Lean angle comfort SV650
I rode a 600 for my first year and then went to my SV for track duty for several reasons. Even though I have an extra year of track days under my belt I feel like I was much more comfortable leaned over on the 600 vs the SV.
My initial thought is that this might have something to do with the narrower rear tire of the SV, and that creates a different feel vs the wider tire of the 600. But I wanted to get some opinions of others.
Perhaps if anyone rides an SV and has gone with the 180 rear, with or without swapping the wider GSXR wheel, they can share their impressions as well.
Posted Feb 7, 2018, 3:22 PM UTC
715
there are a LOT of factors here. the biggest one is geometry. Rake, trail and swingarm angle will have everything to do with how the bike feels on entry, mid corner and exit.
suspension is another huge factor. springrate? valving? hell, the SV has a right side up fork, which is a smaller tube, it deflects more than a modern 600 upside down fork.
seating position. the sv has a pretty nonstandard seat to bar position, resulting in feeling like you're "in" the bike instead of "on" it.
you never want to put a 180 on the stock wheel, and the only reason i'd ever say to put the gsxr rear on it is if you have access to FREE take offs in 180. otherwise it's just more rotating unsprung mass in the wheel plus more in the tire. those things make like 75 horsepower, they don't need a bigger rear tire.
Do you know of anywhere published values are for ideal geometry values, whether bike specific or guidelines?
Targets:
Rake: 23.5 - 24
Trail: 99.5 - 102
Swingarm Angle: 13 - 13.5
https://www.sportrider.com/all-about-geometry
they are ranges because different riders like different types of geometry. but if you can get into that range you can start playing with values. also keep in mind that tire selection will change the bike as well, since no 2 tires have the exact same diameter or profile. By changing tire manufacturers (or even model) you're changing geometry. and if you're changing one value you're almost always changing all of them.
Excellent, that's a target I can shoot for, thanks for the help.
What suspension do you have on the SV?
Race tech springs and emulators up front. 04 zx10r shock. Front rate is spot on for me, rear is pretty close but little low. Rear shock is slightly longer than the sv shock.
Yeah it's actually a lot longer than the stocker but it's good to lift the rear end anyways. Raising the front end will give you a bit more trail which will get your bike feeling more stable, but less flickable. Drop the forks like 2mm in the triples to start then see how it feels.
I personally like to run a lot more front ride height in my SV than other riders tend to. Better feel, a bit more traction, and the bike still turns in plenty fast IMO.
Racers generally advise something like raising the rear 12-15mm and dropping the front 10-15mm (with a 70 height front tire). Your rear end is jacked up higher so you also want your front end taller.
1st or 2nd gen SV? The 600/1000 shocks are an upgrade but still a bit short for track duty. It's a little better on the 2nd gens but on a 1st gen they are woefully short still.