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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1368064224 Message started by TheSavagePJ on 05/08/13 at 18:50:24 |
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Title: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by TheSavagePJ on 05/08/13 at 18:50:24 I don't know about you guys, but I like to squeeze every bit of mileage out of my vehicles. My last vehicle, a '93 Toyota 4x4 pickup finally bit the dust after a healthy 328,000 miles. Worst part it was the frame that rotted away, not the motor and clutch, both original. I now have a Subaru Outback with 212,000 I am looking to get to 500,000 out of, provided the salty NE roads don't get to it first. Now, more to the point, my Savage is my first bike, and there is a sentimental value to that. I have vowed to never sell it, and I stand by that. I love its simplicity, the sound and the overall uniqueness of the bike. Ride it until it just won't go any more has always been my motto. You guys with the high mileage Savage, any advice you can offer? What is a reasonable expectation of mileage? I saw youzguyz has 100k on his, which seems like an great benchmark, considering he never had to do any major engine work. I currently have 8450 on mine... Got a long way to go... :D |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by Serowbot on 05/08/13 at 18:55:53 Put Versy's cam chain adjuster on it,... and a Raptor petcock... Change the oil every 2500 miles... with a good ZDDP oil... Don't break anything... ;)... |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by TheSavagePJ on 05/08/13 at 19:05:43 6B7D6A776F7A776C180 wrote:
Got my raptor petcock ready and waiting! Its sitting in the garage for when the stock one finally quits. I've been lurking around here quite a bit and it seems like at least 50% of those phantom issues people have are with those crappy vacuum petcocks. If this bike was designed with an Achilles heel, its that. Did my first oil change a few weeks ago. I was expecting something more involved than it actually was. Make sure you don't lose that spring, and make sure the hole faces the inside. As for the oil, I went with the highest ZDDP oil I could find at the Suzuki dealer. In the future, I'll be getting this elsewhere, because it was near $10 a quart. What exactly is the Versy cam chain adjuster? I saw the post on it... how to install, where guys have them set at, etc. If it's going to make my bike ready for the long haul, awesome, I'm down, I just want to understand the why. I know that if the cam chain breaks, its bad news... |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by Serowbot on 05/08/13 at 19:17:33 http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1180206459 ... a must have... ;)... |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by TheSavagePJ on 05/08/13 at 19:35:53 I'll be scraping my change together, but thats definitely worth it IMHO. I love how the best parts for this bike aren't made by Suzuki... |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by verslagen1 on 05/08/13 at 20:41:04 I'd stick with the paper air filter, plenty of oil changes, and a fuel filter. change out your brake fluid when it discolors. being you've already had issues with a frame rusting out, I'd pour the liquid version of naval jelly into the frame and slosh it around. and paint the frame. repack the wheel bearings if you can, not sure if they are sealed. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by MMRanch on 05/08/13 at 20:42:24 My first one (96 Savage) allways had a knock in the head , (also what finally killed it). Come to find out these engines need to idle at no lower than 1200 rpm. They will get down to half that , but --- no oil will get to the head at low idle. The cylinder on my old one had -" 0" - ring grove at 43,000 miles. My second one (2007) still sound like a new one at 14,000 miles . :) |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by stinger on 05/09/13 at 01:32:57 I do not why I have had not one repair on my 002 savage. It just keeps running and thats Ok with me. I use 50 wt oil and change it every 1,000. I'm still on my second cam chain and I just turned 50,000 miles. I hope to put at least 5,000 more on before this fall. The cam chain scares me but it runs perfect and I hear no rattle from that side of the engine. It has never had a oil leak either. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by youzguyz on 05/09/13 at 02:08:58 For what it's worth, I started out with Mobil 1 synthetic motorcycle oil for a few oil changes, then went to Rotella T6. I try to change it around 5,000 miles, but sometimes too busy riding and go around 7,000. I have a verslavy, raptor, use the paper air filter. In my opinion, the worst thing you can do to a motorcycle is let it sit. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by ZAR on 05/09/13 at 05:35:05 quoting youzguyz "the worst thing you can do to a motorcycle is let it sit". Only one thing worse........letting someone borrow it :o. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by TheSavagePJ on 05/09/13 at 05:51:49 All pretty good advice. I am pretty religious about changing oil (my Toyota didn't get over 300k on prayers and good intentions). The versy is the next major thing I plan on doing. However, why the paper filter? I'm currently using a K&N in the stock airbox, and I use K&N in all my vehicles (The ability to wash, oil and reuse sold me). As for the idle, I am aware that a low idle means oil isn't running throughout the engine. This ain't no Harley, don't treat it like one! I think the biggest problem I'm having right now is finding a mechanic with experience on these bikes. True, they aren't as involved as say, a late model Sportster, but they are specific as to what they need and nobody I've met thus far has really wowed me with their knowledge. The guys down the street from me admit they haven't seen many big singles come through. Time will tell who will be helping me with the bigger repairs. My biggest disadvantage is that since this is my first bike, I do not have any perspective on what a proper running Savage should sound like. I had a pretty through inspection done a few weeks ago, and I wasn't alerted to anything that I should worry about. As for the rust, my bike doesn't see bad weather, and after a season of being exposed to the elements, it now has a happy home in a garage. Finding a place with a decent garage around here was much harder than I thought! Nobody borrows my bike. Its bad enough my sig. other uses my Chevy, but thats the way of things. If anything happens to my bike, its going to be my fault. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by WD on 05/09/13 at 07:44:12 Go to your nearest bike shop that carries dirt bike accessories. Get a fuel cap silicone vent line. Swap it in place of the stock vacuum line. It will hold up to the radiant heat off the back of the engine much better/longer than the stock line does. Go to the nearest "tuner" car shop with your fuel line and get a silicone replacement for the same reason, plus the fact that the stock "fuel" line is actually a chunk of vacuum hose... Inline fuel filter is a must. I prefer the metal type with a porous bronze "stone" over a generic paper or plastic cored throw away type. If you want a throwaway type, get one suitable for 69-71 Dodge trucks with a 318. Huge, but it works very well. I get a few months at a time out of one on a truck with a rusty gas tank. The filter is available for 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8 fuel lines. On the old forum we had two very memorable Savage failures... one snapped the con rod at 178K miles and change... the other one grenaded the engine at a touch over 200K miles... and they were both the early 4 speed type. My odometer quit working years ago at 15K and change showing. The engine/transmission are flawless, the electrical system failed in 2010. The bike is a 1998 model that was already ridden hard. Good oil, decent filters, proper belt tension (tool sets them too tight), properly inflated tires for YOUR weight and riding style, making the bike fit you, etc are critical to getting a long service life out of them. Bikes over 500cc have a rated service life of 5 years or 15K miles... the 1500 Drifter is going to roll 90K in the next couple weeks or so... it was purchased in 2007 with 1600 miles on it, it's a 1999 model. Will likely need a clutch at 100K or so. My friend actually rode it from WA to TN in 2011 when he moved, and he does not own a four wheeled vehicle. Subaru Outback? EJ22 engine is nearly indestructible, the EJ25 and the 6 cylinder versions, not so much... We've got a first year with an EJ22 and an automatic transmission sitting in the driveway. It's last real trip was Memphis to Nashville and back. 226K miles or so and it was done. Body metal is flawless, powertrain doesn't want to play anymore. Not throwing any codes, pretty sure the ecu decided to tell us "F U"... ;) |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by Dane Allen on 05/09/13 at 10:19:50 774B467042554244467369230 wrote:
Got my raptor petcock ready and waiting! Its sitting in the garage for when the stock one finally quits. I've been lurking around here quite a bit and it seems like at least 50% of those phantom issues people have are with those crappy vacuum petcocks. If this bike was designed with an Achilles heel, its that.[/quote] Why wait till the original fails when you are miles away from home?? Especially since you have the new unit in-hand!! I switched mine at 950 on the OD and should never have to worry about that particular problem. If you believe in preventative oil changes then do a preventative petcock switch. :) |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/09/13 at 19:24:23 Next time ya have a tire off, undercoat inside the fender. Others have already said things I woulda said & WD said a lot I never woulda thot of. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by TheSavagePJ on 05/10/13 at 06:29:22 All pretty good info, I think. Dane, I definitely hear where you are coming from about changing the petcock before its too late, but there is the cheapskate in me that says "if its still working, why change it?" I'll get around to it, but as of now, my bike has been parked due to lack of turn signals, they came yesterday, so now its time to get some riding in after waiting a week for shipping. WD, fuel filters seem like a great idea. Honestly, I do not know why our bikes were never designed with one in the first place. That little screen in the petcock is supposed to do the job? Silicone fuel and vacuum lines is also a great idea, I'll probably change them out when I do the raptor. I think anything over 100k is pretty amazing for a bike that goes for under $6k new. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by WD on 05/10/13 at 08:14:03 You can skip the vacuum line when you go Raptor, as it is a traditional manual petcock. I use standard braid cored fuel line on my bikes, change it once a year. Modern fuel erodes the inside of soft lines, plugging up the fuel filter and/or the petcock. I run a right side petcock, about a foot of fuel line, with a metal filter in the middle. Couple bucks a year to keep fresh fuel lines on it is money well spent. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by apache snow on 05/10/13 at 10:43:10 I wonder how the rubber fuel line on my Cub cadet lawn tractor lasted 16 years using E-10 with out deteriorating. :-? Must be magic. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by WD on 05/10/13 at 17:08:50 Probably a better grade of fuel line than the cheap crap put on newer equipment. I put fuel in a 2 year old gas powered weed eater last week, watched it all come out the fuel line holes in the tank. Lines looked okay on the outside, had rotted off flush with the tank base inside. I do have some ethanol safe lines to replace the factory ones. When/if I get around to it. Have two string trimmers with wheels, not sure I'll bother fixing the handlebars and shoulder strap one. Same principle as when a riding mower deck gives up the ghost, I've got a 12 foot cut finishing mower behind a John Deere 2350 diesel farm tractor, why waste money on the little 42 inch cut versions. The little finishing mower is a 60 inch cut. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by ToesNose on 05/11/13 at 04:24:56 From all the posts I've read it seems that the majority of people that have reported petcock issues don't have stock bikes and have changed the vacuum properties of the engine in one way or another. That being said PJ you have a Dyna muffler and a K&N air filter, that Raptor petcock sitting on your work bench already is a very easy install ;) |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by Steve H on 05/12/13 at 08:08:27 My petcock died a while back. All stock except the dyna muff. But, it's 26 years old. That's a long time for a little rubber diaphram. |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by Serowbot on 05/12/13 at 10:16:03 I've purchased 4 dead Savages that the PO couldn't get fixed... Dealers kept rebuilding carbs and putting in new spark plugs at huge cost, but never fixed... They were all low miles, and stock... and all had torn pet diaphragms... I clean them up,... drain the tanks, rebuild the carbs, new battery, oil change, etc... and Raptorize them.... then, send them on their way... at a profit... That's 4 bikes out of 10 or 12... which would be a 30 to 40% cause of death... (only 1 has needed a cam chain,... the rest died of neglect)... My bike was the first of the 4... with a bad pet... at 3k miles... it's now past 30k... with 27k trouble free miles on a Raptor... |
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Title: Re: High mileage Savage/S40... do's and don'ts? Post by Bubba on 05/13/13 at 10:30:54 My '06 was stock when I put the raptor on...first mod I did...in the mornings when it was cold I'd roll up to a light and it would die...hasn't done that since the raptor... easy fix...maybe 1hr if you go real slow...and solves a ton of weird/strange symtoms that are very hard to diagnose if you don't know the vac petcock is a failure point (i.e. most dealership mechanics). Verslavy is a must have to keep your engine from getting torn up when the camchain stretches too far, plus it gives you an indication that your cam chain will need replacment when the time comes. Harder to install but still can be down by your average Joe w/o a problem... Those 2 items and regular oil changes, setting idle correctly and keeping a good tire pressure should get you way down the road for many years |
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