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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> How "OK" is the savage for the highway? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1405541044 Message started by sailorcolin on 07/16/14 at 13:04:04 |
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Title: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by sailorcolin on 07/16/14 at 13:04:04 I am looking into doing some traveling this summer and I want to maybe take my savage on the highway. I havent had it long and only put 800 miles on it so far but is it ok to ride on the highway at like 70? I know it will be a higher rpms but... |
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Title: Re: Hoe "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by jcstokes on 07/16/14 at 13:17:59 I can't speak for America, but last year I did several thousand miles on what you guys call two lane black top, I think. I had the lowest powered bike in the group, and all were impressed with the S40's ability to keep up in the 60 to 70 mph range. Longest day was about 400 miles. At 75 mph the bike will be starting to work hard and according to the experts your oil consumption will rise. You will probably want a windscreen for long trips, but not if you're an iron ass or hard man. You need a break every 100 to 130 miles and your small fuel tank will enforce this. My Air Hawk seat pad helped a little, maybe a lot. Much of the riding was hilly to mild mountain. We don't have "super slab" where I live, and some on this forum don't consider the S40 to be suitable in that environment. I had my pack mounted on the pillion seat and this formed a semi useful back rest. |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by sailorcolin on 07/16/14 at 13:40:32 Thanks! |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by Drestakil on 07/16/14 at 13:54:46 http://beatduck.blogspot.com/ Here's some good reading for you. It should handle 70 with no problem. Most I've ridden in one day was just a little over 240 miles. That was at 70 & 80. Wasn't very comfortable, though. The stock seat sits too low for me. I modded mine with a contoured piece of 1" thick rigid foam between the stock foam and the seat base. I'm going to add another 1/2" next week to give me a little more leg room. It not only raises you up but you can sit a little farther back in the seat. Here's the link on modding seats. http://diymotorcycleseat.com/ |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/16/14 at 14:02:32 CArry oil. Don't be surprised if it uses more as the miles add up. A fresh oil change left me hardly using oil,as miles added up,consumption increased. |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by Spedie on 07/16/14 at 14:05:13 I am female, but weigh 170 lbs. I owned a Savage in the late 1980's (first bike I learned on). I recently bought an S40. The stock seat on my S40 makes my butt go numb pretty fast. I had purchased a better seat with sissy bar for my Savage and took the Savage on long rides. I found the more comfortable seat was much more enjoyable. And I could strap packs of stuff to the sissy bar. This was before I bought a set of saddle bags. Interestingly, I didn't use the saddle bags that much, as everything I needed was around my waist in a fanny pack or strapped to the back of the sissy bar. Either bike had no issue accelerating on the freeway and I have done 80mph on both bikes, with plenty more to go. About 85 is the max I ever had either bike at, I could have gone more, but just wasn't interested. My longest trip, by myself, was San Diego to El Paso. Now, that was a ride to remember! First thing I am saving for with my S40: A much better seat! |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by Dane Allen on 07/16/14 at 14:26:10 I have put almost 19k miles on my bike I got new in April on 2013. I commute to work 28 miles one-way with 90% of the trip on the freeways. I really try to keep it at 70 (stock tire size so it is really about 67) but there are times I look down and am at 75-78 and I roll off the throttle. I took the wife on a four-hour trip by freeway and we definitely fudged the max load but were able to keep freeway speeds. I am very pleased at the performance of the bike at highway speeds. Now, those guys on the big V-Twins and R-9s and XYZ-1000s are gonna blow by you and that is ok. |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by NickGann on 07/16/14 at 18:04:08 I've been just cruising on an almost daily basis, and just pick a point and ride. Generally that point has been around 300+ miles away round trip. That said I do some 70mph but prefer to turn off and enjoy random backroads with GPS sort of rerouting me when I am "lost". All of that to say the bike does well for me. I enjoy it's limitations because they take me on journeys I wouldn't otherwise be on. |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by LANCER on 07/16/14 at 23:02:23 The bike can handle the highway just fine. If you have already, or plan to replace the stock muffler with a dyna or other quality muffler and jet/tune the carb to match then it will do just that much better for you on the road. |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by WD on 07/16/14 at 23:20:24 Rejetted carburetor, stock muffler, BIG windshield, and my 6'2"+ roughly 250# self will hit 80+ riding to work each day. Atrociously pathetic fuel economy, went from 68mpg down to 48mpg. I hate commuting on the baby bike. I've put just under 5000 miles on it since mid-April of this year. I'm on my second back tire, it needs front brake pads, needs a new oil filter... but does not need an oil change, it does that all on its own, I go through a quart or better a week high speed commuting in 90+ degree, 90-100% humidity. I did have to switch to premium with 100:1 premix 2 stroke oil added to keep the pinging under control. And I run straight 30W oil, 20W50 full sump is dry in a couple days, 10W40 in under 40 miles. :-/ I may be a bit rougher on my late model toys than most other owners are... I'm replacing my 20 year old mini truck that couldn't hack it with a 45 year old full sized truck that can, and has, survived my ownership. ::) |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by sailorcolin on 07/17/14 at 05:45:07 Thanks all! |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highw Post by TerranTino on 07/17/14 at 07:57:20 I take route 50 to visit friends in DC and Baltimore, and drove up to Maryland from Georgia on 97 last fall (was going to school in Savannah, originally from Annapolis). Cruising at 65 and speeding up to 75 for overtaking is smooth. But, at 5'4 and 130 lbs, windy days are absolutely terrifying for me. Apart from eating up oil, it's how light the bike feels that makes me uneasy at speeds over 65, not any kind of mechanical issues. |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by gizzo on 07/17/14 at 15:33:39 Anything is ok on the highway, you just have to ride it appropriately. I realise the OP says you want to travel at 70, but it got me thinking about what people will ride, where. When I lived in the outback, a Japanese tourist came by our workshop for some fuel. He was travelling around Australia on a Kwaka KX80. He was half way around when I met him. Other crew routinely do 4000km journeys by CT110. I used to do a 1200km round trip on my DR250. It was a slow trip but I never had a breakdown. Still got that bike and it runs like a clock. Rode a mate's wife's 50cc step thru from the city to Barossa Valley, about 100km. Took 3 hours to get there, 50 min home on the Savage. This summer, am planning a trip around Tasmania on an Enfield 535 single. That thing will sit on 70 mph all day long. Have at it. |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highw Post by Dave on 07/18/14 at 04:45:34 If you have a mill, or a friend that has one - the conversion to use a Kawasaki front pulley is a big plus when you do lots of highway traveling. It changes the front pulley from 23 teeth to 25 teeth, and it cut the rpm down 8%....which is a worthwhile change and well worth the effort if you have the ability to machine the Kawasaki pulley. You can also do the rear pulley - but for a stock engine on a bike with luggage it may be geared too high to be ideal. At the moment I am the only one I know that is running the double Kawasaki pulley set up, and it is working great on my bike. It does move the axle all the way back to the end of the adjustment for belt tension - and I don't know if that becomes an issue with a high mileage belt. http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1384949185 Dave |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by Ram on 07/20/14 at 18:31:17 6774300 wrote:
Which windshield do you have ? |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highway? Post by Jack_650 on 07/20/14 at 21:13:02 I've got a 2k Sav with 28k miles on it. I've done trips to Miami, FL and back from southern MN a couple times on it in July and August. It carried my 180# self and around 80-100# of camping and personal gear on the back seat and side bags at 65-70 mph all day long several days in a row. A couple days were pushing 550 miles. I have a V-Star saddle eat (which helps a lot with a gel pad), a five gallon Harley tank up front and had a four gallon tour tank on the back. I also run the full NationalCycle windscreen which makes a good bug, rain and wind blocker. Haven't run a long trip with a trailer yet though, but that might change in couple weeks with a trip out to Yellowstone and back mid August Never noticed any oil usage to speak of. I run 100% synth Rotella oil. Never had any trouble keeping up or passing traffic. Passing or being passed by semis it was as solid and stable as sitting on the couch. Other than the post 60 mph vibration increase that gets uncomfortable on the foot pegs I've had nary a problem doing days of interstate. Worst thing is that on both trips I was able to keep up with all those Harleys headed to Sturgis. At least until the noise started to drive me crazy. Then I would back off until the air cleared. Jack |
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Title: Re: How "OK" is the savage for the highw Post by WD on 07/20/14 at 23:44:29 5A4945585A495B280 wrote:
Which windshield do you have ?[/quote] Memphis Shades Big Shot for a VN800A. I made it work... http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y490/mphsgal/Jeffs%20pix/Sam/sam_rear_zpsefcd61f6.jpg |
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