Category: Modifications

Targa Windscreen

When I bought my SV650 from the previous owner, she had installed a Targa windscreen. It looked sort of ugly and I much preferred the clean naked looks, so among the first things I did was to remove it. Last weekend I re-installed it and went out for a ride. Why did I want to install that thing? Well I want to reduce the wind blast. After a little over a thousand miles I’m ready for a quiet ride with less fatigue at the end of the day.

Installation was fairly easy. It slips into the studs holding the upper triple clamps. I’d say the results are not bad:

So I decided to head out on a “windy” ride (Ride Report 23) to test out the setup. What better than the Altamont and I5 corridor? I’ve ridden that part of the central valley on RR13 . Well the Bay part of the ride was OK; the shield reduces wind drag on the chest significantly. The helmet sees clear turbulent air without any buffeting, so it’s not really any quieter. But the reduced drag beats you up lesser.

But I5 is still horrible. Not my cup of tea. Riding in a straight line at an indicated 90mph with the wind blasting me like crazy. It’s also amazing how different the ride can be in different directions. South bound the ride was quiet, but north bound on my return the wind was howling. Anyway I need to remind myself — never again. There is no point in super slabbing 130 miles from point A to B and back. There is very little fun in that, it’s mostly just a waste of gas.

Here are some foggy videos from that day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-Hp28k2ixU&hd=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcxKZgcQkQM&hd=1

New Windscreen

With my India trip in December and the cold weather in Jan, I’ve gotten very few chances to ride. While browsing the many forums on the Interwebs, I came across a retro looking front cowl, that sort of reminds me of the ZRX1200 front fairing. I was able to get my hands on it from a forum member on SVRider.com. It was a little tricky to mount up onto the original headlight housing. I used a 40mm stud and finished it off with an acorn nut on the ends. I rode about about 20 miles and did not notice any real difference to the airflow. The screen is a little flimsy and does vibrate a little. But clean air hits my helmet and I don’t notice much.





I like the look and I’m going to keep it on. I have a can of sunbeam yellow #2339 Krylon Fusion paint, and I might give it a try. I’m still deciding whether I like the original black or if it makes sense to color match to the rest of the bike.

Hope to post ride reports soon!

DAKAR & ADV Decals (the DR Poseur)

Well, I’ll come clean. I like stickers as much as my 4 year old. I’ve always been a fan of DAKAR rally and the whole adventure riding thing. So a few ago ago I ordered a reflective DAKAR decal and a couple of  ADV reflective decals too. Here are some pictures:

New DAKAR Decal and ADV Decal on the windshield 🙂

Reflective at night :

Large ADV decal on right side panel:

Also reflective at night :

I also recently ordered a set of racing leathers from eBay. There is a pretty awesome seller from Pakistan who sells custom made leather racing sets. It took about 3 weeks after I sent him all my measurements, but the set fits perfectly. It’s made of pretty thick real leather and has the good quality armor in all the right places. I also like the racing hump 🙂

The $6 windshield mod

As you probably know, the DR is not a freeway friendly motorcycle. Single cylinder thumping, the handlebar vibrations and a naked fairingless design with no wind protection do not make for long comfortable freeway rides. Some say they enjoy the clean air of a naked bike — to those I say ride the San Mateo Bridge on a summer evening.

Long story short: I researched several windscreens options for the DR and stumbled upon an excellent thread on ADVRider. One enterprising ADV inmate (lstewart) posted his experience using a simple Sterilite garbage bin to create a plastic windshield. After a few questions and a bit of planning, I decided to give it a try myself. When it comes to modding: innovation, adaptation, resourcefulness and frugality all figure high on my list.

The mod was very easy. I picked up a Sterilite 10 gallon trash can at Target ($6), cut it using a template and bent it by hand. I also picked up some industrial strength Velcro (white) from Lowes ($3) and fastened the windscreen to the headlight fairing. The screen comes on and off in a second.

Here is the Velcro I used:

Here are some more pictures:

Completed and installed:

Velcro on the inside and on the fairing:

Close up view:

Side view:

Back view:

Here is a better picture, taken outdoors with a real camera:

Maintenance & Repair Log

  • 20,736: July 12th 2011. Bike Purchased!
  • 20,812: July 22nd 2011. New Cam Chain Tensioner Gasket. Not leaking since. $84.34 Parts + Labor
  • 20,812: July 22nd 2011. Oil & Filter Change. 2.5 quarts of Castrol 10W40. $57.72 Parts + Labor
  • 20,990: July 30th 2011. New tires front and rear: Shinko 244 Dual Sport tires $83 shipped, $105 to mount, balance and install.
  • 20,990: July 30th 2011. New Pro Grips 714 Gel Grips. $9.99 at Cycle Gear.
  • 21,939: September 25th 2011. Chain cleaned and lubed, using Wurth HHS 2000 .
  • 22,666: October 21st 2011. Air filter replaced with a Uni Multi-stage filter and oiled with Uni Air Filter oil . $39.97 shipped.
  • 22,720: October 29th 2011. Removed the air box snorkel. Noticeable difference in power!