New biker (kinda)

[TheWeeSteev]

Hello,

I've been lurking on this forum for a few weeks now having bought a K4 pointy SV650S and looking for some useful tips - mainly about the quirks of the bike and how to pretty it up. I'm Dunfermline based but commute daily into Edinburgh and the PCX125 I'm on is fine but no fun at a weekend.

I'm still to sit my test, mod2 is due this Tuesday, so I can't comment on how well it handles or not. I've been on 125's for years and years now but finally realised that I'm not getting any younger and should really get on a bigger beast.

As far as I can tell the bike I have stored in my garage is decent enough, no rusty bits and nothing missing with a milage of around 23,000 most of which was put on 6 years ago - it had been reversed into by a previous owner so has a small ding in the petrol tank that didn't crack the paint. It came with a fairly noisy Scorpion can, we'll see how the neighbours deal with it - might need changed :)

One thing I've been looking at is how the smaller riders deal with the bike, I know it's not a giant amongst the two wheelers but I'm a little over 5'2" with teeny legs so any advice on how to get the bike more comfy would be grately recieved - so far I've followed a guide on seat shaving and taken about 3/4 of an inch from the foam - I can now get the ball of my foot down on the left :)

Anyway just thought I'd say hiya to SV riders in the area.

[peterco]

Talk to bibio , he will give some tips

[peterco]

also , welcome to the forum.

[Bibio]

well i'm 5ft fek all and with suitable mods i can almost flat foot both feet.

lowering the bike is all about how much you are willing to spend.

if the bike has been sitting for a number of years then its going to need some TLC before you can start it. dont be tempted to just put a battery in and start it you might do irreversible damage which will cost mega bucks to sort.

i know its hard but dont get too hung up about cosmetics. better having a bike that is serviced and runs well than one that is shiny but runs like poo.

if i had more time i would come along and help out as i'm only along the bypass from you but its summer (well if you can call it that) and its biking time. winter on the other hand is no problem :-)

[TheWeeSteev]

Aye spotted a lot of posts by Bibio and saw he was in fife as well. First hurdle is my test, the last lesson I had my only problem was I stalled when I couldn't get a good footing - training and taking my test on a Yamaha XJ6 which is not too tall but can be tricky on a slope.

Thanks for the welcome, once I'm on the bike I'll get some pics up of it as it currently is.

[TheWeeSteev]

Cheers for the advice Bibio, I got the bike into my garage and checked it out as best I could. Once I pass and sell my 125 I'll be taking the bike in for a full service. I've cranked her up and everything sounds good.

The boy I bought it from had it MOT'd last month, needed fork seals done and the back tyre is an advisory as it's close to minimum.

Cosmetically I'm in no rush to tart it up, I'll be running back and forth daily so the mechanical side is what I want sorted. I've a few more days to go before I'm allowed out on it so that'll be spent reading up and checking the bike over where I can.

I'm gonna try the shaved seat but I might have to go with a lowering kit - money wise I'll have to negotiate with my wife :)

[TheWeeSteev]

A wee hand in the winter would be great, my mechanical experience stems only from my difficult Aprillia RS125 phase where everyday was another technical challenge.

[Bibio]

i could be wrong but i think the bike in the picture is a late reg K3 but i would need to see the rear subframe to be sure. if it is then its taller than the later bikes :-(

[TheWeeSteev]

You know what, you might be right there I was purely going off the reg plate (still learning about SV's) which is a 54 but I think the reg doc mentions a K3 somewhere in it.

Trust me to get the taller one :(

I'll take some pics later on and post 'em up. To be honest I've sat on it in the garage and it doesn't feel too unmanageable, just really won't be super confident until I can at least flat foot on on side.

[haggis]

Hello! Hope you pass and get to use your upgrade. :)

[TheWeeSteev]

haha thanks Haggis, I'm hoping so too. I've been on bikes long enough just never took the jump up, if I don't pass I'll be booking again right away.

Looking forward to having some more power - the current ride just gets embarrassing outside of a city centre :)

[haggis]

I remember the days well. Pulling out to overtake a bus, give the NSR the beans, encounter headwind, decelerating, pull in behind bus. Oh dear.

The sv was amazing in comparison, even though it was restricted to 33bhp 8)

[SIII]

Welcome, and guid luck on the test.

Bibs is yer man, speak nice, he is a font of all that is SV, we love the wee guy.

[AJC]

Hi and welcome. Best of luck for the test :)

[TheWeeSteev]

Cheers SIII and AJC, I'm hoping it goes well, Mod1 was fine and I ride in and out of Edinburgh every day so I'm not a total noob, just the power I need to get used to :)

[carelesschucca]

good luck on the test. Enjoy the extra poke when you get to use it...

[Tiger 55]

Ahoy!

Being as we all ride at our own pace, the 125 will be plenty for the GM. :-)

[TheWeeSteev]

I'll definitely enjoy the extra poke that's for sure, notice it immediately on my lessons as I go from a 30 to a 60.

Tiger I wouldn't want to embarrass anyone when I overtake on my scooter :)

[s7even]

Think we need to start a short ar5e thread , i`ll be interested in Bibio`s tips for lowering .. and welcome

[TheWeeSteev]

I'm glad I'm not the only vertically challenged around these parts. To be fair it's only when I'm slowing at lights that it's ever a problem, as soon as I'm moving it doesn't make a difference - so far.

[TheWeeSteev]

A couple of pics of the bike, no seat just now as it's still being worked on with a stanley blade and a staple gun. My garage is also pretty grubby right now - the cat has been bringing in lots of presents over the summer.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27707911/SV650_small_rear.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27707911/SV650_small_side.jpg

[Bibio]

that is indeed a k3 which is good and bad news. bad news is its slightly taller good news is when you lower it there is more room between the rear tyre and the undertray.

there are a few ways you can lower the SV. some are more expensive that others but the easy and cheapest way is new dogbones and drop the front. doing this works well for the average rider but as you start to progress you start to run into trouble as the bike will run wide due to it sitting noise up. to be able to drop the front enough to bring it back into line with the rear you need to shorten the front and the only way to do that is a front end swap form a gsxr. if your at that stage you can feel the bike running wide then you really do want to start sorting the suspension properly anyway. i hear people say why not just sell the bike and buy something with decent suspension to start with.. well when your around 5ft fek all there is not a lot of options and if you do find something it usually needs to be altered to drop the hight anyway so better the devil you know.

i can tell you for sure that a fully fettled SV is a cracking bike and for me its pretty much everything i need. ok i could do with more grunt at times but dont we always.

[TheWeeSteev]

Cheers for the info Bibio, it appears I'll have plenty of time to work on it, managed to fail my mod2 today (35 in a 40 zone outside Kirkcaldy) so the bike will be getting worked on in my spare time.

Sadly the next slot for a re-test to get my full licence isn't until 30th October which is mental. Oh well, back on the 125cc for a while longer.

[SIII]

Oh B*gger, you'll get it next time.

Passed mine on 1st September 2010, had a brand spanking 60 plate SV sat at home, would have been absolutely heartbroken if I had failed. Understand the pain.

Just leave it in the garage, fettle & polish till the 30th.

[TheWeeSteev]

Aye SIII it'll sit in there getting the extra TLC it deserves. I just put my personal plate on it last week as well.

I'm off on holiday for a week next wednesday and I'm also away most of October, it's September that's gonna be the killer :(

Any suggestions on what I can do to the blue beauty while it's sitting in the garage? It's pretty stock right now apart from the Scorpion can and my attempt at shaving the seat a little. Nothing too expensive mind, I'm still running the 125cc for now :)

[SIII]

Polish those downpipes ! Autosol, scouring pads and loads of elbow grease.

Tail tidies always an improvement and a crud catcher thingy that extends the front fender, keeping rain and muck off the front plug, if it ain't got one already. Pull front plug and make sure it is in decent nick if it ain't already got one !!!!

[TheWeeSteev]

Sounds good mate, definitely wanna strip it and clean it. I haven't checked the plug at all as currently it ticks over nicely.

Hugger, tail tidy and front mud guard extenders are all on the list now. Also thinking of switching the pillion for a cover but will have to buy over time.

[Bibio]

bad luck on your test. now this is where i think that the test is flawed, the 40 is a max speed not a target so how can you fail your test for staying within the speed limit, you were over 30 but under 40. i would have argued.

dont bother with a tail tidy just more crud gets thrown up your back. snow ploughs are better. dont go spending money on useless things that make it look better. oohhh and there is no way you are going to get a hugger on if you are going to lower it :-)

[TheWeeSteev]

Ah I explained that badly. I'd gone along a country road and it changed from 40 to 30, i was concentrating on other things and missed the change down so that's why I got hit with the insta-fail (although obviously had to finish the test so a further 20mins of misery) so I couldn't argue my case.

I was thinking a hugger might be pushing it if I lower the girl. I'll give it a good scrub and check the mechanical stuff. I think I need a new right bar end, looks suss.

[Bibio]

ahhh so you were speeding.. naughty boy. lol

[TheWeeSteev]

ahhh so you were speeding.. naughty boy. lol

haha, yeah. And it was an expensive instance of me being naughty. 5 miles an hour and I'm out £130 and have to wait 10 weeks.

Lesson well and truly learned.

[Artful]

Just a blip, hopefully you'll get a cancellation.

[TheWeeSteev]

Aye Artful, I'll be on the DVLA site everyday after 4pm hoping for a cancellation. Outside of the speeding I woulda passed.

At 36 it's embarrassing to be labelled a boy racer :(

[Bibio]

just wait till you come out with us 40+ year olds ;)

[TheWeeSteev]

just wait till you come out with us 40+ year olds ;)

:smt046

[SIII]

Don't listen to the old yins :rolleyes: tail tidy a must :smt047, specially now your yin of they illegal biker, what with your speeding, tut, tut, tut, ;)

[Bibio]

love my snow shovel as it holds my scotty touring rez :-)

[TheWeeSteev]

Well that's me passed today, managed to not speed and only had 4 marks against me, a couple of those were easily avoidable. I then got home and had to set out to work - obviously took my big bike on my Dunfermline tae Edinburgh commute :)

Apart from a flappy wing mirror (had to tighten that up asap) and several loud exahaust pops from lack of use it wasn't too bad. On the move it's great, going slow and trying to park at work not as good, even with a trimmed seat I'm barely getting the ball of one foot down, parking in beside a line of other bikes almost ended up in and "Every Which Way But Loose" situation when I had a wobble :D

I'll get a few miles under my belt first and see how I am, struggling with the riding position just now but that's more because I went from a scooter to the trainers XJ6 then scooter before hopping on the SV.

Defo getting it serviced but that'll not be until early November, I'm off on business for a week on Sunday then away on holiday for two weeks.

I did enjoy the burst of speed I get compared to both the dinky 125cc scooter and the bike I passed my test on.

[Bibio]

when your short you dont paddle the bike anywhere. get off and push the thing.

i'm 5ft fek all and can flat foot on a heavily modified SV650 k7 and i still would not paddle the bike backwards/forwards.

[TheWeeSteev]

Yeah after my attempt to park I made sure to walk it out of the spot. With the adjustment to the seat it's just a little taller than the XJ6 I trained on.

Might get it out for a bit tomorrow before I head off to Lincoln for the week.