SuzukiSavage.com - Print Page

SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl
General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1275179682

Message started by npcrs40 on 05/29/10 at 17:34:42

Title: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by npcrs40 on 05/29/10 at 17:34:42

Hello, I am new to suzukisavage.com. I had a GZ250 (and loved it) but wanted a bit more power so I moved to a 2005 S40. I have been riding the S40 for a couple of months now.

I have a question about the feel of the ride. There are times when I feel that the bike has a push/pull feel to it. It is usually when I am cruising along without a load on the engine. So, is it just that I am at that point where I am in the middle of acel/decel? Have others felt this? I did not feel this with my GZ250 but now I have more power and belt drive. I am just wondering if this is how the big single 650 behaves.

I do a lot of back road riding. I often go where ever the wind takes me. I also use Google Maps, switching between the terrain & map view to find interesting roads to ride on.

In any case, I am having a lot of fun with my S40. I mounted a Garmin Quest GPS in the center of the handlebars. I used a RAM mount frankensteined to a Garmin Nuvi motorcycle mount and it is easier to see the speed on the GPS. I also chose one of my display settings as the trip odometer so it always shows my trip mileage (handy). I put a new battery in the Quest and It does run for a long time before it needs charging (I don't know that it lasts 20 hrs on the aftermarket battery but I can get 3 or 4 trips of 3-4 hrs before recharging). So, I do not need to wire it for power. My quest was about $65 on ebay and the new battery was $25.

I relocated the turn signals to the license plate mount and I use a set of small TourMaster saddlebags. Those are my only changes. I get about 55-60 mpg (not as much as the 68 mpg that the GZ250 got but very respectable with the greater amount of power).

I hope to get a wide angle lens adapter for my flash camcorder and mount that for a few of the rides I take.

I custom made my saddlebag mounting bars and I will have some pictures and text on that soon.

Well, that's all for now. Hello, again, hello.
Don

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by bill67 on 05/29/10 at 17:47:47

I've been riding for 38 years and have had a lot of difference bikes,Its the least stable of all the bikes I've ridden,The front end is to light compared to the back is the trouble.

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by verslagen1 on 05/29/10 at 17:54:41

I'd recommend a fork brace. The forks are a bit whippy and the brace make them feel more solid. Especially over uneven road surfaces.

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by bill67 on 05/29/10 at 18:30:21

I've got a fork brace its still to light on the front end.My wifes 1980 GN 400 was far more stable.The back end is to short on the bike just look at a side view and you can see it.If it had a 2 inch longer swing arm on the back a think it would be ok.

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by DrunkenDwarf on 05/29/10 at 18:34:24

6F716273723531010 wrote:

I have a question about the feel of the ride. There are times when I feel that the bike has a push/pull feel to it. It is usually when I am cruising along without a load on the engine. So, is it just that I am at that point where I am in the middle of acel/decel? Have others felt this?

That sounds very similar to my experience. If it is the same, it's called "lean hunting". Read up on the "white spacer mod".

-D. Dwarf

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by npcrs40 on 05/30/10 at 04:56:21

It feels [to me], based on experience with other vehicle types, to be engine related. I have not done the white spacer mod yet but I am
planning to. I had not considered that as the cause of what the ride sensation feels like but it sounds logical now as I hear it. I do have the backfiring problem but it is not severe, so I was in no hurry to do the white spacer mod. Now, though, I will do it to see if it takes care of both problems.

The S40 handles ok for me. Maybe because I weigh a bit more than I should (working on that, not that I am way too heavy, just too heavy to be healthy at my age, 53). Maybe I just don't demand too much from the bike (though it pretty much does whatever I ask it to).
Don

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by Routy on 05/30/10 at 05:34:13

Your problem is engine related (surging) caused buy a lean fuel condition, typical of these bikes. In my experience, the white spacer mod fixed it perfectly. But the white spacer mod will do nothing for the backfiring,......which is also typical of these bikes,....despite what some here will tell you. If the backfire is severe, it can be improved upon, but eliminating it completely, is near impossible.

If you do the spacer mod, be very careful that you don't ruin those 2 little philip head screws trying to get them out,....sometimes very tight. A small impact driver from HF is reported to work good on this. If not, use a good fitting driver, and lots of body weight.

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/30/10 at 06:03:29

& pay attention to which side is up on the silver plate.

Title: Re: Hello... & Feel of the S40 Ride
Post by ralfyguy on 05/30/10 at 08:22:23

Yeah, the dimple goes DOWN.