A month ago I purchased a 2000 savage with 7400 kilometres on it, and in great shape.  I have put about 1000 kms. on it, and it runs quite nicely, although it does backfire if I throttle off quickly, and when I shut off the bike.  Yet, the more familiar I get with it, the more I can anticipate and prevent the backfires for the most part - other than shutting it off.

I am the forth owner of this bike, and someone along the line put on a jardine exhaust pipe.  So, I have a few questions:

1)  How do I know if the carb needs to be jetted etc. due to the jardine exhaust, and whether any previous owner did that?  The main pipe is slightly discoloured, and the section of the jardine that attaches to the main pipe is a bit blueish.

2)  Is there any difference in getting suzuki saddle bags, an engine guard, and a windshield, as opposed to aftermarket parts in terms of how well it will fit on the savage?  
I bought the bike from a custom bike dealer, who happened to be selling it for a client, but normally sells quite radical custom bikes.  He ordered me the parts I just mentioned in his aftermarket catalogue, but the saddle bag supports are back-ordered and I'm now wondering if I should have just gone to a suzuki place and ordered stock parts.  The parts are taking forever to arrive, and I was hoping to have them on asap.

3)  I have put on a K&N oil filter, and K & N air filter on the bike too - in place of the stock ones.  Are there any concerns with using these filters?  I seem to have read here that some people changed things after putting in this filters(?)

Thanks for answering these questions.  I have enjoyed visiting this site, and getting some great info. on suzuki savages!!!!

DianeS  (from Ontario, Canada - on her 2000 savage)

Hi DIane,

Welcome. I'm pretty new at this, too. I've only had my Savage a few weeks.

There's a lot of good information on the forum.  The answers to some of your questions might be found by searching the posts or looking through the thread in the tech forum.  

I might be able to shed some light on first question.  Apparently the Savages came from the factory backfiring all the way.  The carburetor was set to a lean mixture to meet emissions standards.  Unfortunately, it's so lean that in certain situations (like rolling off the throttle suddenly), that the engine misfires.  That is, the fuel does not ignite and gets exhausted without being burned.  The fuel collects in the exhaust and when the engine fires the next time, it ignites causing a backfire.  The exhaust bluing indicates the engine is running hot because of the lean mixture. From what I've read, the solution for this problem is to adjust the idle fuel mixture for a richer fuel mixture and modify a spacer on the jet needle in the carburetor.  This is described in this thread:
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1104205157.

I think the Jardine exhaust is a high flow muffler.  I'm sure the K&N filter decreases resistance to airflow.  Together, the airflow through the engine should be higher than stock which will also cause a lean condition.  The solution for this is to install a larger main jet.  The previous owner may well have re-jetted the carb.  


Steve

   

Looking at the info, You are not in the US. In case like this, You should not take the numbers , that You see here like cast in stone. Most of us ride US model Savage and the carb settings are different. I am sure everybody will willingly help, but first we have to know what model is the bike so we have an info what are the stock numbers.

Thanks for all of your info!  

I guess I'll have to take a look at the carb to see if it seems to have been jetted, like you said.  This is my very first motorcycle, so I've only had some parts off of it at this point.  Yet, I have the Clymer manual, and my husband is willing to help me too. (He's not a biker, but is handy with tools)

The bike is a 2000 LS650 P made in Japan with a Canadian sticker on it, but my registration says it's an LS6.  Not sure if the 6 is a misprint or what???

As for the saddle bags, I commute to work an hour each day, so I need something to keep my things in.  So far, I've used a backpack, and just travelled as light as possible.  

Oh, I'm only 5'3", so having enough leg room isn't an issue - I just thought the engine case guards would help protect the engine(?).  I now understand I can put higway foot rests on them too.

DianeS.

As an avid biker for the last 35 years of my life, but also as a relative newbie to the various biker forums, I'm a little confused as to the concern over blueing/discoloration on motorcycle exhaust headers.

I've always thought it was normal.  You should have seen the headers on my (since sold) '92 BMW R100RT.  They were a beautiful cobalt color.  They were also single walled pipes.  The main reason that some pipes stay clean is that they are double-walled pipes.  Exhaust heat will discolor chrome......not a problem.

I love the golden color of my Savage's (stock) header!

i agree I love my gold header


it sure beats black bbq paint previous owner did.

My header just turned a rather nice honey hue and my MAC muffler seemed to be doing well too... until I used header wrap, that is.  Then the front section of my muffler blued in a couple of weeks.  After removing the wrap, I found my header had also blued tremendously while wrapped.  That was when I blackened them.  I've since decided I really like the black look.

DianeS. wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:12:

Diane, have a look at the bags the Suzuki dealer sells for the LS650 or S40 (Suzuki brand). They're small, easy to install, and don't require moving the tail lights. You just remove the pillion seat, lay the bags over the fender, and reinstall the seat.