Ok. I just bought my 2003 Suzuki Savage with high miles (29,000) for $900 because it was a deal I couldn't pass up. I assumed it would have problems but nothing I couldn't fix. Now I've had it for a couple of weeks I notice a tapping noise in the cylinder, I mean it sounds like the rods knocking but I have plenty of power, no problems starting, the bike doesn't smoke, but it's a consistent tap while idiling. I don't know if this is normal for these kind of bikes because I've owned all 2 strokes and with them I would pin point the problem with the obvious loss of power signs. Does anyone have a suggestion on what this may be?

The right side case would be off that thing before I started it again, unless the PO could show you the cam chain had been replaced & when. Check & adjust the valves, which sounds all spooky to someone without experience, but it's not that big of a technical challenge. No one who does it was born knowing how & I dont know of anyone who hurt their engine learning. If the cam chain tensioner lets loose & drops stuff into the crank case, it causes big time damage.
Sounds like you landed a great deal, even if it need a cam chain.

I just purchased my first bike, a 2007 S40 with 5,000 miles on it and also notice a tapping sound. Not having ridden before, I'd describe the sound like a sticky lifter in my car. I asked the dealership where I got the bike and they claimed it was pretty typical of this engine, but not to worry about it until I brought it in for it's scheduled maintenance. The bike seems to run really well otherwise. Bad advice from the dealer or different problem from the original post? (The bike came with a warrantee, so I suppose any problems will be taken care of, but it's be nice to know if the salespeople are simply full of it...)

Hey Verslagen, thanks for the input. I'll take a close look at what the warrantee covers, but on first glance it seems to only exclude regular wear items (tires, break pads, the belt) They charged an extra $500 for inspection and servicing of the bike before they resold it, but gave no detail of exactly what was done, (though I've heard rumors that dealers are required to put new tires on a used bike before reselling it for example) I'll ask them about service records as well, as they claim the bike was originally bought from them new, then traded in when the original owner wanted something bigger. (Lucky for me!) To float another question out there, the pipes are VERY blue. It that a sign of either misuse or mechanical trouble? (I know these bikes are all leaned out to the limit to meet CA emissions certification.)

Stuart-