Touring on the SV650

Thought I'd start a thread to see if there were any other Inmates here that had a Suzuki SV650 as their bike of choice.
Mine's a 2003 that started it's life as a naked model, purchased 5 years ago with a little over 7000 miles


As the miles started adding up I wanted something with a bit more wind protection. About the same time I realized the shortcoming of the bike's stock suspension and upgraded that as well, as many SV owners do. Throw on a GSXR front end and a better rear shock and the bike was transformed.




Add clip ons with 3" extra rise and a Corbin built taller than stock and the bike eats the miles up and laughs at the twisties it encounters along the way.

Farkles include full audio with AmpliRider amp (remote volume for all output by left hand) Garmin Zumo linked to my helmet, Sirius radio, and heated gear hookup.

Now, with just over 101,000 miles on her, she does seem to be tiring out a bit and burning a bit of oil. While still running well and getting great mileage, I may start looking for a used engine soon, and plug that sucker in like a 9V battery, and just keep going. Aside from normal maint, it had it's valves 1st checked at (get this) 72,000 miles and they were still in spec.!

There are quite a few other bikes I have lusted over, but none I think that would have been this fun.








So post up here if you own and travel on your SV650. No Weestroms here lol. My bike can pretty much do what your wee can outside of bashing over logs. Who knows though...my next engine could come from a wee.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=597711

I absolutely love my SV to death. I'm going to have some money to buy a new bike, and my only worry is, will it be as good as the SV? I'll likely transform the bike into a track bike when the new bike comes in, but gee golly I love this thing. I've put 20,000 miles on it since I bought it 2 years ago.

Did you buy a whole new bike with fairing, or did you put an S-fairing on?
The bike was a naked model (like ClemKevins above) when I purchased it used.

I added the full fairing from a "S" model SV650. It bolts right on. Here is a picture before the GSXR front end went on

Do the clip on risers interfere with the fairing ?. ( close up picture maybe ?)
No, no interference issue. In fact, when I first mounted the GSXR front forks, I modified a GSXR upper triple clamp to add the stock SV650 naked bike's risers and used the stock SV naked bars...even then no clearance issues


Later, I wanted a bit lower bar position, and got a machined upper clamp and 3-1/2" rise 50mm clipons from a (now defunct) company called SWATT Machine.

How is the fairing/screen combination for buffeting/wind noise ?.
I have tried three different screens. Stock SV650 S screen (low), A double bubble design screen, and the GIVI sport-touring screen I have now used for over 40,000 miles.


I am 6" and the windblast hits me just at the top of the shoulders. The wind over the helmet is pretty clean and quiet. Never really thought much of buffeting, so I guess it's not an issue.
Can you fit the lower footpeg assy of the naked version onto the S ?
Yes. The rearset assembly on my 2003 naked ARE lower and more forward than the same year's "S" model. They are interchangable.
.......100K miles , and no problems ??:eek1
Let's see...
The front cylinder would cut out off and on when riding in rain. Common SV issue. The drain hole in the front cylinder's spark plug cavity gets clogged and the plug fouls. I fabricated a plastic guard that is attached to the radiator and that hasn't been an issue for several years.
I ride agressively and rarely get over 7000 miles on rear tires, but riding so much I go through lots of tires and have tried most. (I guess that's really not a "problem")
The 4.7 gal tank and the mid-50s mpg give me around a 200 mile range. I wish it had more (and am considering having a remote tank fabricated that would add a gal or so) but again, that's reallly not a problem of the bike, just a limitation.
The front GSXR rotors warped badly after 15,000 miles and were replaced by Alth's....MUCH better...but again, not really a fault of the bike.
no...really...no mechanical issues.

Great RR Kevin and what a wonderful trip!

With my son entering college soon, I will start having much more free time in the Summer (no more travel baseball!) and multi-week trips are in the works for me too!

Just wanted to say how awesome your bike is! If I ever replace my GS500F it'll almost definitely be replaced with an SV650. For some reason the only full-fairing bikes I really like are SV's. Great mods by the way.

Just picked up a 06 naked SV. This is my third . I want a street fighter and the SV fits the format perfectly and inexpensively. Nice bike. The SV was my very first bike and may be my one of my last.

Go for it man. If you do one next summer let me know, maybe I'll come along for part of the ride.

Road this 77 gs550 for 20 yrs.
Gave it to my son,when i bought a 99 sv.
Rode sv.,for 77k miles,trouble free.
Just bought a 2011 bonneville t100 last oct.
Made son buy the sv. :) still runs great.

glad to see it stay in the family.

Mine began it's life naked but ended up clothed. I've never been a big fan of the whole streetfighter genre, but can appreciate I guess trying to emulate the whole stripped-supersport look that seems to have come about due to crashing and destroying the fairings.

I have a custom K75 being built which will be quite nice for touring. My ride to work when I ride is only 30 miles round trip. I just thought for that kind of ride less is more. I also enjoy viewing the geometry/artistry of a naked bike. Some are very beautiful. I'm also a practical person (2 pc800s) and will add comfort features to make the commute enjoyable. Don't want beauty to be skin deep only. The Rox risers and heated grips will make my day. The Alaska leather seat cover and lowering peg solution will make her range enhanced. We'll see

It's just that the term "streetfighter" is bandied about a bit much I think. Have you ever looked at streetfighters from Europe? Bobbed tails pointing straight up and odd ball headlights, etc.

The naked SV I consider more of a modern "standard"

I hear what your saying. Many of the Triumphs are considered "streetfighters" with two or one headlight. Not very different from a naked SV. So for our discussion, let's just say I'm making the SV standard a bit more comfy.

My 2001 is primarily my commuter, but I was finally able to do some traveling with it recently (ride report from August pending). I like how it looks better without any windscreen, but the Givi I used for the trip sure was nice




Northern California


Western Washington


The Redwoods

NICE!!!

When I first got my 2003 SV it was nekkid, and I put a GiviA750 on it. Not quite as large as the one you ran, but very similar

I bought an 01 new and rode it until 07. Great bike. I rode cross country in 4 days on it in the fall. My only changes were a corbin seat and givi luggage. The front end was soft, but for traveling and commuting it was fine.

I have an '06, nekkid, that was all set up for a track bike when I bought it: Gixxer front end, rear shock, brakes, HoleShot high-mount exhaust, Pazzo levers. It had 4,812 miles when I bought it last August. All I added were Protaper dirt bike bars, and some tank grips.

Here it is in track-day kit:



I have put 12,000 miles on it since I bought it, commuting, track days, one-day trips to the mountains, and one leisurely 10-day, 2,700 mile trip from Albuquerque to Yellowstone National Park. From what you guys are saying, it's still a baby, mileage wise!

Here it is in touring kit:



Getting luggage that worked with that high-mount pipe was a pain, but the drybag setup worked out OK. The little stick-on windshield helped with the windblast a bit, but generated an incredible amount of noise around my helmet. I haven't used it since that trip; I'll think about that Givi windshield before my next long trip.

Those Scorpion Syncs that were on it for the first 9,500 miles have been replaced with some Pilot Powers. Other than tires and oil changes, and the recommended 15,000-mile valve check, it's cost me nuthin but gas.

I took my '99 from Deals Gap to the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway in three days.

I live in NJ, have been as far south as the dragon and as far north as cape breton island, nova scotia. Awesome bike, 43k miles. Do these have 6 digit odometers? Meaning, after 99,999, does it go to 0? or 100,000?

I see you have road attacks on the front. What about the back?

I'm trying to settle on a high-mileage tire.