Newbie from Somerset

[CoronaClaire]

I have posted a charity run this Sunday on the General Talk Page ( I hope no relation to Major Disaster), make it if you can, it's £5 per head and about 4000 bikes run in it.

[Tim1200]

Not much of an introduction just spam

[CoronaClaire]

I have recently purchased a 2004 K3 SV1000S, now sporting the registration mark SV54 SUZ, a recent present from my motorcycling addict paraplegic husband Simon, who after a life changing motorcycle accident in 1999, still rides and currently owns a 2300cc Triumph Rocket III trike.
I have been riding motorcycles for over 23 years and am an advanced car driver and my husband is an advanced motorcycle instructor. So you see it's in our blood, we even went to the Isle of Man TT Motorcycle races for our honeymoon.
Over the years I have owned some pretty serious heavy metal, including Ducati's 900 Superlight, 916 and 888 SP5, my previous bike to the SV was Honda's VTR1000 Firestorm which I rode for eight years, so you see I am hooked on V twin's. I adore the power delivery, its nimbleness and sure footed handling, some of the SV's endearing qualities, not least from wanting to sit on its back wheel under progressive acceleration.
My SV was one of three bronze coloured SV's that V&J Superbikes could not sell, so they had them sent away for paint in Alstare Corona colours, that did the trick !!!
My machine is currently shod in Metzeler Roadtec Z6's which deliver a balance of both good performance and wear.
I have had a 34mm rear suspension lowering kit fitted by Peak Performance of Exeter, who I would thoroughly recommend, they also lowered the front so as not to unbalance the handling and softened the rear spring together with the purchase of a K3 Gel seat, which is no longer available from Suzuki, has transformed the bike to fit me and increased comfort.
The machine has many extras including Goodridge brake hoses, Smart TRE (transistorised retard eliminator) on the ignition, full performance exhaust system including air box, cosmetically it has the tail tidy underguard, hugger and chain guard.
The last modification is to have the side stand shortened as the machine sits too upright having been lowered.
What you may ask does this all add up to ?, well in short a quick fuel efficient bike.
Recently we rode a 260 mile trip around North Devon and Dartmoor starting with an 80/85 mph cruise down the M5, the SV returning 62 mpg and the Rocket III less than half of that.
Its good to be able to make comparisons and it is understandable that what suits one may not suit another, but in my opinion, value for money and pound per cc the SV represents very good value and is an extremely good package, an annoying feature with the VTR was its fuel tank capacity and range, the SV being somewhat better.
We hope to return to the Isle of Man for the TT, this will be the first time since my husbands accident.
The SV model range with the fact that they can be lowered without incurring huge costs is very good for riders with shorter leg length.

[OneeyedBandit]

Welcome Claire.

Interesting aspect in terms of your TRE. Most SV thou owners opt to removing theirs.

In terms of the MPG, are you using a Power Commander to achieve these, also what air filter are you using?

As my last SV thou was getting 54MPG from Nottingham to Telford and back with it's standard filter and 56 with the BMC filter.

[CoronaClaire]

Hi Oneeyedbandit, I don't know if we are at cross purpose on the TRE, you say most thou owners remove theirs, it is an aftermarket product and I appologise if you know that, the bike is not fitted with a Power Commander, though I wouldn't mind one, the air filter was fitted in Bristol by SV tuning experts JHS Racing, the invoive says Induction Kit plus Dyno Set Up £205.

[floppy_chopper]

greetings...............................n welcome to the mad house........................

[OneeyedBandit]

Hi Oneeyedbandit, I don't know if we are at cross purpose on the TRE, you say most thou owners remove theirs, it is an aftermarket product and I appologise if you know that, the bike is not fitted with a Power Commander, though I wouldn't mind one, the air filter was fitted in Bristol by SV tuning experts JHS Racing, the invoive says Induction Kit plus Dyno Set Up £205.

As it stands it is more of what the owner prefers. At the moment there are 3 types of TRE. 1 type is is a DIY aspect and alot of owners are ditching their Power Commanders to go for the DIY aspect, which gives the bike more ooomph and better response over the PC.

And others (especially USA owners) are ditching the well known brands of TRE and opting for a Power Commander.
However other mods such as raising the Tank, removing the snorkel and PAIR does seem to be favourable.

But there has been very little reported in terms of testing these mods in the UK. And certain websites are more biased to USA owners with UK owners following suit and then claiming ill effects, such as bike running too lean, or the neutral light keeps flickering especially those who have installed a TRE. Especially 2003 owners, but 2004/05 owners are reaping the benefits due to the different ECU.

I'm in two minds whether or not to use a TRE, as my every day use is totally different to that of someone in the USA and cold mornings are rare in some parts of the USA, which is where the TRE has it's weakness. Basically you get similar symptons to Carb Icing such as on the early Bandit. Which has been reported with 2 branded TRE's, but apparently the DIY version is claimed to elimate this.

However the TRE seems to be more suited to the SV650, instead of the 1000. By litterally turning it into another bike all together. 50% less throttle for the same acceleration, and giving the bike more HP.

There was a Power Commander III fitted on my old SV1000S as the previous owner sold the PCIII to JB. I then managed to purchase this, as JB no longer required it, as I was hoping of installing it on my SV as I felt that the throttle response needed to be smoother.

However on my 11k service prior to the accident, Sutton Motorcycles took out the standard filter and fitted a BMC filter in it. I noticed the difference straight away in the throttle repsonse, especially when pulling off and when dragging against boyracers.

The bike was in standard trim except the filter.

I will see what has been done to the new SV1000S I am getting, and will be installing the Power Commander, along with having a before and after dyno run.

[CoronaClaire]

That told me.........lol, no seriously it is very interesting hearing other peoples reviews on the TRE, all I know is my neutral light is fine, it seems smoother and is returning good mpg, that's good enough for me, my husband is extremely envious as his Rocket and wrist have a thirst for fuel.

[Guest]

Hi CoronaClaire,

Welcome to the site.


Stacey

[OneeyedBandit]

That told me.........lol, no seriously it is very interesting hearing other peoples reviews on the TRE, all I know is my neutral light is fine, it seems smoother and is returning good mpg, that's good enough for me, my husband is extremely envious as his Rocket and wrist have a thirst for fuel.

Yes there is a lot to take on board, infact would you mind giving us a long term report, especially over the next few months?

[OneeyedBandit]

Claire.

Can you please do a review on your TRE for us:

Why you considered it?

Research you did.

Where you brought it from

And a general evaluation of how the bike has improved.

[CoronaClaire]

The SV is still running just fine, I heard about this product from another biker friend, I sourced it on e-bay, from memory about £20, it plugs in near the SV's ECU, it basically is a diode as far as I understand which prevents the ECU from keeping the Revs down in the first few gears, the bike just seems a bit snapier in the lower gears, I hope it's not a placebo effect, fuel consumption is dam good and I'm happy, for £20 I vote it's worth a try.

[big ned]

welcome to the club
u prob know already but that bike willl have been first regestered in or around aberdeen with a sv reg