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What did you do to your SV today

1M views 16K replies 2K participants last post by  street1212 
#1 ·
Just thought this would be a cool new topic. If there is already one in existence please let me know so I can delete this one, or a mod can do it. As for me I finished my under tail project and rode the crap out of it.
 
#15,247 ·


got it back together enough to take it for a 45 mile ride. Seems to be doing fairly well. I tore it apart 3 years ago to powdercoat the frame, then my dad gave me his SV1000 and I didn't get around to reassembling it. Not sure whether I like the solid mount headlight or not. Stock tail plastics are going back on, was just testing.
 
#15,255 ·
I installed a SpeedoHealer v4. My speedometer wasn't as far off as it had been on my SV1000, but it was still just under 7% off (based on GPS). I recently went to a Pilot Road 4, 70 aspect ratio front tire, which probably reduced the original 10% factory error.

It was very easy to install, just lift the tank, remove the airbox lid and connect it.

Pretty much everywhere in AZ let's you get away with 10 over. Now I can drive around at 9 over and relax:vroom:
 
#15,260 ·
Cleaned and regreased the SV's rear caliper, boy did it need it!


On the FJR; I cleaned the buttons on the front brake disks and discovered that one of the fork seals had been leaking. Whipped up my first ever seal mate, spun it around the seal, and got some almost resin like stuff out. It's not leaving any extra oil on the stanchion when I pump it, so problem solved if I don't get any from my next ride. And hopefully cleaning the buttons will help with the brake pulse I'm getting from the left disk.
 
#15,264 ·
Oil change at 34212 miles. Next oil change needs to include a filter change.
Washed the bike and rode to work (Just in time for it to get rained on :) )
 
#15,266 ·
Installed an '06 ZX10R shock. Thanks to multiple posts on this site, it went very smoothly.

No one was home to help me check sag, so I built a $0.94, one-man, rear shock sag checking tool. I started with a short curtain rod from Walmart, trimmed one end and added a screw and a couple of nuts that were a snug fit in the rear axle hole. The remaining pieces were a zip tie, some painter's tape, and a sharpie . It worked perfectly. See the pics.



Tool pulled out to show the bottom mount...


Unfortunately, I had reduced preload before installing the shock and ended up adding most of it back when my first rider sag measurement was 42mm.
 
#15,269 ·
Replaced the brake lines (front and rear) with Galfer stainless...they were < $100 for the set (brand new), and Suzuki recommends replacing the OEM rubber lines every 5 years (they were probably the originals, and I have an '04). Also, the Galfer claim that they include mounting brackets is a complete lie. There were no brackets in the kit, so with some minor modifications to the old ones I have some of the lines supported permanently. Zip ties are retaining the 2nd line and speedo cable for the time being, until I can obtain some proper metal/rubber p-clamps.

Fresh DOT 4 all around, and I had no problems at all getting them to bleed using conventional means. I'm not sure why everyone thinks you need some special banjo bolt, etc. I used a vac pump on the caliper bleed screws to suck fluid down from the reservoir, which also flushed out the calipers. The old fluid may have been original, it was fairly brown.

The brake levers definitely feel much firmer than before. This is good and bad...the bad being that squishy brake lines are more forgiving if you grab a fistful of brake in a panic, and they will also smoothen out small vibrations while braking better. I'm generally very deliberate with my braking modulation, and so far no unusual pulsation.

I also put some RTV on the backside of the rear pads, which got rid of the annoying brake squeaking I've had ever since remounting the rear wheel.

Still on the to-do (probably for when riding season is over) is a fork oil change, and possibly slightly stiffer springs up front. I also need to do some minor rear shock dampening and preload tuning (2014 ZX-14R shock/spring), but being that 99% of my commute is straight highways, it's difficult to gauge what, if anything, needs adjustment.
 
#15,273 ·
^^^^^^^^
It works even better than I'd hoped. I couldn't get anywhere close to enough sag out of my stock shock (it acted like it was partially seized or had too much stiction). When I used to get on both brakes hard, the rear tire always locked up and fishtailed. With the correct sag, the rear tire now stays hooked up. It rides a lot better too, and matches up well to my new fork springs and Racetech gold emulators. I weigh 180.
 
#15,275 ·
Blue hasn't got much love since China arrived. Pulled that ***** out of mothballs, replaced the leaky stock radiator (229,400 miles on it!!!) with a Delkevic, and replaced the clipons with something a touch more comfy. Dirt bike bars. Feels ******* awesome.
 
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