In many ways the SV650 has been called a modern HawkGT. Released in 1999, 11 years after the Hawk GT hit the streets. Where the Hawk floundered, the SV was an immediate success. Seems the American public was finally ready for a sub-100hp motorcycle that was easy enough for new riders and capable enough for racers.
The bikes were seriously limited by budget suspension bits. Lower grade suspenders kept the price point low; novice riders are not likely to even notice anyway. Faster and more experienced riders tend to upgrade suspension regardless. In response to public demand, Suzuki began importing the S model featuring a bikini fairing, lower handlebars and higher footpegs. The American public rejoiced and increased SV sales even further.
So universal was SV-appeal they became a staple in bike culture. More than one track-day rider can tell stories of expressed disappointment when venerable SV's would show up at track days and o
n race day because, despite their lower power delivery, they were an extremely capable bike under the influence of trained hands.
In 2002 the SV650 got a redesign, upgrading to fuel injection, new chassis (shared with the SV1000) a few more ponies and a much more edgy design. The bike lost some of its momentum. CanyonChasers theorized that the loss in appeal was attributed to the more angular design. While Generation I SV's (called "Curvy's" in the UK) were round and cute in a puppy dog sort of way, the Gen II SV looked more intimidating.
So its no wonder that two lost puppy-dog SV's have found their way into the CanyonChasers garage. Mike found an SV that had been demo-ridden into a fence, decimating the forks. I'd been spending so much time out at the track, I was starting to feel really bad for my venerable HawkGT: Flinging an 18-year old motorcycle around the track, bouncing off the rev-limiter and risking its safety around every corner seemed just wrong to me. It was time to consider a track-specific bike.
The parameters were basic. The bike had to be cheap. It had to be a popular or common so there would be good parts availability, and it had to have normal tire sizes. I started by looking at crashed bikes, but shockingly, even knackered and decimated examples were selling for more than I was willing to pay for a project bike. When the SV showed up, it was a “no-brainer” and I brought it home, much to Kris' surprise.
Besides, Mikes track proficiency had increased so rapidly aboard his little SV that I figured I'd have to find one of my own if I was ever going to be able to keep up with him.
Mikes SV was owned by a young lad, who foolishly let his pal take the bike out for a test spin. The "pal" managed the throw the SV into a fence at a very high rate of speed, decimating the forks. Mike was looking for something cheap, didn't care much about street legality and had no plans to tour on the thing. So after double checking that the only part of the bike that was unrepairable was the front forks, Mike made a very low offer on the bike. The owner was strapped for cash, so he sold the remnants of the SV (with Salvage title) for a very good price.
Without missing a beat, Mike toted the bike to the CanyonChasers garage, 
hoisted it up onto the table and discarded the knackered and twisted fork legs in favor of a GSX-R 750 front end that he had procured for just such an occasion. The GSX-R forks mount up almost directly with a bearing kit from Zoran of SV fame. After two days of bloodied knuckles the SV was reborn with a much better front end that what was originally fit. (An entire thread is dedicated to the subject on the SV650 Forum).
After getting the front-end settled down, Mikes track prowess increased dramatically, leaving me and my venerable Hawk coughing in the proverbial dust. Something must be done! See more pics of Mikes SV in the Gallery.
While Mike was lapping me and the little Hawk, the gears were turning. 
A decision needed to be made. Those 636's were looking awful nice and had all the groovy kit. Slipper clutches, inverted forks, petal rotors and rumors of it being discontinued in 2007 (potentially lowering prices and value of 05-06 models) made it very appealing. But prices were higher than I was willing to pay. Even salvage/wrecked bikes were fetching far more deniro than I wanted to front.
Then this SV came into sight. Dale had purchased it from a guy, who purchased it from a Suzuki dealership that had claimed the bike on their insurance when something (as far as I've been told) fell on the front of the bike, shattering the head-light, gauges and front plastic before it ever hit the showroom floor. The guy purchased all the goodies he could get his hands on. Sharkskinz body work and fairing stay, Woodcraft case cover, Graves rearsets, race sub-frame, drilled rear rotor, fancy stainless brake lines and just about anything else you could need - but never had the time to assemble the bike, so it sat in a series of cardboard bankers boxes until Dale took possession.
Dale hunted down a Fox Shox for the rear and paid to have the front forks revalved and reworked by the local suspension genius at Corporate Suspension. It took Dale the better part of a year to get the bike assembled, and he still had three boxes still filled with bonus parts yet to be installed. Then problems arose the first time Dale took the bike onto the track. The front forks were seriously messed up. There was no rebound damping at all, resulting in a bike that bucked and heaved its way around the track. Not fun! Jason at Corporate Suspension tried everything in his bag of tricks to fix the simple damper rod forks including Race-Tech Gold Valves and ordering a parcel of new internal parts from Suzuki. All in vain. The only thing that was able to settle the front of the bike was to dribble 135wt gear oil into the forks. Not wanting to deal with the issue, Dale decided to sell the bike to me. With full disclosure of the fork issue, I happily handed Dale a check and snatched the Keys to the sub 300-mile-old SV knowing full well that I'd probably swap the front end anyway. See more pics of Daves SV in the Gallery.
After circling Miller Motorsports Park on just about every size track bike from VFR400's to ZX-10R's, I felt I had a good idea out of what I wanted out of a bike. The venerable little SV (suspension problems and all) exceeded all of my expectations. Within a few laps I had more confidence, more cornering speed and more fun than any bike I'd circled the course on up until that point. It was a delight. It had enough more power to be able to keep most of the bigger bikes in sight when the track went straight (as opposed to the lappable Hawk), yet light and nimble enough that I would wring it through corners without much need for slowing. The bikes reasonable power output also equated to no fear of whacking the throttle wide open mid-corner (A move that could send a 180hp bike and rider into low orbit). It was everything I loved about the Hawk with more of what I'd wished the Hawk had more of; power.
While the front suspension definitely needed some work and the jetting was noticeably rich, the bike was still more fun to flog than a rental car, and all I could think was "imagine how much better it will be with sorted suspension and jetting". To make sure my analysis was accurate, I solicited a ride on a very well prepped race-ready SV and came to the same conclusions.
More information will be added here as we continue to mod our SV's
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