Suzuki SV-650N

This 2001 SV-650 was meant to be Lisa's new bike. She was justifiably concerned that her Buell would not last very long, so she wanted a lighter, cheaper bike as a replacement. I suggested that she would probably like the SV-650 - after all, it's a twin and it seems like everyone likes this bike - they're cheap, plentiful, and a superior bang for the buck!

We found this bike online and the seller was only 40min away from our house. We took a look at the bike, but we were unable to ride it because the tires were flat and the battery almost dead. Otherwise, the bike looked okay and sounded okay with the Two Brothers Racing slip-on and a mere 3070mi on the clock. We paid $300 under market value and got a few other goodies like Vortex rearsets, frame sliders, carbon fiber fairing, extra helmet, jackets, and gloves. After completing the deal, we went back to the bike with tools, supplies, and an air pump. I analyzed all the work that the bike would need as I rode it home: new tires, battery, handlebars, suspension work, and most of all, a tune up and some serious cleaning. The bike was so dirty that it had to be cleaned in several stages - it took a day just to clean the rear wheel and chain! At this point a few other changes were made; the fairing was removed, frame sliders installed, the tiny "cat-eye" blinkers were replaced with Buell blinkers, and the poorly done DIY fender eliminator was re-done to my satisfaction.

After getting most of the work done and making sure the bike was safe, it was time for Lisa to ride. She gingerly rode the bike halfway around the block and got so freaked out by the handling that she stopped, got off the bike, and commenced to cursing up a storm. She hated the bike - it felt too strange and unstable to her. As a matter of fact, it did feel twitchy as the engine was still not entirely smooth and the bike felt like it wanted to fall over in the turns. Lisa decided to stick with her Buell. I, on the other hand, felt like this bike had great potential and began to enjoy riding it as often as possible. To get the handling under control, I felt that wider bars and a wider rear tire/wheel might do the trick. The stock handlebars were 26" wide superbike type bars, so I started with LSL Street handlebars (low) 28", Drag bars 28", Bikemaster Superbike bars (which were no different than the stock bars except the width), and finally the expensive but gorgeous Suburban Machinery Type 2 bars - for me, handling has a lot to do with body position - with this bike, it was apparent that leverage was not as important as I initially thought. The Suburban bars are indeed the right bars for this bike - believe the hype!

The rear wheel was replaced with a 94 GSXR 750 rear wheel. In addition to raising the "macho factor" of the SV, increasing the wheel width by 1" allowed for better tire choices as well. The wheel swap was easy enough, but rather expensive (add machineing, 520 JT sprockets & 520 RK Gold chain) relative to the change in performance. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sports. The suspension will need new fork springs and a GSXR shock to realize any improvement. The stock suspension absolutely blows goats... The carburation also needed some help. I tried a few carburation tricks noted on the SVRider.com site and while the engine did improve, a 'proper' jet kit like Ivan's or Dynojet will probably eliminate the persistant 4.5k flat spot. As a rider of big-bore bikes, I initially felt self-conscious riding around on the SV, but I soon got over that when I realized that this bike is just plain fun - I still prefer twins to four-bangers and this bike is becoming a close second to my non-operational, but still-loved Buell M2.

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