rear shock change

My front fork springs were not that bad , as if I had heavier oil in them , I bought my Front springs off Paul the 6th and Luckypants offered to do the swap for me . I went over to his gaff and he mentioned the bits he removed from claire`s bike and how he went about it and we just got the front end off and went for it . I can honestly say I was not sure if it was oil that came out ........ it was Brown Sludge , that was rinsed out with a jostle of Paraffin and left upside down , they were topped up with the right oil for me and we left about 98mm gap at the top . Don`t take that as gospel though for the gap , there is a thread on here about it somewhere , we left a smaller gap than the norm as that was my preference for the front end . After putting the bike back together , Luckypants set my sag and preload up and I went home and had serious doubts as to whether it was even worth it at all , that is until I went over a bump and the bike just ignored it , I was expecting shattered wrists but it absorbed it and carried on as if to say "come on , give me some stick you big Girly" . On the Ruthin to Denbigh road I was soon chasing down a guy on a Thundercat ? 600 Yamaha and overtook him . When we got to St.Asaph he was all goggle eyed at the traffic lights and said "What`s that you are on ?" . I merely replied "Just a lowly SV650 mate" and seperated from him to go off in a different direction ............. I think he was a bit shocked and was expecting a bigger capacity bike with more cylinders . The front end and back end have been impeccable in all conditions and no matter how hard I push it , I just feel that the combination of Flymo`s old shock , Paul the 6th`s front springs and Luckypants` help , I have a spot on handling SV for my abilities and preference .

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

My front fork springs were not that bad , as if I had heavier oil in them , I bought my Front springs off Paul the 6th and Luckypants offered to do the swap for me . I went over to his gaff and he mentioned the bits he removed from claire`s bike and how he went about it and we just got the front end off and went for it . I can honestly say I was not sure if it was oil that came out ........ it was Brown Sludge , that was rinsed out with a jostle of Paraffin and left upside down , they were topped up with the right oil for me and we left about 98mm gap at the top . Don`t take that as gospel though for the gap , there is a thread on here about it somewhere , we left a smaller gap than the norm as that was my preference for the front end . After putting the bike back together , Luckypants set my sag and preload up and I went home and had serious doubts as to whether it was even worth it at all , that is until I went over a bump and the bike just ignored it , I was expecting shattered wrists but it absorbed it and carried on as if to say "come on , give me some stick you big Girly" . On the Ruthin to Denbigh road I was soon chasing down a guy on a Thundercat ? 600 Yamaha and overtook him . When we got to St.Asaph he was all goggle eyed at the traffic lights and said "What`s that you are on ?" . I merely replied "Just a lowly SV650 mate" and seperated from him to go off in a different direction ............. I think he was a bit shocked and was expecting a bigger capacity bike with more cylinders . The front end and back end have been impeccable in all conditions and no matter how hard I push it , I just feel that the combination of Flymo`s old shock , Paul the 6th`s front springs and Luckypants` help , I have a spot on handling SV for my abilities and preference .

Sounds about right, it also reduced the dive on braking for me which gave me a lot more confidence in stopping (and therefore going!). Still not happy with the brakes though, going to give them a thorough service.

Originally Posted by Dave20046

Sounds about right, it also reduced the dive on braking for me which gave me a lot more confidence in stopping (and therefore going!). Still not happy with the brakes though, going to give them a thorough service.

Aaaah that is where you have hit the button on the head , my brakes gave me so much more confidance to squeeze progressively and a bit harder and relax them where necessary without the front end heading South . They give me good feedback and have now shown me how Weedy they really are as well , I have had to back off on some corners knowing full well that the brakes may not stop me in time for certain conditions ahead and it is not the initial action of the brakes that I have complaint with , it`s the amount of bite that just doesn`t seem to be quite there when required , almost like the pads are glazed a bit , a smidge more and I would be happy . It`s more a case of some different pads I expect as I reckon these are OEM ones and anyone that follows me knows sure well that I am not very Brake happy anyway and just tend to roll the throttle off and use engine braking to slow the bike down enough for some corners .

So it could be quite some time before I wear the front brake pads out , well , enough for me to let the Queen start blinking on the £20 notes in my wallet when I let daylight in there again

[yorkie_chris]

GSXR front ends rule. You can brake like a spastic.

I think a change of pads will be enough for me Mate

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

GSXR front ends rule. You can brake like a spastic.

They still concern me; a)parting with money I probably won't see a return on and b) how the frame will withstand the combination of an SV, gsxr forks and crashy mcgee
Thinking it's about time I bought that bloody gsxr.

Springs and oil are good enough if you ask me for the money , it`s a case of diminishing returns .

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

Springs and oil are good enough if you ask me for the money , it`s a case of diminishing returns .

Exactly.

I say 80% of benefit is springs and oil. 10% for GSXR parts dialled in OK. 5% revalving it, last 5% would be traxxion gas charged cartridges and forged/carbon wheels.

Though I did the GSXR conversion for something like £15 after selling off the SV parts!

Yeah you then get down to spending more and more money for smaller returns , but it`s in our nature to whittle away at these things until we achieve perfection , Some of us just have to draw the line and say "Nope not spending anymore in the pursuit of perfection" . Always reminds me of those guys that spend £30,000 on making some daft car go like the clappers and run rings around a Porsche and then flog it for £7,000 with no chance of getting any of the money back . And what do they with that £7,000 . They go and buy a Nissan Micra with it and then do the same again , it`s in their nature to Engineer perfection into things not designed for that purpose . They could have gone out and bought a Porsche in the first place , but where is the fun in that ? It`s the same with us I suppose , the SV is the single most modified bike I have ever seen , I am not saying that is fact , but it`s one of those bikes that is very adaptable and I am always scanning bikes with an eye on detail to see if anyone has done anything unique to make it better for them .

[Nobbylad]

This little puppy arrived safely at mine this week



Yum...yum!