SuzukiSavage.com - High mileage?

nemui_panda

Ex Member

High mileage?
07/13/06 at 07:21:29

Hi everyone. I'm new here. I'm looking into buying a '99 Savage 650.

The bike looks and sounds like it's in great condition. I got to take it for a few rides and I absolutely love it. The owner knows it inside and out and seems like a really nice guy. He even invited me on a road trip with his bike pack reguardless of if I buy his bike or not.

So anyways, my biggest issue is the bike has 21k on it. For the price, though, I don't think I can go wrong. I don't really feel like discussing specific numbers, but even for a 21 year old, I can afford it.

I grew sick of riding crotch rockets and this is exactly what I'm looking for..

So I guess my question is - if the bike was well taken care of, how long can I expect it to last? I don't really care if theres a million miles on it, as long as it operates like it should.

What do you guys think? Thanks.

ps: Yes I searched. "high mileage" yieleded nothing and "mileage" only showed me topics about gas mileage.

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luken

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Re: High mileage?
Reply #1 - 07/13/06 at 07:44:41

I ran into the same issue as I was looking around at bikes. After alot of research, I concluded that if a bike doenst last very long, its because it was crashed or dropped too many times. I found a few websites of people that had hundreds of thousands of miles on thier bikes. I looked into it more and what I found most was that you just have to take care of it, just like anything else, and it will last forever. This site is a great place for learning how to do that.

Good luck on the bike. Let us know what happens.

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Savage_Rob Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Mechanically Inclined Amateur Posts: 6972 Texas (Dallas area) Gender:	Re: High mileage? Reply #2 - 07/13/06 at 07:45:18 Though I don't have that much mileage on mine and can't speak to the validity, I've heard a number of reports of cam chain life expectancy being somewhere between 20K and 30K miles. You might try searching for that.
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nemui_panda Ex Member	Re: High mileage? Reply #3 - 07/13/06 at 07:55:06 Rad. I found what I was looking for. Is it hard to replace the cam chain thing? I don't have a ton of experience with working on bikes except changing my own oil and stuff. A friend of mine is a mechanic so I know I have access to the right tools. If it's inexpensive to do and I can do it myself, I'll jump on the bike. 8)
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rokrover

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torkenstein

Posts: 147
SoCal

Re: High mileage?
Reply #4 - 07/13/06 at 09:33:40

Yep, it seems the cam tensioner/chain would be the first "major" mechanical item to check/replace after 20K. This job I'd put in the "intermediate" mechanical skill category. "Easy" would be things like oil/filter change and "hard" something like splitting the cases to replace a gear (heaven forbid). Just have the Suzuki shop manual handy if and when you go for it.

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slavy

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Re: High mileage?
Reply #5 - 07/13/06 at 10:37:20

For me 20K are not a big deal if the overall condition of the bike is excellent. Start the bike. If there is a cam chain noise- You better concider cam chain R&R. It is no dificult, but requires some knoledge. You don't have to split cases or to do something weird. Just pull the head cover /pay attention to the bolt location/ , pull the right clutch cover and - there it is.

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stinger

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Re: High mileage?
Reply #6 - 07/15/06 at 04:10:39

mine is a 02 with 21,000 miles. most of my riding is 55 and above and i put lots of miles on in may. 5,000 plus. It still looks like its brand new and runs the same. i have checked the valves at 15,000 (forgot the 500 mile waste of money) and they are still in specs. i have no oil leaks. the belt is still in good shape. I think the trick to long engine life is changing the oil regulary, and not push the bike to its limits for a long period of time.

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Island_Biker Ex Member	Re: High mileage? Reply #7 - 07/15/06 at 06:43:14 Mine is an 86 with 44,000 km on her. I've only had her since April of this year, adn only put about 5k on, but so far she's doing fine. I really have no idea what may have gone wrong and fixed before - or what may break tomorrow. All I know is today she's running great.
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nemui_panda

Ex Member

Re: High mileage?
Reply #8 - 07/18/06 at 10:34:16

Just thought I would update. 8)

I am still trying to buy the bike. The current owner is insistant on putting a new rear tire on before I take ownership of it. Last night I saw him while I was stopping in for a coffee and he asked me if I wanted to take it for another ride.

So this time I took it up the highway. I'm going to have to get some goggles or something as around 65-70, the glasses he had started to move around due to the wind.

I have a full face helmet, but I would rather a turtle shell style one with glasses for this bike.

Hopefully by Thursday I will have some good news and perhaps some pics to post up.

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