So my new job and living arrangement this fall will be adding about 500 - 1000 miles of highway riding during ridable months. I have always thought that the SV was a little shakey on the highway, and my best estimation is that the light weight of the bike and the divey front forks are mostly to blame. I am considering selling her and going with a heavier bike that has better forks (ZZR600 / YZF-600R). The problem with these bikes is that neither has the drop-dead good looks of the SV, and they are NOT V-twins (I have become addicted to the practical power delivery afforded by the SV).
The alternative to a bike switch may be to drill out the damper rods and install cartridge emulators, like the one pictured below. The only catch to this approach is that they deliver cartridge-style suspension response WITHOUT the full adjustability of a designed cartridge fork. This means that I need to be awfully damn sure about the settings I want before doing this.
So, any opinions on these little babies? Are they worth the $200-300 investment? Anyone have direct experience with them?
(http://motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/Racetech-emulator-lg.jpg)
When I have the money to do it, I plan to buy another SV and completely change out the suspension. I think the SV650 is the ultimate street bike, without being overkill. The emulators are a good option, or you could even do a front end swap. The newer GSXR fronts should bolt up and will give you full adjustability.
I like this guy: www.peterverdonedesigns.com/introduction.htm
I've been told that an F3 front will drop in nicely, too. I really don't have the desire to go to that length, though. I'm mainly just looking to get some better high-speed damping to cut down on the twitchy feeling on the highway and in the bigger, sweeping turns you get out on the open road. I actually find the SV forks to be very agreeable at town speeds.
seriously, has nobody on the board tried these little gizmos? :dunno_white:
Most of us got our GS's because we don't like spending a lot of money. $90 for correctly sized straight rate springs and $50 for a leftover Katana 600 shock is about my price range.
The folks who DO spend $$ on their GS go the front end swap route. You're close to $300+ for springs and cartridge emulators (RaceTech). You can eBay a fully adjustable cartridge fork for less than $500, which is definitely more bang for the buck.