SuzukiSavage.com - Hardtail savage

vroom1776 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 2110 Gender:	Hardtail savage 08/01/05 at 08:47:01 .
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bentwheel

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Re: Hardtail savage
Reply #1 - 08/01/05 at 10:53:02

Anytime you are fabricating new parts it is best to first make a template. Get some wood, this way you can make several cuts and holes to get the fit just right. I assume you have removed the fender rails and those annoying bolts from inside the fender? Also raise your tire pressure to 40 pounds during the mock up to give you a tiny advantage for clearance. Is your current tire the one you are going to stick with? Sometimes a change in tire, even though it is the same size will have slightly different dimensions.
Buy or borrow calipers to measure your bolt holes, then buy the correct metric drill bit. You will want a tight fit with no free play, especially if using aluminum. Keep us posted.

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Bentwheel FSO
2006 Suzuki 650 V-Strom
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vroom1776 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 2110 Gender:	Re: Hardtail savage Reply #2 - 08/01/05 at 11:00:53 .
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bentwheel Serious Thumper 2005 No Login Offline Ride free, citizen Posts: 658 Sarnia, Ontario, Canada Gender:	Re: Hardtail savage Reply #3 - 08/01/05 at 13:27:14 I would never recommend anybody ride at 40 psi, we've been through that before. What I mean is put 40 psi only during the mock up, then return it to 32 when you are ready to ride.
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vroom1776 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 2110 Gender:	Re: Hardtail savage Reply #4 - 08/01/05 at 13:45:05 .
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threezukes

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Re: Hardtail savage
Reply #5 - 08/01/05 at 16:34:19

bentwheel wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08:

I would never recommend anybody ride at 40 psi, we've been through that before. What I mean is put 40 psi only during the mock up, then return it to 32 when you are ready to ride.

Isn't the pressure suppose to be even lower on a hard tail to keep it from bouncing around? Thats what I heard, could be wrong though.

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WD

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Re: Hardtail savage
Reply #6 - 08/01/05 at 20:28:30

Okay, one more time...

To strut a Savage/S40, the easiest way to go is to buy a set of leaf spring shackles for a muscle car or 1/2 ton truck at your local auto parts store. Buy a brake cylinder hone to resize the bolt holes if needed. Use two shackles per side. If you are sure you never want to go back to suspension, gusset the struts to both sets of shock mounts, on both sides of the bike. And be ready to crack the frame or swingarm, the geometry is wrong for struts for highway use. If you want a true rigid, TheHorseMag dot com tech section will walk you through doing the conversion properly. Will entail a chain drive conversion...rear section gains 4-8 inches over stock length.

On a rigid, run the tire at 32 PSI maximum... I grew up riding rigid HDs. At full sidewall PSI, if you hit a cigarette butt, you are airborn. On a swingarm bike, run close to if not at sidewall PSI. Except for HD "Softails", that suspension ought as well be welded up solid, it's worse than a stock Savage shock set. IF your region has summer temps in the 90s or higher, go with the stock pressure recommendation on the frame neck or belt cover.
-WD

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vroom1776 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 2110 Gender:	Re: Hardtail savage Reply #7 - 08/02/05 at 08:12:27 .
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Bugscraper Full Member 2004 No Login Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 130 Gender:	Re: Hardtail savage Reply #8 - 08/02/05 at 20:10:57 You can drop the rear 4"; couple guys on Heise's forum did it w/no probs.
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sluggo

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Re: Hardtail savage
Reply #9 - 08/02/05 at 20:46:36

Bugscraper wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08:

You can drop the rear 4"; couple guys on Heise's forum did it w/no probs.

yeah one of them was an old fogey who only put like a few hundred miles on it before he removed them to sell the machine. the other looks to be a show bike. for a daily rider i would not do it.. for a show bike i would change it to a chain drive and make it a hard tail.. but i prefer to ride the thing.

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SINGLES RULE, HARLEYS DROOL

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WD

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Re: Hardtail savage
Reply #10 - 08/02/05 at 21:59:24

By the way, I'm talking about the $20 Pep Boys/Autozone/CSK/etc lift shackles. NOT stock shackles.

I'm 33 years old. Rode hardtails from age 15-25 or so. Between those, Boy Scout backpacking, and a degenerative joint/disc disease, I'll be lucky to not be in a wheelchair by age 45.

Yes, rigids will out accelerate, outhandle, and "out cool" a swingarm bike. If they are set up properly that is. A cheapo strut set? Um, no. On all counts.

I must be getting old...
-WD

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vroom1776 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 2110 Gender:	Re: Hardtail savage Reply #11 - 08/03/05 at 07:55:53 .
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sluggo

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Re: Hardtail savage
Reply #12 - 08/03/05 at 20:38:50

vroom1776 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08:

eh, it's my #2 bike. I just like to get itno trouble with it. I already rode the darn thing across the country. Now I got a V* to do so, and the savage is slowly getting chopped/ratted...

Show bike, no. Mean and hard to ride, yes... wait, isn't hard to ride a qualification for a show bike? rat rat rat

I just made drag bars for it last night, for $2.10. Boy do they suck to ride with... but they look cool, esp. the ends of the bars that I ground off to a point. Getting some cheapo risers off ebay...

WD.. thanks for the clarification.

glad you ride it hard, that's the way it's supposed to be.
the machine i saw had a "show bike" look to it. i'll try to find the photo to clarify.

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Bugscraper

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Re: Hardtail savage
Reply #13 - 08/03/05 at 20:50:57

sluggo wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08:

yeah one of them was an old fogey who only put like a few hundred miles on it before he removed them to sell the machine. the other looks to be a show bike. for a daily rider i would not do it.. for a show bike i would change it to a chain drive and make it a hard tail.. but i prefer to ride the thing.

1 was a guy who rides it all the time & did lotsa mods -- including a spring solo. BTW, I bought Hal's struts & sold 'em back 'cause I never used 'em.

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sluggo Serious Thumper ModSquad Offline big singles lead, twins follow the pack Posts: 4744 moses lake washington Gender:	Re: Hardtail savage Reply #14 - 08/03/05 at 22:01:16 Bugscraper wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08: 1 was a guy who rides it all the time & did lotsa mods -- including a spring solo. BTW, I bought Hal's struts & sold 'em back 'cause I never used 'em. i too went with the solo springer seat, i got mine from jon d.
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