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Page 2 - Bayouboy’s SV update July, 8, 2005 (latest photos and
details of further mods) I still remember the day I was reading Motorcyclist magazine and
saw the first press release images of the new 2003 Suzuki SV1000 and
SV1000S motorcycles. Ever since I read ride reports on the Cagiva
Raptor with the TL1000 motor I was hoping Suzuki would build the
SV1000 and bring her to the USA. I knew right then and there, I was
going to be one the first to be riding one in my area.
Shortly after this I was surfing around the web for more info on the
bike and came across the Suzuki SV1000 Message Board. There I found
I was in good company as quite a few others around the globe shared
my enthusiasm for this motorbike. It was January 2003 and the SV was
not scheduled to make an appearance in US showrooms for another 3
months. Soon the Suzuki SV1000 Message Board mutated into the SV
1000 Portal, probably the single best motorcycle support forum on
the web today (AndyW.....no probably about it! ;-). Hardly a day
went by during those months that I did not visit the SV website to
learn more about this bike and motorcycles in general for that
matter. It had been 18 years since I rode a motorcycle (my last a
1982 Yamaha 750 Seca) so I was quite the rookie when it came to two
wheeled know-how. I read with fascination and eager anticipation
about all the different ways to modify the bike to improve various
aspects to suit ones particular tastes.
Well the anticipation got the better of me by the middle of February
and I went down to the local Suzuki dealer and put down a deposit on
a silver naked. It was kind of a toss-up for me as to which one to
get. I liked the fairing of the sport model but thought my 44 year
old body would probably appreciate the naked’s ergos better so
that’s what I went with. Seven weeks later, on a Friday afternoon, I
get a call at work from the dealership informing me my new ride had
arrived. I took the rest of the day off and raced over to get my new
bike. But when I got there all they had was a silver and a copper
SV1000S. The nakeds were going to be a few more months coming. I
experienced some mixed emotions, it was great to actually see the
SVs in person, but I was very disappointed my bike wasn’t there.
(AndyW - "disappointed" the man says....not any more me thinks!)
I threw a leg over the “Don’t sit on the Bikes” sign, grabbed the
throttle and twisted while making big V-twin engine revving sounds,
“Vroooom, puh, puh, puh, etc. “You know the ergos really aren’t all
that bad” I started to think. Then I asked the owner if I could take
her for a short test ride and he agreed. I was fine with the ergos
but it was only a 15 minute jaunt. The bike was superb, a beautiful
soulful motor with gobs of torque. When I got back to the showroom I
told the owner I might take the sport model but I wanted to sleep on
it as I didn’t want to let emotion alone make the decision. After
all a lot of careful thought and consideration went into me picking
the naked to begin with and I would have to play all those arguments
over in my head once again. I shook hands with the dealer and told
him to expect a call from me the next day. Well he didn’t have to
wait for the call, I was waiting for him to open the dealership the
next morning. He followed me home, gave me a ride back to the
dealership and I rode off on my new Silver SV1000S. That was one
year and 10,000 miles ago. I consider the SV1000S purchase one of
the best decisions I have ever made. I’m only kicking myself in the
ass for waiting 18 years to get back into motorcycling.
I’ve modified the bike heavily with the intention of making it as
much of a “Do Everything Well” motorbike as possible. I commute to
work on clogged up freeways, do aggressive street riding on the many
nice sets of twisties around, take off for week long bike trips
using interstate highways extensively, and do the occasional track
day. I only expect to own one motorcycle and since I like to do lots
of different things with it I need a versatile machine.
The first major modification I did was to put on the Yoshimura ¾
exhaust system with a Titanium RS3 race baffle can and a Power
Commander. At the same time I installed the Timing Retard Eliminator
and plugged up the inlet to the PAIR valves. This was a first for
me. I had never done any work on a motorcycle but the detailed
instructions available on the SV Portal website and the positive
feedback of others who had tried these mods enticed me to give it a
go. The results were excellent, the bike sounded much better and had
a significant midrange power improvement. I always liked the two can
look better than the one can look for twins but little by little the
one can look started to grow on me. Then when I modified a GSXR-600
ART carbon fiber /polished aluminum hugger so it would fit my SV I
was sold on the single can as it allowed an unobstructed view of the
hugger’s chain guard. Shortly after this I picked up a carbon fiber
front fender off ebay to match the rear hugger and installed a black
Targa undertail kit . The bike was definitely starting to come
together.
Then came an opportunity for me to put up a pioneering post on the
SV Portal site. I had been in contact with Helibars from day one
about a product for the SV1000S. They shipped me one of their first
production units which I promptly slapped on the bike. I posted
about the install and riding impressions on the SV Portal. It was a
fun post as I did the work in the kitchen of my house as I don’t
have a garage and couldn’t wait till the weekend to get them on. I
received a lot of nice comments about that :o). As mine was one of
the first SV1000S motorcycles to have this product installed
Helibars asked me to send them some images for their website. I
complied and a few shots of my SV are now on the Helibars website.
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Helibars make a world of difference and I highly recommend them to
all. The bike is much more comfortable with them and they are also
adjustable for height. So if you like the low stock bar position for
track days or aggressive riding all you need to do is loosen two 5
mm pinch bolts and you can slide the clipons down an inch or so
whenever you feel like it. The other mods that I made to improve
comfort are the addition of a Corbin saddle which is significantly
wider than the stock seat but still looks good, a slightly taller
Zero Gravity Double Bubble Smoke wind screen, ProGrips clipon grips,
and a Cramp Buster. The Cramp Buster is a little tab that attaches
to the throttle. You control throttle position by simply letting the
weight of your wrist push the Cramp Buster down. This method is much
easier than having to grasp the throttle and twist with you hand.
With all these comfort mods I can spend all day in the saddle
stopping only for gas and food, which I have done, and arrive
without any major aches and pains. |
| The pictures show the Helibars adjusted for
normal day to day street riding and then lowered 1.5 inches
(which is pretty close to the stock bar position) for more
aggressive riding. Click images to see enlarged |
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AndyW 18/04/2004: Bayouboy, can the Helibars definitely be
fitted with original brake and clutch hoses and without extending
the switchgear wiring.
Bayouboy: When I put on the Helibars I also switched to the
SS brake and clutch lines. I do believe that the Helibars will work
with the stock lines as they claim on their website. I ordered my
new lines 2 inches longer than stock and they are a bit too long.
The Helibars website claimed that the bars are two inches taller
than stock so that's why I ordered two inch longer lines. However
the bars are about 1 inch higher at the forks. The other inch of
height comes from the less steep angle relative to the stock clipons.
If I knew this when I ordered my lines I would have ordered them one
inch longer than stock, I think that would be perfect for the
Helibars. Although like I said the stock lines should work but I
expect they will end up a bit tight.
The only serious complaint I did have about the SV was related to
the chassis. I couldn’t get the forks to respond the way I wanted
and at triple digit speeds the rear wallowed quite a bit. It
actually made me nervous and I avoided triple digits for that reason
which of course is unacceptable. I also didn’t like the fact that my
stock front wheel took 38 grams to balance. I though this was
indicative of poor quality control in manufacturing and couldn’t
help thinking that this may be related to lack luster high speed
handling. So I took the plunge and ordered up a couple of big ticket
items. I got a set of black forged aluminum OZ racing wheels, and
had Traxxion Dynamics, a motorcycle race tuning company, rework my
forks installing new compression and rebound valves, springs, seals
and fluid, all matched for the SV1000S and a rider of my weight.
Traxxion also built a Penske 8987 rear shock for me using the
optimum shim stacks for the SV1000S and a rider of my weight. Now
the handling is razor sharp and it tracks dead on regardless of
speed- very very confidence inspiring. The rear end is also near
infinitely adjustable, I’m still exploring the different set-ups. It
all cost a bundle and it’s probably more than I need since I’m not a
racer, but it sure puts a Cheshire cat grin on my face every time I
hit the twisties.
To complete the performance mods I also put on Speigler steel
braided brake and clutch lines and replaced the stock brake pads
with Carbine Lorraine SBK-3 items. I also got a hold of a couple
extra airbox tops to modify the air intake properties. On one (my
main configuration) I removed the snorkel and cut a couple extra 2
inch x 2 inch holes in the back. On the other I cut the top off
completely and use it mainly as a clamp to hold down the BMC air
filter. I also keep the stock airbox handy on bike trips and use
that when it looks like nasty weather as I worry about rain getting
sucked into the engine with the modified setups. I also got some
dyno work done to make custom maps for different airboxes. For
protection I put on a set of Hamicad radiator and oil cooler guards,
SuperSliders frame protectors and I wrapped the rear cylinder
header with fiberglass to shield the Penske rear shock from heat.
The rest of my mods are for aesthetics. The blue and copper bikes
have nice color contrast with the silver frame. I liked the Silver
SV but I thought that there was just a little too much silver going
on there. I looked for ways to replace silver with black as I think
that is an attractive color combo. I already mentioned that the
black wheels and carbon fiber fenders began the transformation. To
continue with this theme I sent the Yoshimura exhaust out and had a
black ceramic coating put on it. I painted the belly pan black and
installed black Lockhart Phillips front turn signals. I also put on
carbon fiber upper fork clamp and gas cap trim. Finally I replaced
the passenger left side footpeg with one from a SV650 to get rid of
the unused hole for mounting an exhaust can. Now I think I have a
nice balance of black and silver.
Am I done you ask? Almost but not quite. The next mod to go on will
be an AFAM 17/42, 520 chain kit and a Speedo Healer to correct
speedometer inaccuracy. The stock running gear is 17/40, 530 so I
will get a little better acceleration and drop a few pounds.
Hopefully this will make city traffic a little more bearable and
give me a better chance against the 600s on track day.
All in all I’m tremendously pleased with the way my bike has turned
out. I’ve received lots of compliments on the looks and it’s really
an absolute pleasure to ride anywhere.
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