Started teardown

I went out in the garage last night and started stripping parts off.  The front end is down to just the suspension now.  Mirrors, body, headlights, and instrument pod are off, as well as the front fender.  After also straightening the handlebars (one was pushed back and the other forward), the suspension actually looks pretty straight.  I have a new front stand coming in that should be here on Friday.  As soon as that comes in, I can pick the bike up by the lower triple, and pull the front wheel and forks to check for straightness.  Meanwhile I can strip the tail down and see if anything needs work in there.

Coming back–July 2011

I hope to start updating this again in the near future.  I’ll be rebuilding part of the SV again after my latest crash.  Such things will happen when you’re learning to feel and push the limits for the first time. I only wish I was about 15 years younger!

Some ask me, why do you want to keep riding when it can be so rough on you?  Well, I’ll explain that in the form of a joke I saw earlier:

 

I recently picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing 'fairly well' for my age. (I just turned sixty-something.)

A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, "Do you think I'll live to be 80?"

He asked, "Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer, wine or hard liquor?"

"Oh no," I replied. "I'm not doing drugs, either!"

Then he asked, "Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?"

I said, "Not much... my former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!"

"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, boating, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?"

"No, I don't," I said.

He asked, "Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have lots of sex?"

"No," I said.

He looked at me and said, "Then, why do you even care?"

Mid-April update 4/18

I’ve run the SV in 2 track days at Grand Sport Speedway (GSS) with Fastline Motorcycle School.  Now I’m addicted.  I’ve run these 2 with the stock suspension.  I had a suspension guy check my sag at the first event.  That pretty much just resulted in screwing the front preload in all the way and setting the rear shock preload on 5 out of 7 with 7 being the maximum.  It helped a little bit but it wasn’t great.  On the 2nd track day I could tell right from the start that the suspension was going to limit my confidence.  I was able to manage ok but I’m looking forward to some improvements.

By the end of the first day I was actually able to get my knee down in some of the corners and was feeling pretty confident.  If I hadn’t been so darn tired I probably would have done even better.  Riding on a track and moving around the seat is hard work!  However, on the second track day I was lightly putting a knee down in the 2nd session.  We were going too slow in the first session to get that much lean angle.  Somehow I ended up being the only student with my instructor so I got some kick ass 1 on 1 instruction.  We would catch the slower groups and pull into the pits for some spacing.  Then we’d take off and catch them again a few laps later.

So all in all, it’s been a lot of fun.  The next track day is 4/30 at GSS again, then we’re already signed up for an event at MSR Houston on 5/7.  It’s a bigger 2.7 mile track instead of the 1.3 miles at GSS.

Right now the SV is at a local shop getting RaceTech springs and valve emulators in the front, and an Ohlin’s shock/spring in the rear.  This should help high speed corner entry a LOT.  Stay tuned for updates on that, as well as more pictures when it gets back from the shop.

Mid-March Update

It seems I’ve been too busy to update the blog.  I’ll eventually get more pictures up.
But in summary, the muffler is installed and sounds great.  I’ve been out on a few rides and I’m really liking the motorcycle.  I swapped the coolant for Engine Ice in preparation for a track day this Saturday on March 19.  All I have left is to tape the lights, pull the license plate, and fill up the gas.  If I have time, I still haven’t put on the TechSpec pads on the sides of the fuel tank.  I’m off work this Thursday and Friday so if it warms up enough maybe I can get those installed on Thursday.

New Muffler Arrived

As the UPS tracking page said it would, the new M4 muffler arrived.  Now I just need to find time to get it installed.  BTW, do you know how hard it is to get a picture of a high-polished muffler when you need to use the flash?

Muffler is on the truck

It looks like I may finally get my muffler.  I checked the UPS tracking site and it finally says “On truck for deliver” and shows today’s date.

And look for some pictures in the near future.  I’ve never really had a chance to take any with the weather we’ve been having lately. 

Quick update

A very quick update because I need to get to bed.  I got the hugger last week but either I’ve been busy with other stuff or out riding so it hasn’t gotten installed yet.  I started working on it this evening but ran out of time to finish it.

And I’m still waiting on my muffler to arrive.  The freezing weather last week, and the fact that the muffler was coming form Dallas conspired to delay its arrival.  I expect it to be here tomorrow.  The UPS tracking page is strangely out of date on this shipment, so if it doesn’t arrive tomorrow, I’ll be giving UPS a call to see what’s happened to it.

So that’s it.  Nasty weather tomorrow so I need to be sure my other motorcycle is ready to go to work in the morning and that I have the right gear loaded on it.  It’s going to be in the 40’s when I head to work, but drop down to almost freezing when it’s time to head home!