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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
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Message started by Collinjet on 04/23/17 at 20:55:34

Title: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by Collinjet on 04/23/17 at 20:55:34

Currently a freshman in college and bit the bullet. Bought myself a 2005 Suzuki S40 with about 7800 miles on it. First day ever riding a motorcycle took it about 80 miles home. Already put about 400 miles on her in a week and I've loved every second of it! I dont have a lot of money to spend modding it but I want to do a few things. I was thinking plasti dip it all matte black, cheap bar end mirrors, phone mount, maybe take the belt guard off? Anyone have any ideas for cheap or free mods to make it look better? Even big ideas help!! Thanks so much!

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by twhitus on 04/24/17 at 00:05:40

Maybe a set of saddle bags, lets you grab a few groceries on the way home and store all kinds of stuff. I have a set from vikingbags, think i paid about 150.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by IslandRoad on 04/24/17 at 00:15:53

Bitwell have a nice range of simple grips, they're inexpensive. You'd be able to lose the chrome flange and endcap on the stock grips.

Some guys take the chrome covers off the top of the engine. Those covers don't do anything. You'll get a more raw look. There is one bolt though that sticks up from the inside. You'll need to hold that in place with a nut.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by jcstokes on 04/24/17 at 02:00:34

I shouldn't attempt to dampen your enthusiasm, however, matte black makes you a lot less visible to motorists on cell phones, and motorists, truck drivers etc in general. Matte black blends very well with blacktop. I would wonder why you would want to be on the phone while riding, with respect, riding demands pretty much full on concentration, and for what you spend on a phone mount, you might get a much more useful Raptor petcock, Savage petcocks can be unreliable. Talk to the techies here about, I'm not one of them, about various exhaust and carburettor jet changes you can make at low cost. How old are the tyres on your bike?

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by Dave on 04/24/17 at 02:40:42

I am not sure why you want to take the belt guard off - it keeps the tire from throwing crap onto the belt. If you get stones on the belt they can get wedged into the teeth of the belt or pulley....and that can put holes in the belt. If you want the guard to be less noticeable....you can scuff the chrome and paint them black.

The first think I would do is to make sure the bike is reliable. If you have any oil leaks - getting those fixed is a priority. The stock petcock can be problematic and fail when you least expect it, and it makes for all kinds of weird running issues that makes you look everywhere (carb, ignition) except the petcock. Adding a Raptor petcock requires you to manually turn the fuel ON/OFF - but it does make the bike more reliable.

I can understand the need/desire for a cell phone mount - as I use mine for navigation. I bought one from Kurakyn and although it was a bit expensive ($70), it is well made and will also hold my Garmin GPS.

Is there something wrong with the paint on your bike.....or do you just want a less "pretty/shiny" look?

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by badwolf on 04/24/17 at 04:48:18

Some type of storage is almost required if you are going anywhere out of your ''around town'' area, bags are the norm.
You WILL get caught in the rain once and a while. Keeping things dry is better than letting stuff get wet.
GET A M/C RAINSUIT.
Now take some advice from a lifelong rider. ( and I am OLD!)
The 3 rules of m/c rainsuits ---
Rule #1- Get a GOOD one. (A $2.99 poncho from Walmart is worse than useless at 50 MPH!)
Rule #2- ALWAYS have it with you. (Riding home from a chili cook-off at a park can be just as cold and wet as riding home from Yeehaw Junction when it storms.) (Yes that is a real place.)
Rule #3- Most importantly, Put the rainsuit on BEFORE you get wet.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by norm92de on 04/24/17 at 08:01:01

If you do nothing else get a Yamaha raptor petcock! Most other things are personal taste.

Welcome aboard. Enjoy your new bike. :)

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by Collinjet on 04/24/17 at 08:29:10

It came with a set of easily removable saddle bags, I took them off for the remainder of the school year as I park in a parking structure and the less it can get messed with the better. The phone mount would be used for navigation and navigation only. I will look into the rain gear! As for the paint, there are just scratches here and there and by the gas cover the pain is like chipping and turned the white paint yellow. How hard is it to install the petcock?

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by batman on 04/24/17 at 08:30:49

If you really want to go black, I'd go with spray can bed liner paint from walmart ,as it is dull and oil and gas resistant and won't peal off like plasti-dip and is cheap.It requires no top coat or waxing, it's spray and drive.It sounds like you really don't need navigation right away unless you can't find your school. :)

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/24/17 at 09:05:22

Ride it. Spend your time and money just passing school, riding, learning to maintain it, gathering tools , and once you have ten thousand or so miles on it, if you just aren't satisfied with it, you'll be ready to decide if it's the bike you want. If you've Customized it to suit You, your potential customers are limited.
Take the safely course.
Keep maintenance records.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by Tocsik on 04/24/17 at 09:21:47

Post a pic and we can give better suggestions. I think mine looks better with the sissy bar and pad off, lower bars and a bigger headlight. But the best suggestions have been to first make sure it's reliable; especially for a college student. And be careful out there! It's too easy to get distracted or overconfident at your age. I'm not talkin' down to ya, here. Just issuing a caution to a fellow rider who is new and young. ;)

If you need the navigation or live traffic updates, maybe get a name brand Bluetooth kit for your helmet (hoping you wear one). I use the Sena SMH5 FM and get my GPS right in my ears. You don't get the visual but I prefer to keep my eyes on the road anyway. Added bonus, I get my text messages read out loud and can respond by voice if I choose, can make and answer phone calls and that model also includes an FM radio receiver. You have to be careful with any of that on a bike and I generally will only use most of it when stuck in traffic.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by TheNaughtyLemur on 04/24/17 at 11:50:33

https://www.amazon.com/ChargerCity-MegaGrip-Motorcycle-Security-Smartphone/dp/B005GSST8G/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1493059741&sr=8-4&keywords=charger+city+motorcycle+mount

I use this one for my ride. It seems to hold my phone in place pretty well.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by groupus on 04/24/17 at 12:18:40

I too got my Savage as a dirt poor college student and I still have the same bike a decade later! I love it!

Your best move is to find an independent harley shop around you that would have lots of used mufflers, bars, footpegs, turn signals, lights, grips, fenders, etc. lying around. My whole bike is built from discarded parts. Be aware that since nothing is really "made for" the Savage, everything will require some problem solving for it to work. Learning and doing the work yourself is the best part.

Also, since you are in college, hopefully you have access to a Tech program there. Take some tech classes, especially metal working if you can. Use the school's lab to make yourself a side mount license plate or something. Materials can usually be "found" or coerced for free ;D

Best of luck

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by LockeClone on 04/24/17 at 15:15:05

Once upon a time I scoured the internet to seek out all the awesome mods I could start doing to my bike. (84 Ascot)

I think, until you've got a whole lot more miles behind you, that you should just ride the thing and fix problems and/or do performance-related mods as you discover things you want to change.

Doing a bunch of stuff you've seen on the internet will probably either overwhelm you, or you'll end up with a silly bike that's too messed up to resell for much money and kinda sucks to ride.

Just breathe, ride and enjoy young one. Maybe pick one or two things you'd like to improve about your bike at a time that won't mess it up...

Protip: Removing the belt guard is a noob mod and does nothing but mess up the bike. Don't do it. Yes, some guys do it when they build some sick cafe build, but think about how they're using their bikes. They take them to rallies/shows/joyrides and probably have another bike that they actually ride for utility. This is your one bike and thus you should keep it as rideable as possible.

Protip: Plastidip is cheap for a reason. Good for small things that won't see any abuse, but will not last on a fender or gas tank...

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by jcstokes on 04/24/17 at 15:40:35

Can you tell us the brand of your tyres? The original IRC type aren't all that well regarded by some on this forum, including me. You would do well to study up on the oil change requirements and consider the Shell Rotella oil favoured by many here. Although that stuff sounds very basic, a number here have had problems loosening the oil drain plug and also make sure you know which way the oil filter goes in. There is a post in the tech section about installing the GENUINE Raptor petcock, it's a video. Please tell us if you have done the MSF course, it's useful.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by IslandRoad on 04/24/17 at 15:44:36

173B38383D3A3E3120540 wrote:

How hard is it to install the petcock?

The petcock is an easy swap. You just need to drain the tank first. After that it'll take less than 10 minutes. Well worth it.

Be aware that the Raptor petcock gives you more miles on the 'On' position and less on the "Reserve" than the stock petcock.

Title: Re: First bike, 2005 Suzuki S40. What to do to it?
Post by jcstokes on 04/24/17 at 20:26:16

If you're going to install a Raptor, ride until you hit reserve, then ride 10 miles from home and 10 miles back. This should use up virtually all your gas and you will only need to drain a little. You will need to turn your existing petcock to prime to drain the tank.