SuzukiSavage.com /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1374727569 Message started by GridMonkrey on 07/24/13 at 21:46:09

Title: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by GridMonkrey on 07/24/13 at 21:46:09 Hi All, I just picked up a 96 LS650 and had some issues and questions i thought id ask. Third owner, its got 12500mi on it. Previous owner put a different handlebar on it, not sure what from, and a Jardine Exaust. Also a bmw LED taillight on the underside and led tape under the fenders to add lighting to the side/ground. Issues: Every so often the headlight doesn't turn on, low or high beam, and HB indicator doesn't light up either. Replaced headlight it the first time it happened thinking it was bad. Fuses are good, wire shielding looks intact and no amount of fiddling with it seems to make a difference, it just turns back on when it wants to. Needless to say i don't ride in the dark until i solve it. thoughts? It backfires, a lot, i'm at 350-400' above sea level (read somewhere that mattered) and its not just at idle, rolling off throttle at speed to just slow down for a merging car ahead or anything like that, it pops. Shut it off it pops sneeze, it pops, you get the idea. help?  :) Headlight dims(when its working) with blinkers on, i'm assuming this is a weak rectifier. recommendations? I love the sound of the exhaust but it is horribly discolored, i know there is some kind of polish/cleaner out there but i don't know what it's called. Occasional squeak/squeal when accelerating, sounds a bit like a car brake pad squealers but not as loud/fast < not a clue on that one cant place where its coming from but applying either brake and continue to accelerate does nothing to the sound. Needs new tires and a seat lift and ive found those in the forums to make those happen. Any other thoughts on simple things i can do to just get this thing running strong/right. I have a fair amount of technical knowledge as i work in theatre and do lighting/sound and automation fx but have never worked on cars or motorcycles before. Thanks for some info and help in advance, and the tech section is awesome, ill probably read everything there and end up broke once i've tried most if not all of it. Luke

Title: Re: New owner looking for tips and ideas Post by GridMonkrey on 07/24/13 at 21:46:53 Apparently i needed to post a "real" post before i could add pics to a message so here they are. http://gridmonkey.jigsy.com/files/resized/35429/512;384;d8531abfeafa21d522ae390978589df63fcf701b.jpg http://gridmonkey.jigsy.com/files/resized/35428/512;384;4119da214b1d2c04aea6392f72958da963d441dd.jpg

Title: Re: New owner looking for tips and ideas Post by Jolly Executioner on 07/24/13 at 21:53:28 Do you know if the PO rejet the carb? Is there any exhaust leaks at the connections? Are they little pops or big bangs? How is the power with the jardine? When I had mine my bike was gutless before I rejet. I believe savages will almost always pop a bit, even when tuned correctly. If it is excessive chances are PO didn't rejet and its running lean or you have a leak. The polish you're after is called "blue job", I probably wouldn't bother using it until your carb is tuned cause chances are it will just come back.

Title: Re: New owner looking for tips and ideas Post by GridMonkrey on 07/24/13 at 22:05:10 No info on the carbs, No audible leaks at connections, didn't feel any airflow either. pop or bang depends on what i'm doing, but they can be pretty big, i've made Harley owners jump. on shutdown and now and then they ring out forever when i'm in the parking garage and i turn it off. Only other bike ive had was an 82 maxim 400 with 28k, to get my feet wet, and this blows its mirrors off. Low end it pulls pretty hard so i guess the power is good with the Jardine. Thanks for the info on the bluejob, any bike shop/auto shop im guessing?

Title: Re: New owner looking for tips and ideas Post by Jolly Executioner on 07/24/13 at 22:27:49 Check this out: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1309246277 It is extremely helpful. Rejetting, adjusting my fuel mixture screw and idle speed correctly eliminated my backfire on shutdown and stopped bangs. I still pop a little on decel though. I've been told that you can hold a BBQ lighter or candle flame to the connections to help find tiny leaks, just to be sure. I found a leak in mine using a small bit of tissue paper. Unsure on exactly where to find the blue job. Personally I'd order it online but I'm in New Zealand and lazy. ;D

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by ls650v on 07/25/13 at 03:12:53 Your headlight issue:  Mine did the same last year.  It was a bad contact in the wire loom connector under the tank.  With the ignition on, move all the harnesses around to try and isolate the problem.  I could get my headlight to flash on and off by just moving the under tank connector around.

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by Dave on 07/25/13 at 04:35:19 For your headlight issue, I would be interested in knowing how the PO tied your fancy LED lights into the wiring harness.  You can find a wiring harness schematic in the Technical Section....there is an index with links at the top.  If both the headlight and the high beam indicator don't work I would expect the problem to be somewhere in the wiring harness that is common to both those circuits....something before they split off and go their seperate ways.

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by SavageCat on 07/25/13 at 05:24:01 Someone on the forums here told me this and it was uber helpful. To stop the boom-pow when you shut off (just until you rejet)...stop the bike in first gear (while running) and then slowly let off the clutch, then right before the bike stalls hit the kill switch. Others on here can tell you why this works...but its been working for me for a while (basically till the winter when I tear down the carb). Less people are angry with me on shutdown!

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by verslagen1 on 07/25/13 at 07:35:13 The jardine is a hard pipe to tune for. You ought to drop the bowl and take a peek at the jets to see what sizes you got.  A '96 will have 145 main and 52.5 pilot. someone will let you know if they're way outta line. blued pipes might be an indication that it's running lean. pull the plug and compare with the sparkplug reader in the tech section.

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by GridMonkrey on 07/25/13 at 10:51:49 ls650v ill check that out, it did come back on one time when i just shook the bars (while stopped) out of frustration, then ran fine all ride. Dave I checked that out right away, direct pos line to battery through 5amp fuze to switch under seat on frame to leds to chassy ground. totaly clear of stock harness. manual use no influence on headlight problem. SavageCat hadn't thought about doing it that way but i have spun out the idle till it nearly choked then shut down and reset the idle screw (marked it with sharpie) verslagen1 Ill have to look up how to tell the jets, no clue what those numbers even mean... and as for pulling the plug i know there is a section on that too but i don't know that id have any idea where to start, not a gearhead by any stretch and i don't even have a garage to do it in, just a steep arse hill. Thanks guys Luke

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by Badass94Cad on 07/25/13 at 12:09:54 Where are you located? As for the squeak on acceleration, put your hand on the speedo when it happens and see if it stops. Sometimes the speedo can loosen and make a squeaky vibration noise.

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by GridMonkey on 07/25/13 at 22:29:32 Badass94Cad I checked that today and it made no difference, Its only on acceleration and only through 2nd and 3rd it seems like.  Im in Albany NY Anyone Long wear high quality tire? i'm not as interested in cost per mile just solid.  I have the spoked wheels so i'm assuming i need tube tires unless i mod the hub somehow, or change it, not terribly interested in that. Thanks

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by WD on 07/26/13 at 09:34:29 Long wear tire? Metzler, Bridgestone, Dunlop. I'd normally recommend a Michelin Commander 2, but haven't seen our size listed. Of the 3 I prefer Dunlop, although they don't seem to wear as well now as they did in 2005/2006. Whatever brand you buy, make sure you order a 140/90-15 and not the 140/80-15. The 90 series corrects the built in speedometer error.

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by GridMonkey on 07/26/13 at 11:21:15 Bike bandit has the Michelin Commander 2 in 140/90-15 and 100/90-19 which i think is the stock on mine, need to double check it. I just dont get the tube vs tubeless bit

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by WD on 07/26/13 at 11:39:34 You have spoked wheels not made by BMW... you need a tube. Tubeless bias ply motorcycle tires are designed to run capably with or without a tube installed. If they have Michelins that fit, grab them, a set of new tubes and a pair of new rim liners. The set on the 1500 Drifter has held up pretty well. And yes, you want a 100/90-19F, 140/90-15 rear. Stock is 140/80-15 and it throws the speedometer off by 10% or so.

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by Rembrandt on 07/26/13 at 20:25:07 The speedometer errs by ten percent in which direction? Does it show faster that it should or slower? Thanks.

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/26/13 at 20:57:46 Stock tire = bike moving slower than speedo says 140/90 rear = pretty close speedo

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by Rush-rks on 08/02/13 at 06:44:44 Mine makes the same sqealing noise usually when getting on the throttle pulling a grade about 3rd gear (06 S40) sounds like its coming from the front pulley/belt seems like when there is quite a bit of load on it just cruising never hear it..was thinking of putting something like belt dressing on the belt?

Title: Re: New owner looking for help, tips, and ideas Post by PhantomII on 08/02/13 at 06:58:12 I wonder if they build the speed odometer error on purpose to make the warranty run out faster.

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