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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> do i have to? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1243230791 Message started by Rocco on 05/24/09 at 22:53:10 |
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Title: do i have to? Post by Rocco on 05/24/09 at 22:53:10 get a larger cc bike to run long trips? i think i saw a carb and head swap, plus an exhaust and k&n upgrade would this make my savage better for cross country trips? or will i be pushing it? i love her 2 death, shadows are 2 fat and common, and vulcans don't fart lol if i have to eventually i like the boulevard which looks like the savage's bigger brother.... and i know 30 horses is stock, with head, carb and exhaust upgrade what kind of power are we talking? i am nowhere near ready for these yet, but i am curious!! |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Jay on 05/24/09 at 23:14:06 I wish I could remember the post, but someone here recalled the tale of a gal who went cross country on hers. Paladin went from California to Oklahoma and back, I think Jack_650 has made more than one long distance trip, there are more, and I'm sure the rest of the group will fill in the blanks. Myself, I've made three fairly long trips on the bike. Two at 700 miles, and one at just under 500 miles. Now that I've finally got the seat the way I want it, I'm itching to put some more distance miles on it (stupid job!). If you read up on the MC travel websites like ADVrider and Horizons Unlimited, you'll find stories by and of people who've traveled long distances on everything from 50cc scooters, all the way up to the big gun touring RTW bikes. Any bike, with the right comfort and mechanical mods, can be a long distance tourer. While I wouldn't consider the Savage for a RTW, I wouldn't hesitate to go cross country in a heartbeat; and hope I get the chance in the not too distant future. For long distance riding you want IMHO three things; reliability (Savage has that hands down), comfort (OK, you'll need to do some mods, but it's doable), and economy (easy on gas, easy on maintenence; so that's covered). The engine will cruise all day at 70 (my sweet spot is about 65), and will do more when you need it too. I have done the interstate for my trips, and the bike handled it just fine. Trucks? No problem. Sustained 25-30mph headwinds? Not fun, but the bike and I managed. The only short coming was the small tank, and there's a thread here on alternate fuel tank ideas that has that pretty well sorted for less than $30. Hit the road and have fun!! |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/24/09 at 23:24:41 Who was the guy who went from Fla., to the Burning Man get together, North to Canada , East to above New York & back South to Fla? Something Duck,, why cant I remember that guy's name? He had to get a tire while on the road, but had no maintenance issues. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by verslagen1 on 05/24/09 at 23:55:12 beatduck? |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Jay on 05/25/09 at 02:51:29 BeatDuck, referred to in this post: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1239116350/14#14 |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by SV og LS on 05/25/09 at 03:50:27 I doubt noisier pipes, larger carbs and reground cams improve touring that much. More noise can be too much after several 12 hour days and more radical engine mods lessen tank range which isn't excessive to begin with. Our bike had sorted jetting and relatively quiet pipe which was quite right for longer trips. I never thought wringing more power out of it would improve 90 to 110 kph cruising. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by LANCER on 05/25/09 at 04:53:33 Actually, the Performance Camshaft that is produced for me by Webcam is designed for that express purpose; making good usable torque in the low-midrange where it is needed 95% of the riding time. When cruising down the road/highway and you need to pass a car or climb a hill you need TORQUE to do it. If you are packing extra gear (more weight) then you need torque to pull it. Don't think of the Performance Camshaft as a HOT ROD upgrade, think of it as an improvement in engine efficiency. It helps to get more from every dollar of gas you buy. Yes, it does create more horsepower also, but its primary purpose is torque, which makes the bike more roadworthy than it was when stock. If you have not ridden a Savage with the Perf cam in it then it can be hard to describe the difference in the way the bike runs ... but make no mistake, there is a significant difference. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by bill67 on 05/25/09 at 05:29:20 how many bike lengths would it pull a stock one from 40mph -70mph in high gear? |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Jack_650 on 05/25/09 at 08:58:11 As mentioned above, I've done a few really long trips. Two round trips to Miami, FL from southern MN and one rounder to Chapel Hill, NC. Although it doesn't look it my 2k Savage is really pretty much stock. I took out the nylon carb spacer and put a Sportster muff on. Other than that the engine/drive train is completely normal. I've done 650+ mile days in a row in the hot August weather and never had the slightest hitch while running at 70 mph or sitting in St. Louis rush hour. The bike will go as long as you want to without any major changes in the power train. Comfort, however, is something all together different if you plan to run the long roads. Change the seat and get a full windshield. Gel pads and the front of the seat lift mod help a little, but if you want to run 10-14 hours a day you need something roomy, supporting and with some give to it. I want to do springs under my V-Star seat but haven't gotten that far yet. A windshield like the NationalCycle fairing type makes long rides at speed (pardon the expression) a breeze. You are protected from the rough beating the wind can give you as well as blocking a lot of water, even in a downpour, as long as you keep moving. As mentioned, I too have had no trouble from the big trucks when passing, be passed or meeting head-on. The bike is very stable, even when fully loaded up with 180 pounds of me and another 120# or so of gear on the back. Keep it down to 60-65 mph and the vibration isn't too bad either. If you want to really get to the long road runs then you'll want to add a bigger or extra tank, floorboards, a bit longer shocks, cup holder . . . Just get out on the road and roll. Jack |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by JeremySW on 05/25/09 at 09:12:15 I followed a thread on a Honda Ruckus message board(49cc scooter) about a guy doing a cross country trip on one of those things. People used to tour on 250's. So hell yeah it can be done. 20 or 30 years ago if you had a 650cc it was the bee's knees. So power wise I wouldnt be very concerned at all. I would just concentrate on modifications that make the bike as comfortable as possible(seat, forward controls, appropriate handle bars, etc). And probably a larger tank - especially if you were touring with a buddy or two. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/25/09 at 09:17:00 Putting a chain on it would make it turn fewer RPM. Of course you give up a bit of the "Off the line" guts, but if you drop the RPM 10%, you give up 10% of that wonderful torque, but heck, seems like an okay trade to me. Maybe thats not okay with you. I havent done it, but would consider it. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by PTRider on 05/25/09 at 10:05:52 Rocco What it really needs to run long distances is more comfort, less tiring for the rider, and very high reliability. More power is not the first requirement. So... --very reliable tires, maybe better handling than the stock IRC, in stock size (I have Pirelli MT66 Route tires going on later this week). --Windshield or fairing that comes up just below your eyes (I have a National Cycle Plexifairing GT that needs to be cut down 2"). --Full protective leather outfit including boots & gloves, or armored fabric gear. --Better seat. --Minor position adjustments to fit you better. --Minimize the noise level to minimize rider fatigue. --Read ALL of David L. Hough's books and practice what he says to practice so the maneuvers you'll need for an emergency are your everyday actions, just done more quickly. --A K&N air filter likely makes no difference except maybe when just cleaned and at wide open throttle. I think K&N is more hype than performance. --For a bit more power get a SuperTrapp #728-50650 muffler with the minimum number of discs installed for more low-end power and least noise. Video & sound (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9zdYmbtG4U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.supertrapp.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D305%26page%3D5&feature=player_embedded). $300 at Dennis Kirk. --Re-jet the carburetor as needed for the equipment you have. --Lancer's cam upgrade sounds like a good thing, but not before the seat, windshield, and position adjustments. --If you'll run more than 100 miles between stops, more gas (and you won't run that far on the stock seat... ;D) Keep in mind that tired people make mistakes. Tired motorcycle riders make mistakes that hurt. There is a difference between top end power and usable power. Low end and mid range power is what you'll use all the time. Top end power is used very seldom, just at max rpms and wide open throttle. Yes, fun, but not that useful. Even a racer benefits from the mid range power to get away first from the start line or to pull ahead exiting the corner. You'll need the mid range power when passing a car. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Rocco on 05/25/09 at 10:07:13 well, i was just wondering because my friend's all swear i'm going to be bored with the smaller cc's in a year; and we're planning a south fla to daytona, daytona to new orleans, new orleans to vegas and back trip next year or so. he's taken 5 cross country trips and swears they were the best things he did in his life besides have his children. SO before i have any i'd like 2 experience the true open road! in lake worth open means from the military light to the haverhill light lol i think a pipe would be a nice upgrade, even though mine is plenty loud, and an intake would be smart but if you guys are rolling on stock mechanics then i don't see the point of much more. i like the look of the seat with the springs but i'm not sure i want to lose my sissy bar(my girl loves the bike). so maybe a gel would be better, and i don't like the look of a windshield but i could take it off when back in town! does anyone else get the feeling the savage is a very under rated bike? all i hear about is the friggin shadow....just for that i'll never own one! i just got a bar bag and some led accent lights for my birthday...i'll put pics up as soon as they're on....then i'd like 2 paint it flat black(i know how original!!) then i'll start looking for a seat, maybe the marketplace ;) |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Yonuh Adisi on 05/25/09 at 11:57:57 1C212D2D214E0 wrote:
Which is why I wrote this article. http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1228800465/0#0 |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by marshall13 on 05/25/09 at 12:15:57 is the savage ever going to be as efficient a touring rig as an aspencade?... nope.... but, a century or so ago, folks climbed pikes peak on much less powerful machines... did coast to coast rides... i knew a cat that did a coast to coast on an xt500 in the 70s... id say routing is more important on a savage, just because of the small tank, but otherwise it's perfectly doable... |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Rocco on 05/25/09 at 12:41:45 awesome article Yonuh !! i agree with everything said! and i am definately following suit and making mine a backyard expression! flipping through catalogs is way 2 boring anyway! lol man i'm glad i found this website! lol |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Demin on 05/25/09 at 15:32:12 70-80 MPH on I-35 in Dallas everyday.260lb guy |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by diamond jim on 05/25/09 at 17:09:14 Longest ride on the smallest bike for me was a ride from Ft. Hood, TX (between Austin and Dallas) to Ft. Stewart, GA (near Savannah) in two days on a Yamaha Virago 535 with me (225 lbs) and a full duffel bag on the back. No problem at all. I'm even more confident with the LS650. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Rocco on 05/25/09 at 23:57:15 i'm only 5'6" 165....i'd probably only have a pack back full of clothes. so weight shouldn't be an issue! |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Jay on 05/26/09 at 03:08:20 One of my new favorite quotes comes from the movie "Cars", which my grandkids were watching the other day. In the movie, one car says to the other, referring to route 66, "They didn't drive it to make good time; they drove it to have a good time." If your buddies are going to go like demons on the superslab, seeing how much asphalt they can chew up in a day; then you're going to be miserable on the Savage, no matter how many comfort/performance mods you make. If you and your buddies are content to cruise some of the better highways, skip the interstates, and enjoy the ride and the scenery; then you're going to have a trip to cherish, and the Savage will be great for the road. |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by drharveys on 05/26/09 at 05:59:09 How I crossed Kansas on the slab: http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e204/drharveys/DSC02028.jpg So I could ride here: http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e204/drharveys/DSC02072.jpg Mrs. Doc does not enjoy pillioning the interstate. The general boredom puts her to sleep, and she is not comfortable snoozing on the back of a bike for some strange reason. Oh yeah, we met our daughter and son in law at the Denver airport. Spent the week headquartered in a time share in Avon and rode as much as possible. The Savage had no trouble bagging a couple of passes on the way to Leadville! |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Spiff on 05/26/09 at 06:55:03 Ah, the Beartooth. Did in it a minivan in 2007 ... swore that I would return on two wheels someday... ;) |
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Title: Re: do i have to? Post by Rocco on 05/26/09 at 08:35:50 good way of putting it! and the movie cars was really good even though it was disney lol i'll have 2 ask them what the plans are speed wise and route choice, because that would make the difference. i'm just glad i don't have 2 buy a huge and ugly touring bike to enjoy a trip!!!! |
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