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Message started by djohnson6940 on 04/02/08 at 15:54:35

Title: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by djohnson6940 on 04/02/08 at 15:54:35

Tried starting it-
Charged battery, Kick stand up, clutch in, brakes on, power on, start switch on, push start button- just turns over & over, no start.
Tried petcock in all positions with full tank-nothing.
Pulled fuel line and fuel flows. checked fuses-good.
Tried a spray or two of quick start- but nothing.
Pulled apart to test spark plug and has spark while cranking over.
I can't find my ohm meter, but wouldn't know what to check first.

Being on '03 what would be most likely to be the problem?

Thanks for the help

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by skrapiron on 04/02/08 at 16:21:19


636D686F69746869313E3337070 wrote:
Tried starting it-
Charged battery, Kick stand up, clutch in, brakes on, power on, start switch on, push start button- just turns over & over, no start.
Tried petcock in all positions with full tank-nothing.
Pulled fuel line and fuel flows. checked fuses-good.
Tried a spray or two of quick start- but nothing.
Pulled apart to test spark plug and has spark while cranking over.
I can't find my ohm meter, but wouldn't know what to check first.


Just a dumb question, but did you remember to pull the choke out before you tried to start it?

If this is the first time starting it after letting it sit all winter, set the petcock to pri, then pull the choke full out, then hit the starter.  On Pri (prime) fuel will flow to the carb regardless of vacuum.   If it starts on Pri, but dies when you turn the knob to On, then replace the vacuum line running from the petcock to the carb.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by T Mack 1 on 04/02/08 at 19:12:30

If you are giving it a tweak of throttle, don't......  
if you aren't ... do so.....

The way my carb is tuned, I can't give it any throttle when the choke is on.  Of course,  old habits die hard and I catch myself.  Lately it's before the battery is drained  ;)

My friend has a 83 Yamaha XT550 that is same way (except it's kick start only).  My '82 Honda 250 was the same too.  Now, the 71 Honda 175 needed some throttle......curse that bike....

EDIT: no throttle when starting w/ choke on mine.  Once started it's fine.  Sometimes it stalls if at idle when pushing the choke in a notch.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by verslagen1 on 04/02/08 at 19:26:52

I can start mine with or w/o choke.  I start with no twist and after a rev give it a twist (just a little) another rev another twist.  

On a few occasions it's gone 20 seconds (which feel like hours) before it starts.  If it don't start time to pause and make sure the spark plug is in, gas on, choke out, all the little switches and buttons properly set.  Then have another go.  3rd time, aw hell push it.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by skrapiron on 04/03/08 at 04:57:47

Theres no accelerator pump on the carb.  What would twisting the throttle do to improve starting?  I believe that it would lean out whatever fuel is being delivered via the idle circuit and make it harder to start.  That then nullifies the affect of having the choke closed.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by Trippah on 04/03/08 at 05:26:31

I might be wrong, but usually if quick start spray doesn't do it (get it to fire once or twice) then is electrical- not quite enough juice to get spark plug to fire long enough to get er going.  On the other hand, if with a spray it fires up for a second or two, then i'd suspect fuel issues.   All in all- on an '03 that has been sitting, i'd suspect a bad battery. Before buying new battery, did you clean the spark plug electrode? Keep us informed We live vicariously.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by T Mack 1 on 04/03/08 at 06:33:56


677F6675647D667B7A140 wrote:
Theres no accelerator pump on the carb.  What would twisting the throttle do to improve starting?  I believe that it would lean out whatever fuel is being delivered via the idle circuit and make it harder to start.  That then nullifies the affect of having the choke closed.


My understanding is........ (Lancer.... correct me if I have it mixed up)

On many other MC carbs, the choke is a air restriction. not the fuel enrichment as on the LS650.   Also,  they normally only have a slide, no throttle butterfly plate (throttle cable goes into the top of the carb).   Tweaking the throttle on those does give a change to the fuel & air volume.   On ours, since the slide is actuated by vacuum, you don't really get much "action" untill the bike is running.  Which means, you don't get much change to the air flow.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by djohnson6940 on 04/03/08 at 13:10:29

After going through all the suggestions and cleaning out the plug, fuel line, all leads, letting the piston chamber clear out while cranking, putting everything back together...
...she timidly attempted to start and after a few more attempts while adjusting the choke, she finally started up!  I let her warm up for awhile and went out for a spin with a couple of little sputters here & there, but runs goods.
Thanks for all the suggestions from everyone and the references on this site.  Couldn't have found a better resource for this bike!
Thanks again.  Happy trails.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by YonuhAdisi on 04/03/08 at 14:02:09

Glad you got it started and was able to go for a run. Now you should be able to take care of any other idiosyncrasies it may have.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by Darren on 04/03/08 at 15:14:59

Hi all - just to add something to this thread - a note of caution regarding extended starting sessions on older models (4 speeders I thnk).

Spinning the engine over on the stater will rapidly deplete the battery -this could easily lead to the bike back firing when it does catch. This appears to be a common cause of damaged starter clutch gear.

I recently posted some questions about this on the forum and the general response suggested that backfiring when stopping the bike was the cause. As I did not want to spend a lot of money on a puller to get my starter clutch off I took the engine to my local Suzuki agent. The mechanic there had little experience of LS650 motors - its a bike that sells slower than pork chops in Jerusalem here in the UK but he knew all about this problem. It's not restricted to the LS either, apparently early Hyabusas can back fire violently enough to bend their crank on a weak battery.

Hey ho, something else to worry about then!

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by Savagegirl on 04/04/08 at 07:42:44

So what do you recommend to stop the back firing? I kinda like it! ;)

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by verslagen1 on 04/04/08 at 07:56:40

Backfires at shift and shutoff. Check for an exhaust leak, check the header and muff clamp.

Backfire at idle and shutoff.  Check idle pilot screw adjustment.

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by Darren on 04/05/08 at 10:51:36

The backfire you get when the starting goes fubar sounds more like a cannon shot. Not the nice popping and banging sound you get on the over run etc.

You'll recognise it if it ever happens - so will everyone else in the neigbourhood!

Title: Re: 2003 savage won't start, help?
Post by skrapiron on 04/05/08 at 17:27:34

Even after twiddling with the A/F mixute knob, I still would get the cannon shot from time to time at shutoff.

What I do now is pull into my parking place, put the transmission into neutral, put down the side stand, pull the choke out a notch and shut off the engine.

Since I went to a super rich mixture right before shutdown, the 'honey, I'm home' howitzer is reduced to a minor puff.  

I just have to remember to shut the choke off when I go to restart it.  (forgot once on the way home from work.  Bike ran like crap and I couldn't figure out why...)

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