SV650 gets a winning makeover

Suzuki’s V-twin SV650 is winning races in America against Ducati 750s, 250GP bikes and 400cc in-line fours.

And all the parts that make it a winner are available to SV owners in the UK.

Most of the major components can be supplied by the American firm Pro-Fab. There’s well over £5000 spent on this bike, but for around £2500 you could produce a less extreme, very similar-looking road bike.

The half-fairing has been replaced with a sleek Sharkskinz item whilst the back end is a pattern 2000 GSX-R750 tail unit. The frame and swingarm have both been powder-coated matt-black.

The suspension at both ends has been replaced completely. The front forks are upgraded GSX-R750 units – the legs are nitrided to reduce stiction and the internals have been re-valved by Pro Fab. The rear shock was ditched for a fully adjustable Penske unit.

The entire bike is littered with titanium fasteners and bolts – every one of them shaving a couple of grams off the total weight. The GSX-R forks are held in place with a set of Kosman triple-clamps originally intended for an R1. Pro-Fab made these fit with very little modification.

The rear brake is pretty much standard but the front calipers are off-the-shelf Brembo 4-pots gripping Braking ‘Wave’ discs. These so-called ‘cookie-cutter’ discs are already being used in World Supersport racing. Yoyodyne Titanium supplied the jewel-like Mikuni rear-sets.

The engine is almost as tasty as the chassis. Lurking inside are a set of big-bore Wiseco pistons and a Falicon balanced crank. Yoshimura supplied slightly hotter cams too. The standard carbs are merely re-jetted with a Dynojet kit and the ignition system is still stock. The exhaust uses M4 downpipes and a titanium Yoshimura can.

Contact Pro-Fab on cbikebuilder@aol.com.

Brand new SV650s going at a price you’ll love: see New Bikes Direct.