SuzukiSavage.com - To wrench or not to wrench

tjhart

Ex Member

To wrench or not to wrench
02/26/06 at 15:42:14

Yeah - I know - I don't even own one yet - never even ridden a motorcycle before, and ALREADY I'm trying to figure out if I should consider doing my own maintenance. Well why not. Tongue

I figure this year I'll mainly concentrate on learning to ride the bike as is. But if that goes well, I'll need to occupy my time this winter getting ready for next year's ride. Grin

I currently do not have a garage or carport. My tools are limited to a little black & decker portable work bench, a Craftsman socket set, a cordless drill, and a few screw drivers.

I've successfully changed a starter, battery, spark plugs, oil, oil filter, brake cylinders (with help), u-joint (with help), and distributor cap on a car. I can't really say I enjoyed doing any of those things. In some cases, I goofed up enough and had to re-do it enough that it actually cost me MORE to do it myself than go to a mechanic. Embarrassed

. Of course, in those cases I was working on my only ride, so when I goofed up, I got SERIOUSLY distressed thinking about the fact that I couldn't get to work, and how would I get to the hardware store to buy the tools/parts I needed THIS time

So I'm reading all these posts about white spacers, pulling a brass plug to get to a mixture screw, soft carb screws that strip easily, and all the troubles people have reassembling their carburetors, and I'm thinkin' "Do I have a chance in hell of successfully making any of these mods, much less doing them without it costing me an arm and a leg? Will I kill my cool Savage if I even try to do these things?"

Insecurities aside, how tricky/hard is this stuff? How much time do you guys invest in each of these popular mods? What kind of specialized tools do you have?

Tim

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USCG Cremeans

Ex Member

Re: To wrench or not to wrench
Reply #1 - 02/26/06 at 16:00:23

ok well im only 18, got my savage last fall from my boss at work for a trade off. I painted the building he gave me the savage that had been sitting around for 8 years or so. Its an 87 and myt knowledge of cars and engines before this started with pedals bikes then my truck and then my car.

Ive changed tires, water pumps, thermostats, rotors, drum brakes, body work, installed audio systems, window tints, and all the other things me and my friends needed to do to our cars...

On the savage, i learned real fast. Last fall the first thing i did to the bike was attempt to take the header off... broke a bolt into the block and that started it all haha
a buddy helped me drill it out and re-tap since in my attempts to remove the bolt i broke an easy out inside of it! haha well from then on i learned how to be careful with bolts and screws and if they dont move dont force them, there are ways to get them to go. usually.

Over the last two weeks is when ive learned the most, I have taken the bike almost completly apart, the engine is out right now and i just put the rear back together. Ive painted it and polished and replaced many parts. Also im fixing the little things ive found wrong..

On the topic of carburators, i found that between this forum and actually taking it apart and seeeing how it works has helped me the most. Im really surprising myself at how much i am able to do with this project. I was cleaning the main jet and the pilot jet and within another 10 minutes i had done the white spacer mod with no trouble at all! It's really all simple when you get down to it. I don't know motorcycles as well as a lot of the guys/girls on this site, but i bet you couldn't beat the simplicity of the savage. And if you have any issues (as i have had a few) there are plenty of voices here ready to speak out and lend a hand, im actually starting to be able to help others because im learning so much and i just took my whole bike apart.

On the subject of tools, i took the entire bike apart with a crafstman 162 peice mechanics set. Could have done the same with a 10 piece set.. almost. I only really needed a few metric size sockets and a screw driver here and there. The only specialty tool i bought, not even a specialty, but something to make my life easier, was a 6mm socket allen wrench fitting.. i had the normal allen wrenches but in the process of taking out the engine mounts near the battery i needed more torque. Im sure you won't get to the point where you take your engine out, but if you do, by then you will most likely have learned a lot that it wont be so bad.

In my opinion, i think you will be fine working on it, almost amtience free and these mods (mostly carb related) are incredibly simple once you get to know the carburator itself. Also you should be fine with a few tools, i doubt you will need to go furnish an entire garage to get work done on it. I don't have a garage as well and have done most of the work on warm days, but recently pulled the bike in the basement to do the engine work.

Good luck with your bike (when/if you get it)
I'm sure you will do fine, and the most fun of all is learning more about the bike and how it works, by doing this you will also understand it a lot better when you ride it and learn to ride!

Most importantly, Be Safe and Have FUN!

-Jesse

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USCG Cremeans

Ex Member

Re: To wrench or not to wrench
Reply #2 - 02/26/06 at 16:11:14

ps: if you do work on it, just be patient and find ways to remember where everything came from that you removed. There are great diagrams for almost all assemblies on the bike at bikebandit.com and ronayers.com also you could get a clymer manual that will help, but i haven't gotten one and so far haven't needed it.

Good luck!

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Capt. Sam

Ex Member

Re: To wrench or not to wrench
Reply #3 - 02/26/06 at 16:43:09

Ok to wrench or not to wrench.

I started wrenching on a vespa some 40 years ago.
I had to because I was 10 yrs old and couldn't find a clutch cable anywhere that would reach from the clutch lever to the motor in the rear so I cut a slot in the floor board and made a suicide clutch arrangment that worked.

After many cars , street rods, bikes, motorcycles and boats I couldn't imagine paying someone else to do the work on my machines.

I also became a diesel mechanic by trade for my first career for some 20 yrs that payed for raising my family and first house.

Don't worry about a few mistakes you will get better as you go and will be so much more independent as you get better with tools. Take your time and be safe, protect your eyes ect, and have fun.

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Savage_Rob

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

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Mechanically
Inclined Amateur

Posts: 6972
Texas (Dallas area)
Gender: male

Re: To wrench or not to wrench
Reply #4 - 02/26/06 at 18:01:03

In general. wrenching is therapeutic for me. Not that there aren't times I wind up cussing almost anything involved but those aren't common. Besides which, it saves me money and I feel better prepared in case of emergency on the road.

On the subject of remembering how everything goes together, there are a number of helpful ways. For example, when doing the head seal/plug mod there are a fair number similar but not identical bolts to remove. You can print the bolt diagram (enlarged to a full page) and tape it to a cardboard box. Then you push the bolts into the appropriate holes on the diagram as you remove them. Afterward, it's a piece of cake to get them in the right place. That was a suggestion from someone else on the board (Greg650, I think) and works well. One of my favorites is to take pics with a digital camera along the way. The you have a reference to put it back together.

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USCG Cremeans Ex Member	Re: To wrench or not to wrench Reply #5 - 02/26/06 at 18:19:56 greg650's posts/ pictures and my own digital camera have saved me a lot of trouble in my reassembly
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Paladin.

Serious Thumper

Offline

Hamster

Posts: 4929
Sunny Southern California
Gender: male

Re: To wrench or not to wrench
Reply #6 - 02/26/06 at 22:38:52

tjhart wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:02:

Yeah .... I'll need to occupy my time this winter getting ready for next year's ride. Grin

I currently do not have a garage or carport. ...

I've successfully changed a starter, battery, spark plugs, oil, oil filter, brake cylinders (with help), u-joint (with help), and distributor cap on a car.....when I goofed up, I got SERIOUSLY distressed thinking about the fact that I couldn't get to work....

There are advantages to not having a year-round riding season. You can take the time to work on your bike. And as a recreation/backup vehicle you are not grounded while the bike is non-running.

If you have the yard space, an 8'x10' yard shed would make an excelent motorcycle garage/workshed.

If you managed to do that much work on a cage, the bike will be a piece of cake.

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Hammy211

Ex Member

Re: To wrench or not to wrench
Reply #7 - 02/27/06 at 03:58:45

For what a mechanic would charge you to change the air filter, rejet, white spacer, muffler ect. You'd have to mess up pretty bad. Just plan on stripping a few screws. Might as well save a trip and buy the stainless allens right away. This stuff stuff you have mentioned really requires no mechanical knowledge, just a little patience. Save the mechanic money for something that's over your head.

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USCG Cremeans Ex Member	Re: To wrench or not to wrench Reply #8 - 02/27/06 at 07:22:58 whats an 8x10 tent thin cost?
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Paladin. Serious Thumper Offline Hamster Posts: 4929 Sunny Southern California Gender:	Re: To wrench or not to wrench Reply #9 - 02/27/06 at 15:44:57 USCG Cremeans wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:02: whats an 8x10 tent thin cost? I was thinking more along the lines of a graden shed.
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tjhart

Ex Member

Re: To wrench or not to wrench
Reply #10 - 02/27/06 at 15:55:14

I have one of those. Slightly larger I think. Stuffed to the gills with kids yard toys, camping gear, and yard tools. It definitely needs reorganization, but even with that, there's no electricity, and it faces south, so no direct sunlight. With no ventilation, it gets awfully hot in the summer.

I can set up my little workbench on the back patio if I need to. That's what I do for other small projects. I just don't know how much time/space would be needed to do some of these mods.

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USCG Cremeans Ex Member	Re: To wrench or not to wrench Reply #11 - 02/27/06 at 16:12:15 hmm maybe ill have to buy one of those..
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