The new project/toy/cause of death....

Bike has done 19,000 miles and is in great condition, same owner since 2007 (it's a 2005 Suzuki SV650 K5 by the way), new Bridgestone Battleax BT023 tyres just fitted as well as a full service with genuine parts including the brake fluid and the coolant. It was serviced twice a year and ridden daily. There is not a speck of rust on it anywhere, that I've seen. It came with a Suzuki alarm, the original owner's manual, the genuine workshop manual, a Givi double top box, big ass chain & padlock, a disc lock, puncture repair kit, sprays, oils, more manuals on electrics & bike maintenance in general. It was certainly well looked after.

Plans for now are just a few cosmetic changes. The top box frame will be coming off for now, but should prove handy for a weekend on the bike, once I'm legal to ride the damn thing, I've still to do the IBT course which allows me onto the road unaccompanied.

But that hasn't stopped progress, oh no. So far I've bought..

New Fuel Diablo Stainless Black Mini Round Exhaust can with a black hanger...

I'll be removing the pillion pegs and, ultimately, the pillion seat. But as you can see from the pic of the bike the exhaust can is supported by the pillion peg bracket, so I got myself one of these...

Also on the way to tidy up the rear end is a tail tidy which does away with the great big lump of crappy plastic hanging from the back of the bike..

Moving towards the front, I have a second set of exhaust header pipes on the way from sunny California, these have already had the stock silencer cut off to make use of an aftermarket slip-on, so I don't have to cut my own stock system up to fit the Diablo end can. It's in too good condition to be rendered scrap for the sake of a bit of a burble. The Cali pipes look to be in fantastic condition, so I'll clean them and either heat wrap or, more likely, paint them black with a suitable paint before fitting them to the bike.

Then, once they're on I can go ahead and fit the belly pan...

...and the crash protectors...

...the paddock stand bobbins....

http://thumbs1.picclick.com/d/l400/pict/400349317372_/Paddock-Stand-Swingarm-Bobbins-Fits-Suzuki-Sv650s-Sport.jpg

These are to make use of the rear paddock stand, the front stand (which I also bought) fixes to the bottom of the fork tubes apparently. I'll know more when I unbox the stand and offer it up.

I'm planning on painting the front mudguard a satin or matte black, so it merges with the tyre somewhat, from a distance at least. I'll also paint the fork tubes the same colour as the frame. Then I'll apply yellow tape to the wheels so they look like this..

I'll experiment with running the tape along the side of the mudguard, but not over the fork legs so that, again from a distance and really only a certain angle, the yellow tape will appear to be almost uninterrupted, except by the fork tubes, further suggesting the lack of a mudguard.

I have a mudguard extender on the way also, to keep some of the crud off my nice belly pan and more importantly the front spark plug.

Coming back to the swingarm I also bought on of these to help me position the Scot oiler tube a little better and more discreetly. The oiler is already fitted and working a treat, the tube just protrudes too much for my liking

http://www.rg-racing.com/images/Products/large/img308.jpg

That's about it for now. I haven't bought a set of straighter bars for it yet, I might see what I can pick up at the bike show in Dublin early next month. It'll give the bank account a chance to recover. It's been a very expensive few weeks!

I'll post pictures as more progress as it happens.

Very excited about all this, if you have already guessed!

Cool take it easy on it!!

That's fantastic mate. It reminds me (a bit) of my first bike; a MY92 Honda 750 Nighthawk which was a U.S. import based on the Honda 750 F2. It was topped with chrome and I've got to admit that I spent more time cleaning it than riding the bloody thing.

Enjoy it - it looks fab ;-)

Cool take it easy on it!!

Yes mammy

That's fantastic mate. It reminds me (a bit) of my first bike; a MY92 Honda 750 Nighthawk which was a U.S. import based on the Honda 750 F2. It was topped with chrome and I've got to admit that I spent more time cleaning it than riding the bloody thing.

 

Enjoy it - it looks fab ;-)

Thanks mate. Chrome ain't really my thing, the fork stanchions are the only parts that will still have that sort of finish when I'm done. I'm really taken with the black frame and swingarm so as much as possible below the red tank and seat unit will be black. It may take a while to get around to the engine, but it'll get done eventually.

Doesn't mean I won't be cleaning it every other day though, the roads in this country are an embarrassment. They make cleaning a car almost pointless. I did 1000 miles in the UK in early November of last year. I washed the Navara before I left home and it still looked as clean when I got back. I went to and from work the following week, a tenth of the mileage and you'd swear I'd been offroading in the jeep.

Nice purchase Damien, glad to see you went ahead and bought one. They're a nice bike, the V twin sounds really good too!

I'm heading to that bike show too, might see ya there!

Nice purchase Damien, glad to see you went ahead and bought one. They're a nice bike, the V twin sounds really good too!

 

I'm heading to that bike show too, might see ya there!

It was your fault, ya sod!

Seriously, I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I started looking, then REALLY looking. And then there was no hope for me.

Parts started arriving this morning. The Fuel Diablo end can looks the absolute business, and is also road legal with the baffle in place. can't wait to fit the can to the bike and then throw away the dB killer.

The R&G parts look like quality products as well, very well finished and the crash bobbins in particular are a properly stout design. There is even a 12-14mm rod that sits across the bike between the frame spars.

Very nice, R&G do some good stuff. There rear sets look nice

looks a serious piece of kit that. Be carful with it

Very nice, R&G do some good stuff. There rear sets look nice

I didn't go the whole hog on rearsets, but I did buy a pair of adaptor plates to work with the originals.

They're meant to move the pegs an inch up and an inch back, for racing. But, if you flip the plates upside-down, you can drop the pegs by an inch, which takes a bit of the bend out of the knee and should leave the gear selector in a more natural position, for me at least.

looks a serious piece of kit that. Be carful with it

They're a fairly popular first bike, because they are supposed to be pretty docile with a healthy dollop of torque.

The increased engine breaking over the usual four cylinders is one thing to watch out for though, it can cause the rear to lock-up if the down-changes aren't well planned.

But I will certainly take it easy. I haven't ridden anything even resembling a motorbike since I sold my KX250 about ten years ago.

its a great option to get you back into it,they are steady bikes ive had the 650 which was a good commuter, the sv1000 which i had after was shocking for a 1000 i owned it for 2 weeks then went onto the big stuff. out of all the bikes ive had the best 2 were a 2004 04 r6 or 1999 gsx1300r

I'm a fan of the retro muscle bikes myself. For years I hoped that one day I'd own an XJR1300 but, since I've come back to actually looking at bikes, the ZRX1200 kinda does it for me.

As it sits as of today.

I've a few more bits to do, namely a front and rear suspension upgrade, new spring/valve emulators for the front and a 2015 ZX14R rear shock. New bars, mirrors, air-horn, brake lines and mudguard extension to fit as well once I've the front pulled to pieces. I've everything sitting here on the floor in the office, but I'll ride it as it is over the weekend, just to get an idea of how the new suspension compares once fitted.

Cant see the pics mate

You want to get those jobs done asap its its bike weather now lol Mine came out last week which had a M.O.T and service so hopefully going out on it this weekend

Welcome to the bike club.

Cant see the pics mate

 

You want to get those jobs done asap its its bike weather now lol Mine came out last week which had a M.O.T and service so hopefully going out on it this weekend

Ace cafe Friday dude?

Welcome to the bike club.

 

 

 

Ace cafe Friday dude?

Would of done but doing the F&F meet/film at Blue water

Cant see the pics mate

 

You want to get those jobs done asap its its bike weather now lol Mine came out last week which had a M.O.T and service so hopefully going out on it this weekend

How about now mate?

I hear what you're saying about those jobs, and they're even more critical on an SV with my weight. But I'll only be legal to ride come Saturday and I have the insurance commencing Friday morning so I didn't want to waste the rest of the long weekend spannering when I could be getting out!

Welcome to the bike club.

Thanks J. I should've done it bloody years ago.

How about now mate?

 

I hear what you're saying about those jobs, and they're even more critical on an SV with my weight. But I'll only be legal to ride come Saturday and I have the insurance commencing Friday morning so I didn't want to waste the rest of the long weekend spannering when I could be getting out!

 

 

 

Thanks J. I should've done it bloody years ago.

Yep they show now

Looking good mate

I would be chuffed if I had that in my garage Damien. You've done yourself proud. It really is a stunner.

I would be chuffed if I had that in my garage Damien. You've done yourself proud. It really is a stunner.

Ah thanks Andrew. Yeah, I'm chuffed to bits with it so far. The soundtrack is flippin' glorious. It's a credit to its previous owner, I just tarted it up a bit!

Well I still have and love the SV, such a fun little bike to throw a leg over and attempt to shatter all the windows in the vicinity!

However, I added another horse to the stable. This time it was a bucket-list bike, that came along at the real wrong time, but at the real right price (when compared to everything I'd seen so far!).

Still haven't gotten around to taking a picture myself, these are from the original advert.

It's a 2007 Kawasaki ZRX1200R. One Irish owner from new. Only used for European trips, never saw a wet Irish road and, by the looks of it, the previous owner wasn't exaggerating.

Saw a "gauging interest" post by a friend of the owner on Facebook a few weeks ago and three days later I had it bought and sitting in a trailer outside my house.

I am, most definitely, a happy camper!

Congrats, looks nice.

Thanks JP.

It's a bit of a dinosaur in terms of modern bikes. There's no traction control, or ABS even!

But I honestly don't think there is a better looking bike.

Unfortunately, for my income, there are more trick bits available for them than even the Supra can boast of.

So there are a few small bits already on the way and, when I get some miles under my belt, I'm sure the urge to upgrade won't be too hard to give in to.

In fact, there is an old-time mkivsupra.net member with one of the best ZRX1200R builds ever that I've been speaking to on the ZRXOC. So much attention to detail and one-off parts, that he either made or designed from scratch himself.

He still has the Supra too by the way.

Here is how my Rex is sitting right now.

Not a lot done to it, as it didn't want for anything in the past really.

So bloody happy with this thing.