SV650Sport front forks... Crap??

[possibleSVfuturerider]

Hey Guys..
New to the forum and currently on an '06 Fazer Sport (for sale). Im hoping to change now in the next month or so and leading the list... a Pointy Sport, fully faired. I love everything on the bike, and heard some great reviews... but all come back with one crucial problem... front forks... :(
Noticably ill miss the power but this gets me into the bent-over-sports-bike league

Whats the story lads from actual SV riders??

Are they to soft?
What would be a good replacement and cost?


Ive heard the brakes are fairly kack too...but braided should sort that out.

Thanks in advance...
possibleSVfuturerider

[Paul the 6th]

well, I had a cbf600 's' for 6 months before buying my pointy sv in december and I can safely say the brakes on the honda are much sharper. But the brakes on the sv are still capable - i think at some point I'd be tempted to uprate them with better pads/discs & lines but they're hardly dire.

as for the forks, I've not had enough experience to know what amazing and amazingly sh!t forks feel like but one thing I do know is, I love the SV. It's got loads of character, from the handling and riding position (suprisingly comfortable for a sporty position - did 120 miles over 5 hours today & my hands only started to hurt after 4 hours... oh and cramp in my inner thigh on 20 mins before getting home...) to the torque and engine note.

PT6^

[fizzwheel]

In my experience none of it is as bad as some people will have you believe,

Yes they are underdamped but its nothing major, unless you've been at the pies then I doubt you'll find it that bad unless you ride right at the limit all the time.

Saying that respringing the front end and changing the oil to something thats more suited for your rider weight should be an improvement. But to be honest we did this with my other halfs bike and I cant really tell the difference when I ride her SV back to back with my standard one....

As for the brakes, if you keep on top of the maitenance cleaning etc, then there is IMHO nothing wrong with the brakes either. Braided hoses might make a difference but only if the standard rubber ones are past their best, I definately noticed the improvement when I went to scintered brake pads though...

In short I would'nt be put off by either of the things you mention, its not like they are fixable for a small amount of money if it bothers you that much.

[northwind]

The brakes are perfectly decent IMO, the same parts turn up on loads of other bikes. Fazer brakes do tend to be a bit above the normal middleweight standard, mind.

The forks get a slating, mainly because they're the worst part of the bike- to me they stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the package as a whole. They're certainly not terrible, but they're a bit basic. They're also strangely specced, the standard springs are too light for 9/10 of all riders. A 10% increase in spring rate would be of huge benefit for most of us, and take away that squishy feeling. I don't understand why Suzuki haven't done this tbh.

It doesn't ruin the bike by any means, it still works very well... But IMO it's one of those few things that's worth upgrading on a fairly new bike, since better forks does let you get more out of the rest of the bike, it's a knock-on effect.

[Lozzo]

I'll go along with what's been said before. I have a K3 naked bike with standard forks which have fresh oil in them, they're a long way from being perfect but still capable. There's also a K5S in the garage, which has Racetech Emulators, .85kg springs and 15W oil in the forks. This bike is excellent, there's more feel from the front end than I had on the Triumph Daytona 955i that I had before and it handles brilliantly. it's well worth buying a Sport and spending the little extra to upgrade the forks, it makes a capable bike into a fine handling one.

As far as brakes go, the standard brakes/lines on both my SVs are more than up to the job. My ex has a K3 naked and I just fitted braided hoses to that, it really improved the stopping power on the standard pads. No doubt changing the pads for something a little more effective would improve them more.

[YZEtc]

Yes, the fork on my SV-650K7 was crap, I have to say.

I weigh 150lbs., and the problem for me wasn't that the springs and damping were too squishy soft, but that the damping character over sharp bumps was too harsh.
This made the fork seem cheap and crude, especially since I've had some sportbikes that came stock with some very good forks.

What I did was spend the money for some Race Tech Cartridge Emulators, installed them myself in an afternoon, and now have a fork that is good.
Whether or not you'll feel the same won't be known until you start riding the bike, yourself.

As for the front brakes, they work OK completely stock and good with a simple change to aftermarket HH-rated pads (I'm using Dunlopad HH along with Goodridge braided steel front lines).
The thing with me and the front calipers is that, like the fork, I've owned a lot of sportbikes in the past that came with excellent front brakes as standard equipment and since the SV didn't, it's definately noticable (noticable enough to gripe about them) though not the end of the world.

What makes them good instead of excellent?
You have to squeeze the brake lever harder.
If you have no problem with this, you'll wonder what the fuss is about.

[yorkie_chris]

Dive on braking annoys me, no idea what's in the forks but I presume they're standard. Also not much rebound damping so it tends to spring up quite a bit on turn-in.
I'm probably 12.5 stone with riding gear

[davidimurray]

As others have said the SV forks tend to be A bit soft. I'm thinking of sorting mine out soon. Of course if suzuki made them good then no one would pay the premium for the gsxr!

Having ridden my sisters 06 fazer I found it a very boring bike to ride. Throttle response was very soft and the steering was very light, you only felt like you were having fun when you were wringing the bikes neck. On the other hand I find the SV to be a bit more of an animal. For example, I found that if your coming around a roundabout on the fazer, you crank it over, see your exit, give it a fistfull of throttle and it slowly accelerates out. You do the same with the SV and the low down torque really makes a difference - you will shoot off the road if you give it a fistfull!!! You really have to control the throttle - I find it much more of a riders bike - you could just be lazy on the fazer. Also the SV doesn't turn as quickly as the fazer - again however I find the SV a lot more stable in the turn as it is less twitchy as it requires a bit more input at the bars. Again, it's more challenging to ride and I think it is more satisfying.

Of course what you don't get with the SV is the sudden rush of power typical of an IL4. Instead you get a smaller rush all the way through the rev range which I love. After the SV, when I tried the fazer I was very dissapointed as everyone says it is such a good bike - didn't impress me at all.

[yorkie_chris]

As others have said the SV forks tend to be A bit soft. I'm thinking of sorting mine out soon. Of course if suzuki made them good then no one would pay the premium for the gsxr!

You've made some important points there if you rearrange the words a little:
sorting forks out ... suzuki gsxr forks

Onto a winner there :-P

[northwind]

Not really neccesary though, like for me the front forks were pretty much transformed just by changing the springs to ones more suited for my weight. I love the GSXR front end/Ohlins rear, don't get me wrong :D it really is brilliant, but I wouldn't be unhappy with springs and oil and... Oh maybe an 05 636 shock.

[Robw#70]

Sorting the forks will improve the braking as there is less dive to take up when the brakes are used

[johnnyrod]

Echoing what the others say, the forks aren't GSXR quality but they aren't that bad. New springs for under £100 really help, also emulators are good, but really after a Fazer I doubt you'd be that bothered

[Cam_73]

I've noticed this in the last 6 months or so, also my SK3 hasn't had the oil changed yet as it suggests in maintenance schedule (doubt it would make that much of a difference). The prings on the pointy are about 0.6 Kg/mm as supplied. i am just on 12 stone and race-tech calc suggests a 0.81Kg/mm spring. Big difference.

There are plenty of options avaialble to uprate the springs for less than £100.

Or if you really wanted you could spend a shed load more changing the front end.

It's not a massive problem.

Cheers

[G]

When i first got mine i thought bloody hell these are abit soft, i was wallowing around corners bouncing about as i wasnt used to the engine breaking on the sv etc.

I dont have experience of many other bikes than a GSF500 or whatever it was i did my DAS on.

I then adjusted the front and rear suspension to max setting and it feels 1000x better, probably still not ideal but i wouldnt know any better.

I weigh 13.5 stone.

[Lozzo]

I've noticed this in the last 6 months or so, also my SK3 hasn't had the oil changed yet as it suggests in maintenance schedule (doubt it would make that much of a difference). The prings on the pointy are about 0.6 Kg/mm as supplied. i am just on 12 stone and race-tech calc suggests a 0.81Kg/mm spring. Big difference.



I'm less than 12 stone fully kitted up and the .85kg/mm springs I have in my K5 are absolutely perfect.

[flymo]

I enquired about this for racing, the difference being that you are almost always on the limit, especially during braking. I've had similar forks in an older FZR400 and they can bottom under heavy braking, but I mean seriously heavy braking. The effect can then be that the front of the bike begins to bounce as the tyre takes up the job of 'damping', and its not too good at it :-).

In the racing world Maxton are trusted pretty well with this area. The report from Maxton says the following; (specifically about the K3 I might add, but I doubt there is that much difference across models)

*****start
SUZUKI SV650

FRONT
The forks are a non adjustable type of fork and also very soft, they dive alot under braking and bottom out very easily, the SV650 has one of the softest front ends we have ever pushed because it is so underdamped and undersprung. We revalve and respring the forks taking into account the rider's weight and what he is using the bike for. The cost of the conversion is £250 plus VAT. Seals are £20 plus VAT for the pair and bushes if required are £20 plus VAT. We also supply a cartridge conversion, this involves replacing the original damper rod damping system with a modern cartridge system. The cartridge has pistons, shims and needle jets inside which is a modern way of metering the oil to give damping. The cartridge conversion also includes new fork tops with preload and rebound damping adjusters. This conversion makes the forks work like an GSXR600 fork yet it is spring and valved for the SV650, the riders weight and what they use the bike for. The cartridge conversion costs £360.00 plus V.A.T plus seals and bushes if required.
We also machine a cartridge conversion to suit the regulations for the Racing Mini Twins class. This cartridge is the same as the one above, but we modify the original fork tops to take our cartridge. We do this so the forks appear the same, but after the conversion the forks are easily adjustble for damping by removing the preload adjuster.


REAR
The rear shock is a fairley cheap unit but is O.K for what most people use the bike for. The spring on it is on the hard side and the the unit also has alot of damping inside it making it kick off bumps, this makes the front feel softer than it actually is. We have tried fitting a softer spring to the unit but it only makes the bike handle worse, as you end up riding on the damping. We supply a Maxton replacement unit which is a fully adjustable, alloy bodied, high pressure gas unit that adjusts via shim stack system, it has a spring to suit your rider weight and to suit what type of riding you do. The unit costs £405.00 but we also make a piggyback remote reservoir unit that has a second compression adjuster and ride height adjuster which costs £490.00. ALL PRICES EXCLUDE V.A.T.
*****end

So, it can get expensive but that all depends on what you intend to use the bike for. For racing, not much change from a £1000 on suspension alone, for road I wouldnt bother doing anything more than a regular service.

Mike

[ELR4ever]

If you want stoppers, you better get some uprated pads as well, SS with Carbon Lorraine SBK or something similar will get you all you need. The low end grunt on these twins is awesome.

[johnnyrod]

Yep SBK pads rock, so do Dual Carbon but they need to run hot so not great for the road. Re. Maxton, this is all too much money, how can they revalve damper rod forks? JHS offer the same thing, but damper rods are damper rods, they can only be taken so far. Seriously if you're gonna spend that much then get emulators to boot (£105) plus of course the new springs (£80). As for the rear, Ohlines etc. are also £400 but while the rear shock is quite average, fixing the forks is better VFM.

[Lozzo]

If you're under average weight, like me, then sorting the rear shock is almost a vital part of setting a bike up properly. Most Jap bikes nowadays come way too heavily sprung for me, I've found this twice now with my ZX9R and my Gixer Thou. Both rode horribly on the stock shocks, but were a joy to ride when the shocks were replaced with Ohlins and Maxton units.

[flymo]

I'm no Maxton sales person and have no personal gain in recomending them but you would be surprised at the difference a very good quality suspension setup makes. Adding emulators, weight suited springs and correct oil will definately improve over stock but they will never compete with a quality solution such as that from Maxton.

For the road I would find it very hard to justify Maxton units but for the track its certainly within a racing budget, and probably one of the best upgrades for this bike that you can buy.

Best value for the road in my opinion would be emulators, srpings and oil but take the time to get the correct springs and oil weight to suit the rider weight and rider style.

[metalmonkey]

If you're under average weight, like me, then sorting the rear shock is almost a vital part of setting a bike up properly. Most Jap bikes nowadays come way too heavily sprung for me, I've found this twice now with my ZX9R and my Gixer Thou. Both rode horribly on the stock shocks, but were a joy to ride when the shocks were replaced with Ohlins and Maxton units.

What is the average weight for a rider? I stray between 10 and 10 1/2 stone. So I'm on the light side!

[Lozzo]

Average weight is between 11 and 13 stone. I just creep in at the lower end of this and always find myself being bounced out of the seat on modern sportsbikes.

[metalmonkey]

Average weight is between 11 and 13 stone. I just creep in at the lower end of this and always find myself being bounced out of the seat on modern sportsbikes.

So It looks I'm well belows the average weight then, which is kool that should work in my favour, I have no clue how much my bike gear weight, but I will still be ligther then most ppl. So I just need to work out now to imrove my strengh and fitness, whcih is easier said than do, I have to bothered to train!

[johnnyrod]

When I got my Ohlins the guy at Harris said the stock spring was fine up to 15 stone. I'm only 10 but he asid ti would still be fine. FWIW works well for me, and the sag figures with and without rider line up.

[northwind]

It can be OK, but though there's a wide range that a spring can deal with the further off the mean you get the less ideal it is... I got a heavier spring stuck on mine when Ktech rebuilt it, and it did make a good difference, then I lost 2 stone and now it's too stiff :rolleyes:

[rob13]

Im just under the 13stone mark and find the brakes and suspension a bit divey. Its probably got worse in the 3 years ive owned the bike, but going to sort that in the next month with some sintered pads (braided lines went on last year but didnt notice a great deal of difference) and a set of hagon progressives with some new heavier fork oil. That way it should improve handling AND improve braking at the same time.

[johnnyrod]

My rear shock gave up the ghost at around 10k miles I think, not that unusual but still rubbish.

[Pete1987]

I find the brakes fine,

THe forks are a bit spongy for me, but i havent played with the preload settings on mine. tempted by some Hyperpro progressive springs for ?97 from calsport. But not sure yet.

[yorkie_chris]

Im just under the 13stone mark and find the brakes and suspension a bit divey. Its probably got worse in the 3 years ive owned the bike, but going to sort that in the next month with some sintered pads (braided lines went on last year but didnt notice a great deal of difference) and a set of hagon progressives with some new heavier fork oil. That way it should improve handling AND improve braking at the same time.

If it's feeling worse than when you first got it then it's probably the oils got a bit old and thin more than anything else

[Alpinestarhero]

Im 55 kg weight, I find the front forks ok but they are soft; when you put the brakes on the initial moments are taken up by the fork dive. Stiffen up the front end (springs and damping emulators) and this should have a positive effect on the braking aswell

Matt