Highway cruising

Well its been 2 months now and am going farther and farther on my cruises. Lately am finding myself on main highways for alittle bit. Cruising around 80-85, rpm's are around 6-6500. Is that comfortable for the sv you think? Am not sure if its just me but seems i get a funny smell from the bike after 10-15 miles of straight 80mph cruising. Should i just back off to 65 on highways for long cruises and keep the rpm's lower?

[yorkie_chris]

What sort of smell?

[Stu]

shouldn't be stressing the SV at all unless there's something wrong with yours. I cruise at 7-8K revs FWIW.

[northwind]

I held mine at just under (and just over) 100mph with luggage on for about 3 hours constantly on the way home from Wales a while back, it didn't seem to mind

[embee]

Originally Posted by northwind

I held mine at just under (and just over) 100mph with luggage on for about 3 hours constantly on the way home from Wales ....

A wise decision.










(Sorry all Welsh, couldn't resist)

[Richie]

Originally Posted by KillaSV

Cruising around 80-85, rpm's are around 6-6500. Is that comfortable for the sv you think?
Very comfortable indeed

Am not sure if its just me but seems i get a funny smell from the bike after 10-15 miles of straight 80mph cruising.
how can you smell what your bike smells like at 80 mph? I'd check all fluid levels, if all is okay then it might be the end can if not standard (but thats behind you , panto season...) , the packing maybe burning away... or just some oil on the engine burning off. Best to run the bike after checking all fluid levels are correct, then get her up to temp, say about 92 -102 degrees C or 198 - 216 degrees F and keep it there for about 4 minutes to see if the smell is present.
Should i just back off to 65 on highways for long cruises and keep the rpm's lower?
No, no sir E bob, keep it up there and enjoy that V-Twin.

This message has been brought to you today by the letter S & V and by the number 650... Keep on

Cant describe the smell really. All i can explain is if you get into a new car and romp on it awhile you'll get a funny smell from the engine. its not oil, its not antifreeze..

how can you smell what your bike smells like at 80 mph? I'd check all fluid levels, if all is okay then it might be the end can if not standard (but thats behind you , panto season...) , the packing maybe burning away... or just some oil on the engine burning off. Best to run the bike after checking all fluid levels are correct, then get her up to temp, say about 92 -102 degrees C or 198 - 216 degrees F and keep it there for about 4 minutes to see if the smell is present.

When i get all tucked down and my helmet is under the windscreen is when i can smell it. When i first bought it the salesman (who races sv's) told me to it warmed up to 160f before i go. So never leave under that

[yorkie_chris]

Just hot engine smell?

If it doesn't either:
smell like boiling antifreeze, and look like a cloud of steam
smell like burning oil, and come with complimentary cloud of smoke
smell like burning wire, and come with all your electrics going AWOL
smell like fuel, can be followed by smell of burning flesh

Then it's just hot engine smell, and it'll be right

coolness. Engine running around 168-170.My electronics havent been popping on or going awol. Not gonna worry bout it then, Thanks guys.

Highly, highly doubt that 80-85mph on the freeway for miles on end are going to harm your bike.
Hearing and feeling the bike reving @6,000 or so feels (to some riders) like a big deal, and some guys I've known start thinking about putting big front sprockets on to achieve crazy-low RPM while cruising.

On my 2007 SV-650K7, after a ride, the forward edge of the stock muffler can seems hotter than other bikes I've owned, accompanied by a smell that seems to go along with it.
I believe there's a catalytic converter wedged in the front of the muffler that gets pretty hot during operation, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're smelling this.