magpie Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 hi all i have an sv650s and owend it for 5yrs and covered 34000 miles. il ove the bike and will never get rid even if i got a different bike.My problem on going problem is the suspension its soft and a bit wishy washy and faque .i found when riding hard the front would wash out on me i changed my tyres (mitchellen pillot 2ct) and this helped no end giving great confidence while lent over but there is still the feeling that it may go again especially now that im doing some track days.i was advised to try a heavier forkoil which i have done and that improved things but i still find it a bit soft and fague. so would a stiffer spring help or progressive spring the only thing is could some one explain how progressive springs work and how they might help and if any what are the downside to fitting them. many thanks jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Prgressive springs are fitted as stock to many bikes, and although I'm not sure, but I'd guess your springs at the moment are going to be progressive. What they are is springs where instead of being the same along their length, the coild get tighter wound at one end. The effect of this, as one part of the spring is softer than the other, is that you'll have a nice soft bit for the initial travel (where you'd perhaps be going over bumps, potholes etc), then they get firmer for some of the more sporty riding that you might be doing. Most racers types prefer a linear spring, one thatremains at the same rate throughout its travel, firstly as the way it firms up at the front is more predictable, and secondly, they don't need to worry how a race bike deals with potholes, it'll never see any on the track anyway! Getting some new firmer springs, wether progressive or not, is the way to go perhaps, but I don't think it'll be your answer completely: I'm guessing that your bike is not only compressing the front too much on the brakes and entering a corner, but it's probably returning too fast (rebound, decompressing) as well, which is what's giving your the odd feeling. Take a look at the suspension set-up sticky at the top of this page, it may give you some uesful pointers. I'd find an SV specific forum, somehwere where there's loads of people who've done these sorts of things, and get info from there. Slightly firmer springs and firmer damping would be the way to go, but in terms of what weight oil and stiffness springs, that's where you want experience in this field. Of course, you could do the GSXR front end swap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisexup Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 racetech do an online guide to spring rates. If you fill in your details the guide recommends a spring to suit you. http://old.racetech.com/evalving/menu/searchstreet.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootall Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 racetech do an online guide to spring rates. If you fill in your details the guide recommends a spring to suit you. http://old.racetech.com/evalving/menu/searchstreet.asp Thats a very handy link. Nice one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magpie Posted April 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 thanks for your help and i will look into this a bit more before i go any further i will also check out the link many thanks when i do decide which way to go i shall be back at let know how i got on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootall Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Don't be so quick to assume that the problem is at the front only... ...how much rear sag do you have? If the back is too soft then you won't have enough weight over the front and you will get a vauge and wafty feeling. Must be a joke about soft, sagging rear ends and waftyness in here somewhere.................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 i went for progressive springs on my bandit 600 and the difference was awesome, although it was not just the springs as i needed seals replaced at the same time, check your seals as well, 34,000 might be time for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Great bikes, SV's, but a 5 year old one with 34k on the clock is going to be struggling suspension-wise. They're bog basic when new so they'll definitely be past it by now. I'd overhaul the lot if your budget is tight, including bushes and bearings in the rear linkages, and then set the sag for your weight. You only have preload adjustment front and rear so not much you can do about damping. Lorenzo mentioned the GSXR fork mod. I've ridden one (a K3 I think) with GSXR600 forks and a Nitron rear shock. Definitely the way to go if you can afford it. Loads of info on here: http://www.svrider.com/tips/tips.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyline Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 I have an SV and they are are awesome bikes. I believe the standard front springs are linear, a change to Race-Tech progressive springs would help a lot. Also, you can get emulators which simulate compression damping and these apparently make a world of difference too. You can also upgrade to a GSXR front end, if you have a 1st gen SV a GSXR SRAD 600 (RWU) or 750 (USD) front end will fit although you will need a new headrace top bearing from Twin Works Factory. You can go with SRAD triples and later K-series forks with radial brakes but you would need spacers between the front wheel and the rotors to allow the radial calipers to centre over the rotors properly. Also you would need to figure a new way to install the speedo sensor... If you have a 2nd gen SV the K-series front ends will fit without the top bearing and the wheel spacers but I'm not sure on these details so check out the svrider.com or the sv.org websites. Hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 At the end of the day, how much are you willing to spend? 34000 is a fair old mileage and my uneducated guess is your bouncy bits are knackered!! If you willing to shed a few of our fine english pounds, I'd give maxton a call and get their opinion. They'll do a replacement on the rear and re-fresh on the front for around £500 - £600 but you'll be waiting a long time at the mo as the racing season has just got going which means they'll be very, very, very busy. Still worth waiting for though. Good as Ohlins, WP and other you care to mention. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringding Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I've an SV K3 and have 'sorted the suspension on mine. Much more confidence inspiring now, in fact the best handling bike I've owned. (More due to the fact that I've spent the time to set it up properly than anything!). I'd echo MM's comment on setting up the sag correctly. I've done this for a number of poeple on different bikes and they've all commented on the difference it makes (could be placebo effect I guess but I don't think so). I'm running RaceTech cartridge emulators on the front (to help improve the damping) and Hyperpro progressive springs to match the Hyperpro rear shock. It was well worth the money spent. There is an argument for not using progressive springs as it changes the damping requirements through the stroke of the fork (so I'm told) but my take on it is that the damping is never spot on anyway (changes with temperature, I've set mine up so it is great at ~15°, so it's a bit to firm in winter and a bit to soft on hottest days) so I'll take the advantages of the progressive spring. I've tried firmer linear springs (K-Tech and Ohlins) and although it was better (more feedback) they were too firm for me (0.85 and 0.80 springs respectively) and made the bike prone to tank slappers. I can let you have a pair for a little more than postage if you'd like (but check which you need using the link above). Another forum to visit is forums.sv650.org. If you start a thread on suspension you will get bombarded with people telling you to fit a GSXR rear shock but personally I think that would be a mistake. There are plenty of threads there debating the pros and cons if you do a search. There are also plenty of threads on fitting GSXR front ends. Would be a nice mod and can be done for little outlay if you sell off the SV parts afterwards. I would do it if I had the time. Hope some of this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 There is an argument for not using progressive springs as it changes the damping requirements through the stroke of the fork (so I'm told) but my take on it is that the damping is never spot on anyway (changes with temperature, I've set mine up so it is great at ~15°, so it's a bit to firm in winter and a bit to soft on hottest days) so I'll take the advantages of the progressive spring. Yep, there's pros and cons to both/either. Just because there's many people out there selling progressive spring kits it doesn't mean they;'re the right spring for you. The difference you'll get when swapping springs on an older bike which was softly sprung from day 1 is that you'll fit a slightly firmer spring, rather than the fact that they may be progressive. Key to getting your suspension sorted is firming it up, the way a spring stiffens through its stroke is related, but still a different thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scwirral Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Great bikes, SV's, but a 5 year old one with 34k on the clock is going to be struggling suspension-wise. They're bog basic when new so they'll definitely be past it by now. I'd overhaul the lot if your budget is tight, including bushes and bearings in the rear linkages, and then set the sag for your weight. You only have preload adjustment front and rear so not much you can do about damping. Lorenzo mentioned the GSXR fork mod. I've ridden one (a K3 I think) with GSXR600 forks and a Nitron rear shock. Definitely the way to go if you can afford it. Loads of info on here: http://www.svrider.com/tips/tips.htm I used to have an early sv, and spent quite a bit of time on sv650.org Good site. At least one guy on there had managed to do a gsxr front end swap funded by the sale of his standard front. As a great first bike, there are plenty of svs that get front end wacks, so there will always be people happy to buy serviceable front forks. If you study the bike specific sites, you'll find you can swap the entire front for gsxr parts, giving you better forks AND brakes. I think the length of the forks may be a problem though?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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