Thinking of getting a dyno done on your sv????

Guys and gals
Just to let you know.........
Being from Northern Ireland we have a history of producing pretty good road racers and TT Champions. One of our heroes, Philip McCallen, now has a bike shop and that's where I bought my SV in 2003. I spoke to him last week about getting a dyno test and fitting a K&N air filter to my 02. Here is his advice.......Don't do it. The airbox on an SV is small therefore a dyno, rejetting and new air filter won't really make an awful lot of difference. In fact, it's more likely to make your SV even less capable if you start messing with things that aren't meant to be messed with. Spend the money on safe clothing and a can if it's still burning a hole in your pocket.
Wise words??? I don't know for sure, but since he's a highly accomplished mechanic as well as a racer he certainly knows a lot more about bikes than me.......and most other people too!!

Cheers
Chris

Interesting. I'm looking forward to some of the responses to this.

All the evidence suggests that there's not too much more you can safely get out of the SV's engine though the right mods can maybe find an extra 5 - 10bhp. Certainly the right air filter with carefully fettled jetting could give you 5bhp.


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Originally Posted by jonboy

All the evidence suggests that there's not too much more you can safely get out of the SV's engine though the right mods can maybe find an extra 5 - 10bhp. Certainly the right air filter with carefully fettled jetting could give you 5bhp.

It's not just the headline power figures though. Throttle response and smoothness through the rev range can be improved.

5 to 10 BHP is a big gain if you look at it in terms of %age against standard.

Originally Posted by Scoobs

It's not just the headline power figures though. Throttle response and smoothness through the rev range can be improved.

5 to 10 BHP is a big gain if you look at it in terms of %age against standard.

This is perfectly true.


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And don't forget something that's ignored a lot : a K&N filter actually saves you money. They last forever.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Chris1

Don't do it. The airbox on an SV is small therefore a dyno, rejetting and new air filter won't really make an awful lot of difference. In fact, it's more likely to make your SV even less capable if you start messing with things that aren't meant to be messed with. Spend the money on safe clothing and a can if it's still burning a hole in your pocket.

If you've only got the cash for safe clothing and a can, then spend it on safe clothing and a can. But you can get quite a bit more out of an SV with inexpensive mods. The perceived wisdom seems to be that above 85rwbhp you start risking crank and rod failures- obvious arbitrary figure there I think- but other than that you're not likely to make it "less capable" if you stick to the tried and tested, and you do it well (ie, don't rejet by reading what someone else has done on their bike and assuming it'll work the same on yours).

I mess with mine as an end in itself... I love to take things to bits. So mine has been worked on past the point where it really makes much sense. For a street bike I doubt full systems make much sense for the SV if you're just going for performance... Quite a big investment in vulnerable parts and setup for not a huge gain.

OTOH, the K3 cam swap gives a very good boost for about the same cost as a jet kit and filter alone (on the carbed model that is)... Ignition advancer costs £25 plus the gasket and oil, for a good kick where it's most useable on the road. Both give you a very good, useable boost in performance without the setup costs.

But as a purely rational thing, it's definately cheaper to go for a bigger bike than it is to try and make the SV act like a bigger bike. Small mods can give a big benefit, big mods quickly hit the point of diminishing returns unless you're doing it for the love of messing with and owning a modified bike. (I'd rather have my modified SV650 than a stock GSXR600 or SV thou)

Originally Posted by Stef

And don't forget something that's ignored a lot : a K&N filter actually saves you money. They last forever.

That's the only reason I bought one...

my dealer tells me that it isnt worth getting my CBR6 done.
as it might give me an extra 10-15bhp, but it will also upset the engine and cause it to wear quicker,

he said the best thing to do with my money, was to invest in a can, and spend the rest on rider training as you will get much more speed from your pound.

(instead of buying things from his shop)

honest dealer . . . there are a few around, just gotta hunt em down.

I faffed on with my SV and couldn't get it right. I'm no expert sure but I ended up thinking it just wasn't worth the hassle. Also while power was up I had less torque. I found it easier to get the wheel off the ground when it was standard.

So only do it if you have a local dyno and know ur stuff.