Got me a new project... it must be a sickness...

[dgyver]

Picked a new project this weekend... a 2001 SV650S, for the ridiculous sum of $550. Obviously wrecked but with a clean title. It was rear-ended. There is a fair amount of cosmetic damage but the frame, forks and front wheel are all straight. It came with a new subframe with brake light and other parts attached. The tank is dented (holds gas) but I will want to replace it.

I had a 2002 SVS back in 02 that I turned into a race bike. I still have most of the street parts along with some other parts I have acquired over the years... tail body work, fairing, fairing stay, headlight, a couple of M4 exhaust cans, gauges, controls, complete swing arm, carbon fiber hugger, service manual, and other miscellaneous parts. I have another tank but it does not look much better.

The header is in good shape with only 1 small dent. The stock can is trash. Eventually I may get a full system. Both seats are good but the front has a small hole and I will recover both, already have the material. Even though the forks are straight, I plan on swapping the GSXR forks from my 92.

The bad part is that it was left out in the rain. Stupid. There was water standing in the intakes. At least the valves had a good seal. I will need to pull the heads and do a valve job. Not sure if water made it into the cylinders, probably yes. Worst case I will need to over bore it to clean up any rust pitting on the cast iron sleeves. It is only $250 for +2mm pistons with rings & gaskets. The boring should be around $50. This would make it 677cc. Since the motor will be apart, I may do the cam swap for another $200.

I am guessing that I can keep the cash cost to under $1000, maybe a little more depending the motor work required. Definitely under $2000 total when finished. I really do not need to buy much for it. I wish I could use the other RGV swingarm that I have but the SV has an offset shock due to the rear exhaust header.

I do not plan on documenting the rebuild too much. I will be taking pictures, mostly to remind me of where things go and wire routing. I plan on dropping the motor and repaint the frame.

Here is one of the pics of what I bought. Not all of the parts are shown. I have not taken any pics since I got it home.

[shaun]

looks like wuite a job. have fun and keep posting pics.

[spc]

The Duc SS swingarms have an offset shock mount for the same reason.  Wonder if one would fit?  There are aftermarket companies that make some seriously sexy SS swingarms and the stock ones are readily available and cheap.  I'd go with a plain sport one though, they're steel and a little more rigid while the supersport aluminum ones have a nasty tendency of cracking at one particular weld.
Looks like a fun project, have fun

[dgyver]

Yeah a Duc SSSA can be modded to fit. It would look really cool but not what I want to get into at this time. It may evolve... ya never know...

[GeeP]

Looks like a project...  Actually, when I first saw the picture I immediately thought of a wounded dog was dragging it's hind quarters.  Poor bike.   

I think it's a great all-around bike.  The 1st gen SV's were better looking too.

Have fun, post a pic every now and then!   

[spc]

Well, whatever route you end up going with it, it's sure to look great.  The standard style Duc swingarms are a possibility too, there are some pretty sweet one's out there.
Keep us updated.

[bucks1605]

Gotta love the craftsmen decal on the frame. 

Looks like a fun project, enjoy.

[dgyver]

I pulled the heads, cylinders and pistons. The front cylinder looked good, just needs a light hone. The rear... well it had a great ring seal... hence the standing water. There is a little bit of rust pitting, not sure if it can be cleaned up and stay with the stock pistons. I am going to take it to my engine machinist next week to see what he can do. Worst case... over bore with higher compression Hayabusa pistons.

Before this I went to the DMV to change the title. Since I was not tagging it, they wanted to see the bike to check the VIN and make sure it was in the state. But if I payed taxes and tagged it, they did not need to see it. WTF? 

[DoD#i]

Don't know about your state, but here the inspection station (inspection required within 7 days) checks the VIN against the registration. If you don't have inspections, lawd knows what the difference is supposed to be.

[dgyver]

They stopped vehicle inspections in SC over 10 years ago.

When she saw it, she said it looked home built.  I had to climb in the bed of my truck to read the VIN number to her. I did put on the multi-colored tank but no head light, no gauges, no turn signals, no battery to power the odometer. I did have a rear wheel. Obviously they did not care about being street legal. Funny thing is that when I am ready to tag it, all I have to do is pay the property taxes and get a tag all with the bike at home.