Trying to find parts for a K8

[ll_Woolley_ll]

Hey guys/girls,


I've recently become an owner of a decent conditioned K8. Haven't had much time on the bike yet due to work.

I have fitted a r&g tail tidy. Got some led indicators on the way.

I am wanting to get rid of the rear seat, I've found a cowl the same colour as my bike, but can't find the infills for getting rid of the grab rail. Any ideas?

Also I've seen people on here on about changing the forks and front brake for a gixxer set. Is it worth doing or is it just more visual?

Where is the best place to find parts for the bike? From what I can find all the genuine parts are discontinued.



Chris

[Bibio]

cowl shutters are hens teeth... biggest mistake new SV riders make is buying the cowl without the shutters.

GSXR front end and decent rear shock is only an option if your a decent rider who can make the most of it or ride a lot of miles.

my advice is get a decent aftermarket shock such as a Nitron sprung and valved to your weight/riding. new front fork springs and oil again matched to your weight.

[Adam Ef]

Hey guys/girls,


Where is the best place to find parts for the bike? From what I can find all the genuine parts are discontinued.



Chris


Most consumables (pads etc) can be got from all the usual places like Wemoto, eBay sellers etc.



Have you got a front fender extender fitted? I'd do that and all the oil and coolant changes etc before doing any cosmetics.

[ll_Woolley_ll]

cowl shutters are hens teeth... biggest mistake new SV riders make is buying the cowl without the shutters.

GSXR front end and decent rear shock is only an option if your a decent rider who can make the most of it or ride a lot of miles.

my advice is get a decent aftermarket shock such as a Nitron sprung and valved to your weight/riding. new front fork springs and oil again matched to your weight.

I've seen some people are now doing 3d printed ones, not sure if they're gunna be any good though. I saw somewhere someone said just cut the rail, I'd rather not if I can help it.

Fair one so just a basic overall of the suspension.

Cheers bud I'll look into that then.

[ll_Woolley_ll]

Most consumables (pads etc) can be got from all the usual places like Wemoto, eBay sellers etc.



Have you got a front fender extender fitted? I'd do that and all the oil and coolant changes etc before doing any cosmetics.No I don't have a fender extender. The bikes fully faired, an extended front fender might not go well with the look of the bike. Unless they serve some major be all and end all function?

[Bibio]

its not just the shutters but spraying them the correct colour and the attaching metal bar. 3d printed stuff is pretty tough.

depends on how many miles the bike has done it might need a looooot more than just a suspension refresh.

[ll_Woolley_ll]

its not just the shutters but spraying them the correct colour and the attaching metal bar. 3d printed stuff is pretty tough.

depends on how many miles the bike has done it might need a looooot more than just a suspension refresh.First bike so don't really the proper services. Done little over 15k, not sure what was done before I got it but the books all stamped and it had a 21 point check, mot and oil and filter change.

Is there anywhere to find out the service intervals and what to look for and that? The guy at the shop said I'll just figure it out. Not really that helpful.

[garynortheast]

No I don't have a fender extender. The bikes fully faired, an extended front fender might not go well with the look of the bike. Unless they serve some major be all and end all function?

Fender extender is pretty essential if you want to keep the front cylinder running when it's wet out.

[zsv650s]

Gixxer front end waste of money unless your racing try it before you start spending cash for nothing they ain't bad standard.

[ll_Woolley_ll]

Fender extender is pretty essential if you want to keep the front cylinder running when it's wet out.Well... when you put it like that. I had a quick look, seems to be loads about for a decent price. Cheers bud.

[ll_Woolley_ll]

Gixxer front end waste of money unless your racing try it before you start spending cash for nothing they ain't bad standard.That's why I hate reading reviews. One said the sv brakes we ok when new, so being 10yo now they won't be the best, especially now that bikes have abs (Think it's pointless on a bike, could be wrong but that's my early assumption)

I'll just have a proper look through the service manual and try find a schedule of sorts and work from that. Haven't really looked over it, just wanted to get out on it.

[SV650rules]

That's why I hate reading reviews. One said the sv brakes we ok when new, so being 10yo now they won't be the best, especially now that bikes have abs (Think it's pointless on a bike, could be wrong but that's my early assumption)

I'll just have a proper look through the service manual and try find a schedule of sorts and work from that. Haven't really looked over it, just wanted to get out on it.

IMHO ABS is not pointless on a bike.....

[ll_Woolley_ll]

IMHO ABS is not pointless on a bike.....Yeah that's fair. My thinking is though if you upset the balance abs isn't gunna stop the bike from tipping.

I haven't riden a bike with abs to have a valid opinion.

I get the idea of it for bikes, but it seems like something that should have been there from the start.

[Adam Ef]

I fitted a Red Fox one to mine (carbon effect). Holding up well. Fairly easy to remove the front guard to fit it. Use the fittings it comes with plus some sort of glue to keep it secure.


http://www.red-fox.com/fender-extenders/suzuki-sv650-03-fender-flicks


The Haynes manual is worth having too. I'm fairly sure that has service interval info in it.

[Bibio]

K8> dont suffer the same wet plug syndrome as the earlier models as they added a redesigned flap off the bottom of the radiator and its a twin spark so two plugs, if one fails the other still works. what a crapflap does do is protect the radiator.

[ll_Woolley_ll]

K8> dont suffer the same wet plug syndrome as the earlier models as they added a redesigned flap off the bottom of the radiator and its a twin spark so two plugs, if one fails the other still works. what a crapflap does do is protect the radiator.I see. So an extended fender was mainly to keep the spark plug from getting water logged, with the added benefit of giving some protection to the radiator. Now it's purely radiator protection.


This is going slightly off topic, but not massively. I've seen a lot of websites and videos on about setting the bike up for the rider. You mentioned it aswel regarding the suspension. What sort of places would I be looking at to do this?

[Bibio]

I see. So an extended fender was mainly to keep the spark plug from getting water logged, with the added benefit of giving some protection to the radiator. Now it's purely radiator protection.


This is going slightly off topic, but not massively. I've seen a lot of websites and videos on about setting the bike up for the rider. You mentioned it aswel regarding the suspension. What sort of places would I be looking at to do this?

yup just to protect radiator.

suspension upgrading depends on how long you have been riding and how much of a fast rider you are. be honest to YOURSELF. another factor is how many miles do you do each time your out on the bike. no point in having fancy suspension if your just nipping to your local bike cafe then home again. anything under 100miles is a waste of decent suspension.

the problem with the SV (pointy) suspension is that its designed for someone around 8-9st and is only preload adjustable and has little rebound dampening so you get the "pogo stick" sensation. this is fine for most "newbie" riders. if you cant tell there is something wrong with your suspension then you dont need anything better.

good suspension costs money and a fair old bit of it so if your not prepared to spend a min of £200 then dont go down that road. to do it properly is around £1k. yes you can do it cheeper like a lot of others but in reality its a bodge.

what i'm trying to say is that unless your going to get the shock and springs matched to your weight then no point in spending money going somewhere for them to "set the bike up".

[ll_Woolley_ll]

yup just to protect radiator.

suspension upgrading depends on how long you have been riding and how much of a fast rider you are. be honest to YOURSELF. another factor is how many miles do you do each time your out on the bike. no point in having fancy suspension if your just nipping to your local bike cafe then home again. anything under 100miles is a waste of decent suspension.

the problem with the SV (pointy) suspension is that its designed for someone around 8-9st and is only preload adjustable and has little rebound dampening so you get the "pogo stick" sensation. this is fine for most "newbie" riders. if you cant tell there is something wrong with your suspension then you dont need anything better.

good suspension costs money and a fair old bit of it so if your not prepared to spend a min of £200 then dont go down that road. to do it properly is around £1k. yes you can do it cheeper like a lot of others but in reality its a bodge.

what i'm trying to say is that unless your going to get the shock and springs matched to your weight then no point in spending money going somewhere for them to "set the bike up".Yeah I get that bit, gunna leave it as is for now, maybe do what you said and just refurb what's already there.

When I said about setting the bike up I meant the preload on the standard suspension, the levers, rear brake and gear selector and all that sort of stuff.


Basically this https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/how-to-set-up-a-motorcycle

[Bibio]

yup setup all the controls to suit you. as for prelaod it depends on your weight whether or not your going to actually get it within the ball park. so lets start with how heavy you are....

the complication of a miss matched spring preload to match a rider is you will either top out or bottom out the suspension travel with the rider off the bike.

i'll try to explain this. lets say you have springs on the bike that are suited to an 8st rider and you are 11st, more commonly people will wind the preload up till they can get as near to the recommended "sag settings" as they can. the problem with this is that you will "top out" the suspension when the rider gets off the bike. the bike needs "give" in the form of "bike sag" for the dampers to function properly. call it "negative suspension travel" and its purpose is to allow for slow chassis movement like braking and acceleration. lets say you are hard on the brakes and the rear of the bike lifts, with a "topped out" preload the rear wheel will lift off the ground a loooot easier than a bike with the proper "bike sag". with the rear wheel now off the ground you have diminished your braking performance as well as upset the chassis so more inclined to crash if you hit a bump.

if you haven't worked it out yet, its worse to set up suspension if its going to remove bike sag. so you set your bike up for bike sag only and wherever the suspension falls with the rider on it is better than topping out with an over preloaded spring. however if the rider is wayyyyyy over the recommended then its time for new springs or a different bike.