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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
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Message started by Cyureus on 10/06/16 at 14:16:09

Title: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Cyureus on 10/06/16 at 14:16:09

Hey guys. I got a 2011 S40 stock, of a coworker of mine who bought it brand new in 2011. He rode it about 643 (exactly) miles and then let it sit for 5 years, outside, no cover. So far, I've had to clean out the front fender of the black widow and her 3 egg sacks of babies who decided my front fender and forks would be a great place for a play area after I got it home the first night, I've changed out front brake pads, battery, did a passable job at cleaning the carb, E336 spark plug, and I've got new front and rear bearings I just ordered this morning. I've put about 100 miles on it since.

My current issues are:

I'm constantly having to mess with the fuel/air screw on the carb it feels like. I've read the posts about setting it 2 - 2-1/2 turns. I've also read that the carb is super lean, so I've tried closing most of the way in. I'm getting a lot of backfire while riding, and smelling burnt gas. Is that normal or am I just making the typical newb mistakes?

Also, it feels like the engine is jumping, for lack of a better word. In 3rd gear and up, cruising with little to no variation in throttle, it feels like the engine is hopping, or misfiring I guess, randomly instead of running smoothly. Any ideas on what to check?

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by stewmills on 10/06/16 at 14:34:03

Welcome! You're in the right place! Not newb mistakes, just nuances of this bike that we can help you correct.

One note is that the air/mix screw richens the mixture when you turn it out (counterclockwise). So if you are running lean, you need to turn it out and allow more fuel, but this adjustment mostly impacts your idle performance not cruise performance.

The backfiring is normal. What you probably need to do for the surging is the white spacer mod on the slide needle. That lifts the needle and allows more fuel at mid-range speeds. You could need to do some jetting based on where you live, elevation, etc. but I'm not an expert at that so I'll let others come along and offer their advice.

I was you 4+ years ago, almost new bike and new rider with very similar issues, and this forum walked me through getting it all corrected.

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Armen on 10/06/16 at 14:52:17

Welcome aboard!
Def flush the brake fluid. If the brakes still feel wooden, pull apart the caliper. Clean up and throw in new seals while you are in there.
Tires are definitely harder than they were when they were new, and they were low end tires back then. New sneakers are a cheap insurance policy.
-Armen

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Cyureus on 10/06/16 at 15:00:15

Awesome! Thanks. That explains part of my problem roght off the bat. I had the function of the screw backwards, so I'll check on that when I get home tonight.

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Cyureus on 10/06/16 at 15:08:01

:P
0F3C232B204E0 wrote:

Yeah the caliper is definitely on my list, purely because of weather damage. My dad and brother recommended checking the engine piston and seals as well.

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by stewmills on 10/06/16 at 15:33:09

Another thing to note is that the diaphragm in the petcock can get stiff and dried out from sitting. And the vacuum hose from the carn to the petcock can get a leak. The vacuum opens the diaphragm to feed fuel to the carb, so if either component has issues it will impact fuel flow.

You'll hear more about the raptor petcock!

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Bobber on 10/06/16 at 15:45:38

That vacuum hose from the petcock to the carb will cause all those problems. I had the same issues and my line was split. Replaced it and a whole new bike.

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Cyureus on 10/06/16 at 17:33:50

454253415B5F5A5A45360 wrote:

It may be sooner than later. Tweaked the air/mix screw in the right direction. Started better, idled better, and then I was doing some research on the raptor petcock in another post and saw that the carb vent hoses should be above the carb and in the frame. Pulled one out to look at it and it had been leaking fuel. Checked the other and the same. I'm probably going to take the carb out and check to see if I put the float back in the right way ;D

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Kris01 on 10/06/16 at 18:39:43

Running lean will cause a surge at constant throttle like you describe. Turning the air mix screw won't help the problem. You'll need to rejet the carb and then play with the screw. Unfortunately we can't tell you exactly what jets you need. We can get you close but your bike will be finnicky and might like something different. Each one is different. Check the tech section for rejetting your carb.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1181745927
Scroll down to the 3rd post and read through the carb threads.

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Tocsik on 10/06/16 at 18:40:28

Might wanna be sure gas didn't leak into the crankcase at this point. Take off the oil filler cap and sniff for gas fumes. Start by checking the level in the sight glass. If it seems high all of a sudden, gas could have leaked past into the vac line to the crank

Title: Re: New guy, semi-new bike, newb rider
Post by Cyureus on 10/06/16 at 19:23:50

You guys are gonna make this fun :)