Brian84
Well-known member
I've been riding motorcycles for the last 5 years or so now, but only recently decided to get into customizing my bike, and learning how to do most of the work myself. I've been posting this on svrider.com at: http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=248633, but I figured it would be good to post on GTAmotorcycle as well, since I live in Toronto.
I bought the SV650S in the summer of 2012, with the intention of turning it into a naked bike. I had ridden a ZX6R before the SV, but wanted something a bit less aggressive, and a bit more city friendly. Not to mention a lot more fun to tinker with! This is what it looked like the day I bought it:
Last year I converted it to a naked bike, but I still had the crappy suspension, and everything else was pretty much stock. I was inspired by some posts on this forum, and realized that there are lots of people doing amazing things to their bikes! Changing my bike to naked was basically the first time I'd tinkered with a motorcycle at all, and since I enjoyed it so much, I thought this winter I would completely customize my SV.
This is what it looked like last spring:
The plan is to do the following:
-Strip the bike down
-Powdercoat the frame and all other metal parts black
-Make my own custom subframe, along with either a ducati monster seat or a custom made one
-2008 GSX-R600 fork swap, with custom made triple tree for handlebars and to keep the stock steering lock and ignition placement
-2003 636 rear shock
-Rebuild everything!
I already have a headlight from Aztec8, but I'll have to make my own headlight brackets as well to fit the GSX-R forks. I'll also have to modify small things such as the steering stop to fit the new forks. Oh, and I want this to be done by the spring at the beginning of the riding season, so say April!
Over the last couple of months I started acquiring parts. I picked up a set of 2008 GSX-R600 front forks:
I also picked up a 2007 front wheel with rotors, 2009 brake calipers, and a 2009 radial master cylinder:
I bought the wheel off ebay, but they didn't pad it very well for shipping, so I hope it didn't get damaged in the process. The forks however are in immaculate shape, and were a great deal!
So far I've stripped the bike down to its parts. Here's the process I went through so far:
Starting the work, gas tank and carbs out:
I had to grind down a couple of tools to remove the castle nuts holding the engine, so I bought a small angle grinder and made some tools out of some cheap sockets:
Note the awkward position (all my bench space was used up):
Castle nut socket:
Finally removed the engine. That thing is heavy! Although I can't say I was too surprised:
It looks like the previous owner did some electrical work to get these integrated tail lights to work. I hate cutting wires, but some of these have been hardwired into the stock harness:
Lots of wiring!
This was maybe a stupid decision, but my steering stem head nut got cross-threaded and was completely stuck. So I took my cut-off wheel to it and went nuts. Kind of cut through the steering stem in the process:
Finally the end result: my bike is gone! Lots of parts in its place.
Just have to get the frame and other parts powdercoated, and start making a subframe.
Are there any welders out there who would be interested in helping me fabricate a subframe for a custom seat? :toothy5: I've taken a stick welding course, but am not really able to set up a welder in my parents garage at the moment, and I don't have the skill yet to build my own subframe.
Stay tuned for more updates here, or on my blog at http://www.ofmindsandmotorcycles.com
You can also see more pictures as I update them at https://www.facebook.com/mindsandmotorcycles
I bought the SV650S in the summer of 2012, with the intention of turning it into a naked bike. I had ridden a ZX6R before the SV, but wanted something a bit less aggressive, and a bit more city friendly. Not to mention a lot more fun to tinker with! This is what it looked like the day I bought it:
Last year I converted it to a naked bike, but I still had the crappy suspension, and everything else was pretty much stock. I was inspired by some posts on this forum, and realized that there are lots of people doing amazing things to their bikes! Changing my bike to naked was basically the first time I'd tinkered with a motorcycle at all, and since I enjoyed it so much, I thought this winter I would completely customize my SV.
This is what it looked like last spring:
The plan is to do the following:
-Strip the bike down
-Powdercoat the frame and all other metal parts black
-Make my own custom subframe, along with either a ducati monster seat or a custom made one
-2008 GSX-R600 fork swap, with custom made triple tree for handlebars and to keep the stock steering lock and ignition placement
-2003 636 rear shock
-Rebuild everything!
I already have a headlight from Aztec8, but I'll have to make my own headlight brackets as well to fit the GSX-R forks. I'll also have to modify small things such as the steering stop to fit the new forks. Oh, and I want this to be done by the spring at the beginning of the riding season, so say April!
Over the last couple of months I started acquiring parts. I picked up a set of 2008 GSX-R600 front forks:
I also picked up a 2007 front wheel with rotors, 2009 brake calipers, and a 2009 radial master cylinder:
I bought the wheel off ebay, but they didn't pad it very well for shipping, so I hope it didn't get damaged in the process. The forks however are in immaculate shape, and were a great deal!
So far I've stripped the bike down to its parts. Here's the process I went through so far:
Starting the work, gas tank and carbs out:
I had to grind down a couple of tools to remove the castle nuts holding the engine, so I bought a small angle grinder and made some tools out of some cheap sockets:
Note the awkward position (all my bench space was used up):
Castle nut socket:
Finally removed the engine. That thing is heavy! Although I can't say I was too surprised:
It looks like the previous owner did some electrical work to get these integrated tail lights to work. I hate cutting wires, but some of these have been hardwired into the stock harness:
Lots of wiring!
This was maybe a stupid decision, but my steering stem head nut got cross-threaded and was completely stuck. So I took my cut-off wheel to it and went nuts. Kind of cut through the steering stem in the process:
Finally the end result: my bike is gone! Lots of parts in its place.
Just have to get the frame and other parts powdercoated, and start making a subframe.
Are there any welders out there who would be interested in helping me fabricate a subframe for a custom seat? :toothy5: I've taken a stick welding course, but am not really able to set up a welder in my parents garage at the moment, and I don't have the skill yet to build my own subframe.
Stay tuned for more updates here, or on my blog at http://www.ofmindsandmotorcycles.com
You can also see more pictures as I update them at https://www.facebook.com/mindsandmotorcycles
. Whoops! Live and learn I suppose. All future attempts to empty gas will happen over an oil pan.
