Newbie looking for advice

Hi All, I'm new to the forum having spent a little while having a look about I decided to join as there seems plenty of friendly members willing to help out.

Quick bit about me.. I'm James... you'd have never guessed im 21 and live near Norwich..

I currently race Pitbike Supermoto at National level, but this year haven't been enjoying it as much as I should, and after discussions with the old man.. I think it might be time to move onto something new..

Everyone loves pictures..



Having been pondering at the idea of a 'big' track bike for some time I kind of have my heart set on a sv650.. From what I have read and been told, there reliable, good base to start from, and if it was to become more serious there is options out there for racing.

However... I have many questions which I am hoping that some of you more experienced guys could help with.

1 - Buy a track ready bike or a road bike and convert?
I sway towards converting a road bike.. I presume it would have had a much easier life than a track bike.. Im handy with the spanners so am happy to take on most jobs etc..

2 - If I was to buy a road bike and convert it.. where should I start at?
I have a reasonable idea of what needs doing
-Track fairings
-Rearsets
-Decent scrubs (pirelli diablo supercorsa's?)
-Clip ons
-Exhaust
-Crash bungs
-Suspension upgrades?
However.. having never ridden a 'big bike' Is it worth doing some things first, having a couple of trackdays then as I become more confident, move onto the other things?

Or potentially buy a cheap trackbike just to get on track and get some experience then move onto a potential sv650 project?

Any views/experience would be much appreciated as I'm really unsure on what direction to go. Nothing is likely to happen soon, this will be a winter purchase/project as I will sell up my racing kit at the end of the 2014 season to pay for it. (Budget is tight!)

Many thanks in advance

[Littlepeahead]

Originally Posted by James132

Hi All, I'm new to the forum having spent a little while having a look about I decided to join as there seems plenty of friendly members willing to help out.

Quick bit about me.. I'm James... you'd have never guessed im 21 and live near Norwich..

I currently race Pitbike Supermoto at National level, but this year haven't been enjoying it as much as I should, and after discussions with the old man.. I think it might be time to move onto something new..

Everyone loves pictures..



Having been pondering at the idea of a 'big' track bike for some time I kind of have my heart set on a sv650.. From what I have read and been told, there reliable, good base to start from, and if it was to become more serious there is options out there for racing.

However... I have many questions which I am hoping that some of you more experienced guys could help with.

1 - Buy a track ready bike or a road bike and convert?
I sway towards converting a road bike.. I presume it would have had a much easier life than a track bike.. Im handy with the spanners so am happy to take on most jobs etc..

2 - If I was to buy a road bike and convert it.. where should I start at?
I have a reasonable idea of what needs doing
-Track fairings
-Rearsets
-Decent scrubs (pirelli diablo supercorsa's?)
-Clip ons
-Exhaust
-Crash bungs
-Suspension upgrades?
However.. having never ridden a 'big bike' Is it worth doing some things first, having a couple of trackdays then as I become more confident, move onto the other things?

Or potentially buy a cheap trackbike just to get on track and get some experience then move onto a potential sv650 project?

Any views/experience would be much appreciated as I'm really unsure on what direction to go. Nothing is likely to happen soon, this will be a winter purchase/project as I will sell up my racing kit at the end of the 2014 season to pay for it. (Budget is tight!)

Many thanks in advance

James for info Chris8886 is about to sell his 12 year old SV, it's got high mileage, 64k or something, a yellow curvy, he's lost his licence for medical reasons. He won't be after much for it. Might be a good starting point for you.

This member: http://forums.sv650.org/member.php?u=5113

He hasn't posted a For Sale thread yet (that I can find).

[phi-dan]

Welcome to the mad house. This thread from a few years back may be of use http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=153136

Forgot to say.... Welcome!

I have little experience or wisdom but I think the best thing you could do is buy an SV for the winter, use it as a road bike and get used to it, then strip and convert it to a trackbike.
Since moneys tight buying a trackbike will be probably very expensive, it'll have all the shiny bits on .

You could buy a curvy SV (pre 2002 I think) which is a little battered, won't cost you much at all. It'd be easier than buying a newer SV and then trying to flog the stock stuff which is still in good condition when doing upgrades. Also if you get a curvy it's carbs, which are a lot more mechanically easy to faff about with if you need to compared with all the ECU electronics of the newer models.

The have been a lot of minitwin conversions of SVs on this site, check them out to look for things to do, there's also several lists of must do upgrades if you're serious. Generally seems the first stuff you want to do is the suspension and brakes, oh and I think the fairings everyone uses are off the gsxr.

Having said that, if you're only used to pitbikes all the stock stuff on the SV will seem an incredible improvement so again that's another reason not to buy the trackbike and do it yourself. You could start off stock, find it's limits, then do the upgrades. Not to mention it's more fun/more of an accomplishment.
Woo sv650.org!!


Also welcome to the site! I've been here for the last couple of months and I've been shown on a daily basis how friendly everyone is here with a lot of great advice and laughs . You only need to look through a couple of posts on the American svrider sight and you'll see it's such a different atmosphere, almost hostile.

Woo sv650.org!!!

Thanks for the kind welcomes everyone..

I will keep my eye out on here for a potential purchase.

Thanks for the response Foot. Regarding using a bike on the road for winter..
I dont plan on riding a bike on the road.. At least not for a while.

I have no licence.. race or road.. but I know there are a couple of companies (no limits seems most popular) who do days where no licences are needed. I planned on doing a year or so of experience then go for an acu licence.

As for buying a road bike.. whats best to look out for? Whats reasonable mileage etc? Less than 20k? or even less?

Get yourself a licence and get on a 125 That's where you learn the most important stuff IMO. That's where you learn to be safe, and then bigger bikes are for learning how to be skilled and quick, if that's what you're into .

If you're looking for an SV, then I think any SV in good enough nick, 2002+ with about 15,000 miles will probably cost you around £1500-£2000 (not sure about older bikes, just know about the prices of what I was looking for when I bought my SV). I think if you just wanted a rough round the edges curvy, you'd be looking at £600-£1000. Maybe cracked fairings, but the internals are more important of course - especially if you'll replace brakes, suspension etc.).
I would say as a rough estimate looking for mileage less than 20k would be good, although things like how many owners (my 2004 SV had 2 previous owners and maybe 12,000 miles which is good), your judgement of how well they look after their bikes and general condition of the bike is a better indicator. Even checking small things, like if they keep the chain at a good tightness and well lubed, oil topped up, brakes clean with clean fluid is a good indicator to the kind of maintenance they do. And most things you'll read about an SV will tell you they're bulletproof, so again the mileage isn't too important providing the owner has kept the bike happy (which is why fewer owners is better, you can't judge previous owners!).


There are plenty of far more experienced people on this site who will be able to give better advise then what I'm giving, they'll probably post within a day or two (o:
Make sure if you do buy a SV and do a track convert you post the progress on the forum!

[Bunkle]

Hello buddy and welcome to the forum.
Keep your eyes open for a road based curvy on here or try moto forum for a tracked SV, there are a few minitwin racers on there who may be looking to sell up when the season has finished.
I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago and after riding a road going curvy for a summer was on the look out for a track based SV as I loved its low down grunt and forgiving behavior in the corners when you fudged a gear change!
After scouring a load of dodgy eBay ads I found a tracked curvy on here which had the following spec....

ZX10 shock
R6 Forks, wheel and blue spot brakes ( EBC Pads )
Full M4 race exhaust system.
All chassis bearings have been replaced and packed with grease.
Valtermoto rear sets.
Carbs have been jetted up and K and N Filter fitted.
Pointy Cam swap carried out last winter.
Braided brake lines.
R and G crash bungs.
Brand new DID Heavy duty Chain fitted last week.
Currently fitted with Pilot Power 2ct tyres.

Not top notch race spec but I've yet to find the bike's limits on track yet!
(I'll post a pic up when I suss out how to!)

I have a few jobs to do over the winter, I have a Triumph 675 fairing kit to fit, front and rear alloy subframes, a fireblade rear seat and the bit I'm looking forward to the most, making a race loom out of a stock loom I bought recently.

Good luck with your search for a bike bud, you'll find loads of advice on here, and keep your eyes peeled for a bargain!

All the best.
Dave.

Hi Dave, thanks for the reply.

Sounds like you picked up a nice bike!

Whats the main differences between a curvy and pointy? Pro's/Con's?

Iv not looked much into the curvy as I had been looking at pointy's on ebay for a reference of cost. All I know is that the curvy is carb..

Are 'track' parts widely available for both? Is one easier/cheaper to buy parts for over the other?

Sorry for all the questions, as you may understand.. I would like to find out as much as possible before selling up my current racing kit and delving into a new project.