Long-Term Upadate

Long-Term Upadate

SUZUKI

SV650

Lotta bike, little package

THERE ARE FEW BIKES MORE DOWNright fun to ride than Suzuki’s SV650. Which explains why we’ve racked up almost 5000 miles on our long-term testbike since the last installment.

The upgraded suspenders from Progressive Suspension resulted in what ad guy/former 250cc GP racer Andy Leisner calls, “a huge improvement in sporting situations...though it seems to have too much rebound damping in the fork.” A fix is in the works.

As for the previously reported wheelie-gone-wrong/tipover damage, we replaced the ripped seat cover with a flashy Colortech ($100) from Lockhart-Phillips, and exchanged the dented fuel tank for a fresh one from the factory ($303).

While not all staffers like the new seat cover-a-go-go, all agree the Jardine exhaust sounds awesome. We dynoed the bike post-pipe, and found that the peak numbers remained the same, but the setup fills a dip previously found in the midrange. No complaints there.

We also fitted a new set of Metzeler MEZ4 radiais ($328) and twice changed the oil and filter with Castrol synthetic. What now? Glad you asked. A snazzy-looking Targa fairing just arrived in the mail...

$5749

SUZUKI

Hayabusa

Terror on tires

ABSOLUTE HORSEPOWER SUPREMAcy hasn’t lost its flavor. And so the miles keep piling up on our Hayabusa. It has not been an easy 9300 ticks. Multiple racetrack schools have eaten tires, as did a flat. Maintenance costs are skewed, then.

But tires weren’t the only things pummeled, nor the only thing to skew costs; a stretched chain (dead at 6500 miles) cost a wallet-thinning $247. Two items left to the pros were freebies: A pair of recalls put our ’Busa on ice while a broken camchain tensioner and a clogprone fuel-filter screen were replaced.

In keeping with the bike’s superSuperbike nature, we fitted a Yoshimura Tri-Oval Duplex stainless-steel exhaust system with titanium silencer ($1095). It sounds great, is much lighter than stock and, paired with a Dynojet Power Commander II fuel-injection kit ($329), clawed back some horsepower mysteriously lost after the recall service-we’re still 5 ponies off the 160 recorded in our first test. Throttle response is better, too.

The grabby clutch remains a mystery. Replaced en toto once, it still isn’t right. At the last service, two steel plates were found discolored and so replaced, but the clutch continues to grab abruptly.

Mostly, however, we’ve had piles of high-speed miles, with the most recent logbook entry this: “It seems heavy and big at first, but after a while you don’t even notice or care. And you never get used to the power!”

$10,499

YAMAHA

Venture

Touring, retro-stylé

AH, THE OPEN ROAD. AN OPPORTUnity to commune with nature, to bask in Mother Earth’s beauty. Enjoy the hushed serenity of it all... Wait a minute, no musici !

That was Managing Editor Matthew Miles’ reaction when the Venture’s stereo fritzed en route to Las Vegas. Actually, only the handlebar-mounted liquid-crystal display quit working; the cassette player continued to function normally, but how many times can you listen to Jimmy Buffett ’s Greatest Hitsl

Executive Editor Brian Catterson made sure to pack plenty of tapes for his 3000-mile round trip to Colorado, after which he had this to report: “It didn’t take long for me to start ignoring the Venture’s retro-cruiser overtones and start thinking of the bike as being in the same class as a Honda Gold Wing. From the saddle, the only reminder is the art-deco speedometer.” But not all comments were positive. “At the high elevations I encountered (12,000 feet in snowy Loveland Pass, with ‘Stairway to Heaven’ playing on the stereo), engine performance was an oxymoron! Fuel injection would be beneficial at a time like this.”

Maybe next year, Yamaha?

$15,999