Hey guys and gals, I just registered and wanted to ask for your advice on a road trip with a '03 savage from key west, fl to pittsburgh, pa...sometime in August.  The bike itself is all stock (I believe) and seems to run flawlessly with the exception of a slight head gasket leak that is more of an annoyance than a problem.  

Any hard earned lessons from life on the road with the savage would be helpful...as well as common problems I should be prepared to face (probably alone, at night, in the rain with a headlamp in the middle of nowhere.  heres hoping.)  

This site is really great, Im looking forward to learning as much as I can.  

peace and grease,
Josh

How many miles on the bike ?  You might want to pop the clutch cover and have a very good look at the cam chain tensioner. Make sure you have good tires and a fresh oil change.

How fast do you plan on cruising ? Anything more than a steady 70MPH is going to put some stress on the bike.

How much time do you have to get there ? Remember, you have to gas up every 100 or so miles, so plan ahead. I would suggest 3 days on the road ought to do it.

Good luck, that ride will certainly be a challenge, but if you're young, and up to it, it will be memorable (in a good way)

Hmmm? The infamous Head Cap Plug Leak was supposedly fixed with the 2001 model year with a re-designed Cap Plug ... as yours is a 2003 (as is my Savage), I'm very curious to learn more about your oil leak ... may be possible that the re-designed plug did not remedy the problem and now that +'01 LS650's are gettin' older, the infamous leak is showing up again?

Doesn't matter how they redesign the plug... Engine heat will cook it, making it shrink  bit. Savages shake, so it will get jarred a bit out of place. Presto! You now have the infamous head plug leak.

I let mine leak. I'll clean it off this summer when I change the storage oil. Gotta get it running again before worrying about aesthetics. Fix the leak? Why waste the money, it will just come back eventually.

That kind of trip on a stock seat? Better your behind than mine...
-WD

Ok basic personal details are as follows....im 26, the captain of a tall ship here in key west, and have been riding motorcycles for about a year and a half now.  This is my 3rd bike, before that was a 72 triumph daytona 500 and then a 76 honda cb550 four.  The triumph was stolen in boston (darn) and the cb I sold in pittsburgh...both ran pretty good.  I've had the opportunity to do some regular maintenance myself (front/rear tire removal, brake pad change, oil change, even took an old 86 rebel carb apart once which was a lesson in what NOT to try yourself) but my expierence is limited.  So, with a good tool kit in hand and the clymers manual, plus another good book on motorcycle maintenance, AND if worse comes to worse roadside assistance with progressive, I feel prepared to tackle this trip.  
Now, the trip is not just to get up to pittsburgh, but to see more of the country I live in.  So time really is not an issue.  We're talking 2 weeks or so...meaning that highway driving isnt what I have in mind.  Backroads, local roads and incidently those cool roads they suggest to pedal bikers when they want to bike across the US.  Thats the name of the game in my opinion.  Take my time, enjoy the country, meet new people, don't die.  Not really in that order.  
The bike just hit 20k and has been in the shop as recently as 4 months ago with a complete checkup, new tires, new oil filter and spark plugs.  Not quite sure if the seat is stock, but it's wide and comfortable and i'm up for it (considering i'll be on it no more than 200 miles a day, at least thats the plan.)  

The truth is much of this trip isn't planned out to a T, it's just going to happen...But the more I can learn about the bike before hand, the happier I will definatly be.  

By the way, im planning on camping out using a hennessey hammock.  Anyone ever motorcycle camped with one?  They look SWEET.  

I'm not talking about major mods to make trip more enjoyable/bearable (Like a new -say harley - seat) but a seat lift mod may help. check tech section for how to do it.

doing things  like a new muffler for more power only leads on to changing carb (rejetting) etc - save it for down the road after trip

Around 200 miles a day for two weeks on a stock Savage. Ouch.

The good news is at 26 you will recover fast.

The not so bad news, 4-5 hours/day on the MC travelling (includes stops) will leave you plenty of time for the other stuff.

If I had to do it, I'd pop a couple of Advil before starting out in the morning.

Did I mention rain gear?

Hammocks are nice. Some parks I've camped at don't want you to tie anything around their trees though. You want to plan that and gas stops carefully, unless you want this to really be an adventure...

Just out of curiousity, why Pittsburgh?

WD wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:


I'm living proof you can't fix the plug. My fix didn't last hardly anytime. I blamed myself and its just a design flaw. I'll be da*mned if I waste the time again. leak on savage leak on....