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Lurker SV

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18K views 50 replies 19 participants last post by  oldrider  
#1 ·
Lurker/Blanka SV

I've been reading up on just about everyone's build and random post for a while now and finally made the jump.
This will be my first bike and my first build.

As with everything I'll probably be one of the slowest builder on here and will probably a good amount of help along the way as to "what should I do here"

Now that the intro is over, I'll go ahead and post up a couple of pictures..

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Not a big fan of the orange and all that but that will probably go anyway. Since the blinkers and break light didn't work I figured I'd remove the tail and see why.

Well nothing was connected. The tail cowl was basically held on thanks to gravity and the subframe.

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Some of the 'goodies' that came with it:
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No clue what the clip-ons are, but they front break is adjustable and it's got a scott steering dampener.

Bike is lowered all around, which I'll need to figure out how to adjust and raise back up in order to gain some ground clearance.

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Not really sure if this is the stock shock, but the adjustment part at the top looks a bit butchered for whatever reason.

:edit: Looking on ebay at stock shock, definitely not stock - looks more like 636, I guess that's kinda good :) :\edit:

Plan is:
- fix all the wiring so I have working headlight, taillight, breaks and turn signals
- update the front end (probably find a new light and windscreen)
- correctly secure the gauge and fix the wiring
- used sv650 subframe and complete tail (unless there's another bolt-on?)

As of right now I plan on getting it back up in running order so I can learn how to ride. Then I'll more than likely start on a phase 2 with more mods and more fun.

Any input is welcome :)
 
#2 ·
nice bike and your right that is not the stock sv shock. If it is the 636 shock that would explain why the bike is lowered. It's a much better shock and infinitely more adjustable than stock but the height is about a half inch shorter if I remember correctly. Good to see another sv owner on here though.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the reinforcement on the choice!

Trying to look around right now what subframe will work (bolt-on) with the sv, and that I like, so I can get a proper tail - Don't really feel like having to pick up a welder and learning all the metal work just right this minute. haha
 
#9 ·
Thanks Alatus - I was wondering what they were :)
I also noticed that the rearsets are all woodcraft CF Motorsport.

Overall those are great surprises!

I actually just ordered one of the missing pieces for the shifter rearset.

Also on order are:
- lift stand
- bar end mirrors
...
- gloves (it's getting cold here :)
 
#11 ·
Did a little bit of work over the week and sunday.
The plan is to get the bike into a semi-riding form so that I can ride it and also clean up some of the mess.
I already know I'll need to do a new subframe, undertail, and everything underneath it. The battery tray was 'cut' and this makes the battery drop a bit more than I'd like.

Couple more pictures:
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Cleaned up wiring, ecm, etc. Working break light and turn signals also. I've ordered a bunch of relays and whatnot to create the tail light and break light combo with the only one LED strip.

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Tail back together - As you can see the subframe is 'pushing' on the cowl - I removed the passenger seat since I wont have one for a while and also like it better like that. The tape is to cover the previous mounting holes.

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Move on to the front headlight area - needs to be cleaned up bad! You can't tell in this pic, but when I picked it up, the front light was very dim. Turns out the guy had only 2 of the 3 prongs on the plug - Once all 3 prongs are used, the light is actually usable which is great if I don't want to fiddle with a new light setup for now.

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Front cleaned up - I have wayy more respect for people that do proper wire tucks.Right now I pushed everything inside the frame, and checked that it wasn't close to anything that moves or metal that gets hot. I'll probably need to have another take at it once the headlight and gauges are back on.

And a quick shot of how she sits :)
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I need some gauges idea - The current one works ok, but no neutral light and pretty ugly. Eventually I'll go to a vapor type setup, but for now, I'd like to know what could be picked up for cheap, be esthetically pleasing and well functional. I'll go through a couple of builds to see what people have used other than their stock ones.

I like the 636 gauge, but I can't find it under $100 so really at this point a vapor would be better - For those of you that don't know what they look like:
Image



More to come....
 
#13 ·
I was thinking the same thing. That is really dropped low.

Only thing I can think is that if the rear shock is shorter then maybe the front end compensates for that to keep the geometry right, plus a little extra for quicker steering?

That shock has dimensions printed on it, what does it say? Does the shock have a remote reservoir and is that spring red? Looks like it could be a fox shock.

Bob
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the input guys - I do plan on raising the bike overall -
Plan is to raise the clipons towards the top, to keep the front a little lower than stock or maybe get it back to stock height haven't decided yet. I'll raise the rear for sure though, right now the coil-over spring is completely lowered. I'll probably have to remove it to get it back to a good height.
What's a good height to keep the bike slightly lower but not as high as stock? I also heard that it's never a good idea to have the front lower than the rear, as it may offset the geometry of the bike?

The shock looks like the gsxr/hayabusa shock, but has the red spring - It still says Suzuki motor company on it though.

Once I get my lift stand i'll be able to take it off, clean it up and figure out what the hell it is. Should be getting those on Thursday.
 
#15 ·
Basically, you need to set the sag to fit you. I'm not sure about the length of the shock that's in there, but I could measure my stocker uncompressed and off the bike for you to compare to. You'll adjust preload by tightening/loosening the two rings above the spring on the rear shock. It looks like you've got a preload adjuster on the top of each fork, so that's a plus, but it doesn't look like the adjuster I have on top of my SV650S forks, so I don't know what to tell you there. SV650N's didn't get preload adjusters, at least not in the 1st gen.

Here's a down and dirty article about sag and setting preload:

http://www.sonicsprings.com/catalog/setting_sag_street_tech_article.php
 
#17 ·
The forks he has are almost certainly SV forks. The top and bottom triple are SV650N stockers and the fender and bottom fork legs look right. After a hard second look, the forks appear to be SV650S forks (because of the single axle pinch bolt instead of having multiples). The preload adjuster at the top is just different than mine is all.
 
#18 ·
Thanks heineken for all the help and insight- It's always hard to figure out what you get on the bike when you've never seen it before (and don't get a parts list..)

I'll read up on how to set the sag and if you feel like measuring the stock sv shock, I'd appreciate. Otherwise no big deal, I'll figure out how much higher I'd like it and just set it as that.
 
#19 ·
Small progress, but progress non-the less.

I finally got my bike stands in with some CRG mirrors...
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This seems unrelated, but I like to have somewhat proper tools for the job. I had previously received and install some swingarm spools, which allowed me to raise the bike with the stands received
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Since the bike was up, I went ahead and cleaned the chain all around with WD40 and a plastic brush. To my surprise it wasn't rust but actually a gold chain that showed through. Once cleaned up I applied some Dupont Teflon Dry wax lubricant.
I also worked on the shock and proceeded to raise it a little bit. I didn't have the correct wrenches for the shock, but some tein and jic-magic ones worked alright.

Rear of the bike is now raised!
Image


Doesn't seem like much, but will prevent me from taking the exhaust out on bumps and possible pot-holes. I'll have to raise the front over the weekend.
The gauges are still off the bike and I'm thinking creating a custom mount for them. Basically take apart the faces and fab some sort of fiberglass mount to hold it all. Not sure if that's worth the hassle though... I'll have to see if anyone has done something similar.

That's it for today :)
 
#26 ·
Haha yea the windscreen was on of the first thing I removed. I think i'll go with my foglights for now, as I don't plan on really driving at night just yet.

I'll look into the acewell type setup, but really may just end up buying a vapor gauge to make things easier.
What sucks is that all the idiot light display is an extra $150 or something...
 
#25 ·
Here are a couple of different $10 lighting solutions I've had on it. Keep in mind, they're not nearly as bright as a real headlight, they're just more compact, easier to mount, and much cheaper. Both were better than the Acerbis fairing I started off with.

An old setup (flat 4"x2"):
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And now (round 2 1/2"):
Image
 
#28 ·
make sure you dont ride the bike with the front end as low as it was in the first pics. It doesnt look like you have enough fork travel so your forks dust seals/wipers will bottom against the lower triple. It looks like you have a solid base to start with.

Also be careful with the WD on that chain. WD causes rubber to swell so the orings on the chain can swell and allow dirt/water in.
 
#29 ·
I used wd40 to clean the chain ( i know there's mix feelings about it) and then applied a LOT of dupont teflon dry wax. Hopefully that did the trick to correctly lubbing the chain.

I'll probably go through another session of dry wax before I ride it anyway, thanks for the heads up though!
 
#30 ·
Picked up some 04-05 GSXR tail pieces, an actual sv650 subframe (although modified)

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This all should be put on the bike this week, we'll see... I need to figure out a latch system for the seat - Maybe I should just buy the stupid $20 gsxr used ebay latch and get it over with.

For those that use those latches are they pretty standard size, or they change from year to year?
 
#31 ·
For those still interested, I got around to installing the 'stock modified' sv650 subframe and started playing with the position of the tail.

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Then side view:
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At this point I realized that the subframe had been cut to have more of a racy/higher tail than expected. This was somewhat of a good surprise.

I did need to chop off some small tabs in order to get the plastic to fit, but here's how it'll probably look once I'm done:
Image


And from the side:
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The under-tail plastics will need to have some brackets made for it - I was thinking about going the rivet way like cabbie did during his gsxr 600 k5 tail build. But since i'll need to fabricate a couple of extra things, I may just pick up a HF 90amp flux core welder and launch myself into that.

What's funny is that I thought I would ride the bike a lot before changing so much. Turns out i'm changing a lot before I even ride it. Guess sometimes it's easier, plus that way I'll be more careful and happy to ride it places
 
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