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Message started by SugarBoogers on 05/28/16 at 03:41:07

Title: Introduction
Post by SugarBoogers on 05/28/16 at 03:41:07

I hope this is the place to introduce myself. I'm 59 and just got an '03 with 14k mi. after not riding for 30 years. Runs good! Put a new back tire on it and changed the color to high vis orange. The Jardine "muffler" one of the PO's put on it keeps the tailgaters away for sure. The header pipe has no bluing (but the "muffler" does) and the exhaust smells a bit rich I'm thinking. You don't want to breathe too deeply at a stoplight IOW. I think that means the carb was rejetted when they put the Jardine on. I'm going to look into packing the baffle with some fiberglass this weekend. I might even shove a wad of stainless steel wool up ahead of the "baffle." The exhaust note really has a crack to it rather than a rumble. If you are going fast enough, when you back off the throttle it backfires like a stock car.  ::) I might be in the market for a stock muffler.

My feeling is that although it sort of has high miles for a used bike compared to what you can get when you shop around, Suzuki is a great marque, and I'm not expecting a lot of trouble from the bike.

I'm 5'10" and wind up sitting right on my tail bone. Rides over an hour are a bit painful, so that issue will have to be addressed. The bike looks cool, but it just ain't comfortable. Also my first impression is it has too much rake. It's taking some getting used to.

But the motor is great and really chugs nicely. Once I get the comfort issue dialed in I should be good to go.

Oh and it vibrates way too much at highway speed. It's really good only for short hops between local exits. But around town speeds 50 and below are great. Lots of power. I find most back roads around here are best in 3rd gear, rarely 4th, and 5th is more like an overdrive.

Title: Re: Introduction
Post by engineer on 05/28/16 at 11:49:30

Great to see a new member!  I think you'll like the bike and this forum.  Many of us are older guys who used to ride and for various reasons got away from it for a number of years so you'll feel right at home here.

You mentioned returning to the stock muffler, you can do better and you can do it quite economically.  The Harley Dyna muffler makes a nice replacement that is lighter and sounds a little better than stock.  Harley guys are always pitching them out for something noisier and so they are cheap on Ebay and other places.  There are some good threads on adapting one to the Savage.

Also you mentioned the large amount of rake.  Many of us prefer less rake and we also prefer a softer shock on the rear so a common solution is to install longer and softer shocks in the rear.  The belt guard may need to be trimmed but that is easy.  A slightly larger rear tire also reduces that rake.  I think that altogether I lost 2 or 3 degrees of rake (can't remember offhand) and I like the handling better, quicker turns.

So good luck and as you make changes consult the index for the tech section of the forum and be sure to ask the guys here before you start. There are helpful people on this forum who are real experts at some of these mods and fixes.  How many miles on the bike?

Title: Re: Introduction
Post by Serowbot on 05/28/16 at 15:33:58

This seat lift goes a long way to fixing the monkey butt seat..
Cheap an easy... worth try...
Mine's raised 2" in the front...

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1109035237
http://suzukisavage.com/images/uploaded/savageseatmod.jpg

Title: Re: Introduction
Post by MarkHB on 05/28/16 at 17:20:19

Welcome! I'll echo every post extolling the helpful nature of the folks here; their advice has saved me a lot of time and $$ since I picked up my '07 used.

Safe riding!

Title: Re: Introduction
Post by SugarBoogers on 05/29/16 at 06:13:03


14k mi.




27252E252C252933400 wrote:
Great to see a new member!  I think you'll like the bike and this forum.  Many of us are older guys who used to ride and for various reasons got away from it for a number of years so you'll feel right at home here.

You mentioned returning to the stock muffler, you can do better and you can do it quite economically.  The Harley Dyna muffler makes a nice replacement that is lighter and sounds a little better than stock.  Harley guys are always pitching them out for something noisier and so they are cheap on Ebay and other places.  There are some good threads on adapting one to the Savage.

Also you mentioned the large amount of rake.  Many of us prefer less rake and we also prefer a softer shock on the rear so a common solution is to install longer and softer shocks in the rear.  The belt guard may need to be trimmed but that is easy.  A slightly larger rear tire also reduces that rake.  I think that altogether I lost 2 or 3 degrees of rake (can't remember offhand) and I like the handling better, quicker turns.

So good luck and as you make changes consult the index for the tech section of the forum and be sure to ask the guys here before you start. There are helpful people on this forum who are real experts at some of these mods and fixes.  How many miles on the bike?


Title: Re: Introduction
Post by SugarBoogers on 05/29/16 at 07:00:49


Serowbot, I've tried looking for this link and it's not working. Also I've tried searching and can't find it.




7D6B7C61796C617A0E0 wrote:
This seat lift goes a long way to fixing the monkey butt seat..
Cheap an easy... worth try...
Mine's raised 2" in the front...
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1109035237

http://suzukisavage.com/images/uploaded/savageseatmod.jpg


Title: Re: Introduction
Post by Serowbot on 05/29/16 at 07:13:55

My mistake, this should be right...

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1464432067/0

Title: Re: Introduction
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/29/16 at 08:23:02

Maybe I missed it, but, in case nobody mentioned it, at 14,000 miles, peeking in on the cam chain would be a good idea.

Title: Re: Introduction
Post by SugarBoogers on 05/29/16 at 12:26:58


Yes thanks for mentioning that. It is on my to-do list (more like a bucket list) for the bike.

Today I'm trying stuffing some stainless steel scrubbies into the "muffler" to quiet it down for my license road test. I've ridden by plenty of cops and haven't been stopped, but don't want to take a chance with the Registry po-po on test day.




77686E6974734272427A68642F1D0 wrote:
Maybe I missed it, but, in case nobody mentioned it, at 14,000 miles, peeking in on the cam chain would be a good idea.


Title: Re: Introduction
Post by batman on 05/29/16 at 12:51:19

If your looking at a stock muffler ZUK sells them new for $300+ the Harley muffler can be found for about $30 is 10lb. lighter , works better and is quite,(keeps the neighbors happy)welcome !

Title: Re: Introduction
Post by SugarBoogers on 05/29/16 at 14:28:11


Thanks yeah I'm looking into getting a pair for $25 locally.

I just stuffed 3 stainless steel scrubbies into the Jardine "muffler" ahead of the baffle and they blew out in 15 minutes.  ::) Was nice and quiet for a little while anyway but not long enough.




7D7E6B727E712B271F0 wrote:
If your looking at a stock muffler ZUK sells them new for $300+ the Harley muffler can be found for about $30 is 10lb. lighter , works better and is quite,(keeps the neighbors happy)welcome !


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