Swappin' cams
I know I know. Another non-gear related post. But since we're now creeping in to the winter months my motivation to buy expensive hot weather gear has gone way down. I might purchase some cool weather gear, but at the moment the best post I can muster is an engine modification.
Among the copious amounts of things you can do to a suzuki sv650 is swapping the exhaust cams. On the 2nd gen SVs you need to buy 1st gen intake cams and put them on the exhaust side. I had always considered doing this mod, but the risk-to-benefit ratio seemed a little high. If I got in there and destroyed my motor somehow I'd feel pretty bad about taking the risk so that I could potentially make 1 or 2 horsepower.
Maybe it was the boredom inducing rain, or maybe it wa my overwhelming desire to fiddle with things. Regardless, I picked up a set of used 1st gen intake cams and decided I was going to give the mod a shot.
Firstly, I got most of my information from www.svrider.com and used the pictures from the following link.
Also, instead of removing the cam chain tensioner (CCT) from either head I simply removed the bolt that holds the CCT's spring in, therefore relieving tension. Then in order to loosen the cam chain I removed the valve cover, and using a flash light and a screw driver, pressed down on the ratcheting latch that holds the CCT plunger in place. This loosens up the cam chain and and allows you to remove the cams without replacing any CCT gaskets, or breaking your hand trying to wrench in small spaces. I also just unbolted the bottom radiator bolt and held it out of the way as I worked which saved me some hassle. The whole thing took me 4 hours with some help from my friend Peter.
I test rode it the next day and was pretty impressed. The little SV650 power-wheelied out of a 2nd gear corner right off the bat. Granted I probably hit a bump just right, it was a corner I'd been taking all summer devoid of power-wheelies. Top end was much improved and the overall torque spread felt stronger. Not a face-melting difference by any means, but worth it considering I only spent $90 on the whole adventure. I could have spent twice that on headers and not noticed the same results. Besides, you get some nice bragging rights with the cam swap.
Luckily for me Peter Lombardi took pictures of the swap.
All photos property of Peter Lombardi.
Among the copious amounts of things you can do to a suzuki sv650 is swapping the exhaust cams. On the 2nd gen SVs you need to buy 1st gen intake cams and put them on the exhaust side. I had always considered doing this mod, but the risk-to-benefit ratio seemed a little high. If I got in there and destroyed my motor somehow I'd feel pretty bad about taking the risk so that I could potentially make 1 or 2 horsepower.
Maybe it was the boredom inducing rain, or maybe it wa my overwhelming desire to fiddle with things. Regardless, I picked up a set of used 1st gen intake cams and decided I was going to give the mod a shot.
Firstly, I got most of my information from www.svrider.com and used the pictures from the following link.
Also, instead of removing the cam chain tensioner (CCT) from either head I simply removed the bolt that holds the CCT's spring in, therefore relieving tension. Then in order to loosen the cam chain I removed the valve cover, and using a flash light and a screw driver, pressed down on the ratcheting latch that holds the CCT plunger in place. This loosens up the cam chain and and allows you to remove the cams without replacing any CCT gaskets, or breaking your hand trying to wrench in small spaces. I also just unbolted the bottom radiator bolt and held it out of the way as I worked which saved me some hassle. The whole thing took me 4 hours with some help from my friend Peter.
I test rode it the next day and was pretty impressed. The little SV650 power-wheelied out of a 2nd gear corner right off the bat. Granted I probably hit a bump just right, it was a corner I'd been taking all summer devoid of power-wheelies. Top end was much improved and the overall torque spread felt stronger. Not a face-melting difference by any means, but worth it considering I only spent $90 on the whole adventure. I could have spent twice that on headers and not noticed the same results. Besides, you get some nice bragging rights with the cam swap.
Luckily for me Peter Lombardi took pictures of the swap.
All photos property of Peter Lombardi.
posted by Courtney Bodett at 9:26 AM
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