2009 Suzuki SV650 - Rotella T 15W40 at 2250 miles

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Thought I'd share my Blackstone report here. Nothing major. Bike runs fine and gets a good thrashing from me on the weekends. I'm the 3rd owner of the bike as the first 2 owners were in the Air Force. I bought it with only 1300 miles on the odometer and I assume all fluids were factory at that point. First thing I did as a new owner was drain the oil and put on a fresh filter, so this sample is from what I put in then.

The reason for the short OCI is I change oil + filter every spring regardless of mileage. I don't ride enough each year to ever have more than 1 OCI per year, even though I ride during all seasons in Oklahoma.


Oil filter is a Wix 51359.

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I'd consider that engine still breaking in and the elevated levels of no concern.
I'm using rotella 15w-40 in my big cube harley and running a 3000 mile interval and I'm very pleased with it.
Very cost effective and great performing product in motorcycles.

Thanks for posting.
 
the fuel is why the flash is only 385 and the susvis is low as well.

while the typical wear metals are showing it still breaking in, i gotta wonder where titanium of 3 is coming from?
 
Originally Posted By: sunruh
the fuel is why the flash is only 385 and the susvis is low as well.

while the typical wear metals are showing it still breaking in, i gotta wonder where titanium of 3 is coming from?


Maybe an additive from previous fill?
 
that certainly is a possibility.
i know at one point castrol had a titanium additive oil...or so they claimed.

or its a very poorly calibrated baseline
 
The 650 Suzuki V-Twin engine appears to be very easy on oil from all the posts that I've read over on the Adventure Rider and Stromtrooper Forums.

Many like that bike there, especially the engine. The Rotella T 15W-40 is an excellent choice.
 
Nice report. I am buying an '04 SV650 off a friend who laid it down on a gravel road. It needs a new handle bar, controls and probably a new gas tank, but only has a few thousand km on the odometer, however it has been sitting in a storage shed for a few years with old gas so i know it's going to need a good cleaning.
Like others have said, it has an excellent engine, with very nice driveability.
I plan on using Amsoil MCF 10w40, with a couple short flushes with a cheap oil.
 
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I raced an SV650 for a few years, fun bike. The engine is easy to like, decent power, super reliable, and sounds awesome. I always ran Rotella 15w40, shifted and ran great. Even shifted great without using the clutch. The only thing with that engine is they can't take a whole lot of hopping up. Otherwise rock solid. You can easily get all those replacement parts for cheap on Eba. Oh and a word of humble advice………if you're going to spend any money on the bike do it in suspension, not engine.
 
Originally Posted By: zpinch
What suspension upgrades would you recommend?


Well the real limitation of the stock suspension is it's soft and non adjustable, the shock being the weakest link (and most expensive). For street riding at minimum you want a spring calibrated to your weight and some sort of revalve to the damping. That means and aftermarket shock but look for a bargain used. For the forks same thing with the correct spring, and you can mess with oil weight and level for free which will effect the damping feel in a rudimentary way. Or a big step up you can get race tech cartridge emulators for not a ton of money which will give you a lot better action and adjustibilty. 90% of the SV racers with standard forks use those emulators cus they're cheap and they work.

I had full race stuff on mine which is probably not what you're looking for because it's fairly high dollar, but FYI it was a Penske shock modified by Traxxion and also their full cartridge fork conversion (much more money). Penske is about the best SV shock you can get if you can find ones used take a hard look.

Correct springs front and back, and real valving will give you 100% more control. And fun.

My point is I'd sooner take the money from hp goodies (aside from maybe a slip on) and go the to suspension stuff. Way more bang for the buck on an SV.

Best of luck!
 
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Originally Posted By: MoreCowbellAz
Originally Posted By: zpinch
What suspension upgrades would you recommend?


Well the real limitation of the stock suspension is it's soft and non adjustable, the shock being the weakest link (and most expensive). For street riding at minimum you want a spring calibrated to your weight and some adjustability in the damping. Shocks can get expensive but there's lots of used ones out there. For the forks same thing with the correct spring, and you can mess with oil weight and level for free which will effect the damping feel in a rudimentary way. Or a big step up you can get race tech cartridge emulators for not a ton of money which will give you a lot better action and adjustibilty. 90% of the SV racers with standard forks use those emulators cus they're cheap and they work.

I had full race stuff on mine which is probably not what you're looking for because it's fairly high dollar, but FYI it was a Penske shock modified by Traxxion and also their full cartridge fork conversion (much more money). Penske is about the best SV shock you can get if you can find ones used take a hard look.

My point is I'd sooner take the money from hp goodies (aside from maybe a slip on) and go the to suspension stuff. Way more bang for the buck on an SV.

Best of luck!


Sounds like a progressive rate shock would be good in this application. My harley was like night and day with progressive rate shocks.
 
That too, good point. I think just about anything would be a benefit. I don't say that to denigrate the SV, it's simply that that's the nature of the beast in this case, Suzuki needed to keep the bike at a certain price point so the suspension is where they balanced the budget, it's the barest of bare bones. It's still a fun bike even with stock suspension, but it's limits are reach fairly easily. And that becomes a safety issue if you're one of those spirited riders.

One thing I forgot to mention, a shock with ride height adjustment is super helpful. The SV benefits big time with some extra height in the rear, gets the geometry way more nimble.
 
Okay, thanks for the info. So you are saying the rear shock needs replacing as well then?

Also, the bike that I am buying was in an accident where it was dropped on wash board gravel road at about 80 km/h. The handle bar is right bent and needs a new one, the throttle, and something else I can't remember. The bike only has 4000+ km on it and besides the broken parts and minor frame scratches, it's in great shape. My buddy will sell it for less than $800 so it's a pretty good deal overall, plus the parts.

What handlebar would you recommend? Stock?
 
Originally Posted By: zpinch
Okay, thanks for the info. So you are saying the rear shock needs replacing as well then?

Also, the bike that I am buying was in an accident where it was dropped on wash board gravel road at about 80 km/h. The handle bar is right bent and needs a new one, the throttle, and something else I can't remember. The bike only has 4000+ km on it and besides the broken parts and minor frame scratches, it's in great shape. My buddy will sell it for less than $800 so it's a pretty good deal overall, plus the parts.

What handlebar would you recommend? Stock?


I'd shop for something comfortable. If the stock bars feel right then buy those. If not keep looking.
800 bucks sounds alright but the bike has been dumped so there could be bigger problems. 50mph is fast enough to bend the frame so look very closely.
 
Yes what I'd recommend, assuming you're budget conscious yet want a pretty dramatic upgrade, is replace the shock altogether and do cartridge emulators on the front (keeping your existing forks). That puts you well into sporty territory. If you wanted to keep cost to an absolute minimum then a spring for the shock and some oil/level changes in the forks. The problem with the shock is there's zero damping adjustability in it so there's only so much you can do with it.

For street use I think the stock bars are good, but that's a personal preference thing.
 
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