Zook got her K&N drop-in today. Along with a de-snorkel and a re-jet to 152.5 main jetting.

Also installed my new front signals, to match the rears I put on months ago now. Long overdue, makes the bike really tight looking from the front, which was the idea. Drag Specialties "Custom Bullet Marker Lights" I believe is what they're called in the catalogs. Rather small, but just big enough to be legal. Sharp, old-school bullet-shaped lights.

She seems to be running like a whipped pup. Thank God for this site to show me how. K&N was simple enough. De-snorkel was just a pair of needlenose pliers and a hearty yank upwards. The re-jet was a bit more tricky. Revealed a stripped out housing for the carb bowl drain plug. When I unscrewed it to drain out the gas, the threads from inside the bowl came out with it. Re-tapped thanks to my stepfather and his multitude of tools, inserted a new (and non-metric, by the way   ) bolt in its place, and it isn't leaking. Yippee for home-fashioned repairs. There's no option to just buy a carb bowl through the local dealer. Imagine that.

Also removed some of the baffling on the old Honda CB500T can. It no longer has the annoying rattle it used to have, thank goodness.

Anyway, the winter season will bring on a change to S40 bars and risers as well as perhaps the dual-headlight I've talked so long about doing. Would like to experiment with the oil cooler ideas we've discussed here, but can't be arsed with my liimted funds to toy around with the reliability of the bike.

Stepfather says today, "You know, one day you'll want a new one."

And I thought real hard and said, after a lenghty pause, "but I might keep this one no matter what."

The Zook has spoilt me on singles. I will forever love single-cylinder bikes. And if indeed I do lust after another bike to have one day, I'd say it's the BMW F650-- also a 650cc single. Maybe one day I'll be rolling in funds and I can buy the Beemer to ride daily, while I chop on the Zook in my spare time and make a true minimalist chopper out of it. I've been thinking, as few parts as possible would be awesome to do. No fenders, side covers, airbox, etc.

But, in summation, what a day! I love my Zook.

Regards,
Banger
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I had the same problem with my carb bowl.  I just used a rubber washer and a larger bolt (cut down to size).  I know u can order a new carb bowl from www.ronayers.com  if its for the savage.  I wasnt sure which bike u were talking about when u mentioned the 550 muffler.  I also loved the bullet lights myself but I decided to just get clear lens for all 4 turn signals and the rear brake.  It was a great look for her before I sold her.  

I almost kinda miss her in a way.  But I cant deny that I would not want another one.   I enjoyed it while it lasted but she just wasnt built for safe highway handling.  I need speed and singles arent designed for dat.

Speed is relative.  Since most hiways are limited to about 70mph, there is only so much speed that is really usable.  If you go with a rocket bike, then in reality you will only be able to use about 1/2 of it's capability on most days.  You can certainly accelerate hard for a short distance for a few seconds ... that would be a real thrill for those few seconds ... but then you have to back off as the traffic ahead quickly gets close to your front tire.  
To each his own.  I like the torque characteristics of the big single ...  I like lots of usable torque.  I like tractors ...lots of torque there.  Anyway, my Savage accelerates quite nicely and goes fast enough for me.
I have flown enough jets, turbine powered props and helicopters that I do not need to ride a bike that feels like a turbine powered machine.  I like to feel the thumps.




Jim_R wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:07:

Well, I've had a couple days to commute back and forth to work down the local divided highway (65 mph) and I can officially say the running is much improved.

Midrange throttle response is phenomenal now, and Zook has no problems with trying to convince me to do extra-legal speeds. Followed a speeding car yesterday at 81 mph for a short time, and still had twist in the grip. I hypothesize she'll now hit the ton quite easily. Not that I'll try it, mind you.

All in all, I'd say the 152.5 main jet and the K&N filter really opens up the soul of the bike. This is the soul of all those old thumpers from the '50s and '60s-- the roaring British singles were among the baddest bikes of their day. Let your Savage breathe, give her a little bit larger straw to drink through, and you unleash a much-improved beast. You'll have no problems keeping up with the local wannabes, be they Harleys or Hondas.

But then, I never really had trouble with that to begin with. Maybe they will  be trying to keep up with me now!  

Regards,
Banger
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