See also Lancer's "Pics of Parts" thread in the marketplace.  Needs bigger valves.  He's working on it.  I'm guessing w/ a lot of head work, 97 mm, 2mm taller piston, reground cam, hot carb, hot exhaust, ceramic coated cyl, you could maybe get 65 ponies.  That's a lot.  One could also shave down the flywheel, depending on what you wanted, HP or torque (I believe that a lighter flywheel = less HP, more tq... not sure though).  It MAY be possible to stroke the engine, but I doubt it.  Oen might be able to get away with a 2 mm stroke, but that's it, and it wouldn't work w/ a taller piston.  Unless you had a brand new head designed and made... BIG $$$.  W/ the turbo or super, youy can really only run a couple of lbs w/o exploding the engine, I believe.  and as far as weight goes, -7 lbs = + 1 HP, roughly.  go on a diet.  Peopel have even talked about using titanium bolts for to save weight.  You could probably save about 5 lbs.  maybe.  Rip off the front brake.  Smaller and aluminum everything.  Marchensini (SP?) rims for about 1k $each.  narrower rear tire.... it never ends... until you start sanding down the frame.

steelwolf wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:06:



So, not only how fast can we make it, but how fast can we empty our wallets?  

a lighter flywheel is for more hp and a heavier one is more torque,thats why a 2 cylinder diesel tractor has a 200 pound flywheel.

the savage might hit 120 if u ported the head and had a custom conecting rod made,but i dont think it'd work.
dont waste your money on trying to make a single cylinder go fast,spend it on guns and girls

My top speed is 100km/h   Remember mine is a 400cc.

babbalou wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:06:


...Aaaaaand it's got a chain final-drive system. I've thought of this a lot, myself. Is it water-cooled? I've seen a number of dual-purpose and enduro bikes that are. This would make for a cooler-running, and thus more powerful, engine.

Wonder how easy (or difficult   ) it might be to transplant the DR650 engine into the LS650 frame...hmmm...

And right on with the thinner tires / lose weight thing. That's precisely the biggest gain for performance reasons, right there. But even if she weighs less, the engine will only rev so far in factory setup before she blows. Ported heads sounds costly and also sounds like a reliability issue, but since we're talking hypotheticals here, it'd likely help a little. I still think the chain drive gives you the easiest way to max your top speed for your given horsepower, so do that first and then tweak the engine to the maximum of your abilities.

Regards,
Banger
=======

I like a very efficient machine, one that runs well and is spirited feeling.  
The Savage seems to me to be limited mostly by the  head/valves.  It is designed to be an  easygoing economy machine.  Changing the carb and exhaust and cam are the easiest and least expensive things to do that make a significant difference in performance.  Throw in a good cylinder coating and it will PURR .  With these few changes and a fine state of tune, the engine will make enough power to make it to 100 or so with the stock gearing.  I do hope to get the head redone because that should help to release another 10 hp or so...at least that's my wild guess.  Anyway, with that added capability it might be able to pull 115-120 mph with a gearing change.
For me, I would just do a pulley swap to get the gearing up a bit, it would be the cheapest way by far to do it.
My personal goal is not top speed, I am just trying to make it as efficient as possible, which does result in hp and torque...but the most usable type.  I use top speed, or a 0-60 or 1/4 mile time as a way to measure progress.  
Just as important is the handling capability and that is where a fork brace and  heavier oil will improve the front end performance, or a complete replacement may be on order if you want the next level of performance.  Then too, the rear shocks need replacing very badly if you do any harder riding than very easy and slow cruising.  

and after melting my electrical... and hoping my ignitor is not broken... I was thinking about an aftermarket timing unit.  At present, there is no way to adjsut the ignition timing.

Jim_R wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:06:


Yup.  Those be my thoughts exactly.  Which is why I like to keep it hypothetical.  I'm spending enough keeping 2 bikes going, I don't need a third that I'd be completely rebuilding!

But man, it's fun to think about, isn't it?  Taking a bike that is really not intended for those speeds and making it capable of it...

I suppose if I wanted a fast bike, I would have bought a fast bike.  Instead, I have 2 cruisers.  But the challenge of making a 650 thumper go that fast...sounds like fun.  The building, engineering, and set up more so than the riding, I think.