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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> At what miles should "common" issues be looked at?
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Message started by Tazmool on 11/17/21 at 12:22:52

Title: At what miles should "common" issues be looked at?
Post by Tazmool on 11/17/21 at 12:22:52

Greetings,

Great forum, have been reading for some time now.

I have a new to me 2013 S40, 4500km (~2800miles) on it.
At what mileage and or age, should I start tinkering with (inspecting for) the common issues on this bike?

I'm referring to the Raptor petcock replacement, and the cam chain tensioner upgrade?

Is the Raptor 660 upgrade worth doing as a pre-emptive measure? ie get it done over the winter to avoid future problems?

The bike will be stored for the winter season in the next few days.
It seems the bike will need a new battery (I read that a known good/fresh battery is a good idea on the S40) the current one seems to not take a full charge, and there is a strange delay from pressing the starter button and to when the bike actually cranks over. I have a new battery on the way.

I rode the bike just a few times, it did seem to have a bit of a surge at lower mid-range, but its hard to tell with out knowing the bike well and only having two very short (<5 min) rides on it. Its entirely possible the bike was not fully warmed up yet either (these were inspection/transportation rides before/after purchase)

Bike seems to start up and run ok, its in overall great shape, and according to the receipts, its had its carbs cleaned last season.

Any info/input is appreciated.

Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by verslagen1 on 11/17/21 at 12:42:41

The petcock is a years exposure to ethanol thing, so unless you find auto shut off really handy, I'd replace it now so you don't get used to it.

The cam chain is a short ride thing, short rides kill it quicker.
So if the PO used it for checking the mail or going down to the local coffee shop only, you should check it sooner. If he rode it all day only pause to fill up, you get the max mileage out of it... upwards to 40,000 miles.

I would prefer to store the bike w/o the battery. The decomp controller is powered all the time and if it gets full of water can fail turning on the starter and sending the bike into the wall. It is rare, but it has happened.

You might check the battery, vary common that it looses water.

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/17/21 at 12:54:09

Thanks for the quick reply,

Just ordered a Raptor 660 valve, will install it as soon as it arrives (ethanol free fuel is very, very rare in my area, and only if you get 91 octane, which I'm sure this bike never saw)
And I agree, best to install it now before getting used to the auto petcock.

As far as I know, this bike was used as a learner bike for about 2000km, and just tooling around for 2500km.
Perhaps because of its very low mileage, I'll inspect the cam chain system after a season of riding.

Cheers,
Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/17/21 at 13:26:51

Only the official Yamaha petcock.
If it's not, it's got skinny fuel passages.

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tocsik on 11/17/21 at 13:42:19

The low speed surging could just be a cold bike, as you said. They run smoother once warm, but you still may be looking at the white spacer mod. I tried it and my bike just didn't run right that way. I likely did it wrong. I'm also at about 5K feet altitude in Denver so the leaner air made it so I didn't need to change any jets. Currently at almost 25K miles.
It would be pretty odd to need to mess with the cam chain tensioner at only ~2800 miles.

Welcome! Where are you located?

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/18/21 at 02:01:17

justin_o_guy2, I did order the OEM Yamaha part, I've read on here that the knock-off ones are of poor quality and may not flow enough fuel, thanks for the double check however.

Tocsic, I'll have to see what the white spacer mod is, I think I came across it on here before, but will double check.
I'm at around 600 feet elevation, located in Southern Ontario Canada.

I got the bike very late in the year, mainly because this time of year good deals are to be had, and I wanted to have the bike ready next season.
I do have another bike in the stable (Valkyrie)

I'm hoping to have my girls riding (or at least starting to learn how to) as early as possible next year.
The S40 seems to be the perfect bike in so many ways, looking forward to tooling around on it myself!

I'm resisting the urge to mod the heck out of the bike too.
It seems to be the perfect platform for customizing, and I'm imagining a very neat blend of Retro and Ultra-Modern. I'm thinking a nice LED headlight replacement, cascading led turn signals (front & rear) LED tail-light, maybe a small add-on lcd dash on the bars with a tach (retaining the oem speedo on the tank) I love the look and simplicity of the bike....

Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues
Post by Dave on 11/18/21 at 04:04:35

Be careful with the LED turn signals and tail light. If you buy the $19.95 stuff made in China that uses multiple sets of Cob led's.....they are not bright enough to be seen in the daylight. They might look like they work fine when you have the bike sitting in the garage and you stand back 30 feet (10 meters for you folks who talk metric) - but get them out in the bright sun in traffic and they are invisible to a car that is 5 car lengths behind you. The same is true if you just replace the bulbs and use the stock turn signals.....some LED replacement bulbs are not as bright as the filament bulbs. Good/bright LED replacement turn signals and tail lights don't come cheap.....however if you are a good eBay shopper you can find really good OEM lights that have been removed from stock bikes - sport bike fellows remove the factory stuff and put on tiny invisible lights so they look "sleek".

A good H4 LED bulb can improve the stock headlight performance - but the small reflector does limit the light output. Lasfit makes very affordable LED's that work very well, and because they don't have a separate driver they are easy to make fit. A 7" headlight housing and reflector is a nice upgrade.

These are the smallest LED bulbs that still have a fan, and even the plug is smaller than most. They are 2500 lumens each and they work well.https://www.lasfit.com/collections/h4/products/lasfit-lc6h4-led-headlights-kits-high-low-beam-72w-7600lm-6000k

These are a bit more expensive and a bit larger in size - but they still fit easily. https://www.lasfit.com/products/h4-9003-hb2-led-headlight-high-low-beam-la-series

This is the bulb I have in my Savage and I run the H7 version in another bike.....a Cyclops! These bulbs are incredibly bright and make far more light than other LED's - they are 38 watt (there is a typo on their webpage that states 28 watt). I am not entirely sure that you will get it to fit in the stock Savage light housing.....the connector between the driver and the bulb is really bulky. It will fit in a larger 7" light housing.
https://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/Cyclops-100-H4-LED-headlight-bulb_p_192.html

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues
Post by Tocsik on 11/18/21 at 09:15:45

Tazmool (and anyone), listen to Dave about pretty much everything, but especially LED headlight bulbs. He spent a lot time (and $ I think) investigating various alternatives. His thread on that is about 12 pages long, but I don't think it has these last 2 recommendations. http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1478175220/0

Sorry if that was a thread hijack!

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/18/21 at 13:59:22

A second on Dave and led bulbs. AFAIK, nobody has ever done as much research.
I don't mean reading. I mean buying and testing.

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/18/21 at 23:11:58

LED headlight wise, I was thinking about a complete replacement of the entire headlight, saw a few fairly inexpensive units on different bikes, and they looked sharp, and reported vastly improved headlight performance.

However, the LED mods will wait until the girls are at least competent enough to ride and hopefully not drop the bike. I'd hate to spend so much time and money modding the bike, just to have it dropped and snap off the signals and damage the new headlight.

I think the right move would be to get the bike ready over the winter and see how everything goes next season.

Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/18/21 at 23:19:39

I forgot to mention,
Today, I did install a new battery.

I went with the MotoBatt MBTX14AU, which is a direct replacement for the S40.

It was not a straight forward install however.
The battery is ever so slightly taller than the oem one that was in there, and the top metal bracket on the left side (negative termial side, battery box cage) was catching on the battery housing.

I had to remove the top plastic battery box cover to see exactly what was stopping the battery from going in all the way.
With some prying and adjusting, the battery did go in. Its in there pretty tightly though.

The battery that was in the bike, was a Yuasa, wet call battery, with the overflow tube. It was full of electrolyte, to the top (over full maybe, there did not appear to be any vapor space) and during a capacitance test, it failed quite badly, the test and showed 125 CCA (it was rated at 190 CCA) the battery was fully charged. The bike did start with this battery however, just a strange delay during initial crank, and a harder start (sometimes taking a few tries to start)

The new MotoBatt battery is rated at 210 CCA, and capacitance tester showed 255 CCA.
The bike cranks over quicker, and starts up easily on the 1st try.

I was thinking about a nice LiFE PO4 battery to go in there, but thought the slightly higher voltage of that battery may cause some sort of unforseen problems with the bike's electrical systems. Thus I decided to go with a nice Pb battery instead. I've used MotoBatt batteries in the past with great results, and it seems they are good in the LS650 as well.

Next will be the Raptor 660 petcock (as soon as it arrives)

Can the petcock be installed with out removing the fuel tank from the bike?

Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/19/21 at 01:44:57

Can the petcock be installed with out removing the fuel tank from the bike?

Yeah..
Don't forget to seal off the vacuum from the carburetor..

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Eegore on 11/19/21 at 05:42:13

"Can the petcock be installed with out removing the fuel tank from the bike?"

Also don't forget to take the little plastic screen protector off the tube that fits inside the tank if there is one on it.

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/19/21 at 18:15:26

Eegore,

I have seen photos of the Raptor 660 petcock, it has two skinny pickup tubes (normal and reserve) with what appear to be little strainers on them.

The oem petcock looks to have a larger strainer that fits over both pickup tubes, is that what you're referring to?
I take the larger strainer and place it on the Raptor petcock? (the raptor petcock has a way of attaching the larger strainer on it? )

Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/19/21 at 18:16:42

Justin_o_guy2,

Heh, that would be an unfortunate thing to forget, I'll make sure to block off the carb vacuum port, thanks for the reminder!

Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by verslagen1 on 11/19/21 at 18:19:49

6F5A41565454573B0 wrote:

No, the raptor petcock is shipped with a plastic tube placed over the longer pickup tube to protect it during shipping. Take it off or it will restrict pickup.

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/20/21 at 21:00:24

Ok, will do.
Thanks for the tip :)

Tazmool

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Gary_in_NJ on 11/21/21 at 06:44:56

Addressing the original topic, it’s never too early, but always too late, to address preventive maintenance. Keep up with the intervals in the owner’s manual and address the “common” fixes and faults discovered during the 35 year model run. Hoping you bike doesn’t succumb to common failures is folly.

Title: Re: At what miles should "common" issues be looked
Post by Tazmool on 11/27/21 at 20:14:11

Yep, will try to give this bike the best run it can get.

The Raptor petcock just arrived, and I can see the plastic cover over the upper pickup tube, it would be bad to leave that on. Thanks for the tip!

Tazmool