Brand new shiny Suzuki day

[Bustaspoke]

West Lancs,lovely part of the world but the carriageways aren't the best

[Yorick]

West Lancs,lovely part of the world but the carriageways aren't the best

I won't post pics of the roads here

[Bustaspoke]

I fitted a Shad luggage rack to the bike earlier.I often fit luggage racks but never a topbox,this time I've decided to fit a topbox so I've gone for a Shad kit.I had a feeling it wouldn't be a simple job,I was right.
Here's the fittings



The 'plate' in the above image was a proper PITA to fit.After spending the best part of an hour trying to get it to locate correctly I realised that I would have to remove the side panels to get some wiggle space, I removed all the pop rivet things & a few bolts but realised that the sidepanels were somehow attached to the tail piece,I did a quick search online & found that you have to remove the sidepanels & tailpiece in one action
The back end looked like this



Then I got to the really fiddly part.The 'Plate' mounts between the mudguard & the plastic tray adjacent to the frame tubes.That's easy,the fiddly part is trying to get 4 20mm long spacers (Located top right in the first image) to locate above the plate & below the plastic tray whilst offering up the plate & retaining bolts,I did them one at a time but it was a faff.Anyway that's another job out of the way
Not the best photo in the world,but you can see the spacers between the plate & the tray on this photo.



After bolting everything back together,I ordered a Topbox,then fitted a charging lead for the battery.
The next two jobs are fitting the Topbox,hopefully later this week & fitting a tank pad before the tank gets scratched.
After that I'll get the bike run in

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

The SHAD soft pannier frame for my GSXS750 had those spacers, I glued them to the plate to keep them in place

[Skub]

A rucksack sounds good to me.

[Bustaspoke]

The SHAD soft pannier frame for my GSXS750 had those spacers, I glued them to the plate to keep them in place

I was thinking of doing the same,& if I have to do one again I would either glue or silicone them in place but as I was already into the job I decided to persevere.
Definitely not again though...

[Skub]

The SHAD soft pannier frame for my GSXS750 had those spacers, I glued them to the plate to keep them in place

I was thinking of doing the same,& if I have to do one again I would either glue or silicone them in place but as I was already into the job I decided to persevere.
Definitely not again though...

It's god's way of telling you topboxes are for big,raving bumders.

[Supermofo]

My Givi had a similar plate type arrangement under the under tray but was a piece of piss to fit as it had 4 bolts which replaced 4 shorter ones already used. Faffing about with footpegs was more time consuming

[Bustaspoke]

Ah well,I fell off the SV the other night in what I would say is the most bizarre crash I've ever had.The whole incident lasted about 3 seconds & the distance travelled was less than a artic trailer (45ft/13 metres).I'll set the scene..
I'm on the Suzuki at my mates & we're fitting a tank protector to the back of the tank,it's not raining but it's about to & it's twilight.
My mates house is on a residential crescent 20 MPH zone,he's at the top of the hill,we're working on the bike in his back garden,everything's gone to plan & I'm going home before the rain starts.I start the bike,put it in gear,drop down his drive(approx 2 car lengths) onto the road,turn right onto the road & imediately left as his house is on the outside of a left hand bend,it's not a wide road,typical urban estate road & it drops downhill to a minor road.As I leave I wave 'bye' & as i put my right hand back on the grip I accidentally blip the throttle & the bike shoots forward,I'm only going about 10 MPH but I've missed the apex to turn left,no problem thinks I,the throttle's shut just hit the brakes & stop or make the turn.That's what I would have done on the Street Triple or my Gen 2 SV,but this thing's different & I'm about to learn the hard way.The Gen 3 SV's have some gizmo fitted to keep the revs up so that new riders don't stall the bike,plus the bike's cold as I've only just started it & I've noticed it idles high until it's warmed up.It must have taken 1/2 a second for me to realise that what works on my other bikes is not working right now & the bike's not stopping, so I straighten it up bounce up the kerb & over a 3 brick high garden wall,at this point I'm ejected from the back & the bike is on it's side with the brickwork scattered around.From entering the road to the unplanned garden entry took about 3 seconds & I've travelled about 45 foot,for the last 15 foot I was trying to stop the thing!
My mate's daughter gave him a shout to come over,I picked the bike up,dusted myself down,got the bike upright & back on the road,did a quick check over,it was getting dark so then I took the long way home & everything seems alright.
I gave it a good check over yesterday morning,the left side headlight cowl's damaged,they're £96 inc post,so I've ordered a new one & the clutch lever & mirror arm's scuffed but I can live with that,I'll probably change the mirrors anyway.
The last time I had a 'Oh shit I'm a passenger' moment was on my MTB at Les Arcs & that didn't end well
I'm into double figures for throwing bikes down the road,but apart from messing about in the snow on my old XT600 I reckon 1991 was the last the last proper off,I hit a pothole on my FZ750 & got tankslapped down the road.
Fortunately the little wall I demolished was in a poor state of repair & my mates a good jobbing builder so yesterday he cleaned up the brickwork & today he's laying the bricks in some mortar for the owner & I'm just bruised so I'll consider myself lucky
Every day's a learning day,next time I won't wave & I'll disengae the clutch quicker!

[Skub]

Holy shit man,I wasn't expecting that story when I opened the fred. Glad you are ok,we all get caught out with daft things sometimes and mostly happy to only injure the bank account.

[Rockburner]

Ah well,I fell off the SV the other night in what I would say is the most bizarre crash I've ever had.The whole incident lasted about 3 seconds & the distance travelled was less than a artic trailer (45ft/13 metres).I'll set the scene..
I'm on the Suzuki at my mates & we're fitting a tank protector to the back of the tank,it's not raining but it's about to & it's twilight.
My mates house is on a residential crescent 20 MPH zone,he's at the top of the hill,we're working on the bike in his back garden,everything's gone to plan & I'm going home before the rain starts.I start the bike,put it in gear,drop down his drive(approx 2 car lengths) onto the road,turn right onto the road & imediately left as his house is on the outside of a left hand bend,it's not a wide road,typical urban estate road & it drops downhill to a minor road.As I leave I wave 'bye' & as i put my right hand back on the grip I accidentally blip the throttle & the bike shoots forward,I'm only going about 10 MPH but I've missed the apex to turn left,no problem thinks I,the throttle's shut just hit the brakes & stop or make the turn.That's what I would have done on the Street Triple or my Gen 2 SV,but this thing's different & I'm about to learn the hard way.The Gen 3 SV's have some gizmo fitted to keep the revs up so that new riders don't stall the bike,plus the bike's cold as I've only just started it & I've noticed it idles high until it's warmed up.It must have taken 1/2 a second for me to realise that what works on my other bikes is not working right now & the bike's not stopping, so I straighten it up bounce up the kerb & over a 3 brick high garden wall,at this point I'm ejected from the back & the bike is on it's side with the brickwork scattered around.From entering the road to the unplanned garden entry took about 3 seconds & I've travelled about 45 foot,for the last 15 foot I was trying to stop the thing!
My mate's daughter gave him a shout to come over,I picked the bike up,dusted myself down,got the bike upright & back on the road,did a quick check over,it was getting dark so then I took the long way home & everything seems alright.
I gave it a good check over yesterday morning,the left side headlight cowl's damaged,they're £96 inc post,so I've ordered a new one & the clutch lever & mirror arm's scuffed but I can live with that,I'll probably change the mirrors anyway.
The last time I had a 'Oh shit I'm a passenger' moment was on my MTB at Les Arcs & that didn't end well
I'm into double figures for throwing bikes down the road,but apart from messing about in the snow on my old XT600 I reckon 1991 was the last the last proper off,I hit a pothole on my FZ750 & got tankslapped down the road.
Fortunately the little wall I demolished was in a poor state of repair & my mates a good jobbing builder so yesterday he cleaned up the brickwork & today he's laying the bricks in some mortar for the owner & I'm just bruised so I'll consider myself lucky
Every day's a learning day,next time I won't wave & I'll disengae the clutch quicker!

Glad you're ok - I bet you'll ache today and tomorrow (get a good hot long bath). Even little offs tend to mean you strain muscles and ligaments.

Not good about the controls not doing what you'd expect though, I'd want to get that fixed somehow.

[Supermofo]

Oof, sorry to hear that. Glad you are ok though, any crash where you're not injured is a win when on a bike.

[Bustaspoke]

Not good about the controls not doing what you'd expect though, I'd want to get that fixed somehow.

Ironically one of the things that appeals to me about the SV is the lack of rider aids,it's still a cable throttle,but the one thing they've done to it (the anti stall) caught me out.I had a quick look on the forums about disabling it just after I bought the bike,but I've not found anything.
I've been out on the bike this morning & I'll nip out on it again later.When I rode it this morning I tried to replicate the involuntary throttle blip on a straight part of a quiet country lane & I instantly sorted the problem.The SV650X version is fitted with clip on bars so you're leant over the front & when you lean forward to place your hand on the right grip if you initially place the palm of your hand on the bars it's never a problem,but if you do what I did & place your thumb on the grip first it blips the throttle.Not a problem at 10 MPH + in a straight line,a bit of a problem at 10 MPH just as you're about to tip the bike into a turn
Lesson learned..

[Skub]

It's probably something it would take an ECU flash to get rid of. Half the battle sometimes is knowing it's there and being prepared. I wonder how many inexperienced riders have fallen foul of the 'help'?

[Bustaspoke]

Here's the cowling damage



Tank pad & luggage rack fitted



The top box isn't getting fitted until I've fitted the top yoke kit



I think the rack suits it,the top box look might be a bit more challenging..

[Dodgy69]

It's a shame on a brand new bike. Next proper ride and it'll be forgotten about. Left arm waves from now on.

[Bustaspoke]

It's a shame on a brand new bike. Next proper ride and it'll be forgotten about. Left arm waves from now on.

I agree,but I don't mind the bike getting slightly marked,it stops me getting precious about it.I bought it to use so no doubt there'll be a few more marks to come.I think of it more as a wake up call & not to get complacent.Daft as it was,at least,somehow the tank & panels never got scratched or dented.I'm happy that I sussed what caused the throttle to blip so it's all history now,lesson learned,palm on the grip before thumb!

[Taipan]

Bike crashes tend to leave me one of two ways and i'm never sure which is worse. First scenario is bike is smashed up/beyond repair and i'm broken a bit but i'll mend. This one leaves me thinking fuck the bike i'm lucky to be here. Second scenario is like yours where you end up with an overwhelming sense of annoyance at your self and the minor damage you've caused that could have easil been avoided. As I said, i'm never sure which is worse tbh? But the overriding conclusion and old adage is any crash you walk away from is good and if the bike is serviceable, even better...

[Bustaspoke]

Seeing as it's been pouring down AGAIN this morning I decided to commence with the tope yoke conversion.
I did the same conversion to my Gen 2 bike last year & I knew it would be 'awkward',so far it's proving more of a PITA than it was on the Gen 2 bike.
The main problem is getting access to the ignition switch connector,the cable is the one wrapped with some blue tape on this image just in front of the headstock,I think it goes to a cross tube above the front cylinder head..


The next issue is that when I get the cable disconnected I still have to remove the switch from the top yoke,on the Gen 2 bike the ignition switch mounting bolts are threadlocked,you just heat them up & remove,but on the Gen 3 bike it looks like the switch is secured with some kind of sheer bolt ,any ideas on how to remove the ignition switch?

[kendo57]

We used to drill them out with a left hand drill on cars. Sheer bolts usually sheer at a fairly low torque so not
too tight. Might be worth tapping with a punch first to see if they move.