Mods for a Noob

Hi all,

Have just had my test date confrmed as October 7th and will be picking up my new SV650Sport on the following friday. I was just wondering what are the recommended mods to do first? I was thinking crash bungs and a tail tidy. I take it that these are easy to install (although I have no experience of car or bike maintenance, I am a graduate engineer).

I have been recently reading some of the threads about tires, and lots of people have been putting down the standard tires, are they that bad? I will be riding my bike in both sun and rain so will the tyres be ok for a noob in the rain or would I really benefit from some new tyres such as avon storms?

Im sure that a new exhaust will be recommended in the replies, however im a little reluctant to get one straight away as I think they may be expensive(?) and the only effect they will have is a change of noise(?)

Anyway, fire away with the suggestions....

Crash bungs definatly. Not saying you will crash, but if you even drop the bike while moving it about or it gets blown off the side-stand, they'll save you sufering damage to e.g. levers.

An exhaust is a good mod, and they dont have to be expensive - I have a Fuel oval stainless steel exhaust on my SV, with a removable baffle...cost about £130 (ok, that still seems like a fair old wack).

Don't worry about tyres yet - your new, so you wont know the differance between one tyre over another. Just put the miles in on the standard tyres, and if you start to feel they are sliding about or whatever, then think about changing.

Tail tidy is a very nice idea

Will you be riding in winter?

7 October - so you take the new style test then?

I'd go for bungs first as they are low cost but could save you a fortune as and when (not an if) you drop it. I don't mean to be offensive but everyone drops the bike at some stage. You might consider upgrading the fork springs and oil as well.

[fizzwheel]

Bungs, Tailtidy, Exhaust and save the rest for petrol !!!

Exhaust isnt expensive, a Fuel or a Carbon Can Company can is gonig to be around £110 ish and thats what I'd go for.

Theres nothing IMHO majorly wrong with the standard tyres, Leave them on and use them and wear them out and then replace them with something else.

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

Will you be riding in winter?

Yes, but probably not as much, and not when its snowing

Originally Posted by Ed

7 October - so you take the new style test then?

Yeah, looks like it. Although after looking on the web at what the new test entails, im not so sure why people think it will be that much harder? The only difference is the "assualt course " that you have to do before going out on the road.


Are there any recommended make of crash bungs? and places to buy them?

Thanks for all the advice so far

Well consider heated grips, but its probably best to see how cold your hands get first.

(I use a cunning combo of heated grips and handlebar muffs. I dont use my winter gloves now)

R&G crash bungs are generally quite good

[Nobbylad]

When I modded my bike (new in July this year) I went for mods that would offer better protection or improve saftey/longevity of the bike over anything that was merely cosmetic (which I will do when I have more spare cash).

So, I got the R&G crash bungs as they bolt straight on with no cutting of the plastics. There are a few reviews/differences of opinion on the R&G bungs vs. Motosliders etc, however I decided that if I have a big off, the crash bungs probably wont save too much anyway and a simple slip/drop of the bike, the R&G ones should easily cope.

Stebel Nautilus air horn - £25, easy to fit and lets people know you're there....plus the stock horn was a) crap sounding and b) often didn't work after 15 mins riding - apparently it gets hot (it is right behind the radiator) and stops working

Airflow/double bubble screen - I commute to Mancheser everyday M58, M6, M62, M602 so thought this would help with keeping the wind off. It's OK but has ended up being more cosmetic than useful in my opinion (I have a black K8 SV650S and the screen is black)

Fender extender - again, lots of commute (in all weather) so helps keep the crap of the radiator/front pipe etc.

Scottoiler - because high miles, crap weather + lack of time to properly de-grease/re-lube the chain all the time

Chewie's mirror spacers - to help me see past my elbows (although they didn't help massively, but any improvement is some improvement I guess).

Got some cheap paddock stands (front and rear) from Busters (£35 for both delivered) to make cleaning and general maintenance easier.

Future mods will be a Rentec sports rack and I'll go for an exhaust when the stock one fails or I have £150 lying around that I can't spend on anything else.

Originally Posted by Nobbylad

Fender extender - again, lots of commute (in all weather) so helps keep the crap of the radiator/front pipe etc.

Any reccomended makes/places to buy? Also has anyone got a picture of what one of these looks like on a bike? (Not to sure exactly what they are)

Originally Posted by Nobbylad

Scottoiler - because high miles, crap weather + lack of time to properly de-grease/re-lube the chain all the time

Forgot to mention I will be getting one of these. Ooops.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUZUKI-SV650-9...d=p3286.c0.m14

This is for a curvy, but you get the idea. It fixes to the rear part of the front fender. Stops water and crap spraying up and sitting in the plug hole, which can cause your bike to misfire.

Good Luck for your test.

[ogden]

If you must start modding, and god knows why people bother, then start with the practical stuff. As a new rider you *will* drop it, so fit some crash bungs. Unless you hate your rear shock, fit a hugger. Any other changes, if worth doing, would be internal to either the engine or suspension, so won't show up.

Or you could go the whole hog and fit carbon this and anodised that - throw the contents of the Busters catalogue at it and see what sticks.