Comments on: SV650: Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) Adjustment

By: Stacy

Stacy — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:57:00 +0000

Yes, the effects are rather subtle.

I have mine around 1500 rpm. One can only get so exact with the tachometer’s gauge being as compact as it is. On the TPS side of things, even a hairsbreadth’s turn on the adjuster screw is enough to make a big difference in the rpm setting.

By: Murray

Murray — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:03:02 +0000

Did the TPS adjustment the other day. It helped quite a bit, though not as dramatic as some have described. I had checked it last year and the little line went up at about 3400 RPM but I didn’t make an adjustment at that time. I noticed recently that the bike was more jerky at low speed so I checked the TPS again last week and it was about 4000 RPM before the little line went up to the top. So, I made the adjustment and it’s now at about 1600 RPM when the line goes to the top. As described by people who have done the adjustment, moving the TPS just a tiny bit changes the point at which the line goes up. It’s very picky, so I settled on about 1600 RPM even though it seems people are saying to put it at 1450 RPM. I’ll check it again in a couple months. I encountered no problems doing the adjustment on my 2007 SV650. I wonder if with the pre 2007 bikes there’s a more dramatic effect after the adjustment has been made.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:35:02 +0000

Hah, good work on ID’ing the source of the quote!

I know exactly what you’re referring to in terms of the throttle being “sticky”. To me, it always felt like a “gap”. After I did the TPS adjustment, it did feel like the gap was less extreme.

In the last couple of weeks, my throttle has started to feel gappy again at lower speeds. I plan to re-check the TPS adjustment to see if anything’s out of whack and adjust as necessary.

Sorry for the long winded answer, but it sounds like this would be worth a try for you. Another alternative is buying an entirely different, high quality, throttle tube with a different profile. Motorcycle Consumer News had a nice write-up a few months ago. I can dig it up if you’re interested.

By: jerod

jerod — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:20:46 +0000

I should’ve posted here that I’m curious about this TPS change…

I do feel like there are times when the throttle seems to … stick? Mainly it’s like when I’m coming to an intersection, I down shift to second, and don’t really need to stop (like when I have a green arrow or something). Instead of a nice roll while I lean into the turn, there’s a gap in power and I try to adjust. It’s very subtle, but it’s moments like this that make rolling on the throttle and having a nice ride into feeling jerky and a little distracted.

It this anything you’ve noticed, and does whelming mean that the throttle is smoother in lower speeds now?

Also, my wife is a big Heath Ledger(sp?) fan. Wasn’t that line out of Ten Things I Hate About You?