Brand new shiny Suzuki day

[Ditchfinder]

The ones on my Triumph came out easy after 20 odd years. Small pilot hole then one of those screw extractor bits.

[Bustaspoke]

Well I got lucky with the shear bolts,I took the top yoke to my mechanic mate,not to do the job but to ask him how he'd tackle it.He said they're easy enough & tried to get the bolts to move by using a sharp punch.Trouble was they weren't moving,so he took it to our mate the bike mechanic in a adjacent unit,he said not only are they shear bolts but they're also Red Locktited like the Gen 2 bikes However as we're all matey he did the job for me there & then
I'd already tracked down a pair of longer throttle cables from a v low miles 2023 bike & I decided instead of re-routing the original clutch cable I'd also fit the longer clutch cable from the 2023 bike.
Whilst I was waiting for the longer clutch cable to turn up I got on with installing the longer throttle cables & the longer section of brake line from the front master cylinder.First job was lifting the air box so that I could get access to the throttle bodies.It's a bit of a pain & awkward getting to things,but everything's new & shiny,nothing corroded.
You can see wher the throttle bodies are located here









If you look closely you can see that there's a few differences between the cable for the X clip ons bike & the normal handlebar bike's cable.The 'X' cable adjusts near the actuator arm whilst the normal bike adjusts near the clutch lever,also the curved metal 'guide' is at a different angle,the 'normal' bike's cable is also a few cm longer.

[Bustaspoke]

The extended front brake line connected behind the top tube ,here's the original.




After bleeding the brakes I had to wait for the brake fluid reservoir mount to turn up.It finally turned up today



I double checked all the cables for tight spots when turning the bars & as it's not been raining for most of the day I took the bike for a little spin to check everything.30 miles later & I'm happy,I prefer the bars to clip on's for the back roads around here.





That's it now,no more mods until I've done some decent miles on the bike,time to concentrate on riding

[Bustaspoke]

I spent this morning waiting for the DHL parcel man to turn up with more motorcycle related stuff.He turned up early afternoon with a ABBA front lift adaptor & the bobbins to fit my 650X so that I could strip the front end off the bike.I think that I tweaked the front end slightly the other month when it shot up the kerb & over a garden wall at 10 mph.The forks felt a little stiffer in the begining of the stroke & when I took the top yoke off it wasn't as smooth as I think it should be,it's the same with the new top yoke.so I decided to take the forks & wheel off & refit it all checking that everything slid into place without me forcing anything.The biggest obstacle was removing the front wheel spindle,turns out it's a 10mm Allen head & my multi-size wheel splindle tool didn't have a 10mm option.Luckily I had a 10mm Allen bit in the tool box so I started undoing the wheel spindle but it was really tight.I was convinced that there must be a pinch bolt at the bottom of the fork but I couldn't find one,after what must have been a hour struggling I found the pinch bolt



It's hard to believe that it took the best part of an hour to find that bloody pinch bolt



I've given everything a once over,nothing seems amiss so I bolted it all back together & it went back together as it should,the only drama being that I appear to have lost my 'O' rings packet,when I drop the fork legs I fit a 'O' ring over the stantion,but I must have spent 30 minutes trying to find the 'O' ring packet.Eventually I found a random one,now the bike just needs a test ride tomorrow.
Whilst I had the bike on the stand I decided to do some chain maintenance,that was another learning curve,different spanner sizes required in the emergency toolkit..
It's been a bit of a learning curve

[Bustaspoke]

Time for an update on the 650X.
Had a bit of a disaster the other month,the bike jumped off the Abba stand when I lifted it & scratched the frame paint,first time that's happened to me,hopefully the last



One of my mate's is handy & a bit OCD with paintwork so it's now looking good again,although in a certain light you can tell that the repair is a slightly lighter shade of gold,I couldn't find the paint code for the frame.



This afternoon I fitted a 'Dash cam' & Sat Nav.I fitted the same type of dash cam to my other SV650 & Street Triple & they're still working.



I took a switched feed from the parking light,got a pleasant surprise when I removed the headlight,unlike the bikes I was brought up on in the 70's &80's there's hardly any wires & lots of room in there in there



View from the cockpit.Those 2 square buttons are for starting dash cam recording,the other dashcams I fitted don't have this button they just record automatically when I turn on the ignition



I took the bike in for it's annual service the other week,£200 & the book got stamped.I said to the bloke on reception that I'll probably sell it later this year as the warranty runs out on July 1st & he replied that as long as I get the servicing done all Suzuki's are now under warranty for either 7 years or 70000 miles,I had my doubts about this but he pointed to a big poster behind him stating 7years or 70000 miles.
I'll book it in for it's first MOT later this week,just waiting for a sunny day...

[Dodgy69]

Think these long warranties are just a servicing sham.

[Supermofo]

Think these long warranties are just a servicing sham.

I think you're probably right. But at £200 a year I'd probably keep it up. Last service I had with Suzuki was £300 and should have been closer to £400 if I kept to the new plugs every year bollocks Suzuki peddle. I got told my warranty had been extended but I now wasn't covered for spark plug related problems, I asked him when the last time that had occurred on a GSXS, he was strangely silent

[Bustaspoke]

My opinion is that the bean counters crunched the numbers & decided that offering extended warranties subject to getting the bike serviced at their dealers is good business for them.If I keep the bike I'll probably keep up the servicing & if I sell it a full dealer history should help things.
























done

[Dodgy69]

I just chuck some fresh oil in every year or two, depending on miles, keep an eye on pads and tyres and all will be good. I generally stick with dealer for a couple of years on new bikes then self serv.

If bike starts and runs well, plugs are good i reckon.

[Bustaspoke]

Not updated this topic for a couple of years.
Today the 650X got some some shiny new Michelin Road 6's & 90 degree valve stems fitted





After 6100 miles the factory fitted OEM Dunlops still looked like they could do another 2000 miles but I fancied getting back onto Michelins before my next trip.
I think the Michelin profile is sharper than the Dunlop's as I had a WTF momment at the first left turn after having the tyres fitted I soon got used to the profile

[Supermofo]

Only used the 5s but really liked them. Think I got about 7500 out of them on the GSXS. Currently on the Metzler Roadtec 01SE's they are very good too.

[Bustaspoke]

Only used the 5s but really liked them. Think I got about 7500 out of them on the GSXS.

I have the 5's on my Street Triple & would happily use them again,I've just checked the mileage & they've done approx 7000 miles.The rear looks well used but I think I'll get another 1K out of it.I've been using Michelin since 1992!