My New Toy

I picked up a super clean 07 Suzuki SV650S from Columbus Cycle Shop out I-10 on Saturday 1/15/11.  My other ride is a 06 VFR800 outfitted with full bags and topcase and while I have fun sporting around on it, the sucker does weigh 600 pounds so I was looking for something lighter to play on. I also wanted something for track days, which is what started me looking at SV's. Plus I didn't want to break the bank. I didn't intend to buy something in this good a shape, but I got a good deal and the sucker looks like new. I didn't want a GSXR or similar because I'm not looking for top speed, and at the age of 40, comfort is always a factor!

Here it is from a photo that the dealer had on their site.  It’s currently crammed in my garage and the weather has been blah, so I don’t have any good pictures that I’ve taken yet.

So far I've only ridden it home from Columbus on Saturday night, in the rain. I'm an all-weather rider on the VFR so I was comfortable and I had a support vehicle along but we made it hope uneventfully. I won't say it was as comfortable as the VFR, but I had no complaints. I think we have a happy relationship in the future.

I'm going to keep it street legal so I can do more than just track days and I look forward to taking it up to my group's annual trip to ride the Dragon at Deal's gap. I think after pushing the VFR around those curves, this lightweight is gonna have me all giddy.

I'm already on the mod/farkle route. I normally like stock-looking bikes and don't make big changes, but I might be different on this one. It already has the fender eliminator kit along with the LED signals front and rear. I've also ordered a set of TechSpec snake skins for the sides of the tank for better grip, as well as a 3M headlight kit from thetankslapper.biz. I have the Skins on my VFR and like them, and the headlight covers have prevented several scratches and nicks on the VFR headlights so I'm putting them on the SV as well. Tape for track days come right off the 3M without damage to the film.Frame sliders have been ordered to help protect it should it get dropped.

After I get a few miles in the saddle to to figure out my riding posture, I'll send the seat off to Spencer (at greatdaytoride.com) to have him put gel into the seat for me (75 bucks). And eventually that humongous muffler has got to go as well.  There’s LOTS of options down that route.

Oh, and tires. It still has a set of the D220's and I don't know if I trust them. I had a set of hard Metzler Z4's be partially responsible for an off I had in the past, so I'm a definitely a fan of something stickier. I run Bridgestone BT-016 on my VFR and love them.  I was thinking to do something different on the SV. I started looking up prices for the BT-016, Pilot Powers, and some others.  In the end, I just let final price be the deciding factor and ended up ordering a set of the BT-016 rubbers for this one as well.  We’ll see how they hold up on this lightweight.  This motorcycle isn’t going to be used regularly for commuting so straight line tire life isn’t as much a factor as it is on the VFR but I’ve still had good performance from the Bridgestone.  Of couse when it hits 100 degrees in the summer, this semi-naked bike may get ridden more simply because there’s more air flow around the rider.

Anyway, stay tuned.  The stuff I ordered should all be in by next week at the latest and we have a lot of work to do.  Just to start out, I’m changing all the fluids (oil, brake, coolant) so I know exactly what’s in the motorcycle and when it was put in.  Plus there’s the ordered stuff that’ll need to be installed, and in a month or 2, we’ll have to work on getting a new muffler on it.  Sounds like fun