SV650 Project Bike: Chapter Two – Turning the Bike Into a Race Track Ripper

By
Brian Christner
Published: October 18, 2009Posted in: SV650 Project BikeTags: , , , , ,
SV650 Project Bike: Chapter Two – Turning the Bike Into a Race Track Ripper
SV650 Penske 8987 Rear Shock

SV650 Penske 8987 Rear Shock

After much personal debate and deliberation I have finally come to the conclusion to keep the Suzuki SV650 for another season.  I really enjoy the bike and it handles decent but not great.  It is a little short in the horsepower column and needs to go on a diet (So do I by the way).  So with this said the SV650 Project bike is being reborn into chapter 2.  It is my goal to turn this budget bike into a race track ripper. With this off my chest now let me tell you the future plans for the bike.  I will perform these upgrade during the next few months before track season starts again in April.

  1. Upgrade Rear Susupension – So in order to bring the SV650 to the next level we need to make this bike handle better than the current form.  The stock shock is sufficient for road riding with very limited adjustments.  When you start riding the bike hard you quickly notice the I just purchased a new rear Penske 8987 Rear Shock with remote reservoir from Traxxion Dynamics.  They have a ton of experience with suspension tuning SV650’s for race conditions and several people recommended that I talk to them.  The guys at Traxxion Dynamics also will setup the shock according to my body weight and riding style to help give a good baseline to start with.  So what does the new rear shock provide?  With 30 levels of high speed adjustment, 10 levels of low Speed adjustment, and Ride Height adjustment provides the ultimate tool for dialing in the SV650’s handling at any track or road condition.
  2. Upgrade the Front Forks – At the beginning of the year I installed new WP fork springs and heavier oil.  It did make the front end more stable but had plenty of room for improvement.  Still rebound and dampening adjustment was not where it should be.  I purchased the SV650 “Drop In” Damper rod kit also from Traxxion Dynamics. The kit is designed to improve the oil flow

    characteristics in the fork resulting in quicker response to bumps.  So what does this mean to the bike.  Well under heavy braking on in a fast turn the forks can actually absorb the bumps better while keeping the traction at the front wheel.

  3. SV 650 "Drop-In" Damper Rod Kit

    SV 650 "Drop-In" Damper Rod Kit

    Help the Engine Breathe Better -  The next big modification will need to be improve the airflow in and out of the engine.  Lets start with the air going into the motor.  A fairly cheap and simple modification is to remove the airbox restriction of the air coming into the airbox and create a RAM air flow by raising the front of the gas tank a 1/4 inch.  Next is to help the spent gasses escape the engine by installing a free flowing full system exhaust.  The only requirement for the exhaust is that it has to pass the track day noise restriction of 95 decibels.  This really limits my full system exhaust choices down to the Arrow Full system.  I will continue researching before pulling the trigger and buying this one.  All the big power and torque gains come from aftermarket headers helping the airflow out of the exhaust.  One final engine modification is to replace the stock spark plugs with NGK Iridium plugs to ensure I burn all the gas in the engine when the spark goes off.

  4. Put the Bike on a Diet – The continued search to shave weight from the bike is always on.  I started this process by replacing steel bolts with titanium bolts.  Next will be to continue reducing unsprung weight from the drivetrain by replacing the rear brake disc with lighter replacements.
  5. Improve aerodynamics and styling – Since this is both a road and track bike I am looking to get flush mount turn signals in the front and rear.  I am also going to replace the stock mirrors with some aftermarket mirrors for better looks and visibility behind me for the road.

Stay Tuned and let us know what you think of the project.