2007 SV650: Project better late than never

[Sijray21]

that's great! makes me miss tracking my bike; it was so much different than the car and i enjoyed it a lot. TPM did a great job when i did their sessions, but i found that the instructor to student ratio was a bit higher than i would've liked. if you keep it up i highly recommend doing a CornerSpeed course. The one i did was VIR full.

[V1GiLaNtE]

that's great! makes me miss tracking my bike; it was so much different than the car and i enjoyed it a lot. TPM did a great job when i did their sessions, but i found that the instructor to student ratio was a bit higher than i would've liked. if you keep it up i highly recommend doing a CornerSpeed course. The one i did was VIR full.

It was a really interesting experience comparing the bike to the car. I definitely enjoyed the bike experience more. I felt more "at home". I think I lucked out because there overall attendance was low. I've heard CornerSpeed a mentioned a few times and I'll definitely take a look!

[rherold9]

I'm guessing this is the woes of the miata life. 

Nice riding from what it looks like to my noob bike eyes and for 5 months of riding that doesn't look bad at all? Not sure how similar a bike line is to a car line, but I could tell regardless your line could be cleaned up a little? I don't want to assume anything though. If this is your first time ever I'd say great job!

Looks like more of an adrenaline rush than driving a car around a track... Did you notice adrenaline shakes once you got off your bike after each session?

[V1GiLaNtE]

Nice riding from what it looks like to my noob bike eyes and for 5 months of riding that doesn't look bad at all? Not sure how similar a bike line is to a car line, but I could tell regardless your line could be cleaned up a little? I don't want to assume anything though. If this is your first time ever I'd say great job!

Looks like more of an adrenaline rush than driving a car around a track... Did you notice adrenaline shakes once you got off your bike after each session?

Oh the line could definitely use some work, but was indeed my first time ever. In terms of the adrenaline I didn't really notice being affected by it. I felt really calm and in control the whole ride. It honestly didn't feel much different then my exit ramp hooligan antics. But it was certainly something to be out in the open blasting around the track. It felt so much more raw than driving a car. 

If anything I am sore as hell and noticed that throughout the day.

[rherold9]

Looking forward to your progress then!

[BLINGMW]

As a random note, does anybody have any experience swapping fork springs and fluid? I'm looking at going with a set of Sonic Springs sprung for my weight and 15wt fork oil. If I can do it myself it seems to be a reasonable upgrade for $100. Then I'll have to sort out the rear which is pretty much sprung for children.

That's what I did on my GS500 to make it a much better track bike, plus a rear spring/shock from a katana. It was a little more work than I wanted to do, figuring out how to suspend the bike without a lift, making sure the preload spacers were right for my weight, and measuring the right amount of fluid to put back in, but definitely worth it. I lowsided the bike once at Jefferson circuit due to a combination of no remaining suspension travel and likely poor body position, but the bike was so much more responsive and predictable with correct springs. And it hurt the streetability zero.

The only other advice I can share for a trackday is buy a gallon of water, not chilled, and drink at least that much during the day, and wear earplugs.

Nice video! Soon you'll be able to keep up with any 600 if you focus on your body position and consistent lines.

[Senor_Taylor]

You're a mad man.

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[V1GiLaNtE]

As a random note, does anybody have any experience swapping fork springs and fluid? I'm looking at going with a set of Sonic Springs sprung for my weight and 15wt fork oil. If I can do it myself it seems to be a reasonable upgrade for $100. Then I'll have to sort out the rear which is pretty much sprung for children.

That's what I did on my GS500 to make it a much better track bike, plus a rear spring/shock from a katana. It was a little more work than I wanted to do, figuring out how to suspend the bike without a lift, making sure the preload spacers were right for my weight, and measuring the right amount of fluid to put back in, but definitely worth it. I lowsided the bike once at Jefferson circuit due to a combination of no remaining suspension travel and likely poor body position, but the bike was so much more responsive and predictable with correct springs. And it hurt the streetability zero.

The only other advice I can share for a trackday is buy a gallon of water, not chilled, and drink at least that much during the day, and wear earplugs.

Nice video! Soon you'll be able to keep up with any 600 if you focus on your body position and consistent lines.

I figured at the very least correct springs and a ZX10r shock for street riding would be leaps and bounds against this decade old suspension.

Way ahead of you on the tips. I already drink a bunch of water during the day so I pounded 2 powerades and a gallon of water during the event. Not to mention snacks. Ear plugs were a must from the start. Though, I forgot them my last two sessions and I'm paying for it. I'm looking forward to getting back out there!


Here's another quick vid following Troy, one of the CRs.

[*insertusernamehere*]

*claps*

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[V1GiLaNtE]

As part of the after action report I've started narrowing down a few items I'd like to address on the bike. There's no reason to get ahead of myself with "WOW NEED NEW BIKE" or anything along those lines. For now there are few things that could be improved both for streeability and track duty. 

1) Foot Controls
I was scraping pegs (or at least the little feeler guys) on some of the deeper corners. Now granted the pegs on the bike are aftermarket and the feelers were quite long. Based on how they look now I probably took a 1" piece of metal down to .25". SO, first step is removing the little feeler guys. I may purchase a set of adjuster plates from SV Racing parts and take them with me to the next track day and install as necessary. The SV riding position is more "commuting" friendly so they are already lower than your typical sports bike. 

2) Suspension
Plain and simple it sucks. Maybe if I wasn't 50lbs heavier than what the springs were intended for I'd leave them alone, but at ~200lb + gear a decade old suspension is unreliable and probably not safe. So at the very least I want to get springs and fork oil which is appropriate for my weight as well as a rear shock.

3) Chain & Sprocket
I knew going in I wanted to replace this since I don't know how old the current one is. It's literally the driving force for the bike and after track use I'm sure it's going to wear faster.

[rherold9]

Yeah, 2:40 of this video scared me

[V1GiLaNtE]

Yeah, 2:40 of this video scared me

The crazy part is once the initial point got grounded up it would roll right smoothly through the corners. It definitely threw me off a few times in the beginning.

[V1GiLaNtE]

2) Suspension
Plain and simple it sucks. Maybe if I wasn't 50lbs heavier than what the springs were intended for I'd leave them alone, but at ~200lb + gear a decade old suspension is unreliable and probably not safe. So at the very least I want to get springs and fork oil which is appropriate for my weight as well as a rear shock.

Picked up a 06/07 ZX-10r shock for about $60 shipped. These are normally going for $120+ on ebay. This year is extra desirable as the reservoir is at a 90 degree angle which means no cutting of the battery box. Direct bolt-on. Excited to get this installed when it arrives as it allows me to dump the shitty old shock for this one with Preload, Compression Damping, and Rebound Damping. The stock SV is Preload only. The forums say this one upgrade literally transforms the entire way the bike feels.  

+1 for gold

[V1GiLaNtE]

In between all the rain I was able to install the ZX10r shock on Memorial Day. The unit I received looked exactly as pictured in the ad and came nicely boxed.

Install was super easy thanks to all the information available online. It's a matter of suspending the rear suspension to take pressure off the shock, removing three bolts, and replacing with the new shock. The ZX10r shock raises the tail of the SV about a quarter of an inch and was VERY noticeable. A lot of people comment this is actually beneficial to the geometry of the bike. The post install ride was night and day. No more saggy, bouncy suspension on the highway or deep turns. I took the chance to run my favorite exit ramp circuit and was pushing the bike harder and harder as the rear just planted and stuck all the way through. As expected, now the front of the bike feels like crap. The plan there is to install some proper weight springs and fork oil. I need to get to reading on making proper adjustments to the rebound and compression. The current settings I got from the interwebz for a 205lb rider aka Me.

TL : DR - Easy install. Bike handles like a dream. Big fat reservoir looks tits.

[V1GiLaNtE]

I like camping and exploring. I tend to do most of the camping part in the 4Runner. Recently, I've been getting the urge to pack up my hammock, back packing stove, etc. and hit the road on the motorcycle for some old fashion "sleep where you park it". In order to carry those items I've been wanting to have a more "touring" setup to strap everything down. I looked around and most luggage racks are a whopping $180+. That's way too much money. I got this idea that I could build my own removable luggage rack utilizing a passenger seat.

I scored a spare seat on ebay for $16 total shipped to the house. First thing I did was pull off all the material until it was down to the frame.



I went ahead a bought a sheet of 16g steel and created an extended template to maximize the space between the grab handle.

(Ugly. Whatever, it's rough cut.)




The plan is to continue to cut, grind and shape the plate until it's a good size. I'm thinking about folding the edges over to make a more aesthetically pleasing product. For now, it'll be function > form as I get it to the proper shape and bolted down to the seat with the hardware I bought.



The overall goal is to have a flat rack where I can strap down a duffel for trips and then remove and replace with my regular passenger seat all for less than $50 in materials.

[GTBrandon]

I’m confused why you couldn’t just strap your bag down to the seat instead of the plate?

Side note, I’m doing something like this next weekend down blue ridge parkway and then off-road to a camping spot. Plan on probably removing the rear seat and replacing with a duffle bag I can strap to the sissy bar somehow. Excited to see how loading up the bike and camping with it will be.

[V1GiLaNtE]

I’m confused why you couldn’t just strap your bag down to the seat instead of the plate?

Side note, I’m doing something like this next weekend down blue ridge parkway and then off-road to a camping spot. Plan on probably removing the rear seat and replacing with a duffle bag I can strap to the sissy bar somehow. Excited to see how loading up the bike and camping with it will be.

More usable and secure space. The seat is only so wide and by making the plate wide and longer I can also integrate tie in points on the plate.Plus I found with the vinyl seat my bag would slide around a lot even if it was strapped down. I'm thinking I may try and integrate some sort of attachment for an MSR fuel bottle to carry spare fuel. I see a lot of Dual Sport/ADV guys doing it. Plus I like building shit. 

Oh? As in like this weekend?

[GTBrandon]

Oh damn I should pick one of those MSR bottles up for the trip just in case, I just didn’t want to cary around a canister given it’s awkward size.

Yeah we’re leaving Saturday morning from JMU, cruising down the parkway, and setting up camp somewhere that night. Come one come all!

[.RJ]

I do a bunch of camping with my bicycle, I'm on board with this idea.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Oh damn I should pick one of those MSR bottles up for the trip just in case, I just didn’t want to cary around a canister given it’s awkward size.

Yeah we’re leaving Saturday morning from JMU, cruising down the parkway, and setting up camp somewhere that night. Come one come all!

Make an event on the forum and drop the coordinates. Might be able to make it up.