Back on the road!
 

The little K6 project I started in February is complete (well, for the time being, project bikes are never really finished), to I taxed it yesterday and took it out for a quick spin to get some gas and blow the cobwebs away.
I was really pleased with the motor, gearbox and handling: for a 134,000 mile bike it rides really well and has very good performance, in fact if I didn’t know better I’d say it feels like a 40,000 mile bike.
I noticed one gremlin when I got back last eve: the rear brake was a little hot and had obviously been dragging a bit. As I wheeled the bike around this morn I noticed it was still not right, so I stripped down the slave cylinder to find the piston seals were in a very poor state. I found a bag of new ones in the spares box that came with the bike (so I suspect the previous owner had been aware of the problem but not got round to fixing it) and changed both the rubbers. Half an hour later the brake is bled, and efficiency is fully restored.
I like the SV as a project bike, it is (on the whole) very easy to work on and bits are cheap and plentiful (especially if I find them in the spares box for free!).
Here is a photo of the completed bike, I think it looks quite nice:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d0bc0b2e64.jpg
... and from the other side:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dd8e66d966.jpg
It is a lovely day here, so I’m looking forward to another spin on the SV this afternoon, with the added advantage of all 3 brakes working properly :-)





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Re: Back on the road!
 

Very nice, and of course Euclase Silver is THE best colour for pointy S bikes :)

What is this "rear brake" of which you speak? I only ever used mine once a year, to make sure it wasn't binding before the MoT test .... the rest of the time, the engine braking did the rest ;):D

Re: Back on the road!
 

Yes, of course, that is the only purpose for the rear brake: giving the MoT tester something to check, but if it is binding that is a problem. Anyway, I’ve just taken the SV out for a spin and all 3 brakes are working perfectly now. I suppose changing the piston seals took me less than an hour this morn, including finding the spare seals, some DOT 4 and bleeding the brakes afterwards, but they had clearly been in a very poor state for some time.

I’m really quite impressed with the SV, it feels exactly like the one I bought new in Germany in 2003: lots of torque, good handling, good brakes ... this one is a bit noisier due to the Fuel exhaust - I’m thinking of going back to the original muffler (came with the bike and almost unused) if I can’t get used to the noisy one.

I agree about the colour - it is very nice.


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Re: Back on the road!
 

It is a lovely spring day here in Northamptonshire so I took the K6 for a 40 mile spin on mixed A roads and dual carriageway. I was pleasantly surprised how much fun it was - amazing value for a £900 bike.

Re: Back on the road!
 

I loved my euclase silver K6S, I was gutted when it was written off after lowsiding on a patch of diesel. I had no plans to replace it and never got bored of it (well, apart from wrist ache ;)).

Of course they're nowhere near as 'fast' as any CBR600 / R6 etc but on real roads in real-world traffic conditions, SVs are so responsive and punchy. For me, it's not about 150+ mph top speeds, it's about not slowing down.

Back on the road!
 

I’m sorry to hear about your accident.
I agree with everything - especially the wrist ache bit! I remember riding my old one (15 years ago) from Corby to Moenchengladbach (over 400 miles) - I was so pleased to get off the bike at the end!
My K6 is huge fun - so much so I have not taken my Triumph Scrambler out of the garage for weeks.


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Re: Back on the road!
 

You've done a great job saving another SV from decline :)

Among the many things I like about the SV650 is the fantastic engine braking.I love decelerating from speed to take sweeping bends and not touching the brakes thus keeping more traction :)

Re: Back on the road!
 

When I had a Pantah I used to slow down for the straight bits.

Back on the road!
 

Thank you. I’m really pleased with the K6, both the project and riding it. I’ve used it this afternoon for a trip to the dentist for a check up.

The engine braking is good;I also like the good torque throughout the range, nice sound (if a bit noisy with the Fuel muffler), slim and low frame, light weight, good handling and very good brakes. All in all it is pretty good for a bike that only owes me £900 :-)


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