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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
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Message started by 911radioman on 03/14/06 at 12:03:27

Title: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by 911radioman on 03/14/06 at 12:03:27

Got a chance today (after the monsoons left) to take the Savage out for her first long ride after getting all the mods done on it. I must say, I am totally satisfied -- 110 %!!!

Rode just a shade over 120 miles today, stopped and filled up at the appropriate time -- FUEL MILEAGE 50.4 MPG!!!

I was really disheartened after installing the muffler, shaving the spacer and rejetting that my mileage had plummeted into the low 40's. Then, after a couple of the guys here explained how the air/fuel must be balanced, I held out hope that the K&N drop-in filter would cure those ills. It did!!!

Power is there for the asking on this bike now. Went out on Interstate 65 (we're close to Louisville), and I ran with the big dogs and the Savage never missed a beat. When I needed to merge or pass, just a flick of the throttle and the Thunderin' Thumper (that's my bike's name :D) came to life in a BIG way!

It's nice knowing you have that power in reserve when you need it, and it is even nicer to know that the bike will respond in most cases without kicking it down a gear.

Thanks to all who tolerated my huge learning curve with regards to carburetion! This forum is the best, and the knowledge here is worth its weight in gold!!!

I still have just the slightest of popping on decel, and for all I know, I may never tweak that fully out of it, but if not -- it's all good.

Tom

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by DangMan on 03/14/06 at 12:16:11

Im realy glad for you ;D Its cool that you made those mods and they turned out that well :D

HAPPY RIDING

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by Savage_Rob on 03/14/06 at 12:22:53

Congratulations! I would point out that you should probably tweak your idle mixture and idle speed again after altering the airflow (if you haven't already)... though it sounds like you must be pretty close already.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by necropsy on 03/14/06 at 13:00:20

Awesome !! Great news
Nice to see theory in practice.
Can't wait for the weather to get a little warmer to start riding season and do these mods myself.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by 911radioman on 03/14/06 at 13:09:38

Savage_Rob wrote:

It's close, but I'll probably go back and revisit it again soon just to make sure.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by Steve530 on 03/14/06 at 20:54:25

Congratulations. I told you that you'd like it. ;D

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by Kaishaku on 03/14/06 at 21:56:59

911radioman wrote:

I was really disheartened after installing the muffler, shaving the spacer and rejetting that my mileage had plummeted into the low 40's. Then, after a couple of the guys here explained how the air/fuel must be balanced, I held out hope that the K&N drop-in filter would cure those ills. It did!!!

So does this mean that at one point, after you rejetted, the bike was too rich?

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by 911radioman on 03/15/06 at 04:47:18

I rejetted and swapped the stock muffler for a MAC before I did the air filter. It took a few weeks to get the filter shipped in from California. It ran pretty rich with just the stock filter and plummeted the mileage because the engine couldn't get enough air to satisfy the less restricted carb and exhaust.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by lancer on 03/15/06 at 06:14:03

When you revisit the fine tuning of the pilot circuit, do not forget that on an engine with performance mod's like the muffler and carb, it is normal to have some mild "crackling and popping" on decel. That is distinctly different from backfiring.
So if you have that mild crackle/pop, then know that it is ok.

Go ride and have fun.

Congratulations....

YOU HAVE DONE WELL GRASSHOPPER

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by 911radioman on 03/15/06 at 06:15:52

I still get an occasional backfire out of it, so I suspect I still need to tweak the idle mixture just a bit more. Mostly happens when I slam the throttle shut from road speed, such as coming up to a stop light or something.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by 911radioman on 03/15/06 at 11:11:12

Well, it just gets better and better. Went this morning for a long ride, about 150 miles. Figured the gas mileage once I got home -- 60.2 mpg!!! Part of my run included a 30 mile interstate run doing 75 mph. The rest was state highways running 55-60 mph.

I did tweak the idle mix screw just a tad richer and I'll see how that does on the little backfires on decel. It's just a matter of fine tuning at this point though.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by bikingb on 03/15/06 at 11:57:33

My K & N air filter is on the way!!!!! I can hardly wait to test it. I may have to go out for a little bit today. It is about 35 now and sunny. But a snow storm is on the way. This is so cool!! After doing the mods the performance is so much better. Ya'll were right!

Yippee!

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by Dynobob on 03/15/06 at 18:11:07

Now that's what I'm talking about. Enjoy your "new" rides fellas ;D They really fly with the mods outlined here. Ride safe.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by 911radioman on 03/15/06 at 18:52:10

bikingb wrote:

My K & N air filter is on the way!!!!! I can hardly wait to test it.
Yippee!

I don't know where you ordered yours from, but I got mine from the site pgolden mentioned for $35. Just wanna let ya know that they have to order those from K&N so it will take a few extra days to get it. I think mine took about 10-12 days total to get here.

Title: Re: Gotta say... I'M HAPPY!!!
Post by bikingb on 03/17/06 at 05:50:37

I was wondering what was taking so long. Thanks for the heads up. I ordered it from the site that pgolden mentioned as well. Happy riding!!