Rolled over 10,000 miles on my SV yesterday after a “photo ride”. My mission was to just go out and ride – if I saw something I wanted to photograph, pull over and photograph it. I only shot about 31 frames, and I probably won’t keep half of them, but it was fun overall. The little bugs that live on the grass off the side of the road sure do love to swarm a nice sweaty rider though.

My SV650S has been a great bike over the last year or so, not giving me any real problems in 10k miles. The only thing I have needed to replace was my chain. Tires? I wanted to change those. Suspension? Also a matter of want, there was nothing wrong w/ the factory forks or shock – I just have a problem leaving things stock! 10,000 miles, and nearly a year after I first put my leg over my shiny blue SV650S – I still get the same big stupid grin when I start it up and ride off.

Over the course of its life, my bike has seen more states than half the people I know. The one place it hasn’t been, that I’d like to take it anyway, is the race track. Camping, dirt roads, superlong slabs of flat interstate, microsized kinks on mountain roads, the grocery store, a wedding, and a briefing with a Major General – just to name a few of the places I’ve been on the SV since I got back from Iraq in January. My passenger seat has enjoyed company on a number of occassions – introducing more people to the joys of motorcycling.

There are still a few things I’d like to do though, before I hit 20,000 miles. I still haven’t strapped her to a dyno yet, so the base map on the PCIIIUSB is still there – dumping a nice rich fuel/air mixture into my cylinders. Eventually, I’ll get the bike somewhere that can handle this task well. My old XO does custom work on motorcycles, so I may see if he can either make me a seat, or recommend someone that can – then I can get busy on a hard luggage solution. I really am going to ride the wheels off this bike.

In related news, I’ve updated my wishlist with two new pieces of riding gear.