]

^  That poster site is great. One of the members of my Jeep Club did it.

[bagobones]

Ok. I got the 2005 Ninja ZX10R shock installed. It's actually pretty easy. The shock itself bolts right in, but because of the reservoir on the top it hits the bottom front part of the battery tray unless you modify it. A little dremel work and the cut was made in the plastic tray.

Oh, you also have to cut off a part of the metal hinge for the gas tank. There is a piece on the back side of the hinge with foam on it that holds the battery in place. This has to go too, and it's OK because the battery isn't going to be in that exact spot anymore anyway. Now the battery doesn't sit all the way down in the tray because it would hit the reservoir. Instead, it's on a higher ledge in the back of the tray so it sits up higher and doesn't hit the shock at all. I put the fusebox and the turn signal relay in between the frame and the battery to help keep in place. It is also held down by the bottom of the seat- there is JUST enough room to put the seat on top of it all.

I have not ridden the bike with the Ninja shock yet. A bouncy-bouncy test in the garage reveals a very different feel than the the original shock. It's already very obvious that this is a more refined shock. I got really lucky with this one too because it was a take-off from a race bike and had almost zero miles on it.

I will get a picture of the final layout of everything under the seat and take it for a spin ASAP. This was a fun and easy upgrade and I can't wait to test it.

[dt]

Nice work. That looks like an Ohlins mono. Is it, or something else OEM off the ninja?

[mrbones]

Nice work BAG!

It looks stock ninja shock, but wonder who the mfg is?

I might do this mod someday, but my bike is still low mileage so I left it alone. If I could get it to ride like my old CB-1 that I put a rear CBR900 shock on, I would be pretty happy. I had it so dialed-in, it was the best handling bike I've ever ridden.

[bagobones]

It's OEM off a 2005 ZX10R. I don't know who made it, and I can't seem to find the answer.

[dt]

Hah! I can’t find it either. I thought that they all just slapped like stock Betor or Ohlins monos in there. I had a OE Ohlins in each of my YZs, the BMW and Honda XR. Either way, looks like it’s got all the same adjustment functionalities.

[bagobones]

Figured out a way to mount the Vapor gauge. I took the clamps from the home made hand gaurds and used them with some "L" brackets and the Vapor bracket to get this setup. I wanted the thing closer to me so I could press the buttons. This would be hard to do if it were suspended over the headlight. Plus, these aluminum brackets put the unit far back enough from the ignition key so that there is no interference.

I'm in the middle of wiring it up now. This has been a challenge, because some of the wires on the bike are different colors than listed in the manual. More on that later.

[dt]

Holy crap! Look at that menacing space heater! What...are you trying to get a tan while working on your bikes?