Re: I am curious too.
Reply #21 - Today at 07:04:10       Savage_Rob wrote on 05/16/06 at 06:04:14:
You can certainly adjust the low (pilot) and mid-range (needle/white spacer) without rejetting.  Not rejetting will simply cap your high end.

Back on 05/14/06 Brewbrother posed some questions about carb mods. Essentially, he was looking to reduce engine operating temps in order to protect his engine. Savage Rob gave the above response. There were others, all very informative,  but that one really struck a cord. I'm not interseted in improving performance. I like the performance I'm getting. I do; however, want to protect and extend the life of the engine.

So how did all that turn out? What did Brewbrother eventually do; and should I do the same? I want this bike to last, and heat kills engines. I've got an '08 S40. I'm sittin just shy of 1,000 miles, and I love this bike just the way it is. It's got plenty of get up and go for me, it only occasionaly needs half choke to get it started first thing in the morning (and that only for about a minute or less), great acceleration, the fastest I've ever been on it was a BRIEF period of 85mph, with throttle to spare. It will, on RARE occasion, when the engine is cold and the humidity high, give a faint backfire when I roll off the throttle. It does a slight pufffft on shut down that can't be heard if you're not standing very close to the bike. It does have a VERY slight lag in the 45 - 50mph range, and I've noticed just a hint of faint gold on the pipe at the heatshield.

Now all that said, if I DO need to perform some mods to save the engine from premature death, which ones do I perform? Bear in mind, I'm not interested in breaking the ton, I don't need more top end speed, I don't want it to sound louder (I like the sound: and if I ever take the badging off the bike, I'm going to replace it with
Tecumseh or Briggs&Stratton  ) so I won't be replacing the exhaust. I change oil frequently (it's had four oil and filter changes since purchase), and I plan on converting to synthetic after 2000 miles. I may even put in a magnetic oil plug, but I digress.

Full disclosure, I am not a tinkerer (sorry Lancer). I will wrench, but I prefer to ride. However, if it will save the life of my ride, I will get the toolbox out. So group, what mods do I have/need to make in order to preserve my beloved ride from the heat?

Seriously, if the heat is a problem I want to fix it. Most of the tech advice in here is for wringing more performance out of the Savage. I just want to protect it. Please advise.
Thanks,
Jay

Just a hint of gold is absolutley nothing to worry about.  You don't need to do anything.
Keep in mind Guzzy's and Beemers are famous for bluing pipes, and equally famous for longevity.  In their case and ours, the discoloration is more a product of pipe design than bad running.  You have to judge these things based on the bike you ride.  Some bikes have much thicker pipe walls, double or triple walls, and often times when you see pipes they are not actual pipes but chrome heat shields that run the full length of the real pipe (look closely at a 650 v-star sometime).
BTW, mine is blue black for nearly a foot and I'm not worried at all.  It's jetted just fine, but I ride her pretty hard sometimes and I also ride through extreme weather and elevation changes (that will blue the cr*p out of pipes!).
So don't worry, be happy!

At least raise the needle ( personally I'd remove the spacer all together since this was just a kneejerk fix to stay within EPA) and rejet the main to 150. You could also put in a K&N slip-in filter.Then adjust the idle (after removing the plug of course) Your bike will thank you for it cause these small mods will cool the exhaust valve. You can put synthetic in it now.

barry68v10 wrote on 05/26/08 at 13:07:38:

I think that if I couldn't split lanes and I where caught in grid lock, I'd be looking for a pickup truck, give the guy a wink and a wave, grap hold of the bed to get a tow and shut down.

I would like to be richer,and a little leaner.Oh,wait we're talking carbs.