SV650 Adventure (AKA franken bike)

Did some more test rides.

Took a trip down to Mountainair to hiway 60 and back up thru the forest and out to Manzano.

Looking south to hiway 60






Found some mud holes along the way so fire danger is down some.

Ride went well but noticed it getting up to 215 degrees in the slow stuff so I ordered a new ratiator and intalled the cooling fan

Installed the new radiator and fan on Sat. had to mount the ignition up on the light/dashboard plate. Then off for a test ride to Toreon, NM.

Took forest roads NW of town and intersected the Fouth of July Loop and back to Tajique.

Great ride, easy dirt roads, some mud holes left from rains a week ago.

The SV650 does great on the dirt. Some minor head shake on some rougher bumps at speed but not too bad.

The new radiator is much wider than the Gen I unit I had on before, so I need to think more about protection in that area.

IMO a shorter "beak" would really set it off. Great build.

Yea but the beak runs in the family.

Ha, yeah. Nothing a little "plastic surgery" can't resolve.

Congratulations the beast looks good!

Sorry I can`t see it on the pictures, but do you have some cut outs on the back of the front fender?

I know a fully enclosed one protects the engine and the rad from all sorts of crap, but it could blanket off a lot of fresh moving air from the radiator. Maybe the issue with the older one occured because it`s narrover (more of it`s area is covered) while with the wider new the problem is less of an issue?

No cut outs. been watching the temps and tried adding the fan first. Still has not switch on even at 215F. May still need vents after I add radiator guard. The stock radiators are really wide and stick out a long ways so it still may be OK. Running hiway speed at 90F ambient temps the bike temp is 190 to 200F.

190-200 at highway speeds? What do you reckon is the engine puts out a good power?

No experience with V2-s probably they are a bit warmer ( i reckon back pot not cooled as well by the wind+ bigger bang) than S4-s, but from my Yami R6 racing days the ideal temp should be around 75-85 C which should be 160-190 F (at least google said so) but you`ll see an smell on the oil if you bake your engine anyways


Not want to be smart just curious... I`m really intrested about engine temps cooling whatever I think oil+coolant temps are a major factor in engine longevity and Australia gets hot as hell during summer

I would'nt bother with a larger radiator, for mine and most others 210 is average cruising temp, 245 is not very alarming while sitting still, even with those temps I've only heard my fan kick on once in 70k miles.

I actually checked it regularly to make sure the thing actually worked hahaha.

I think the specs say 73HP on these, I ride at 6000 to 8000 ASL so actual output is much less probably 25% less. I cruise at about 5000 to 6000 RPM and 55-65mph with the 47 tooth sprocket,

I believe you said something about "minor" head shake? Isn't that like a little bit pregnant? The bike is too heavy for those forks, or it needs more rake... be careful!

I only notice it at pretty hi speed over woop like bumps. Still trying to figure it out. Could be too little damping. I never fully bottom the forks and they even feel a little stiff, maybe because I down into the spring due to the extra weight. The rake is about 0.5 degrees more that I planned on and I have more offset in the triple clamp than my 450 KTM so should be more stable. May try to add some shims in the compression stack but so far I'm not too concerned since it does not get out of control. Should be very interesting in the sand. That should tell the tale on damping. I expect it too be a pig and wallow around a bit.

Took the SV out for an overnight trip last weekend. All went well. Ride report here.
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=813795

Also added some radiator protection. Reborn from a Vstrom engine guard, Thanks Ditch.

Got to run up about 1/4 mile in a sand ditch today. Not half bad once you get it going. I really think the big Shinko up front helps keep it on top. The sand was not way soft but pretty normal for around here. I think the ranting about "gotta have a 21 inch front tire" is way overdone. The 17s are available in wider sizes so they keep the bigger bike up on top better. We used to get some pretty wide 21 inch tires way back when but only things out now I've seen are 3.5 inches wide. My old XR650L used to tunnel really bad in the sand and it only weighed 300lbs or so.

After running about 150 mile on the dirt last weekend and trying sand today I'm happy with the 17 on front. Also the issue frame geometry is easier to deal with without adding to the diameter of the front wheel. So the only thing left is that the bigger wheels look better, but I can get over that for awhile.

I find 17" really twitchy in the loose stuff. 21" tracks better, crosses obstacles easier, and tyre choice is much better.

However, there are indeed clearance issues if you intend to run more than, say, 240mm of suspension travel. Then there is either an unbearably high seat or a wheel hitting the cylinder head or radiator.

That bike is pretty awesome looking, but you really need to do something about that front fender. Just makes the bike look like someone sheered off the nose. I run the 705's on my DR650, and they're a damn good choice if you're not doing a ton of soft sand work. I hadn't really thought there was much good to say about 17" fronts offroad, but you do make a very good case for it. Might have to check that out when I do the SM conversion.

BTW, Elgato. I love your SV. I think I'm going to do something similar with my ex-race SV.

Curvin, give me your motorcycle. I absolutely am digging the motard style. What tires are you running on it?

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B.Curvin - You should mod the SV, I'd go with a DR front end with 19 wheel and DR rear with 18 wheel, then the fork rake would not be too tuff to fix. Ya, riding in that mud I don't think 17 or 21 inch wheel makes much difference. The XR looks great with either size tires.

neo1piv014 - I agree about the fender but was lucky to get this one to fit with the radiator placement. I could chop on it but don't think it would look much better. You can put lipstick on a pig.....

The bike is long gone and now lives with JTucker.

I ran my worn out Super Corsa slicks and DOTs that I had left over from racing my SV.

That's me against the wall in the leathers.

I'm either going to street fighter it, with making it comfortable being the priority. OR, I have forks, triples, brakes, wheels and a triple clicker Penske from a 2006 KTM 450SMR. I think it would fit nicely.

I should add, if I put the KTM stuff on it I'll probably lace up a 19" front.

They came off my old 525EXC.