New SV. Few Questions/Comments.

Complete novice biker as of three weeks ago. I researched bikes while doing my CBT/Test and decided that a restricted SV 650S would be a good choice for a first bike.

Only a weekend warrior but have managed to clock 200-400 miles for the past three weekends and can already feel myself improving. I do however have a few questions specific to SV maintenance and parts I would like some help with though.

Bearing in mind any recommendations should be towards a complete beginner mechanic, no experience on working on bikes beforehand but have some literature and videos and am keen to learn how to do the basics by myself.

# Are there any recommended upgrades that I should be looking to get on top of what I already have such as replacing parts/extras? I already have crash protectors, a rear hugger, fender extender and HEL front brake lines.

# What are Debrix Emulators? Seen a lot of talk about these and was wanting some more information on them and whether it may be worth investing in?

# I will be needing to replace my rear tire in ~1000 miles. What are the recommended tires in terms of price/quality?

# In terms of maintaining my bike what should I be looking for? What should I be checking, how should I be checking it and how often should I be checking it?

# What kind of mileage do I need to be checking/replacing oli filters, air filters, brake pads, spark plugs and chain/sprockets after?

# Going about 80 mph on the motorway something rather unnerving happened. All I can describe it as is it felt as if my back wheel was 'bumping'. The road surface seemed completely smooth and the bumps were so hard it raised me off my seat. I came of the motorway and and checked my tires and everything seemed in order, although the problem did happen again but only at higher speeds, and did seem to go away later. The bumps were always quite uniform. Does this sound like anything common?

Thanks for all your help!

[Fallout]

Can't help you with any of your specific questions but get yourself a Haynes pronto. If you're going to have a go at maintenance yourself, you need a reference. Asking someone what to check, when and how often etc. is asking someone to rewrite the manual for you. Haynes may not be perfect for the more involved stuff, but if you don't know anything they make all the basics very easy.

Probably help if you mention what the bike is - age and mileage at least.

Just ride it for now rather than upgrading.

Emulators improve the damping of the front forks. You really should do this at the same time as changing the fork oil and springs to something that suits your weight.

Tyres - Lots of people like the Avon Storm or the Michelin Pilot road 3.

Check tyre pressures, tread depth and look for nails often, check the oil level and the chain condition (oil if needed) every riding day. Get hold of the suzuki workshop manuals which can be downloaded in PDF format for free - they will go over all the checks that you need to do right up to the major services.

Mine used to launch me out of my seat after the original rear shock lost all interest in doing any damping. I'd wait for more experienced diagnosis before jumping to conclusions though.

The bumping is probably a badly adjusted or worn out chain multiplied by the weak suspension. Maybe best to get someone to look over your bike for you? Where are you?

Yeah sorry I wasn't looking for anyone to go out their way doing anything particularly in depth, was more after a quick list of thing to keep an eye out for.

Oh yeah, its a 650S K6 with ~8000 miles.

I live between Chesterfield, Sheffield and Huddersfield. But can get pretty much all over. I had it serviced when I first got it so I would presume everything should be fine. I'll take a look next weekend and post pictures if anything looks suspicious.

Oh and fitting an emulator costly/difficult to do?

[Biker Biggles]

Make sure you can check the basics like oil level tyre pressures chain tension and brake pad thickness.Check the oil regularly and make sure you never ride it with low oil level.Id leave the emulator thing well alone until you have lots of experience just riding it.The bumping through the rear at speed seems like a rear suspension issue.Has it got the original shock in it?Is the chain tension too tight?Tyre pressures OK?If in doubt about those get someone to have a look for you.

[Fallout]

Originally Posted by OWhite

Yeah sorry I wasn't looking for anyone to go out their way doing anything particularly in depth, was more after a quick list of thing to keep an eye out for.

No bother. It's just when you take into account everything you need some knowledge about, you really need a manual if you have no experience. Forum advice may only give you half the picture. For example nobody has mentioned brake fluid levels yet, which obviously are pivotal to not crashing into trees.

Originally Posted by OWhite

I had it serviced when I first got it so I would presume everything should be fine.

I too would've presumed that when I started riding, but having used a few dodgy garages in the past that faith will soon go! Doing things yourself (or at least being able to check work yourself) is the right choice as trustworthy garages seem hard to come by.

Originally Posted by OWhite

Oh and fitting an emulator costly/difficult to do?

Remove front wheel, brakes and then out come the forks. Some drilling / brazing may be needed, I can't recall specifics for the pointy as I have not done one. Not a difficult job if you are OK with general motorbike mechanics, need to find some way of supporting the bike ie headstock stand, garage rafters etc though.

Just changing the springs and oil helps a lot especially if you are not the 7 stone Japanese guy Suzuki sprung the bike for .

Regarding the rear wheel bumping, it's probably worth having a quick look to make sure any wheel balancing weights haven't come off. Could simply be a matter of the wheel needing balancing, especially if it's only happening at speed.

Originally Posted by OWhite

Oh and fitting an emulator costly/difficult to do?

No, you can do it yourself. Its the bits and pieces that could be an issue. First you need the Emulators. Do some research online or on this site for more info on how to get them. Then, for your bike (and mine), you need to remove and disassemble the forks to remove the Damper Rod. Its recommended to add a couple of holes in the rod and braze the rebound hole (again, do a little research). You'll probably need a machinist to do this for you unless you have all the right tools and know how to use them.

The only other thing needed is a spacer (very thin peice of metal or plastic in the shape of a ring). This will fit between the damper rod and the emulator valve circumfrence, allowing the two to seal together so that the fluid only runs through the valve and not escape down its sides. You can also crop the stock spacer tubes to accommodate the added length of the emulator so that your preload stays the same (a tube cutter will suffice).

The fitting bit its easy - its the same process as disassembling and re-assembling the forks, only with a few extra bits added. Only tricky bits is initially removing the damper rod bolt and then torquing this back up.

As for other mods, I think MarkC is right. Once you really ride it you'll start working out for yourself what can be changed or imporved. Only other thing I'd recommend doing over time is changing some of the cheap bolts for aluminium etc where possible to prevent corroding problems over time.