Your bike looks awsome. I was just talking to a friend lastnight about what I want to do to my 04 Savage and what I see today in your bike is just what I explained yesterday. Very nice bike.

Just a few questions.
1. Are the saddle bag supports from suzuki or are they custom?
2. What year is your S40?
3. Is that the stock seat and did you trim it down?
4. Where did you get the tail light and rear turn signals and were they hard to install?

P.S. I don't know if you forgot but you also have a set of Ed L.'s forward controls.

Crap!  Sorry Ed!  I forgot a close-up of your awesome FC.  

Mohawk, it's an '06.  I trimmed the seat down.  I removed the cover and foam.  The plastic seat pan has many valleys and humps- just flip the seat over and you'll see what I mean.  I squirted expanding foam over the seat pan.  It expanded and filled in all of the valleys.  Once dry, I took a hacksaw blade and simply cut through the foam, letting the blade ride across the humps.  In doing so I also cut the indention in the seat pan that accomodates the space for the rectifier (i had already moved the rectifier).  The result is a super flat, solid seat pan.  I covered this with thin but very dense foam and reused the stock seat cover.  I love it cause I feel like I'm riding in the bike and not on the bike.  On the stock seat I felt like I might flip over the handlebars were I to hit the front brake too hard.  
 
The saddlebag supports were left over from my M50 and include only the vertical sections.  The spacers from the fender to the supports and the bolts in them came from a local Lowe's store.  The rear fender is more than solid enough to support bags.  

Regarding the tail light, when you remove all of the stock stuff you'll find a wonderfully solid bracket inside and towards the back of the fender.  It can be used to mount any kind of custom bracket.  I made a custom bracket that holds the tail light, turn signals and tag.  Taking that big light off of the rear fender really cleans it up.  I had the all the holes from the stock light and fender supports welded closed and the fender reapinted.  I lowered the rear fender by using 3/4 inch spacers between the fender and where the frame.  It's about a 1 1/4 drop at the very back tip of the fender.  It gives the illusion of the bike being lowered without sacrificing any suspension.

Simon, I rarley ride with a passenger- maybe 3 times in the last 3 years.      

bluesavage218 wrote on 01/26/09 at 14:10:38:


I just went back and added some of the detail to the previous post.  When I get home I'll write up a more detailed version.

bluesavage218 wrote on 01/26/09 at 14:10:38:


Maybe this will help:





If you have small hands and some patience, you could probably do this mod without removing the wheel.  I did it one time like that.  Remove the seat.  Jack the bike up til the rear tire is off of the ground.  Look inside the fender and find the four bolts that hold the fender to the frame.  Reach in with a 12mm wrench and remove one of the top bolts.  Take that bolt to a hardware store and find another similar metric bolt that is 3/4 to 1 inch longer.  Get 2 of them along with spacers that the bolt will go through.  When back at the bike remove the other top bolt.  Next, loosen the two bottom bolts a little but don't remove them.  Back them out maybe a half inch.  Now, reach in between the fender and upper frame support and put the spacer in between the fender and frame, sliding one of the new longer bolts through the inside fender hole, the spacer and into the frame threads.  Screw the bolt into the frame just enough til the threads catch.  Do the same with the other space and new longer bolt.  Tighten all four fender bolts and you're done.  It's pretty tough to get in there like that but it can be done.  

The other time I did it was when I removed the rear tire.  Then it's a breeze.  Also, if you ride a passenger a lot and want to be sure the bolt is correctly torqued, you need do it with the tire removed.  I simply tightened them as tight as they were when I removed them.  

The seat/seat pan will flex enough to still get the allen bolt screw in where it secures the seat to the frame.  It's a tight fit the first time you do it.  I wouldn't go with a 1" spacer.  

This mod gives a similar look of a bike that has been lowered some without losing function.  There's a pretty good bit of space inside the fender above the back tire than the suspension will allow the tire to move.  You could probably do even a 1" spacer.  However, if you are concerned about this, maybe because you ride a passenger, try the 3/4" or even the 1/2 inch if it makes you feel better.

Total cost- about $3.

very sweet.  Nice clean lines..the way a bike should be!  

Oh, one other nice side effect to the rear fender mod if you use saddlebags connected with a yoke like mine.  By lowering the fender it makes the area where the saddlebag's yoke lays across the rear fender more horizontal so it's easier to install bags straighter if thats how you prefer them.

Diamond Jim,

That bike looks awesome, real nice job man.