Zach’s Garage

Is this thing on?

Winter. Blah.

Galfer brake lines

I was finally able to get my Galfer stainless steel brake lines installed this afternoon. I initially started installing them almost two weeks ago, but the double length banjo bolt included with the kit was the wrong size. Luckily I had heard of them sending incorrect bolts out, so I attempted to thread it in by hand before I would strip out my master cylinder. It took until now to get the right sized replacement bolt.

Installation was a little more complicated than on my Ninja, since it only had a single front brake disc, my SV has two, which means two new lines to run. It takes a bit longer to get the fresh fluid down through each side as well, and you have to go back and forth a few times. The hand vacuum pump made this much easier though. Routing is a little tricky since you can’t use most of the stock fittings, I ended up following the speedometer sender cable most of the way, using zip ties along the way to make sure everything stays in place. Looks like nothing but snow and wintry weather for the next week or so, so I won’t be able to try them out for a bit, but they sure look nice!

Happy holidays

Got lots of goodies for the bike, including Pazzo levers, Galfer SS front brake lines, and Sonic Springs with 20w fork oil. I already put the levers on this afternoon, it literally took 5 minutes each side. They look and feel great, I may get some red adjusters to better match my bike.

Grip Heaters

I installed my grip heaters today. It took about 3 hours total, most of which was wiring work. Instead of simply tapping into an existing power source like the directions recommend, I instead used a relay wired to the license plate light. When the ignition is turned on, the signal wire from the plate light turns the relay on, which then powers the heaters directly from the battery. This way they get direct power, not piggybacked off another circuit, and I won’t have to worry about leaving them on since they turn off when the ignition is off. I spent a good deal of time soldering and heat-shrinking every connection so they’d be waterproof and wouldn’t vibrate loose. I mounted the relay and the bulk of the wiring directly in front of the airbox, and followed all the existing wires with zip ties. Getting the grips on and off was pretty easy using compressed air under each one. I ended up drilling a hole for the switch, something I didn’t want to do, but its not like I’ll be removing the grip heaters anyway and it looks pretty clean. Also had to be careful with the wires coming from under each grip, making sure there is enough room for the handlebars to move back and forth, and for the throttle to open and close. Tested it out in the garage, and on the high setting the grips are almost too hot to hold with bare hands. This should make cold weather riding much more enjoyable, and they didn’t cost much at all. Sorry for not having any pictures of the install, I didn’t really have time this afternoon before Thanksgiving dinner.

Reflective Rim Tape

Another duplicate mod from my Ninja 250. Instead of black, this time I got tape that matched the color of my bike (as close as I could find, anyway) The key with this is to take it slow. I cleaned the wheels real well with soap and water, then again with rubbing alcohol. I find its pretty difficult to get them on perfect (they come in four pre-curved sections for each side of each wheel, with two extras) but from more than a foot or two back they look fine. I’ve been meaning to do this since I took the nasty looking stock reflectors off. The second photo is taken with flash.

GSX-R Shock

As with my old Ninja 250, the stock suspension on the SV leaves something to be desired. Luckily, the rear shock from any number of the GSX-R models is a relatively straightforward swap. After looking at all the spring rates and shock lengths, the one that best matched my weight and type of riding is from a 2003/2004 GSX-R 1000. Picked this one up on eBay for $13. Getting the old one out was cake, but extensive modification (read: Dremel’ing and cutting) of the battery box is required so the shock’s reservoir and the battery will fit back in place. A few hours later, it was in. It’s raining, so I won’t be able to try it out until next week, but from what I hear it should be a much nicer ride.

Update 10/29: I went out for a few hours, and the difference is definitely noticeable. The best way to describe the bike now is more stable. I feel much more confident going through curves now, the rear wheel feels much more planted.

Motosliders

This should have been the first thing I bought for my bike, but they have been out of stock until now. Arguably the best sliders for the SV, I got the set that includes frame sliders and swingarm sliders, which double as spools for a rear service stand. I don’t think they look bad at all, and should give me some cheap insurance. The frame sliders also double as a nice way for a quick stretch of the legs while on the highway.

Viper exhaust

I finally got my Viper slip-on last week, and went about installing it. I rode the bike over to a friend’s metal shop since they have a Sawzall and any other metal working equipment I would need. First hurdle was the heat shield with those welded on bolts. I took a forum member’s advice to just snap them off with tons of pressure on the wrench, which worked great. Next came the cut. The sweet spot turned out to be about 1.5 inches from the weld at the header pipe.

I applied plenty of Permatex Copper and slipped it on. Everything lined up great, but trouble came when it was time to clamp it down. The clamp at the header pipe worked fine, but the one at the muffler simply wouldn’t do its job. I would tighten it down to the point where I felt it was about to break and the muffler could still be slipped right off. Something wasn’t right. I was out of time so shot an email to the site I got it from. The next day I had a reply, they suggested cutting a couple more slits at the muffler’s connecting pipe (There was already one there). This was pretty easy with my Dremel, and solved the problem completely. Nice and snug now.

The sound is perfect. Not too loud, but nice and throaty. Really unique sound too when normally all you hear are screaming inline fours or Harleys with open pipes around here.

Gas tank camera mount

Installed the gas tank camera mount tonight. This should let me get some fun videos of rides. Since I haven’t been out with it yet, I took a picture of the camera’s LCD so you can get an idea of the framing, but basically the camera records the top of the tachometer and the rest of the frame is through the windshield. The mount is nice and solid, I could grab it and rock the whole bike back and forth. Should be nice and quick to remove and put the stock screws back in should I want to, but with the camera removed it’s barely noticable, and even with the camera in place it doesn’t get in the way at all.

Fender eliminator

Removed the stock rear fender tonight, and installed the eliminator kit I purchased on eBay. The one I bought keeps the stock rear signals, and bolts in place of the stock unit. Just a couple of holes to drill. The hardest part was getting all the bolts and fasteners off and working the rear bodywork off, ambiguous instructions didn’t help either, so I was figuring much of it out as I went. I’m happy with the results, the rear of the bike looks much cleaner now.

GPS RAM Mount

My RAM mount arrived today from GPS City. Instead of having it zip-tied to the handlebar, wobbling around, out of sight, now my GPS unit is up at a much higher level, easier to see than the gauges even. Installation is as simple as a couple of bolts on a “U” bar around the left handlebar. A RAM mount uses two rubber balls with a clamp over them acting as the arm, and allows for plenty of adjustment. I was a little worried about the GPS popping out of the cradle going over bumps, but now that I have it, I see its not going to be a problem. It clamps down on it nice and tight. Well worth it.

Flushmount turn signals

This was the first thing I did after buying the bike. Those huge, ugly, protruding front turn signals had to go. This one is as simple as unscrewing the old signals, drilling a small hole (don’t worry, even if you go back to stock signals, you still can’t see it), and attatching the new ones. Some minor wire splicing is involved. Got them, color matched, from Keith. He used to sell on eBay but now has asiancycle.com set up for orders. You can customize which color and baseplate you want. Even though they are shipped from Thailand, I still got them faster than most things I have ordered online. Also, I replaced the bulbs with 1156’s, since they are brighter and don’t cause the fast flashing that the smaller bulbs will. Here’s before, during, and after shots.

EX500 Fork Springs

When it comes to fork springs, normally you’d get a set sprung for your weight from Race Tech or Sonic. The problem is, even their softest set are far too firm for my weight. A nice middle ground are the Ninja 500 fork springs. Got the pair for around $65 from Ron Ayers. It’s a pretty straightforward swap, once you deal with those spring clips. They’re about an inch shorter than the stock springs, so some spacers are needed. I noticed a little less nose dive under braking, and more feel for the road as well. Easily worth the relatively low price.

Digital Voltmeter

On a motorcycle, keeping an eye on the voltage is never a bad idea. Even though I don’t run any electrical accessories, it’s nice to see how much juice my battery has at all times. Got this little guy from digitalmeter.com. Took off the upper fairing, and used some wire tap-ins to connect to the wires for the instrument lighting, since they turn on with the ignition. (Red/blue(+) and red/black(-), by the way). Secured the voltmeter with puffy double sided tape, and used heat shrink tubing the clean up the wiring.

Stainles Steel Braided Brake Line (Front)

Galfer stainless steel braided brake line. They sell the rear as well, but I didn’t think it was worth it at around $50 each. The idea is, the stock rubber hoses expand when fluid is pushed throgh them, thus wasting some of your braking energy. These won’t expand at all. I got a hand operated vacuum pump to pull the old brake fluid out through the bleeder valve, and also to pull fresh fluid through afterwards. Getting all the air out of the lines is a little tricky, especially for me since the hose on my pump didn’t fit as snugly as I’d like.

I’d say the difference is noticable, with much more linear action when using the front brake lever. You have more feel for what you are doing and it has more of an overall “bite”.