New owner, New Questions (NOT) !

Hiya guys!
I know that these questions have been answered in some form or the other previously in other threads but mine has a bit of a twist to it; I’ve outline them below, in brief and would appreciate it if you could provide valuable feedback on these topics! It’s a Suzuki SV650 K9 Sport (2009, 8k miles) with a Yoshimura Tri Oval exhaust system and USD forks.

1. How do I communicate for dirt cheap with my pillion behind me? Budget: £30

2. I need a new visor for my HJC IS-16 helmet. I’ve searched high and low but the only ones I found off eBay were for £35 and I don’t want to pay that much. Budget: £10

3. I only just bought my bike last week. Done 300 miles on her already. But I have a nagging problem. The owner told me, as I was taking her away, that since it had custom USD forks, the locking cylinder would not lock. That does not make sense, but at that point, I had already paid and completed the paper work so there wasn’t any going back. I was hoping someone could throw some light on this?

4. I think that the front brakes are always engaged just a little bit – I can hear a rubbing noise when I wheel the bike around. What can I do about this?

5. The back brake lever doesn’t have any free play so when I rest my foot on it, ever so slightly, the brake engages. And for long journeys, this is difficult to control as it means I can’t rest my foot on the pegs. I can feel it at about 30mph. What can I do about this?

6. What kind of mileage can I expect from her?

7. When I throttle off, the engine slows down really REALLY fast, so if I’m at 70mph, 6th gear, & close off, it starts slows down BADLY. Without a head or tail wind. This happens in any gear. The engine pulls the bike down really bad. So it’s a bit strange to ride in traffic because of coming to a gradual slow stop, I need to keep revving as the bike decelerates too, too quickly. What can I do about this? Or is this how the bike is made?

8. Can I use Mobil Super S 10W-40 Semi Synthetic Motor Oil for my bike? If no, why? The manual recommends JASO MA and this oil meets that standard. I know Sid Squid said that to use a known brand, so Mobil is ok. It does not specify for motorcycles so the question.

9. Is the fact, that using diesel oil for motorcycles is safe, true?

10. I’m horrible with directions and need my GPS talking to me all the time. Right now, I have it on my phone, plug in ear phones and ride. But there is a lot of noise from wind and this is really bugging. What can I do about this? All my vents are closed. HJC IS-16 helmet. Link is :
Amazon_01

Amazon_02

11. Is £7.50 for a K&N oil filter worth it?

12. How much will a good full service cost me? As the last service was done in Oct 2010 at 4k miles.

13. Where can I dispose of oil that I change at home?

14. Where can I buy a cheap funnel from? Any specific type?

15. I see battery chargers on eBay. Do I need one?

Thanks in advance guys! Looking forward to finding answers for these questions!
Much appreciated!

Originally Posted by lordra

Hiya guys!
I know that these questions have been answered in some form or the other previously in other threads but mine has a bit of a twist to it; I’ve outline them below, in brief and would appreciate it if you could provide valuable feedback on these topics! It’s a Suzuki SV650 K9 Sport (2009, 8k miles) with a Yoshimura Tri Oval exhaust system and USD forks.

1. How do I communicate for dirt cheap with my pillion behind me? Budget: £30

With a cheap comms unit. Shop around.

2. I need a new visor for my HJC IS-16 helmet. I’ve searched high and low but the only ones I found off eBay were for £35 and I don’t want to pay that much. Budget: £10

Shop around.

3. I only just bought my bike last week. Done 300 miles on her already. But I have a nagging problem. The owner told me, as I was taking her away, that since it had custom USD forks, the locking cylinder would not lock. That does not make sense, but at that point, I had already paid and completed the paper work so there wasn’t any going back. I was hoping someone could throw some light on this?

You probably have a different top yoke to standard so the steering lock doesn't engage and probably never will. Use search to find what people with the same forks/yoke have done. It'd help if yo ucould find out what forks have gone on the bike. Common conversions use GSXR forks with different yoke solutions.

4. I think that the front brakes are always engaged just a little bit – I can hear a rubbing noise when I wheel the bike around. What can I do about this?

You'll probably hear it on any bike. It's the pads ever so slightly touching the disc but without any real pressure. It's also possible that the brakes need a service but I'd ask someone in the know to let you know.

5. The back brake lever doesn’t have any free play so when I rest my foot on it, ever so slightly, the brake engages. And for long journeys, this is difficult to control as it means I can’t rest my foot on the pegs. I can feel it at about 30mph. What can I do about this?

Don't rest your foot on the brake lever. It's a brake lever for braking. The foot peg (rest) is the place to rest your foot.

6. What kind of mileage can I expect from her?

100,000,000 miles if taken care of properly. If you meant fuel economy, I haven't had an SV for a while but guestimate between about 130 -160 miles to a tank.

7. When I throttle off, the engine slows down really REALLY fast, so if I’m at 70mph, 6th gear, & close off, it starts slows down BADLY. Without a head or tail wind. This happens in any gear. The engine pulls the bike down really bad. So it’s a bit strange to ride in traffic because of coming to a gradual slow stop, I need to keep revving as the bike decelerates too, too quickly. What can I do about this? Or is this how the bike is made?

The SV is a twin, which means it has 2 cylinders instead of a more typical 4. Because it is a twin you get a lot of engine braking. It's a characteristic. It's also possible there is something wrong but I'd say it's unlikely (Unless your foot is on the rear brake )

8. Can I use Mobil Super S 10W-40 Semi Synthetic Motor Oil for my bike? If no, why? The manual recommends JASO MA and this oil meets that standard. I know Sid Squid said that to use a known brand, so Mobil is ok. It does not specify for motorcycles so the question.

I have no idea. I've always put motorcycle oil in motorcycles.

9. Is the fact, that using diesel oil for motorcycles is safe, true?

See above.

10. I’m horrible with directions and need my GPS talking to me all the time. Right now, I have it on my phone, plug in ear phones and ride. But there is a lot of noise from wind and this is really bugging. What can I do about this? All my vents are closed. HJC IS-16 helmet. Link is :
Amazon_01

Amazon_02

Custom ear plugs that allow ear phones to be used. Otherwise see if HJC make a whisper kit for making your lid less noisy.

11. Is £7.50 for a K&N oil filter worth it?

No idea.

12. How much will a good full service cost me? As the last service was done in Oct 2010 at 4k miles.

It depends who does it. I get mine done for free because I do them. Shop around.

13. Where can I dispose of oil that I change at home?

Your local tip/dump.

14. Where can I buy a cheap funnel from? Any specific type?

Wilko, Hein Gericke, Tesco, anywhere. Or cut the top off a bottle. Simples.

15. I see battery chargers on eBay. Do I need one?

Unless you're not going to be using your bike frequently then probably not.

Thanks in advance guys! Looking forward to finding answers for these questions!
Much appreciated!

Please excuse my short sharp answers but that is a lot to ask! You seriously need to practise searching for stuff.

Have fun and take your foot off the brake unless you're braking. It's not a wise thing to do.

Jesus.

4. I used to think this aswell, but seems its just the noise that they make, wouldn't worry.
5. I think you can adjust the freeplay fairly easily, look in your manual or haynes.
6. How long's a piece of string? If the engines cared for then they can last for bloody miles, was recently a pointy up for sale with something like a 116k on the clock, and they very regularly make it past 70k.
7. SVs have ALOT of engine braking, you just have to get used to it. I find that I barely ever need to touch my actual brakes whilst road riding.
11. Yes
13. Local tip

Originally Posted by Bordtea

Jesus.

He he. That's exactly what I thought.

5. You can of course adjust the brake pedal down so it's out of harms way and you need to make a positive decision to use it.

[appollo1]

1. How do I communicate for dirt cheap with my pillion behind me? Budget: £30

as already suggested shop around

2. I need a new visor for my HJC IS-16 helmet. I’ve searched high and low but the only ones I found off eBay were for £35 and I don’t want to pay that much. Budget: £10

worth paying to have a clean and clear visor so your vision is not impared - shop around

3. I only just bought my bike last week. Done 300 miles on her already. But I have a nagging problem. The owner told me, as I was taking her away, that since it had custom USD forks, the locking cylinder would not lock. That does not make sense, but at that point, I had already paid and completed the paper work so there wasn’t any going back. I was hoping someone could throw some light on this?

Sorry can't help with this

4. I think that the front brakes are always engaged just a little bit – I can hear a rubbing noise when I wheel the bike around. What can I do about this?

try the spit test on the disc after a short run to see if it is hot - best to spit on it than touch in case you burn yourself. brakes may need servicing

5. The back brake lever doesn’t have any free play so when I rest my foot on it, ever so slightly, the brake engages. And for long journeys, this is difficult to control as it means I can’t rest my foot on the pegs. I can feel it at about 30mph. What can I do about this?

don't rest your foot on the pedal that is what the pegs are for.

6. What kind of mileage can I expect from her?

if well maintained and looked after hundreds of thousands of miles i would think

7. When I throttle off, the engine slows down really REALLY fast, so if I’m at 70mph, 6th gear, & close off, it starts slows down BADLY. Without a head or tail wind. This happens in any gear. The engine pulls the bike down really bad. So it’s a bit strange to ride in traffic because of coming to a gradual slow stop, I need to keep revving as the bike decelerates too, too quickly. What can I do about this? Or is this how the bike is made?

v twin will slow down a lot quicker. also with the possible problems with your brakes maybe they are rubbing and slowing you down very quickly - see above for spit test

8. Can I use Mobil Super S 10W-40 Semi Synthetic Motor Oil for my bike? If no, why? The manual recommends JASO MA and this oil meets that standard. I know Sid Squid said that to use a known brand, so Mobil is ok. It does not specify for motorcycles so the question.

no idea i will let a more experienced person answer that one

9. Is the fact, that using diesel oil for motorcycles is safe, true?

no idea i will let a more experienced person answer that one

10. I’m horrible with directions and need my GPS talking to me all the time. Right now, I have it on my phone, plug in ear phones and ride. But there is a lot of noise from wind and this is really bugging. What can I do about this? All my vents are closed. HJC IS-16 helmet. Link is :
Amazon_01

Amazon_02

11. Is £7.50 for a K&N oil filter worth it?

no idea i will let a more experienced person answer that one

12. How much will a good full service cost me? As the last service was done in Oct 2010 at 4k miles.

shop around or do it yourself

13. Where can I dispose of oil that I change at home?

most local recycling centres have the facility for you to dispose of used oil

14. Where can I buy a cheap funnel from? Any specific type?

most hardware, pound, cheap shops or depending what it is for make your own with a used clean drinks bottle

15. I see battery chargers on eBay. Do I need one?

always handy to keep the battery on a trickle charger as opposed to a battery charger

@Monkey:
1. What should I look for? Motorcycle communications unit? I can't buy bluetooth or new helmets, so what brand should I look for?
2. You say shop around for visors. Is there a specific store online that you mean? I don't fancy going into a physical store, and I've scoured the internet for a cheap visor for this model, but i can't find any! (reasonably priced). Could you tell me where you get your stuff from please?
3. Yes, you’re right, the “steering lock doesn't engage and probably never will”. That’s what he said! Lol! I asked the previous owner. He bought it off a dealer like that, and based on hearsay, it could be Gsxr forks. Will having pictures help?
4. Will do
5. Yes, but my toes are on the lever. My heel is on the peg. And since it’s a lean forward stance, how I can not rest my toes?!?!
6. Sorry – when I meant mileage, I meant fuel economy. MPL. Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.
7. Ok, this means that I need to get used to the increased engine braking. But that makes it feel less fuel efficient, doesn’t it?
8. Ok
9. Ok
10. Ok
11. Ok
12. Shop around HOW?
13. Ok
14. Ok
15. Ok

Thanks!

@Bordtea:
4. OK
5. Ok
6. I meant fuel efficiency, sorry! MPL or KmPL
7. I agree! Makes it seem very thirsty though. Are they?
11. Thanks - ordered for it!
13. Copy that.

@appollo1:
2. Where do I shop?
4. Brilliant idea, thank you!
12. I don't know how to service bikes! Apart from the basics like oil and filter changes.
13. Ok.
14. ok.
15. Noted.

Bottom line: Need to pointed in the right direction for a visor, ear plugs and comms unit. Need to adjust the rear brake lever for free play, do the spit test, finalise on the oil, and find out about the yoke and fork combination.
Will post back as I do these!

[Biker Biggles]

5 Your heel shouldnt be on the peg.You should ride with the balls of your feet on the pegs and your toes will then be nowhere near the brake pedal.Where do you put your left foot?It must be difficult to change gear up the box if your foot is stuch on top of the gear lever.