SV650S knowledgable folks? How is this front end?

[davemon]

I have never removed a front wheel let alone the forks so I am looking for extra eyes. Duey and Degs told me lots of folks mess up the speed sensor and wind up screwing it up... I am guessing by crushing it. I think I have it right and have the Haynes manual with torque specs.

Took out the forks and had them fixed up and now they are back in. For my 2006 SV650S I mounted the fork tops flush with the top clamp surface (didn't take a pic of that) and the rest I photographed. I should have shot a few pics a week or so ago when i took it apart to get the forks out as I sort of forgot in the mean time and had all kinds of bolts off when I put on the Woodcraft rear sets.

davespragg : photos : 2008_05_23 SV650 Suspension work : snugged up but not torqued yet, is that the right amount of axle showing?- powered by SmugMug

Let me know if you see anything screwed up here. I need to do the rear shock next but will test ride before I do that part.

Dave

[NobodySpecific]

Looks good to me (I have an 04). There aren't any 10mm bolts on the front, the pinch bolt for the axle is 12mm and the bolts for the front brake calipers are 14mm.

Just don't do what I did and accidentally find random bolts in your tool kit that look identical to the front caliper bolts but are actually about 1/2" longer, then screw them all the way in and realize afterward that your rotors are now both slightly warped because of it (the end of the bolts pushed hard against the rotors) I can feel them slightly warped, but they still have plenty of stopping power, think I should replace them? Is it safe to ride? At least I got rid of the 4 year old stock front tire.

[BLACK SQUIRREL]

Axle looks Fine, If it spins Like normal It should be OK,

I run my Forks sticking 12 MM out of the top of my triple on My race bike, And about 10MM on the streetbike.

I am in cambridge Abd will be glad to come check it out for you you can also look at my SV for comparison

[davemon]

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

I didn't use the wrong caliper hanger bolts as I just don't have much lying around my garage except tools and a few bicycle parts. I used to but sold the house a few years ago and got rid of all the "extra" stuff which means that I can't mess up the way you did but I also have to go to the store when I need a 3" bolt, washer, and a certain thread pitch.

Why do you run yours with the tube stick out of the top? To bring the front down and quicken up the steering or because you beleive that to be the factory spec? I didn't pay enough attention when I took mine apart (or it was the time lag) but I am fine with starting with a conservative setup and moving from there if needed. I am in East Cambridge, you?

Dave

[NobodySpecific]

My forks are pretty much flush with the triple, so I'm 99% sure that is the stock setup. I just put a 120/70 tire on the front and because I felt the steering was a bit twitchy I wanted to leave the forks the way they were, but I've heard of people dropping the forks in the triples in order to quicken up the steering.

[BLACK SQUIRREL]

east cambridge as well

[duey]

dave your running a 120/70 instead of the 60 series so to compensate for the height difference most people do 8-10mm.

Other than that looks fine to me, I'll try and remember to throw the service manual on a memory stick for ya next time we meet.

[davemon]

Good thoughts all! Thanks.

I have very little experience on the bike with the original front tire size but I did try it out in the stock setup with this new tire before replacing the fork innards. It seemed fine but I wasn't on the track and certainly wasn't pushing the bike. Still, if I want stock geometry I should lower the bike on the forks a few mm... Hmmmmm... I think I will and then torque the whole front end.

Next up is doing that and then torquing everything to spec, then adjust levers and pedals (new rearsets) to taste and test ride it. After that is the new rear shock setup which should prove challenging in my garage. More questions are sure to follow tomorrow morning.

Dave

[davemon]

Got the front end raised up 8 mm and everything torqued down and then set the pedals to heights that feel good for a starting point. Last up was the rear shock replacement and lucky for me Duey stopped over before I unbolted WAY more of the bike than I would have needed to. Photographs seem to indicate I wasn't busting ass as hard as the other guys in my garage today but I DENY IT ALL!

davespragg : photos : 2008_05_23 SV650 Suspension work- powered by SmugMug

Looking forward to Wednesday!

Dave