Hi all,
Looking seriously at a 2003 SV1000s, but need some advise. I'm fairly certain the platform is good for what I want, but could you offer this SV noob some advice on what to watch for on this model? What to be sure has been done, or what to do once I get it? It has about 17k miles.

Thanks!

Welcome to the forum! If there are no maintenance records with the bike, it's likely the valve check hasn't been done.

Here's a link to the service manual.

After the valve check, balancing the throttle bodies, then setting the TPS is recommended.

Clutch slave cylinders were redesigned to include a dust cover so if your '03 has the original part only, it may leak. Here's a post that has more info.

Stator magnets can lose adhesion and move around. Worst case scenario is that one or more of them disintegrate and cause catastrophic damage. It's certainly worth cracking open the left side case cover and having a look at them and then use JB weld to prevent them from moving if they are in place.

These are the major things I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure other knowledgeable forum members will chime in eventually with other helpful suggestions.

In a nutshell, the SV1000 is the most underrated motorcycle in history and is very easy to work on. It's a robust motorcycle with a well-designed engine capable of going hundreds of thousands of miles without major service. Sure there are niggles that pop up from time to time but using this forum, you can easily sort out these issues. Enjoy your SV1000!

That's a good list to start from, and helpful. I have a few concerns about a 16 year old bike, but at the price of entry the risk is low compared to many others out there. I often hear how reliable and easy to work on they are, and that's comforting. Thank you.

I have a 03 model, since new.....has (in your language) 184k miles on it....been flogged a lot in that time, and is still going strong....

Oh yeah, forgot to add to check the "green connector" plug up in front of the engine (you'll need to take off the airbox to get to it). More info in this "green connector" thread.

Service the suspension. Even if it's been done before, it will still need to be re-sprung for your weight. Fresh fork oil and a good setup will make a big difference.

Picked it up today! The front suspension feels pretty soft. I'll try to figure out how to refresh that.

The green connector has been bypassed already, that's nice. She needs a little TLC all around, but I guess they all do at this age.

Standard fork oil is 2.5w......changing to 5w makes a big difference, along with an increase in the oil amount....
Std oil height is 162mm from the top of the tube, spring out, rebound rod out too, and fully compressed...
Reducing the oil gap to 155mm helps a lot.
But new springs to suit your weight and the appropriate oil height will make a lot of difference.
Pulling the forks through a few extra mm gets a little more weight over the front tyre and speeds the steering
up a little too.....

electro greese or bypass the infamous ignition connector (green connector) because they burn up. its under the air box, not too bad to get to. i replaced the ignition, gas cap and trunk key just to start fresh. before i got it, it was kept in a shed, out of the rain, but not out of the cold and humidity. new tires because you never know how the previous owner rode on them, obviously oil, coolant, brake and clutch fluid, same oil.

That was super helpful..... thanks.

Takling a rusty tank this week... it's not too bad, but bad enough for me to do it. I can see the valves were checked and the PO said they were done recently. I see that there USED to be an old valve check write up, but it's long gone on the interwebs. If anyone has a good one, I'd love to have it.

Planning to clean the K&N filter and also dump in some Seafoam to get the engine and FI cleaned up. Gonna go over the whole lower end with EZ-OFF... it will be nice to see metal there as it's just grime right now. Sad. Will re-adjust the chain (let's see if it needs a new one...), and after all that, then I'll attack the front end. I have never opened up forks, that will be very new for me. Is it something a hobbyist can do? Are these damping rod forks or cartridge forks? BTW, mine's a 2003, that means it is somehow special in the front suspension, not sure how(?)

Had a go at a rusty tank myself last year. More details in my 2006 SV1000S thread starting on post #11.

The service manual does a pretty good of explaining how to check/adjust valves. That's what I used when I adjusted the valves for the first time on my crashed 2005 SV1000S. More details are in my rebuild thread starting on post #63.

So.. if you guys are still reading...


I I really wonder if my SV is putting out full power. I went out on my Thruxton R today and was reminded how hard it pulls. Granted, the Thruxton has more torque on paper, but the SV has more horsepower. I think my SV should feel faster than it does. How can I determine this without a dyno ($).

Ahhh..... the 64 thousand dollar question....

It is really hard to say, without another SV rider getting on the horse for an opinion.....

All you can really do is go through all the things that need to be done to ensure best performance.

1. Valve adjustments
2. Spark Plug conditon.
3. Trim 5mm off the ends of thee plug wires at the boot to ensure a good connection
4. Throttle body sync. (check the intake mounting flanges for leaks, and the bodies are in properly)
5. TPS and STPS settings
6. Remove fuel pump and ensure pickup is clean. Backflush, or bypass the main filter.
7. If Power Commander or similar is fitted, make sure its working, or has a suitable map.

I can keep my 1199 mounted young fella honest in the twisty stuff, and i can often get the holeshot out of a lot of bends..... but of course it gets ugly for me after that......

So, yes, they go well, but the planets (above 1 to 7) need to be aligned.....

I guess you could let a buddy ride your SV1000 and race him on your Thruxton. The only other thing I can think of is to somehow time yourself riding a straight line distance on both bikes.

With stock gearing, the SV1000 is smooth and deceptively fast. Oftentimes, I don't realize how fast I'm going until I look down at my speedometer.