4° Advance Ignition Key for the Suzuki Sv650

[gcrook]

My bike is a 2002 SV650 naked model and I purchased my "Advancer Key" from a company JHS RACING in England: When you get to the site, click on "Tyres & Misc." and you'll find the key near the bottom of that page. If I remember right, I had to arrange the purchase via email and it arrived about three weeks after. Someone in the US is also selling one, but the price is greater (and may include the tool). Do a search on the SVRIDER.com forums if you're interested in that, I don't remember any details about it.

First, a disclaimer and a caution;

These photos should be considered to be only an additional helpful guide, to be used in conjunction with an SV650 shop manual. If you can't afford an official Suzuki manual, then there are copies available for download at SoCal SV-Riders. The section that applies here is "Engine", section 3. I highly recommend that you download at least this one section for reference in case problems arise.


Normal safety precautions should be observed and torque wrenches should be used to prevent stripping threads or breaking bolts. I've documented how I performed the work, and hopefully I haven't made any mistakes. These photos can be downloaded in a zip file on my Downloads page. The resolution is probably a bit better than what you'll see here.

There have been reports of the threads stripping on the rotor puller tool, causing the tool to get stuck in the rotor. This could be an expensive mishap, so use common sense, and don't "press on regardless". If something doesn't seem right. Stop and examine it. Consult the manual or someone knowledgeable.


An alternative to the "offical" tool is a high strength hardened steel bolt (thread 20 mm x 1.5). If you choose to try this, you will probably have to special order the bolt from a business that specializes in high strength fasteners.


Handle the rotor carefully. This item spins on the crankshaft at speeds up to 10,500 rpm and even the slightest damage would upset the balance and cause the engine to vibrate.


The advance key gave me a very noticeable boost in midrange power, about 2,000 - 6,000 rpm. I haven't had the bike dyno'ed, but you don't need a dyno to feel the extra torque. No other modifications were required. Premium gasoline is recommended.



Supplies & tools you'll need:



1) Gunk engine cleaner or equivalent

2) Electrical contact cleaner, or some other quick evaporating degreaser.

3) 8 mm socket

4) 10 mm socket

5) 12 mm open end wrench

6) 17 mm socket

7) 21 mm socket

8) inch-pound torque wrench (to 84 in/lbs)

9) foot-pound torque wrench (to 87 ft/lbs)

10) Rotor puller; Suzuki p/n 09930-304450 (thread 20 mm x 1.5)

11) New rotor cover gasket

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Remove the front sprocket cover.

Clean the whole area with engine cleaner. When the rotor cover is off, the inside of the engine will be exposed, and you don't want any dirt, sand, or anything else to get inside and contaminate the motor. Besides that, you don't want to get all that filth on your hands. Hint: go to your local auto parts store and buy a box of the non-latex (nitrile) 4 mil gloves. You can see in the photos that I'm wearing them. They're very nice and are thin enough that you can pick up a dime from the floor.


Loosen the clutch cable free play at both the handlebar lever and under the front sprocket cover using only the nuts on the cable. Unbolt the adjuster mechanism and suspend it out of the way with a bungee cord.
HOT TIP: Avoid taking the adjuster mechanism apart and you won't have to puzzle out how to put it back together. See the Suzuki manual pages 3-7 and 3-17 if you have taken it apart and have trouble with reassembly or need to perform an adjustment (it's actually quite simple).

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Place a oil drain pan under the bike. The engine will lose about a half quart of oil if the bike is upright, and more if it's on the sidestand. Loosen & remove the ten bolts. There are three (at least, three on my bike) bolts that have composite rubber sealing washers. These bolts may not come out easily. Be very careful not to force them, as the washers will be damaged easily and could be the source of an oil leak. Also, TAKE NOTE OF WHERE THEY COME FROM. Write it down or mark the cover. The Suzuki manual only shows the location of one of them.

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With all the bolts out, wiggle the cover free. It will still be held by the two hollow alignment dowels and the magnetic pull of the rotor & stator. Be firm, but gentle, when pulling/wiggling the cover off. The cover will still be held by the wires going to the stator and ignition pickup, so just move it aside out of the way.

Place the starter idler gear shaft back into the starter idler gear if it comes out. Do this BEFORE rotating the engine or trying to loosen the rotor bolt. Realign the gears if needed and insert the shaft all the way back into the engine case before continuing.

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Put the bike in fifth or sixth gear and have a friend step on the rear brake, or put a piece of wood over the swingarm and thru the wheel to keep it from turning while you loosen the rotor bolt. Several people has reported that the wood broke while they tried to loosen the bolt. I haven't tried it, but it might be possible to bungie cord the rear brake lever tight enough to hold the wheel.

[gcrook]

Using a 17 mm socket, loosen & remove the rotor bolt. The rotor will stay in place until you use the puller tool to remove it. Notice that this photo shows the starter idler gear shaft is not in place. Don't make this mistake! (Do as I say, not as I do J ) If you turn the engine without the shaft properly located, the idler gear will become wedged against the engine case and could crack it. If the shaft comes out, realign the gears if needed and insert the shaft all the way back into the engine case before continuing.

[gcrook]

Put a generous amount of oil on the puller tool threads. Screw the rotor puller tool into the center of the rotor by hand until it stops.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: There have been reports of the threads on the rotor puller tool stripping, causing the tool to get stuck in the rotor. If there is any resistance to freely screwing in the tool, then the tool threads are damaged and must be repaired before proceeding any further. The tool I bought from Suzuki (a Motion Pro brand tool with a Suzuki sticker & part number label on the package) had damaged threads and I had to use a small jewelers file to repair the smashed threads. It might be best to examine the tool when you buy it, and refuse to accept delivery of a damaged tool... Examine the threads carefully.


Move the wood piece to the underside of the swing arm, or have your friend step on the brake again. Using a 21 mm socket, slowly screw the puller tool in until it frees the rotor from the shaft.

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Extract the stock key & insert the modified key with the step to the left (left of the part that fits into the shaft). Test fit the key in both the rotor hub & the shaft. Only if the new key won't slide into the keyway, use a fine cut file to remove some of the thickness. It's easy to remove too much material, so be careful and only thin it as much as absolutely necessary. I had to remove .002" from mine to get it to fit into the keyway of the shaft. The fit in the rotor was OK.

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Use a quick evaporating degreaser to remove all traces of oil from both the shaft and from the inside diameter (bore) of the rotor.

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Image of the offset woodruff key.

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Place the cleaned rotor onto the shaft while aligning the keyway with the key. You will need to rotate the starter clutch driven gear while pressing on the rotor before it will slip on all the way. The reason for this is that the one-way starter clutch on the backside of the rotor needs to expand & slip over the large diameter of the starter driven gear.

[gcrook]

After the rotor has been pushed all the way onto the shaft by hand, oil the rotor bolt, screw it in finger tight and then torque to 87 ft/lbs. while your helper holds the rear brake. If you use the 2x4 trick, you'll need to place it under the swingarm.

[gcrook]

Carefully remove the old gasket from the cover. If you're lucky, it will come off cleanly. Very gently scrape both gasket sealing surfaces clean of any old gasket material. Don't use a sharp knife. The aluminum is soft and will gouge easily. I use a really, really, really dull old knife that works well. Wipe the surfaces clean, install the new gasket, and make sure that the two hollow alignment dowels are in place.

Place the cover back on the engine, engage the dowels, and press the cover the final distance into place. You'll have to work against the force of the magnets inside, so don't be surprised if it seems to resist your efforts. A light pounding with your fist should settle it into place.

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After you get the gasket surfaces to mate together, thread all the bolts into place, being sure to properly locate the three (?) bolts that are using the rubber composite washers. I've shown where they are at on my bike.

Now is the time to dig out your inch-pound torque wrench. Snug all the bolts up and then torque the bolts in a criss-cross pattern to 50 in/lbs and then to 84 in/lbs. Many people may not have an inch-pound torque wrench and might want to try to torque the bolts to the 7 ft/lb equivalent with a foot-pound wrench. I don't recommend this because a foot-pound wrench is likely to be inaccurate at this low a range and you could end up with a broken bolt or stripped threads. You're on your own here. Trying to borrow an inch-pound wrench would be best.


Re-install the clutch adjuster and adjust your cable free-play. Install the sprocket cover. I don't think this plastic cover will withstand 84 in/lbs. of torque, so just snug it down. Replace the oil that was lost during the installation work, and then...


You're all ready for a test ride!

[usabug]