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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> New owner! Have a few questions. /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1422112517 Message started by Keith Bachand on 01/24/15 at 07:15:17 |
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Title: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Keith Bachand on 01/24/15 at 07:15:17 Hello everyone!, I purchased a new (2013) Suzuki Savage/S40. I got it from a dealer with no miles on it. I've mainly purchased it to commute to work since its better on fuel than my truck and is cheap to maintain. I do have a few questions. -When should I change the oil for the first time? I'm at 350 miles now. *I read the posts about oil and the recommendations. The redline 10W40 looks to be the best oil out there. -It seems like once I get going and its warmed up all the way there's a clicking/sewing machine sound. Is this normal? -I'm looking for an exhaust. The stock exhaust is very quiet and I would like something louder. I realize I'll need to rejet. I really like the look of the one piece raask but he doesn't make the one piece anymore plus it would be more expensive. Are there any exhausts similar? I also really like the sound of a more free flowing exhaust. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Serowbot on 01/24/15 at 08:35:59 Oil info here... http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1344471565 Redline is good if you're rollin' in money... ;D... Since you bought this bike to save money,... Shell Rotella oil is 1/4 the cost of Redline... and it's what most people use... I would change oil and filter now... 300, 600, and 1,000miles... every 3k after that... 5k if you ride a lot... A RAsk will be loud... but it won't make your sewing machine sound like a Harley... just a big sewing machine... ;D... Switching to a Harley shorty muffler is a popular mod....(slightly louder with deeper tone,.. cheap to buy, and well made... slight performance gain without losing torque)... Some ticking is normal for a big, air-cooled single... Also,... don't be suckered into using premium gas... regular unleaded is fine for this low compression engine... Welcome to SS.com... Congratulations on your new bike... PS... there's a link in my sig "It's in the Tech Section"... lots of tech info there... ;)... |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Steve H on 01/24/15 at 09:23:23 Don't idle it down real low like a Harley either. It won't have enough oil pressure to keep oil in the cam bearings in the head. It will kill it very quickly. Keep the idle at 1000 or over. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/24/15 at 09:35:16 I dropped about$400.00 on a Supertrap, could have had a prettier exhaust with about the same performance bump and good sound for$20.00,, Start cheap,, if you don't dig it, sell it, get some other exhaust.. IMO the Dyna is the best way to go, I had a Stage One cam, Supertrap with 14 disks, modified airbox, jetted the carb, rode it to create big grins and STILL got almost 50 MPG. REgrets are, the Supertrap and KandN air filter. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Keith Bachand on 01/24/15 at 12:26:28 Thank you for taking time to reply! I read the manual and saw it states that 87 octane is fine which is nice to know. I'll go ahead and change the oil now. Is there a particular oil filter that's better than others? Also nice to know my ticking sound is normal. As for an exhaust I've been reading on here about the different options but haven't really found one I'm in love with besides the Raask. I'll definitely look into the Harley muffler. I'm new to motorcycles but have ridden motocross bikes and race quads. I have two other questions. -is it normal for it to be difficult to get into 5th gear at times? Sometimes it goes in very easy and others it's a harder pull up to get it in. -Is there anything to do to help the ride at 55+mph? It feels very shaky especially when I'm around other cars. Probably because I'm not used to riding on the road but figured I'd ask. I'm a small frame guy at 5'4 120lbs so I'm sure that doesn't help. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by pgambr on 01/24/15 at 17:19:21 Sometimes it is easier than other times to get into gear. At your 3K oil change I recommend putting in Shell Rotella oil. It is some real good stuff. Regarding making the bike feel more stable, I really like the fork brace on mine. Here is a pic. http://biker.net/650/tkat_650.jpg Best regards, |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/24/15 at 17:47:54 It's new,, once You and the bike get used to each other and it gets some miles on it and you get some experience with it, it will either smooth out or you'll realize that it has an issue to address. A genuine transmission problem? I don't think I have seen one... shifter adjustment, shift linkage,yeah, but internal failure? I don't remember any. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Flint on 01/24/15 at 18:02:45 Regarding making the bike feel more stable, I really like the fork brace on mine. Here is a pic. http://biker.net/650/tkat_650.jpg Best regards Where did you buy the fork brace? |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by pgambr on 01/24/15 at 18:12:20 Here you go. http://tkat.com/forkbrace.html tkat@tkat.com Best regards, |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Flint on 01/24/15 at 18:14:45 Thanks pgambr. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by verslagen1 on 01/24/15 at 19:32:25 How to install... http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1294811496 |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Flint on 01/24/15 at 19:41:38 Perfect, thanks. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Art Webb on 01/24/15 at 20:39:33 while the fork brace will help if there's actually a flex issue there, (doubtfull unless you ride like Wayne Rainey) make sure you relax while riding it's pretty common (and wrong) for folks new to street bikes to get tense on the street, especially the highway, and especially around other traffic If you have a death grip on the bars, the bike will not track properly, loosen up your grip, relax, and the bike will likely turn out to be a lot mo=re stable than you think it is |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Jeff Jopling on 01/25/15 at 15:50:20 I have a jar dine exhaust and love it. Some think it's much too loud but I don't feel that way. It gives mine a nice tone as well. I'm in Louisiana and didn't even have to rejet and have had no issues |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Flint on 01/25/15 at 18:24:52 I ended up ordering the Super Brace fork stabilizer, the Tkat web site didn't work. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by jcstokes on 01/25/15 at 23:39:21 Are you still on the original IRC tyres? No one here has a particularly good opinion of them, particularly the rear one. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Keith Bachand on 01/26/15 at 04:38:53 I have to admit I am probably gripping harder when going faster and around traffic due to being new to riding on the street. -I'll look into the jar dine exhaust as well as a dyna or sportster exhaust. I really like this exhaust. Anyone have any idea where it came from? It just says its a custom exhaust. [url]http://www.650motorcycles.com/MarkRollins.html/url] |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/26/15 at 05:29:51 Do you play pool? Is your game improved when you are gripping the stick? You can maneuver quicker when your hands aren't tight. Relax your jaw, loosen up the shoulders,arms and legs and hands. Know how to put weight on a peg and flick the bars to hop sideways.KNOW where you can move to in traffic, know when dropping a gear and goosing it the out and when hopping a lane or brakes are the answer. Watching heads and front tires, watching for traffic openings THE DRIVER nearest you may jump at and watching what other drivers are doing that could make them run over you.. Practice emergency braking in empty parking lots. Getting both brakes coordinated really matters. Be visible and Make them SEE you. Change lane position, flick lights high and low... stay out of the blind spot s. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Keith Bachand on 01/28/15 at 17:38:18 Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely be practicing being more relaxed. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Dave on 01/29/15 at 03:59:36 2C3B3D362721263231262C540 wrote:
We have a bridge that goes from Cincinnati, OH to Covington KY that has metal decking that is made of slats of steel and open between them. The first time I rode a motorcycle over it was really scary. When the grooves in the motorcycle tires run along the metal that is parallel with your tire.....the tires shift a bit left and right as the tread grooves are on and off of the strips. If you try and manhandle the event....it makes no difference and the bike continues to do a little shimmy no matter how hard you grip the bars. If you relax....the bike just continues to do a little shimmy....it makes no difference how hard you grip the bars. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Art Webb on 01/29/15 at 22:17:46 actually, it does. on the sort of steel grate you'ere talking about the bike will shimmy, no matter what, but he's not riding on a metal grate, he's riding on pavement \a two wheeled vehicle balanced by pitting steering angle against lean: if you put the bike upright and let it go, it'll fall over if you push it,and it has decent steering characteristics, it'll start to fall over, and the front wheel, of it's own accord, will steer in the direction of the lean, causing the bike to come back upright, and start to flop over the other way: the faster the vehicle moves,and the more stability-centric it's front wheel rake and trail are the faster this cycle is, and at anything above a walk you don't even feel it when you grip the bars harder, you interfere with this dynamic, and actually destabilize the bike by preventing this effect this is why little kids on bikes start out tense and wobbly, and as they get better, become relaxed and stable |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Dave on 01/31/15 at 03:45:43 Art.....sorry if that last sentence was misleading. I meant to imply that there was not any reason to squeeze the bars hard - the bike will shimmy on the metal grating regardless. It is better just to relax and let it wiggle around....and enjoy the massage! I agree.....riding relaxed is much better than holding tightly onto the bars. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/31/15 at 06:52:52 I read it and understand HOW you meant it. No matter how hard you grip, it's Gonna wiggle. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Art Webb on 01/31/15 at 07:03:57 whereas I misinterpreted it as a refutation, when it wasn't Sorry I took it the wrong way What I was getting at is that by fighting it you actually make the wiggle worse, on my Rebel forum we're always getting new riders who don't get the concept of moto chassis self correction and how being tense interferes with that, and there are some long and lively debates over it I used to fight the bike myself,way back, and never got how some guys were so stable and any bike i got on was 'nervous' at highway speeds, until I finally asked an old hand (who happened to be an instructor, though I didn't know it) and he explained it to me Heck, you can ride 'no hands' (but please don't ;D) in a crosswind, and your bike will steer itself straight, as hard as that is to believe, at first |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Dave on 01/31/15 at 11:25:09 I experienced that wind thing on the Moonshine Lunch Run last spring. We were coming back through the flat parts of Ill. and Indiana....and there was a big cross wind. We were actually riding down the road and leaning over into the wind a pretty steep lean to the right. Every now and then a big gust of wind would hit hard from the side - it was so hard my helmet wanted to spin my head....and the bike would instantly lean hard into the wind all on it's own and just keep going straight. That really surprised me. The other weird thing was when you were leaning hard to the right side into the wind....then came up to a left hand corner while the bike was leaning right???? Once again the bike acted normal if you didn't think about it and just rode like normal. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Art Webb on 01/31/15 at 11:51:32 yeah, it's hard to wrap yout head around, and sometimes sorta spooky |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/31/15 at 13:13:44 Be aware, riding, compensating for a cross wind, encounter something that Blocks that wind and suddenly, you're in trouble. And I was nearly blown off the road when I was hit by a cross wind when I was passing an 18 wheeler. Soon as I cleared his front end, wham.. I was so close to the edge I couldn't steer left to fall right... 70+ MPH, Gravel, not good.. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Keith Bachand on 01/31/15 at 18:59:59 I haven't had much chance to ride my bike to work since its been below freezing most mornings but riding relaxed definitely seems to help with the stability issues. That's definitely hard to wrap my head around about the wind. So its better to not try and compensate for the wind? |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/31/15 at 19:38:30 Oh,you GOTTA compensate,, just be aware of anything that is gonna block the wind off or expose you to the cross wind suddenly. Like, you're running along laid over, cuz the wind is howling across the road,,and you're gonna cross a bridge with some substantial side rails that will cut the wind off of you by Half, you could turn,, you can crash.. because you Were in a "turn", fighting the wind.. cut the wind off,, you're following, right? Am I making sense to anyone? |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Art Webb on 01/31/15 at 22:14:21 The bike will auto correct, do you let it, folks who make a point of fighting the wind consciously tend to interfere with that, and some times if the wind suddenly goes away, cannot correct as quickly as the bike will, left to it's own devices, and bad things happen It's very counter intuitive, and I didn't believe it myself, until I went riding on a windy day, and forced myself to release all but the lightest contact with the bars Every gust the bike would lean into it, and when it let up the bike would stand itself up I don't recommend others try this, but I'm so hard headed I had to 'prove it wrong' As it turned out, I was wrong That's not to say the bike can't go down from a strong gust, but it's not very likely, when it's moving forward |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Flint on 01/31/15 at 23:04:37 One mistake I have seen new riders do is cross Texas gates too slow thinking they may lose control. The truth is if you cross them at a slow speed you are far more likely to take a spill than if you go over at 15- 20 mph. I don't know if you call them Texas gates in the U.S. but that is what we call the cattle gates made of pipe or rail road rail with about a 4" inch space between the pieces. The cows won't cross but it allows traffic to flow through. |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by KennyG on 02/01/15 at 08:31:58 I live in North Texas. You have to keep moving to go over the "Cattle Crossings". When they are wet from rain make sure you are going at least 10 MPH. Kenny G |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by Art Webb on 02/01/15 at 08:37:04 those fool things get so slick when it rains (the metal ones, anyway) I will go a different way if at all possible when it's wet: the metal ones should be outlawed |
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Title: Re: New owner! Have a few questions. Post by justin_o_guy2 on 02/01/15 at 08:56:14 Ya want the bike standing straight up and going as straight across as possible and rolling at it at just over ten, maybe twelve, then accelerate, just enough to take a few pounds off the front tire, scoot back on the seat. Treat it like you'd treat a sandy stretch in a dirt road.. |
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