sv suspension mods

[riktherider]

right. ive had enough of the suspension on the bike (99 sv650) and i fancy some project work. i want to put some usd forks on, but dont think i have the cash. so im thinking of some decent rwu forks. i really like the beefy honda or triumph forks, so i was going to go with the fireblade 95-6 ish era front end. really nice wheels to, any one tried to fit any of these honda parts before? im thinking that the yokes may need to be changed, depending on the stanchion diameter, which i could get off of something like a bandit 1200 etc.

now for the rear end....i know kawasaki is a keen choice of shock as it fits perfectly, but i want to stiffen up the rear as well. braced swingarm was my choice. now as im having fireblade front wheel, i should change the back too....can i nick the swing arm off of it too? anyone have one which could measure it up? like mounts for the shock on the frame. what sort of position are they and what length the shock is. bit of a big challenge, but all the parts on ebay are relativly cheap compared to gixxer stuff, hense why i'm thinking of these parts.

any help/suggestions would be great.

cheers

[sv650k4]

wot about the pre 2003 gsxr600 forks ther RWU and wont be as dear as USD forks.

;)

[Dangerous Dave]

SRAD 600 forks work great with the Curvy chassis, ask Yorkie Chris about this as he has recently done it himself.

[riktherider]

that was one of my options, but i just prefer the look of the fireblades. plus the quality of honda parts is a lot better than suzuki

[St0rmer66]

If you like the quality of Honda better then why bother keeping a Suzuki bike? The vast majority of the components will still be the same.

I think components from the GSXR series are generally a lot better quality than those from the likes of SV's and Bandits etc. You're making yourself a lot of work trying to get the fireblade bits on. Will also cost a lot more I expect (custom made parts and so on to get it to fit).

[sv650k4]

think the R6 front ends go onto the curvys if you prefer the yamaha bits any better than suzuki.

;)

[yorkie_chris]

that was one of my options, but i just prefer the look of the fireblades. plus the quality of honda parts is a lot better than suzuki

What makes you say the quality in the hondas is better? The cartridge in the SRAD isn't half bad.

[Lozzo]

Showa forks are Showa forks, whether they are fitted to a Honda, Ducati or Suzuki.

[riktherider]

the finish on suzuki parts are to be honest god awfull. how many people on here have problems with pitting on fork legs after just a year of owning their bike? furry bolts etc. ive had a honda before, and suzukis, and the laquer on the legs of the honda's is so much better. allways has been.
in terms of graffing it all together, i enjoy doing stuff like this. keeps me entertained. wereas buying a new bike will be fun to begin with, but then i will just want to change stuff on that too.

[riktherider]

just found out that the fireblade forks are 41mm, same as the sv, so it is a straight swap!
as for the rear end, just a little bit of measuring up to see how that all aligns. not fussed if some welding is needed or some machining of the pivot.

[21QUEST]

just found out that the fireblade forks are 41mm, same as the sv, so it is a straight swap!
as for the rear end, just a little bit of measuring up to see how that all aligns. not fussed if some welding is needed or some machining of the pivot.

Fireblade forks(obviously talking earlier versions) are not 41mm diametre stanchions. They are 45mm.


Ben

[northwind]

Do Suzuki and Honda make the forks themselves under licence from KYB and Showa? I always assumed they buy them in.

If you want the Blade wheel... Well, I can't speak for older ones but Honda are quite good at part standardisation, and there are Blade wheels that bolt perfectly into the SRAD forks (as demonstrated on my bike, which in every way that matters is almost the same as SRAD 750 with a 954 Blade wheel in it, even though the parts are different)

To be honest, the reason GSXR swaps are so universal isn't really about quality, it's about ease- anyone can fit a GSXR fork. But CBR? You'll have to work it out yourself from basic principles.

Back to the swingarm... You really don't need a braced swingarm, the SV arm is perfectly adequate unless you build yourself an enormous motor.

[riktherider]

Fireblade forks(obviously talking earlier versions) are not 41mm diametre stanchions. They are 45mm.


Ben

i know :smt013 i noticed i made a mistake. i was reading the cbr1000 http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-5/1257096/hondaforks.jpg

handy little table, but shame i cant read properly!

dont you need to replace the headbearings in the sv for srad yoke?? this would be all you would need to do for the honda too i presume? or am i missing something somewhere? the pure reason i am going for the honda is that i think they look better than other rwu forks, and that i can get some cheap too.
i take it not many people like honda then :p

[northwind]

dont you need to replace the headbearings in the sv for srad yoke?? this would be all you would need to do for the honda too i presume? or am i missing something somewhere? the pure reason i am going for the honda is that i think they look better than other rwu forks, and that i can get some cheap too.

i take it not many people like honda then :p

Not that we don't like them... But the GSXR parts are a very close fit for the SV, it's anyone's guess what the Honda ones will be like. It's not just a case of swapping bearings, you also need a stem the right size and (importantly) length, good clearances on the yokes top and bottom, then you need to sort out the steering stops and the parking lock if you want to keep it. All easy with GSXR. With CBR? Who knows? But you're making it difficult, that's for sure.

[riktherider]

not really concerned about the steering lock, all the ignition and everything is being moved anyway. if all else fails then it will be the gsxr approach. i'm able to change the stems if possible. if not then i'll use bandit or gixxer parts. all else fails machine some new ones.....hmmmm billet.........