ok, I just have to vent...

SO! Who's the f**king dumbass at Suzuki that decided you have to take
off the body work on the 1st gen SV-650, in order to service the rear
brake reservoir?

If you happen to have a luggage rack, this becomes even more of a MAJOR
pain in the ass.

Some junior designer in Hamamatsu needs a BEATING.

Easter's over, and the chocolate colored brake fluid needs to go.

Of course, while the bodywork was off I took the opportunity to modify
things with a Zona saw and a coping saw to make a relief so I can take
the cap off and fill the reservoir and change the fluid with the
bodywork on.

The 2nd gen bike is a little more intelligently designed. I guess they
either fired that junior designer or just beat him with a stick. One can
hope.

Still. Grrrr...

-gc

 

A better question might be:

Who were the dumbasses that fell in love with the styling of
GP racing motorcycles in the 1960's and 1970's and bought
all those aftermarket fiberglass fairings and tail pieces that
convinced the Japanese designers that we were all crazy mad over GP
styling and that form took precedence over function?

Who do we really have to blame, except ourselves, for
motorcycles wrapped in so much plastic we have to spend
two hours just to change the spark plugs?

Why be angry at the Japanese designers for giving us what we
insisted that we wanted?

Back around 1989, some oldtimers were complaining that
Suzuki GSXR graphics and paint schemes looked like
something straight out of a comic book featuring super heroes.

As recently as ten years ago, oldtimers were insisting that
Hinkley Triumphs were somehow "more mature-looking" than
Japanese sportbikes...

And younger riders were telling the oldtimers that they *loved*
those bizarre paint jobs. The youngsters got into frame polishing
and powder coating and straight up cruising and stunting their
custom sport bikes that would never circulate on a race track
to get any use out of the aerodynamic fairings.

But, so far as the youngsters are concerned, the shapes have
nothing whatever to do with low drag, the shapes are an artisitc
statement.

Cruisers have become equally impractical, but what do the
weekend warriors care? They put from 2000 to 5000 miles a
year on their mass produced custom motorcycles, and it just
doesn't matter that they are impractical to maintain.

And what has happened to the practical 400cc commuter
machine of the 1980's? They grew up to at least 500cc's, and the
most practical of the twin cylinder commuter bikes has
a plastic fairing.

Even motorscooters look like GP motorcycles from the front.

The first time I saw a Honda Silver Wing scooter, I thought,
"They've got to be kidding! A scooter shouldn't resemble a GP
bike."

But look at ALL the offerings from Japan, Inc.

Whether it's a motorcycle, motor scooter, jet ski, ATV, or
snowmobile, it looks like something Rossi would be riding at
a GP motorcycle race.

Whatever we convince the Japanese that we like, they will
build it and sell it to us, regardless of how impractical it is.

 

I'm trying to change the fluid, and yes, I can angle a phillips in there
to get the lid off, but then it's still a right bitch to pour fluid in
to keep the level topped up, especially while you've got the other hands
on the brake pedal and the bleeder. It doesn't help that the reservoir
is thimble-sized and it takes maybe half-a-dozen pumps to empty it.

To get the rack off I have to remove the turn signals, remove the air
horns, remove the 4 bolts holding on the rear rack, be careful to not
yank out the wires for the signals, remove 3 bolts/nuts on each side,
and then line the whole 3D chinese puzzle all back up afterwards. I have
one of the ancient Five Stars racks from RiderHaus.

Plus there's the fun of taking off the plastic, but it was made better
by knowing I wasn't going to have this problem again.

-gc

 

I've done it a couple of times on my SVS and it's really not a big deal
in my opinion. I would prefer that it be easier to get at the screws
holding on the reservoir cover, but as I say, if you bend the bodywork
a bit you can get the screws out and back in without much difficulty.
The reservoir being small is a feature, not a bug-- it's very quick to
flush the entire system. If you want to make it even fewer pumps,
suck all the fluid out of the reservoir with a turkey baster or a
large syringe, then fill up with fresh fluid and pump down until the
level is right at the bottom of the reservoir. Fill the reservoir and
pump until clear fluid comes out, then top up. As long as there is
still fluid in the line between the reservoir and the master cylinder
no air will enter the system.

 

The ONLY plastic the SV-650 has is the tail piece. It's not "wrapped in
plastic" at all.

The naked SV is a dream compared to working on my DL-650, but then I
bought the DL BECAUSE of the fairing, to be my long distance and cold
weather bike.

I'm not angry because of the plastic, I'm angry at the obviously "we
didn't think you might want to actually change the fluid!" positioning
of the reservoir. One of the ZX-7 Kawasakis has the reservoir in the
same place, but at least they cut a notch for access.

And you'll notice the 2nd gen SV-650 has the reservoir in a much better
place.

I remember those magazine reviews! And I remember the purple, magenta,
and cyan Honda VTRs. And the lightning-bolt GSXRs.

You'll notice the colors are muted and far better looking now.

Nope, it does not. And it's 650cc with one hell of a stonking engine for
commuting. I've put nearly 50,000 miles of daily riding on mine, rain or
shine, cold or hot.

Well duh. They're in the business of making stuff we'll buy. If they
think we like it, it's their job to build it and sell it to us.

-gc

 

Why do cars have bodywork, or paint for that matter? Wouldn't one be just
as well served with the body of a Model-T?

 

I was talking about the Suzuki GS-500, not the popular SV-650. Suzuki
added
quarter fairings and half fairings to its more practical machines,
such as the afore-mentioned
GS-500 and the 600cc Bandit to attract customers by making the humble
machines look
"sporty".

The SV-650 was more inspired by the Ducati craze, as were Suzuki's
other 90-degree V-twin offerings.

And, Kawasaki's EX-250 and EX-500 have been offered for almost two
decades now. They are
wrapped in plastic, but they are essentially commuter bike that are
used to haul students toschool and diehard riders to the office.

 

OTOH, why did Porche Carrerras have the "whale tail"?

Why were Pontiacs named "Bonneville", "GTO","Grand Prix", and
"TransAM"? Why were some Camaros called "IROC"?

And, what was that limited production NASCAR-style Dodge called? You
know the one I'm talking about. It had a wing, mounted high on the
trunk lid.

Was it called a "Daytona", or what?

Performance car enthusiasts are crazy over the racing mystique, even
if it's represented by nothing more than a blue racing stripe on an
old white Mustang.

 

Noise laws, for one thing.

There are a fair few unfaired 400-650cc bikes around, but as regards the
demise of the practical mid-size working bike, I tend to agree.

 

There are committed riders who refuse to own a car, even as a grocery
hauler. They
want practical motorcycles that don't require an hour of maintenance
for every hour spent riding.

One such rider, who was also an occasional club racer, rode with a
group who claimed that motorcycles were their entire "raison d'etre."
They wore tee-shirts that said, "We Live, Love, Ride, Eat, Sleep, and
DREAM MOTORCYCLES".

He told me that his GS-1100 was a sort of "pick up truck" for hauling
beer and groceries, not a drag racer or road racer.

He wasn't all that enthusiatic about the late 1980's crop of plastic-
wrapped
race-style machinery. Ninjas, FZR's, CBR's and the like were just too
fast and powerful for the type of back road banditry that he and his
friends engaged in.

Like, who really needs to ride 120 mph on a road through a public
park? They were already crashing and hurting themselves going 90 mph
on the scrub oak-lined
mountain road that they shared with dump trucks going to a land
fill...


He asked me how I liked my GSXR, and I told him, "Be very careful what
you wish for.
You might GET it."

He repeatedly asked me if I wouldn't really rather have an updated
GT-750 Water Buffalo, and I would always tell him that I would much
rather ride an RG-500 Gamma.

I was tempted to buy one, but I realized that the Gammas were too
extreme for daily riding. I would have to dedicate my evenings during
the week to maintenance, so I could ride the GP replica every Sunday
morning.

 

I heard THAT! Man, the GS1100GL I had in college was a worse hangar
queen than an F-14. Something was broken every weekend. Of course, given
that bike's particular history, that wasn't surprising.

So when I had the dosh, I wanted something NEW that hadn't been piped
and jetted and airbox-hacked and fucked over by some previous owner.

As to not owning a car, I've just been fucked too hard by the local car
repair shops, and one day I just had enough. I can't believe people like
my roommate that just threw $3000 at a bad relay in his Accord. Of
course it's his dad's money so he doesn't care.

That's half what my bike cost! NEW!

Bike dealerships can't fix bikes worth shit either, they can't even
mount a tire properly, but at least I can work on my bike without a
3-car garage and a lot of expensive tools.

Uh. Wait. Scratch that about the expensive tools. And the DL, the RZ,
and the SV are getting a little cozy in a one car garage. Hm.

I can fit a month's worth of groceries in my 3 Givi E45s. Every so
often there's something I can't bring home, so I treat someone to lunch
in exchange for a ride.

Shame there aren't any such around here. All of my riding buddies have
left the state for better jobs.

Yeah, they're finding the 800cc GP bikes are going faster than the 990cc
GP bikes went because the racers can actually use all the throttle, and
aren't so afraid they're going to get eaten alive exiting a corner.

That's why I like my little 650 Vees. Like you say, it's a Ducati
without the expense, the (ahem) Italian mechanical "character", and the
godawful valve system. It's got a perfect powerband for going to work,
the grocery store, the airshow, Daytona, the Smithsonian, the Honda
Hoot, etc.

I kind of wish it had a shaft drive though, like the old Nighthawk 700s.
There's an insane German guy that put a belt drive on his SV. I'm not
that insane, though there's probably a few that would beg to differ.

-gc

 

That will be just about every Jap bike made today, FFS. The world has
moved on from your 1970s two-strokes, you know.

 

Oh, "FFS" to you too, and throw in a "FYYFF" as well.

 

Well, in a technical forum declaring that bikes need an hour of
maintenance for an hour of riding is just *wrong*.

<fx: recalls old Kawasaki H1>

Well, some do. Or did. Which is my point.

 

I was watching The History Channel or SpeedTV and they showed a video
about muscle cars of that era. They said that
the winged car intimidated prospective buyers and they could hardly
sell any of them. The wing was like a sign saying, "Yeah, that's
right. I'm speeding, come write me a ticket, ossifer."

 

Do any of you guys ride bicycles?

 

Well, yes, but you're on RBT so you don't count.

Have a pic of the bike carrier? That would be the best of both worlds...

 

Heh - I do (hi, Phil...).

I also happen to have a DR250, and agree that it's a great "bombing
around town and gravel road bike" (and can do a credible job hainging
with a "real off-road bike" if you're crazy enough (don't ask me how I
know this... the guy on the hi-zoot bike I'd just passed told me that
he could see the entire chassis of my bike before the rear wheel
agreed to return to earth after the "rock incident").

I also have a BMW K100RS sport touring bike, but put 10X more miles on
my bicycles than on my motorcycles.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame

 

Used to. For a number of reasons, I don't have one at the moment. Of
course, that doesn't mean that I use the VFR for those short trips; I
just walk, because this town is a nice place to walk around.

--
Later,
John



'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

 

I have actually been wanting a scooter lately for quick jaunts to and from
campus... the moto's a mild pain in the butt... For scooters you don't have
to wear a helmet (not too bad b/c of a 20 mph speed limit) or even have a
license for <50cc. I don't like the fact that they're 2-strokes though. So
what's this about a rock incident?

I do ride to and from class most days. But my >$100 pedal-bikes are
gathering dust. I haven't found the time to go out on the club rides and
dirty MTB rides. School's the culprit.

Did it used to be 695 at one point? I forget.