Alternative bellypan

[eddybail]

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting and I would just like to say hello and ask you all a question or two.

I've just bought myself an sv650x after riding a vstrom650 for the last 3 years because I know the engines are sweet as!

My question is, and forgive me if its already been talked about, but has anyone ever come across an alternative bellypan than the fo aerodynamic sports ones?

I'd like something similar to the plastic vstrom belly bellypan which is more just a giant mud guard because I know how rust-prone certain engine bits are. Might look rubbish but wandered what everyones thoughts are on this?

Thanks in advance

[admin]

Welcome to the forum eddy. Have you looked at items designed for the DL650? Same engine so the mounting would be similar.

[Seeker]

Welcome.
If Suzuki deliberately tried to create a bike that could get as dirty as possible in as short a time as possible they succeeded with the latest generation. I considered a belly pan but wondered if it might trap moisture and make it more difficult to clean. Ignoring that sensible thought completely I started polishing the headers and because of that I decided to go with the mudflap plan, this is the 8th or 9th iteration. My bike is 4 years old this year with 28k miles.





It started with a Pyramid fender extender to which I added an ebay long mudflap - these tend to be too soft and flexible so I had to put stiffeners inside and at the same time extended it further. The mudflap is attached to the extender with nylon screws.

The good news is that it keeps the header and oil filter clean the bad news is that it looks a bit naff. I suspect that the sides of the engine are getting dirty from spray coming off the sides and top of the front mudguard but when I tried a couple of ideas to prevent that it blew the top off my naff-ometer.

As far as I can tell the main area for rust is the the gear change shaft as it enters the engine and the various bits of gear change linkage. The brake hose distribution thingy under the headlamp needs watching too as does the rear shock inside the spring and the cheapie spring clips on hoses. It goes without saying that any screw head immediately wants an unholy tryst with salt water.

[eddybail]

I'd like to avoid the mud flap route as it will spoil the look of the bike. The bellypan I had on my vstrom xt required some extra bolt on rods which made the cover fairly wide around the engine which will likely spoil the look too.

I suppose the best option is to just avoid rain, but we all know that that's boring

[garynortheast]

Hi Eddy and welcome along. Can’t offer any belly pan advice I’m afraid but good luck with the hunt!

[gadget]

I've been searching for ages for an alternative belly pan for my curvy S, just don't really like the half dozen or so that are on offer on ebay etc. Made the decision to create my own version using a Honda cbr125 pan as a baseline, chop it about a bit, reshape with glass fibre and then take a mould from it . I should end up with something that I really like and is a bit different from the items already on offer.
It's a bit of a faff I know but well worth the work I think.
Will post some pics when done.
Not the same kind of look you're after I know but if you're good with glass fibre you could create a 'one off' from something that was not quite to your liking but fitted ok to start with.
Just a thought.

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by Seeker

If Suzuki deliberately tried to create a bike that could get as dirty as possible in as short a time as possible they succeeded with the latest generation.

As far as I can tell the main area for rust is the the gear change shaft as it enters the engine and the various bits of gear change linkage. The brake hose distribution thingy under the headlamp needs watching too as does the rear shock inside the spring and the cheapie spring clips on hoses. It goes without saying that any screw head immediately wants an unholy tryst with salt water.

Agree with all of the above - although oddly I've found the shock is well shielded by the factory mudguard flap that covers the ABS module.

I don't have a hugger on this one, I had one on my previous SV and it seemed to be as much use as the front mudguard (i.e. useless).

[admin]

I never had a belly pan but I did fit a piece of black plastic down tube over the starter motor as that was prone to corrosion. I had a hugger on my curvy as the spray wrecked the sub frame which I eventually got powder coated.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

[R1ffR4ff]

If you can't find something to suit you should buy some ACF50 anyway and keep the engine clean and wiped with some ACF50,

http://www.acf-50.co.uk/motorcycle.htm

Most local Motorcycle shops now sell it and or,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACF50-Ant...AAAOSwe2Jdyobo

I use it on all my fasteners,electrics,plastics,tank etc and coolant hoses and have done for over 15 years on bikes

And although not pristine,"Greta" looks pretty good for a 20+ year old machine,

[svenrico]

'If Suzuki deliberately tried to create a bike that could get as dirty as possible in as short a time as possible they succeeded with the latest generation. I considered a belly pan but wondered if it might trap moisture and make it more difficult to clean.' That is the conclusion I have come to regarding muck seeming to get everywhere . I like the look of a bellypan but I also think it would just make the bottom front of the engine more difficult to get at to clean and not actually do much. I am looking for a hugger but Pyramid Plastics seem to have discontinued their hugger for the latest sv650a model although they are still available on ebay from Ray Williams motorcycles. Wonder if they discontinued it because the mounting fractured sometimes as somebody reported on here.