I wrecked...Rebuild time!

[New_rider417]

I wrecked my SV on 7/4, what a fun holiday that turned into!

I walked away from a 60-70mph accident so thats the important part. I only had liability coverage so no insurance help for me. I'm going to be rebuilding my bike and more than likely doing some upgrading/customizing as well.

I've stripped her down to basically the frame, motor, tires, and wheels. Within the next few days I'll get her on the trailer and to the Suzuki dealer to see how much of the really big stuff I broke...

So far the big stuff I've noticed thats broken/good still...
The good...I rode it around the block and the motor seemed as strong as ever and the tranny shifted smoothly into all six gears, so that was a little reassuring. My tank, upper left fairing, and both lower fairings survived the incident with little more than some paint scuffs. All the gauges and instrument panel are fine and in working order along with the headlight assembly (minus the stay bracket). No noticeable damage to the brakes, and both wheels/tires seem unharmed. My ART exhaust system doesn't seem to have been bent or dented anywhere either.
The bad...The rear sub-frame is bent, and something up front is tweaked causing it to not track strait. All of the bodywork other than what was previously mentioned is trash.

I haven't decided if I want to go back to OEM body work, or get something along the lines of a race kit. Suggestions on what to do with the body are welcome. Either way she's almost gota have a new paint job. I'm leaning toward black with metallic black cherry flake (or similar) right now. If the forks are bent I'm thinking about doing the gixxer/ r6 etc suspension swap instead of back to stock, along with a new rear to match. Suspension suggestions are also welcome. I know this is going to be an expensive project/rebuild but I'm already itching to get back in the saddle and I now have a new sentimental attachment to this bike.

A couple quick questions. Is the rear sub-frame the same on all the first gens? standard and 's' model? Are the rear OEM tail fairings interchangeable between the standard and 's' model?


PS:
If there is any interest in this project I'm about to undertake please let me know and I'll try to do a fairly detailed step-by-step writeup with pictures from now till its over.

Mods: please move this to a better place if need be

[bigE]

(I couldn't resist)
Sorry to hear about the wreck I would definitly go with aftermarket bodywork b/c it is sooo much cheaper, not to mention it will give you a custom look. I dont know if the rear subframes are the same or not on all 1st gens, but check out :: SVRIDER.COM :: Suzuki SV650 / Suzuki SV1000 / Suzuki SV650S / Suzuki SV1000S :: The Ultimate SV Website!. It has anything you could ever want to know about SV's there.

Also, just out of curiosity, how much gear were you wearing when you went down?

Let us know how it turns out. Good luck!

[New_rider417]

I didn't take any pics of it with all the fairings on it all smashed up, even though I wish I would have now. I can take some pics of the stripped bike and the pile of junk I took off if you want

Who makes after market kits?

The only "gear" I had on was my Shoei. Some Adidas tennis shoes, jeans, and a t-shirt is all I was wearing. The whitenesses said I barrel rolled about 6 times with the bike. I have no idea how I didn't get smashed and broken.

Thanks for the link. I had been there before, but I had forgot about them.

[bigE]

SUZUKI ** SV650 / SV650S ** LINKS

[DR-Z125L]

All that matters is that you are OK

[New_rider417]

Alright, I called my local Suzuki dealer and I was told that they don't work on
"basket cases". That if I wanted to put all the broken plastic back on etc then they would work on it...

Forget that, I have no desire to pay them $60/hr for labor to do what I have already done so it looks like I'll be undertaking the rest of this project upon myself. I'm fairly intimidated to do this, but I figure if they can read and follow a service manual so can I. If I get into a tuff spot a guy I graduated highschool with graduated from MMI about a year ago and is a certified Suzuki mechanic so I might have to bribe him with a 12 rack or something if all else fails.

[bigE]

$60 an hour for labor is cheap! Its $80 at my dealer....
I would do the work myself too. Its so much more satisfying to say you rebuilt the bike (plus it saves you a fortune). And if you screw up, you can always just take it to the dealer then.....
The fairings should be easy to install and only require simple hand tools. The rear subframe shouldn't be too difficult, but will probably take an impact wrench and torque wrench to remove and install it...

[marktoml]

Get a decent shop manual and you can do it yourself. The SV is really easy to work on compared to a lot of other bikes.

[New_rider417]

Ya, I've ordered three diferent manuals for the bike. Hopefully between them I'll be able to fix the problems that come up.

So in keeping with the "an accident is just an excuse to upgrade/customize" mind set I've been busy on-line...

The UPS guy is gona love carrrying all my boxes for the next couple weeks! So far new helmet, new subframe, all new fairings, 636 rear shock, new springs and heavier oil for the front, K&N and rejet, stainless brakes lines...I think thats the big stuff that I've ordered so far.

So far the only thing that I have in possesion is the new Shoei...I can't wait till I get to use it

[bigE]

Originally Posted by New_rider417

... 636 rear shock...

Let me know how that turns out compared to the stock shock. I have been considering doing this mod too...

[cvillechopper]

Couple of things. If you bent the rear subframe there's a very real chance you did something not nice to the front end. Best case is forks that are a little twisted in the trees but you could have bent / cracked the trees, forks, etc. Personally, I'd take the entire front end down and do the tests for spec according to the manual. No time like while you've got it apart anyway. You really don't want to be riding and have the internals bind up on a bent fork. Just my 2 c.

[New_rider417]

BigE - Will do. Everything I have read has really good things to say about the 636 (or comparable) shock in the rear compared to stock. I'm excited to get her all back together and try out all these 'upgrades' for myself.


cvillechopper - Thats what I'm planning to do. I will also more than likely take it into the local dealer when I'm finished and have them look it over to double check my work just to be safe.

[New_rider417]

As I posted last year I pretty well totaled my SV on the 4th of July. I had the bike back up and running by late September, but it wasn't done. Just ridable. Here's what I had to work with after the accident.


After slowly getting the finishing touches taken care of I am now done except for paint, and thats where you guys come in. I would like some paint opinions from fellow riders
Not counting all the stock parts it took to get her back together, here is the list of mods she now has...
-KG Cycles fiberglass body kit
-HotBodies style undertail (I forgot the actual brand)
-Integrated LED blinkers in Euro taillight
-Flush mount front blinkers
-Puig windscreen
-636 rear shock
-Sonic Springs up front 20w oil
-Galfer braided SS lines front/rear
-EBC HH pads
-ART exhaust
-K&N air filter
-DynoJet jet kit
-RK gold chain 520 conversion
-Vortex sprokets (down one tooth in front)
-MotoSliders frame and swingarm
-Carbon fiber look brake/clutch levers

What color(s)????

[tricker]

looks good

[Trapper]

Wow! Three dogs! I wish you lived closer.

Nice bike!

[tricker]

Originally Posted by Trapper

Wow! Three dogs! I wish you lived closer.

[New_rider417]

Thanks The beagle (2.5 yrs old) and german shepherd (5 months) are mine. The american bulldog (6.5 months) is my roomates.

SO, he is what I've been thinking for color(s). Either a Ferrari/Ducati red like the red in my helmet. Gloss white, or white tail and front fender with blue fairings and tank...
I have 2 weeks to decide.... I think I'm gona cut holes where those flat spots under the headlights are too...