Oldfeller--FSO
Serious Thumper ModSquad
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Hobby is now "concentrated neuropany"
Posts: 12671
Fayetteville, NC
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Look at the post above. To the right of the shiny new foot pegs, you see the shiny new 3 position dog bones getting their first coating of chain lube. This lowered the bike to the right level. The Buell pegs lowered the foot position. The shifter lever is bent six different new ways to put the shifter peg out where it can be used. All custom work here.
Progress goes slowly, as issues have to be identified, solutions identified, parts located, parts bought & shipped, the new parts reworked and then installed. For example, I bought a new handle bar, but it wasn't right so I had to ship it back -- then posted for a 6-8 year old stock part that may not be available anywhere right off the bat (only exists holding up the wall in somebody's shop in Podunk somewhere). Slow going. No one admits to having a stock part (squid shame prevents such behavior) plus squid bikes tend to move around from owner to owner quite frequently leaving all the old stock parts behind.
Issues/solutions example: for example, the Buell pegs are using the stock Suzuki return springs -- these are too weak and the pegs move up due to your shoe sole sticking into the rough knurly surface texture (my shoes do, anyway). Solution could be to pick up a second pair of return springs and put them in place as there is room enough to have two springs per foot peg. Squid kids simply don't have this issue because they are not crip old men.
This isn't going to be a quick fix project -- a squid bike is basically incompatible with this old man's body. The old man's body has got to give some and the bike has got to give some in order to make the match up work.
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SV650 is a squid bike, make no bones about it. You are supposed to hang out off each side of the bike like a reesus monkey to take a "full lean turn with good body form". Ha, that ain't gonna happen.
You wanna hear about my first attempts to do a stoppie or a wheelie? I am too fat to do a stoppie -- front tire will skid before the back end (and my big butt) will come up off the ground. Wheelies in first are easy with the longer touring handle bar in place -- just pull the fat ol' body mass back up over the rear wheel and goose it in first gear.
Problem is it makes absolutely no sense -- first gear runs out too soon.
Engine has great torque, so much so that rolling off the throttle after pulling a little wheelie will skid the soft gummy back tire. Engine braking on this light a bike has lots of discussion on it as a squid topic as it is so abrupt and severe it poses a body hazard if it has been raining and the roads are slick. And that is the squiddlies talking about excessive engine braking, much less us crip old men.
Remember, this bike weighs just a little tad more than a Savage does. It is physically longer, but has LOTS of aluminum and light weight plastic in the major construction pieces. Squid folks worry a lot about weight (they actually complain about the weight of the steel sparklers on the Buell pegs as it is unnecessary dead weight). The engine is powerful and has great torque characteristics, both in going forward and in slowing things down.
Rear brake is strong compared to a Savage. Front brakes (dual large rotors, large 2 piston caliper units) are completely insane compared to a Savage. Thank God the stock front brakes are intentionally metered at the point you have to use white knuckle force to get all that there is to have out of the front brakes -- some out there in squid land have replaced the master cylinder with a GSXR unit to get two finger braking force at these full insane levels .... dangerous !!
The bike is completely driveable with increased power levels compared to either my Savage or my XV535, at less than 5,000 RPM. So, at Savage level engine speeds it clearly outperforms.
However, the engine redlines at 10,500 rpm and the engine is fairly linear output-wise right up to redline. Pipe makes a nice loud squid bike howl over 6,000 rpm ... Third gear (out of six gears) is good for just short of national speed limit if you were to wind it out all the way to the rev limiter. But why would you want to do that?
There are two bikes sitting here -- one is a low rpm torquer that gets you around town like a slightly stronger Savage (at an equivalent 50 plus MPG gas mileage, BTW).
The other one? The one that comes up over say 7,000 rpm? People write quotes about him.
"The SV is like the quiet kid in the corner that nobody plays with. He's harmless until you poke him with a stick... then he becomes ugly, angry, and stabs you in the face with a golf club. - ASCSurveyor"
"You're making me angry. You won't like it when I'm angry ...." - Dr. Bruce Banner
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