SV650 Stage 3 Break Love
After installing the Race Tech front end and Fox Racing Shock on my trusty SV650 and testing it around both the infield and AMA tracks at Fontana, it became suddenly obvious that the brakes were the next things to need a little attention. To understand how things deteriorate after only a couple years of rain, road mung and benign neglect, it's useful to switch back and forth between factory-fresh motorcycles. (Even so, my little SV was only 1.4 seconds behind the Ducati S4 on the infield circuit with Mr. B at the helm.)
Mainly, rust never sleeps, and when rust is maybe taking a catnap, there's all kinds of dust and dirt and junk dying to get in between your brake caliper and its little pistons, creating friction, robbing feel. You can take the calipers all the way apart of course, but sometimes a good cleaning will do the trick too. (And you'll need new piston seals if you take them apart.) All you need to do is remove the calipers from the fork tubes, slide out the pads--and you're right there on the front porch of the piston sisters. Easy.
You can take the calipers all the way apart of course, but sometimes a good cleaning will do the trick too.
I tackled the brake pads first; Jeff recommended the SinterGrip ST pad set for
After I completed swapping out the worn stock pads for the fresh Ferodos, I moved on to trading out the old squishy brake lines for delectable Goodridge braided Kevlar lines. The people at Goodridge know their stuff when it comes to fluid-transfer lines; they have a long and impressive list of customers, including NASA. I suppose if Goodridge's lines are good enough for the shuttle, I can stand to use them on my lowly Suzuki. (I'll pass on the Morton-Thiokol O-rings, though, thanks anyway.)
Matt, like the other employees, has been cross-trained in every sector in the Goodridge hosiery, and had the hands-on knowledge to explain each step in the manufacturing process of my lines. He even did most of the fabrication himself. As a finale, I watched the new lines get pressure tested to 2500psi--impressive!
And speaking of performance, I noticed a dramatic difference in the brakes as soon as I hopped on the SV for a shakedown blast around the block.
The key thing to keep in mind when installing the lines is that the fittings were pre-set at a specific angle, and it takes a little experimenting and test-fitting to see exactly which direction each line is supposed to run. But again, not too difficult. Anyone with a few wrenches, decent hand/eye coordination and un poquito of spatial reasoning can do this job. The trickiest (or more accurately, tedious) part of the installation process is bleeding the lines, especially the rear. In order to pull off the rear brake reservoir lid on the SV, it's necessary to remove the right tailsection panel. Again, not too hard, just a little time-consuming-even the Monster S4 has its brake reservoir in a convenient location, but such is life. I imagine that many an SV's rear brake has gone without being serviced for far too long--much like the Editor--because people didn't want to mess with pulling off some plastic, but it's worth it in the long run. The two-year old fluid I bled from the systems was a nice caramel color and looked in dire need of replenishing.
While not only promising better performance, my new lines are a nice blue with red anodized fittings that look quite sharp--definitely a dramatic visual improvement from the blah stockers. Plus, they are significantly lighter than the stock lines.
And speaking of performance, as soon as I had everything buttoned back up and cleaned up my messes, I noticed a dramatic difference in the brakes as soon as I hopped on the SV for a shakedown blast around the block. There is far more 'feel' in the front brake, mostly due to the Kevlar lines, which don't expand nearly as much as the stock hoses. The rear brake now actually seems to do something. It should be much more useful in settling the rear end down on corner entries whether used for track duty or on a spirited backroad jaunt, as well as adding confidence to any sort of panic-stop situation on the street. Considering that I'll be going back to Seattle (the land of bad weather conditions and idiotic drivers) in a matter of weeks, this is a reassuring detail.
It really is amazing what this bike is capable of even when in stock trim, but add some relatively cheap and easy-to-do modifications to the mix, and the SV becomes a formidable street and track contender while retaining its polite manners.
This is the type of bike that I can imagine storing under a tarp forever in my garage, waiting for a whole new generation of riders to discover. (Then, they will laugh and call you Old Man.--Ed.)
Goodridge Brake Lines:
Braided Kevlar- $117.95 front/$69.95 rear
MO Rating:
http://www.goodridge.net/
http://www.lockhartphillipsusa.com/ (distributor)
Ferodo Brake Tech:
SinterGrip ST pads- $89.90 front set
Platinum pad set- $24.95 rear
MO Rating:
More by Elliot Strong
Comments
Join the conversation