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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> First ride last night. /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1119960972 Message started by JMAC on 06/28/05 at 05:16:12 |
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Title: First ride last night. Post by JMAC on 06/28/05 at 05:16:12 I went for my first ride on the street last night, my first real ride on the Savage. The purpose of the trip was to drop it off at the bike shop. It was a little on the illegal side. The bike is insured, but not registered. I can't register it until I get is safetied and I can't get it safetied until I get it to the shop. The only way I could get it to the shop was to drive it. Before I left I made sure all the lights worked and the brakes were behaving. I went with my 2 friends. They were riding an old GS400 and a new(ish) GS500. And another friend followed in the car behind to take me back home. The guys were impressed with the sound my thumper made and the riding position. They said to look at me riding it appeared very comfortable. I was doing everything by the book, no speeding, weaving etc. But I did accelerate from a stop light 'firmly' just to see how it behaved. All I can say is torque. The other guys said I was blowing a little black smoke on hard acceleration. I was doing the typical rookie mistake... leaving my turn signals on a couple of times. But I had my more experienced friends around to remind me to turn them off. The trip wasn't without event. I stalled going down a hill. The bike wouldn't bump start and wouldn't fire on the starter either. We pulled over and let it cool down. Started in about 10 minutes. Perhaps just a new spark plug is required. Hopefully everything goes okay during the safety. I might need some little things. Unfortunately I live in an apartment so I am limited as to what I can do and mom and dads place (the family garage) is far away. Speaking of mom and pop, they don't know I have my bike licence at all. I can't wait to see there faces when I go thumping in the driveway. |
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Title: Re: First ride last night. Post by bentwheel on 06/28/05 at 08:37:51 Good post jmac. Good luck with the safety and let us know how you made out. This is probably too late, but check to see that your steering head bearings are not loose, because that is one of the first thing mechanics check. They are also overly fussy about brake pads. |
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Title: Re: First ride last night. Post by JMAC on 06/28/05 at 10:18:37 I'll keep you posted B.W. Someone told me the front bearing check has to be done with the front wheel off the ground and then give it a shake. Is this true? What do you have to do? |
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Title: Re: First ride last night. Post by bentwheel on 06/28/05 at 12:21:50 You're correct, that is one way of checking it. Grab the lower fork legs and try and move them back and forth. There should be no perceptible movement or clicking. The bearings are held in the steering stem attached to the lower fork clamp (triple tree). The adjustment nut has notches and is located below the upper triple clamp. Tap it with a large screwdriver and a hammer. Turning it clockwise (slightly) will decrease the freeplay and get rid of any movement. You can see this nut if you stand directly in front of your bike and set your sight just above the headlight. Before you attempt to move this nut loosen up the large chrome nut on the upper triple clamp and the fork caps as well. If you have the need to tighten your bearings, do not overtighten them. Take out the freeplay only. A good way to test for correct freeplay is with the wheel off the ground, centre your triple clamp with the handle bars and move them just left of centre. The forks should freely fall to the left with slight resistance and no interuptions. Do the same with the right side. Another thing you can test for is if your bearings are notchy. Turn the bars to the left and right and feel for any notches that may be there. What I mean by that is if the forks are moved to the left and right and they stop in what feels to be a notch (there may be a few during full rotation) your bearing races are shot and must be replaced. After saying all this I think it is fair to say the Savage does not have a history of steering bearing failure like some bikes do, but now you have some knowledge on what to look for. Feel free to ask any questions . |
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Title: Re: First ride last night. Post by sluggo on 06/28/05 at 14:48:07 bentwheel wrote:
or tell us stories of your riding adventures, post pictures. have some darn fun....... and share it with all us... |
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Title: Re: First ride last night. Post by Karen627 on 06/28/05 at 18:06:00 JMAC wrote:
Got the whole outlaw thing going on already, don'tcha? ;D |
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Title: Re: First ride last night. Post by JMAC on 06/29/05 at 04:50:56 My outlaw days are long behind me! It passed safety yesterday. Yippy ;D Plated and insured now! I went for a ride for a few hours last night with my buddies from work. I made dumb mistake #1 last night. I had my wrist too high when I grabbed ahold of the throttle. So when I had my wrist in the 'normal' position it was half throttle. When I let off I was still at part throttle.... I wasn't expecting this and nearly skipped along the side of a parked truck. Duh. >:( That won't happen again. I am still puffing a little black smoke on hard launches. I have a new plug I will put in tonight. I bet that will make a big difference. It was a used one I put in to get it started. It is hard to read the speedo with a full face bucket. That will take some practice. The bike is 'wonky' in the corners. I get a little shimmy. I will check my tire pressures tonight. Is this a normal thing with bias ply tires? Me and my buddies went to the local college, where me and the one friend took the motorcycle course. All the compound curves and things are painted in the parking lot. We were practicing them and had a laugh. We each tried eachothers bikes out too. Which reminds me. My brakes are terrible compaired to theirs. Should my brakes be that much worse than an '82 GS400. The pads are brand new. Perhaps I need to bleed the system some more?!? I guess all things considered a good experience so far. I didn't scare myself out on the road. In a few weeks when I have some more time on the bike I'll try and commute to work. For now just drive the back roads with in my comfort level. |
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Title: Re: First ride last night. Post by Reelthing on 06/29/05 at 06:19:51 Our brakes are not wonderful - but have been called adequate by reviewers if used correctly - both at the same time and take it easy on the back it will skid fairly easy. A little black smoke is aok fine - unless your going for maximum performance - it's just a tad on the rich side - this is a good thing if you value the longevity of the engine. On the shimmy - get your tire pressure correct, might add a little more preload to the rear shock - and of course a few more hours in the seat may cure some of the shimmy :) If your commute involves some serious traffic you'll be better off to wait until the subconscious is able to normally operate the bike so you can focus on the cars that will pull out in front of you, change lanes on top of you, tailgate you, and have no idea just how fast a bike can stop - even with our only "adequate" bakes we stop far faster than the car behind us. The subconscious learns slow but learns well and make take 50 hours of short trips to get the hang of it all. Wear your gear be safe. |
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