Front End Grip

Hi,

Ive had my SV650S for 7 months now, but i dont seem to have much front end grip. Before I bought the bike, i read loads of reviews that said the SV was one of the best handling bikes people had ridden, but when i go around roundabouts and such it feels like the front end is sliding from underneath me and i have to keep sitting the bike up.

Im not sure if its a confidence thing or not as this is my first big bike. The bike came with Dunlop tyres on it, but having read all the reviews on tyres here, you guys only seem to be discussing either Bridgestones or Pirelli's. One of my friends has a Bandit with Bridgetones on and seems to be able to outride me at every corner (he has been riding longer than me tho!!!).

I keep feeling like i have to go around tight corners with the bike almost vertical to stop it sliding.

Has anyone else here experienced anything similar or able to give me any advice??

Thank you and sorry for the long first post :(.

matt

could be the way the suspension is set up presume u have checked tyre pressures ane wear? does the bike hold its line on quicker corners or is it a problem at all speeds?

the suspension is set up as it came from the factory and the tyres have only done 1800 miles so wear isnt an issue.

on quicker corners it appears better than the slower ones but i would have thought it would be more than im currently getting

from what u are saying if the tyres are ok just need to spend some time on suspension set up sounds like the front is pushing out on slow corners

It could just be your confidence... I used to have loads of confidence in my front end until I dropped the bike twice at Silverstone last year and on both occassions I lost the front end. Now people said that it was the tyre as it was shot (plus the day was extremely hot), but to me I don't know if it is. I've started to doubt if it is my skill level, etc... Now when I ride I keep getting myself in to situations (for example, slow speed stuff around roundabouts, etc..) where I think the front is going to let go. Subsequently, I lock up which makes the situation worse.

It's all a mental thing as I'm following others on near enough exactly the same bike and we're not leant over at all really, but in my mind I'm convinced the front end will go. On the quicker stuff I'm fine which is the bizarre thing! :D Anyway, with more mileage under my belt this fear is slowly going and my confidence is getting back to where it was.

See if you can swap bikes with your mate for a short ride and see what he says about your bike.

Check the tyre manufacturers recommendations for pressure against the bike manufacturers. They can be different and I always go with the tyre makers.

Get you mate on the Bandit to test ride your SV an see what he thinks

thanks for the advice guys. next time i see flip i'll get him to take mine out for a spin for his opinion and i'll also check the tyre pressures against Dunlop's recommendations. Suzuki say they should be 33 at the front and 36 at the back.

Ive just been doing some additional reading on a dedicated SV650 forum and came across this... http://www.sv650.org/sv_faq.htm#24/0...0Some%20truths - the descriptions appear to be what im experiencing so i'll give it a go.

it might also be some useful information to someone else here but on a different bike.

matt

www.bridgestone.eu

Use the tyre guide on there, it will tell you the correct pressure for your bike too in bar (1 bar = 14.7psi)

I know the front should be 36 for sure though, but the rear pressure vary's from sooooki to sooooki (and riders weight lol)....can usually gauge the rear though from the ride....if the pressure it too much it will feel rock hard and shimmy over everything....if too soft will just run wide all the time

Saying that just had a look on there it reckons 36psi front and rear for the SV650, so there you go (I'd still go a bit more in the rear around 38psi)

just got back from nipping out to tescos to put some extra psi in the tyres - ive now got 36 in the front and 40 in the rear and the difference is amazing. it does feel like it wants to go around corners now rather than just going in a straight line!!! im so much happier with the handling now :)

i wonder why the handbook and haynes manual both say 33/36 psi for the bike :S

thanks for the advice on here guys :)

matt

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bring back the fun

just got back from nipping out to tescos to put some extra psi in the tyres - ive now got 36 in the front and 40 in the rear and the difference is amazing. it does feel like it wants to go around corners now rather than just going in a straight line!!! im so much happier with the handling now :)

i wonder why the handbook and haynes manual both say 33/36 psi for the bike :S

thanks for the advice on here guys :)

matt

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Don't know about your bike but mine was made before the tyres fitted were ever designed. The tyre manufacturer can test on the older bike but the opposite cannot work. BMW quote 32/36 whereas I'm running Metzeler recommendation of 36/42. Huge difference and is really noticeable on the road.

I donno how much you weigh but I'd say if your under 15 stone try a bit less in the rear (like 38) might get a bit more grip as 40/42 is only for big bikes and/or fat ******'s like me LOL

36 in the front though for sure!

Haynes...pfffft wot aload of b****x get yourself the genuine sv650 suzuki manual from the sv650 forum tells you all you need to know ;)

im a skinny runt - 6'3" and 10 1/2 stone!!! I'll take your advice and drop the pressure a little in the back :)

graeme - my bike is still on its first set of tyres so i hope it wasnt made before the tyres were designed :-P

matt

Just me riding a dinosaur then lol. I'm 6'3" too but not quite so skinny at 14 1/2 stone! lol.

Aye they don't make em like they used to LOL :D

New duke 1098 on the other hand though I wouldn't say no to! :)

Get someone who has more skill to ride it and see what they think - its probably just your confidence. If you're in the Salisbury area i'm happy to take it round a few bends to see how it feels if it helps you.

thanks dave - dont really go to sailsbury much (went to pick up a janspeed exhaust once for my last car!!). I'll assess what its like in the coming weeks with the slightly higher tyre pressures and take it from there

matt

I might be a bit closer....Swindon :) LOL

Was riding SV650 that lead to me getting a TLR....handled like a pile of s***e and ran wide bigtime till I fitted Ohlins on the rear...brill bike since wouldn't change it for the world (well maybe a duke/Y2K lol)

Anyway SV650 is a cracking bike, though again the front end and rear shock could do with some investment if you are looking to get the most from it...Sounds like it's all good now though :D

what do you mean by "getting the most from it"?? do you mean track days and stuff?? if so, i dont think im anywhere near that standard of riding yet!!! :P

im taking it on holiday this year - im riding down to monaco for the grand prix with a few friends. spending that much time on the bike in a short space of time should help with the confidence thing :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by furry-TLR

I might be a bit closer....Swindon :) LOL

Was riding SV650 that lead to me getting a TLR....handled like a pile of s***e and ran wide bigtime till I fitted Ohlins on the rear...brill bike since wouldn't change it for the world (well maybe a duke/Y2K lol)

Anyway SV650 is a cracking bike, though again the front end and rear shock could do with some investment if you are looking to get the most from it...Sounds like it's all good now though :D

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Yup, mine did the same but I took a slightly different approach - I took it back after only 3 months and rode away on an R1 instead ;) To be fair, the TLR isn't a bad road bike, it's just if you want to go exceedingly fast on road, or do trackdays, then it just isn't up to the job in standard trim - sounds like you've sorted yours though :)

Aye problem was suzuki went all out on the TLR to try and beat Ducati in AMA/WSB...problem was they couldn't make that affordable to jo blogs on the street and hence took all the trick bits off leaving a great frame/engine/forks but going cheep on everything else, most of all though that stupid rotary rear shock remained.

So to sort it, fit Ohlins conversion on the rear (not cheep £600) and suddenly instead of swatting round corners it holds it's own and rides like a gsxr...planted and very cofident...then junk the stock steering damper for a aftermarket one along with nice rubber and it's all go, from there on in you can spend more returning the bike back to Yoshi AMA WSB spec and then you got a real monster on your hands.

These days though, for what it would cost to buy a TLR and trick it back up, you can get an Aprillia RSV...only reason I got the TLR is I couldn't afford an Aprillia outright so brought that and spent the money over time to sort it out, now rides like a dream and I wouldn't change it for the world...42'000 miles on the clock in just under 3 years of ownership and I still love riding it.

I'm a bit of a mod monkey though I hate stock bikes, my latest and maddest work is an SV650 frame with a suzuki overbored 710cc single cylinder lump in it, the bike is so light I can pick it straight up off the ground...and it's gonna wheelie like mad when it's done :D lol

Couldn't ever see myself going back to an inline-4 bike though...just love the sound/grip/badboy image of a twin it really does tick all the right boxes ::)