making touring easier?
 

Hello - I have a curvy SV650s and was wondering in what ways I could make my bike a bit more suited to touring, other than trading it in for a tourer.

Not talking across Europe here, merely to make commuting distances or long rideouts a bit easier on my wrists and body in general.

Any suggestions on replacement bars that make things better, more comfortable and does this then put you in the firing line of the wind and ruin handling?.

Cheers

I have had my S for just a week in most respects love it. The bars are extreme (for someone shortish) however, and there are references to Sunrisers, replacement top yokes etc in other threads here.

So, can we have definitive opinions on options and benefits of these various ways to raise the clip ons? Surely not necessary to spend hundreds on this and ruin stock items - aren't there any clip ons from other bikes that fit?

What do you all think - whats the best solution? If you live in the NE, I'd like to see any modified S's!

BUY A NAKED 1 AND A GEL SEAT

I'm currenly adapting my sv650 for touring.

I'm planning to swap the top yolk and add the sv650 handlebars. I've bought extended clamps which will raise the bars an additional inch and away from the screen.

I'm intending to swap the rearsets with the non-faired version to bring legs forward.

A gel seat is a must. Wish I hadn't sold mine now.

I'd also trade-up some of the sv650's rusting issues with stainless bolts and an aluminium torque arm.

A GSXR shock or something with a softer spring will keep you from being thrown about and will absorb the bad roads though with all the kit it really does compress down. The front is soft and ideal for touring but with all the weight it will really dive.

Get some Z6 tyres (from reviews at this forum).

Or say feck it and buy a BMW r1150 ;)

So Snoopy, you are sure an N top yoke will fit S forks and bottom yoke? I thought there was a difference in geometry. The BM's are nowhere near as sweet - twice the capacity, twice the vibes and no where near twice the performance. Get the bars right and the SV will be near perfect!

Northwind thought that too but mike1234 said they were the same. The fork holes have to be in the same place and the stem is same size so I very much doubt the bottom yolk is different.

I'll find out if and when I get them swapped. I could just drill the top yolk like, it's only four holes. At the moment I can't be arsed with taking the top yolk off to get the clipons off. It'll probably mean fairing disassemble. Oh joy.

I did 17k miles in 13 months on my curvey "S", including a trip to Europe and a number of 300 mile Sundays...... All I changed was the seat, and made sure the bike was cleaned at least twice a week.... My K4 GSXR has done 19k in 16 months.

I have a back condition which now means I need to be more upright, but I could get away with the ergonomics of the curvey S quite easily, they are far more "sports tourer" than plain "sports". If you want to experience "extreme", sit on a 749 or an R6 :shock:

There have been a number of people who have done the "naked bars on an S" conversion on the curvey model, not sure about the Mk2 though.... I think that the fairing needs to be shaved a tad, and you'll need to change cables & hoses.

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