SV650S Engine Problems (unusual bike for the HUBB but I need some advice)

[Cal_Ward]

Hello.

As this is a fairly long post, I’d like to say thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to read and respond.

My current bike is not what would be considered a ‘travel bike’ by the HUBB’s usual standards—it is a 2001 SV650S. I’d also like to mention now that although my knowledge of motorcycle mechanics is pretty low, I’m trying to improve as quickly as possible.

The bike started misfiring about a month ago and has been in and out of the garage ever since. The previous owner had made quite a few modifications, mainly a custom air filter and changes to the jetting.

It ran well for two years but has recently become a bit of a money pit.

It underwent a massive service that cost around £450 about three or four months ago but since then it has cost even more.

The first issues (after the big service) were general electrical faults, for example the fan switch needed replacing as the fan was not activating, causing the warning light to display. Shortly after I’d had this replaced, the bike started bogging down at high speed and misfiring. The carbs were cleaned out and the aftermarket air filter’s intake was reduced with a piece of plastic.

This fixed the problem for a while but then one day the bike refused to move at all. At first it ran but not at all smoothly and this deteriorated rapidly until there was a horrendous clattering sound that I think was being produced by one of the cylinders(?). Needless to say it went back to the garage.

The garage said there was some issues with the contact points and the ignition system and replaced some parts. They also adjusted the jetting as they said the bike had been running very rich.

Getting the bike back home from the garage after this work was an ordeal. It was a very warm day but it still took about five minutes on full choke with high revs before the choke could be released and the engine would idle without cutting out. About halfway (one mile) home it developed a misfire and was bogging down as soon as I got it up into second gear. I pulled over several times and gave it some revs in neutral and both cylinders ran smoothly although it popped a lot under high revs. I did this several times but in the end had to nurse it home in first and second gear. This tortured journey took about fifteen minutes and the engine was certainly warm enough to run under normal circumstances.

When home, I left it running for several more minutes and the engine seemed to level out so I took it around the block. It was suddenly running well, no bogging down, both cylinders firing etc. however under deceleration there was a lot of popping. As I understand it, this can be caused by running too lean. I’m taking it out tomorrow if possible to see if I have a repeat of the last trip. But even if it runs okay (as in it does not develop a misfire or any power-loss) it’s going back to the garage on Monday because the popping is very annoying and is now a constant feature of deceleration.

Now the main point of my post; I’m leaving the U.K. around the end of July. I would dearly like a new motorcycle (an XT600/DR400 or something of that ilk) but can’t really afford one without spending almost all of my travel funds (which are almost non-existent anyway) so I was planning to just take the SV. However if I get it abroad and the problems start again I could be in trouble.

I don’t intend to return to the UK so whatever bike I take needs to either last, or be sold abroad to fund a replacement.

So, after all that, here are my questions:

A) What do you think the issues could be with the bike? Is it something I could cope with given a Haynes manual and a tool box?

B) Considering these issues, should I take this bike, or (as costly as it may be) try to replace it?

C) If I do take the SV, how easy is it to sell a bike abroad if I need to ditch it? (I will be in or around the EU for the next couple of years as I need to be somewhere I can find work if and when I need it.)

Thanks again for taking the time to read my post.

Cal