Why the focus on performance riding?

I've been riding since 1964, and over 18 years of that time were as a police motorcyclist - been away from bikes for about 15 years but now have a 200 SV650S for my son and I.

Thoroughly enjoy the forum, but I do find extraordinary focus on street riding performance - uprated forks, shocks, brakes and so on. I have always enjoyed "spirited" riding and feel reasonably qualified to comment after having ridden overloaded police motorcycles (radio, panniers = bricks, and other equipment) where steering and suspension settings were non adjustable and no choice of tyres and pressures. For me it's not WHAT you ride but HOW you ride it.

I really believe that too much emphasis is given to trying to achieve track performance on our roads. Whilst the SV650 is clearly a compromise with price and performance I see little point in changing the front end over a change of springs/oil for road use. I love the feel of this beautiful v twin and enjoy riding it.

Our bike is mainly for my 18 year old son but I am quite happy to ride it completely standard and take it through the twisties or motorway blasts. We live in Spain and although mainly dry, many roads simply do not give good adhesion. My main concern is over tyre choice.

I've ridden/owned Yamaha Yr5 350, all Suzuki triples, BMW r100S, ZX10, Laverda RGS100, XJ650 and several police bikes.....

I am not an old f*rt or killjoy and only wish to express an opinion - to one and all, safe and happy riding.

Popcorn anyone??!!

Yep, I agree Martin... standard SV650S is fine for me.
Financially I don't see the point spending my hard earned moola on extras for a 10 year old bike. So long as the engine's in good nick, brakes strong, tyres fresh, and suspension setup as best as possible - I'm happy.
I don't ride on the ragged edge, so I'm happy with the standard bike.

[Dave20046]

If it gives people confidence in their bike then why knock it?
My bike feels hugely more stable than a standard sv and I feel much safer for it!

[Biker Biggles]

Its about how much bang for your bucks.Many of us are a bit(lot)heavier than the bike is set up,so a set of springs and fork oil at the front and a ZX6 rear shock make sense for about £100 all in.If you are the regulation 10 stone then even that may be OTT.I do agree that on the road it rarely matters too much.

[kaivalagi]

Being over 35 and very new to riding i.e. training at present, I would be interested in the general opinion of this too. I have a deposit down on a new SV650 sport...just need to get through those mod 1 and 2 hoops first.

Very good point Biker Biggles, I am 14 stone (I love my food ) and wonder if the suspension will be somewhat lacking, although I wont have anything to gauge that against.....I assume the bike will be okay on the hardest settings though?

I am 15st 7lbs and my son is 8 stone - forks are standard springs but 15 oil - rear shock is standard on setting 6 for me and two up - only had full bottom out on front once - I will consider progressive fork springs, but the rear shock is sufficient for now.

Originally Posted by kaivalagi

Being over 35 and very new to riding i.e. training at present, I would be interested in the general opinion of this too. I have a deposit down on a new SV650 sport...just need to get through those mod 1 and 2 hoops first.

Very good point Biker Biggles, I am 14 stone (I love my food ) and wonder if the suspension will be somewhat lacking, although I wont have anything to gauge that against.....I assume the bike will be okay on the hardest settings though?

you can't change the stiffness of the suspension without swapping the springs. at 14st the spring rate will be too soft for optimum suspension performance, but whether or not this is an issue for you will depend on how fast you ride and on what kind of roads. dont worry about it till you can feel that theres a problem!

to the OP, modifying bikes isnt all about performance (ask any h***** d****** rider ). its also about individuality. and cos lots of us just like messing about with spanners.

[kaivalagi]

Originally Posted by mjc

you can't change the stiffness of the suspension without swapping the springs. at 14st the spring rate will be too soft for optimum suspension performance, but whether or not this is an issue for you will depend on how fast you ride and on what kind of roads. dont worry about it till you can feel that theres a problem!

Thanks for that, If I need to could I get away with putting in thicker grade oil in the forks?...you can tell I am a noob Off to read about fork suspension in detail....probably not the right place to discuss this anyway! edit: helps with damping but preload requires more stiffer springs...

Mods I will probably do when possible to not upset Suzuki's warranty are crash bungs, tail tidy (will stock indicators and plate), rear hugger, and when I can, a carbon short can (with removal baffle for MOT) so people hear me coming!

to mjc :-

like I said, I am just expressing an opinion - like you.

I have been messing around with spanners for a long time - I like it too.