SV650 Notes

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Suzuki SV650 notes collected by Morgan Jones (mjones2@morganjones.org) from the SV/DL Riders Google Group and SV650 Micapeak list.


From Bob M: > went out for a nice fall > afternoon ride today, everything seeming normal. > She started right up, no problems for the first 5-10 > miles. During that time, I stopped for gas and > again she starts up just fine, and I continue on > with no problems at all. After something like 20 > miles, which puts me inconveniently far down a > country road, I pulled over just for a quick break - > and as soon as I did, the bike stalls out. Tried to > re-start, and I have all the symptoms of a dead > battery. Fortunately, a guy in a pickup truck came > along in a few minutes and he had a set of jumper > cables, so I was able to get here going again and > started back home. > > On the way, though, I continued to see signs of > things going wrong in the electrical system: > > - Within a few miles, the tachometer died, the > needle resting firmly on the zero peg. > > - 2 to 3 miles later, the speedometer and odometer > start to cut out intermittently; another few miles, > and they're also gone entirely. > > - The last 5 miles or so of the way home, I can't > let the engine drop to a normal idle or it'll again > stall out; in fact, it did stall a couple of times > but I managed to get it started again just with the > momentum of the bike. > > Pulled into the drive, and she shuts down all by > herself - leaving the lights weak and again looking > like the battery simply isn't charging at all.


Possible Solution from M. Tucker: son's 2000 SV with 11K did the same thing a few months a go. All you need is a volt meter to check the alternator and regulator. To check the regulator/rectafier: Charge the battery. Check the voltage not running and it should be 12.4 - 12.6 volts. A severe discharge sometimes will kill a battery. Start the bike and check the voltage and at 3,000 miles the voltage should read between 14-15 volts. Switch the head light on high beam and voltage should drop then rise as the regulator allows more voltage to the battery. If the regulator is bad the voltage will stay around 12 volts. SVs have weak regulators and in the manual there is a way to tell for sure if the alternator is bad, but 9/10 times it's the regulator on the SV. $100 new on ebay, less for a used one, but I would stay away from used one as they are all suspect. Of course check all the connections and fuses first before buying anything. svrider.com also has a good article on who to do this check in more detail than I gave. Good luck MT

PS: the regulator is under the rear fender


Steve A: Bob, it’s probably the regulator, but it might have taken your battery with it. Like everyone said, charge up your battery first and see if it’ll hold a charge under load. Go here http://www.sv650.org/sv_manuals.htm and download the electrical section. Follow the procedure for testing the electrical system, it’s really easy.

GSXR regulators are a dime a dozen on ebay, and they’re more robust than SV ones. I replaced mine with a GSXR one a year or two ago, I think I paid about $12 for one off a late model wrecked GSXR 600. My SV regulator wasn’t totally gone, but it was only charging in the 12’s, not the 14’s where it should have been. Never stranded me, but didn’t keep my battery fully charged in stop and go traffic.

If you go the GSXR route, make sure it’s a 5 wire version, some are 6 wires. You’ll need to switch the connector from your SV reg to the new one, easy to do, no big deal, just don’t throw away your SV one before taking off the connector.


Steve A: No, the GSXR regulators are significantly bigger than the SV ones. Much bigger surface area and bigger fins to dissipate heat. I guess the GSXR's with their higher revving engines produce more excess juice that needs to be dealt with. I can tell you that an '03 600 will fit a first gen for sure, that's what I used, but you'll need to make a simple bracket for one of the bolts, since the holes are spaced farther apart. Many people on svrider have done the swap, so I'd imagine that most years will fit. All of the GSXR regs on ebay appear to be about the same physical size as each other, although the mounting holes look different on some. The Hayabusa reg will fit too, according to a thread on the forum. There's plenty of extra room under the tail plastic.

I dug out my old original SV reg, here are its measurements FWIW. Length = 3 1/8" Width = 2 11/16" Thickness = 1 1/8" Mounting holes center to center = 2 11/16"

Here's a thread with a picture comparing an SV reg to a late model 7 wire GSXR thread. While you're there, look at the huge battery the guy put in. http://forum.svrider.com/showthread.php?t=50207&highlight=solidFIX


Steve A: Any of the 5 wire GSXR ones will work. as Jim said. The difference between the years/models is size, shape and mounting holes. Actually, after doing a little reading on svrider, the later model GSXRs, 07 and such, have 7 wire ones, and they will work too. They just have 2 positive and 2 ground wires instead of 1, so you either tape off the extras or connect the 2 positives and 2 grounds together if you want. The 6 wire ones won’t work.


I had to make a little bracket for mine since the mounting holes were farther apart, but no big deal. It’s just a little piece of aluminum with 2 holes drilled in it for the second bolt. Some people use just one bolt and a zip tie, some just use one bolt with loctite, sometimes the holes are the same width apart but you might need a little longer bolt. There’s enough room in the tail for a significantly bigger regulator than the stock SV one, so whichever you choose, you should be able to easily fit it in.


From what I’ve read, 5 wire CBR and Kawi regs will fit and work too.