SuzukiSavage.com - Rebuilding after crash

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Rebuilding after crash
05/13/09 at 08:44:12

Hey all,

New to the forums. I have been looking over all of the nettiverse looking for information on rebuilding the Savage. And I came upon these here forums.

Background:
My dad has a 2007 Suzuki S40 (LS650). A stupid caged hit him while changing lanes. causing my dad to lowside and the bike slid on the left side and hit a lightpost. Now the bike is a wreck.

Damage:
- Front fork tubes are bent (as far as I can tell, the triple tree is okay)
- gigantic dent on the tank
- left rear shock is bent
- shifter is broken
- rider and passenger pegs are broken

So....
what can we do?
We want to do the work ourselves.

I looked at replacing with OEM parts. But I figured this would be a perfect change to create a personalized machine using non-OEM parts.

We are hoping for stuff that bolts on, or that bolts on pretty easily.

What can we do about the front end?

Can we buy any front end (triple trees and fork tubes) and it will fit into the savage?

Also what tank options do we have? Which tanks from other bikes fit the savage really well. I have been reading people on these forums use harley tanks, but they seem to have to do a lot of modification.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

BTW, if this bike ends up looking really nice, I am taking it from my dad. Grin

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Gort

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Re: Rebuilding after crash
Reply #1 - 05/13/09 at 09:37:03

If it were my bike, I'd be real worried about stress cracks in the frame and or welds. Even though you can't visually see frame damage, that doesn't mean there isn't any, especially around the other items that were impacted. This is one of the reasons reputable shops won't touch wrecked bikes, and part of the reason why insurance companies 'total' them, and why it is so hard to get a salvaged titled wreck, insured.

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marshall13

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Re: Rebuilding after crash
Reply #2 - 05/13/09 at 10:32:01

ebay is the source for the parts.... though the front end adds up kinda pricey.... Gort is correct, the list of damage to the bike at least makes it sound like there's gonna be some twisting involved.... id say either buy an unwrecked savage with a bad motor, or be prepared to buy a new frame..... hideous early models are usually pretty cheap, and the cost and a paintjob might be a few bucks higher than rebuilding would cost, but allows the confidence of knowing the frame is straight and solid.... you could get the frame magna-fluxxed, but that would be way pricey... leveling the frame on a bench, then dropping plumb-bobs could show if its twisted or not... id try that, and if i saw ANY evidence of twist, id take a sawzall to the frame, that way no fool later on down the road would build on it....

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chucklehead YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 8	Re: Rebuilding after crash Reply #3 - 05/13/09 at 10:51:40 Thanks Gort and Marshall, if I wanted to check if the frame is damaged or not, could a motorcycle shop check it? Or would that be too much hassle. Also, are there any other motorcycle frames that the savage motor can be put on? I was thinking on a yamaha xs650?
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Phelonius Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1897	Re: Rebuilding after crash Reply #4 - 05/13/09 at 15:04:40 I would say that your dad's bike is now a parts bike. Use the insurance money to get another. Try to buy the wreck from the insurance company and you will have a very good supply of parts. Phelonius
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Ed L.

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Re: Rebuilding after crash
Reply #5 - 05/13/09 at 16:33:08

Low sides transfer less energy to the frame than highsides. I would look at the frame and see if there is any sign of cracked or flaking paint. Also look for twisted or bent bolts. Cracked or flaked paint means that the frame got bent or twisted at that point. I would guess that the front tubes took most of the shock but look around the triple tree mount for damage. a savage is a light bike and doesn't have as much kenitic energy in an accident as a heavier bike. Less kenitic energy means less force on the frame when dropped. I've seen a savage go end over end into a dirt bank and be ridden away with busted off foot pegs . A simple check is to unbolt the two long engine mounting bolts and see if you can pull them out easily. If the frame has been racked out of square the bolts will take some work to remove. I don't think stress cracks could be a problem, if he hit hard enough to crack the frame the bike would be twisted enough so you would see it. The big question is how fast was he going before the accident?

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Silver '02, clubman handle bars, Cobra headlight, Sportster muffler, K+N stock air filter, 152.5 main, Superbrace, oil cooler, 1/2 inch aluminium plate forward controls, spark advance, goes like stink

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John_D FSO

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Re: Rebuilding after crash
Reply #6 - 05/13/09 at 19:01:18

marshall13 wrote on 05/13/09 at 10:32:01:

ebay is the source for the parts.... though the front end adds up kinda pricey.... Gort is correct, the list of damage to the bike at least makes it sound like there's gonna be some twisting involved.... id say either buy an unwrecked savage with a bad motor, or be prepared to buy a new frame..... hideous early models are usually pretty cheap, and the cost and a paintjob might be a few bucks higher than rebuilding would cost, but allows the confidence of knowing the frame is straight and solid.... you could get the frame magna-fluxxed, but that would be way pricey... leveling the frame on a bench, then dropping plumb-bobs could show if its twisted or not... id try that, and if i saw ANY evidence of twist, id take a sawzall to the frame, that way no fool later on down the road would build on it....

A possibly lower priced alternative to check for cracks would be dye penetrant testing. Not sure how much the supplies would run, but if you can follow instructions, and use a can of spray paint, you could do it yourself. The drawback is, for best accuracy, you'd have to have the frame down to bare metal. Of course the same would apply for magnaflux, or mag-particle. I used to work in a metal shop that did both mag-particle and dye-pen, the dye is by far the easier of the two.

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Gort

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Re: Rebuilding after crash
Reply #7 - 05/13/09 at 23:09:04

Okay Chucklehead, you are now seeing a variety of opinions concerning your question. May I suggest you ask yourself if it is worth it to take a chance with your safety by putting a wreck back into service? You cannot be sure whether or not stress cracks have started in metal by a visual inspection. That will only show you the large ones that have surfaced. Thats why magnafluxing exists, because the eye cannot see these minute, internal stress cracks. Once these crack start, as you subject them to the stress of riding, they will get bigger until they fail. You cannot accurately predict what lines of stress any vehicle suffers in a random accident. Again, thats why magnafluxing is used, and its not cost effective for your bike. Tell your family what answers you got on this thread. Ask them if they think you should put this wreck back on the road and ride it, when you can't REALLY be sure about the integrity of the frame. You have a long life ahead of you. Is it really worth gambling with your health and safety just to save $ trying to put a wreck back into service? If you had a child, would you let him do this?

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marshall13

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Re: Rebuilding after crash
Reply #8 - 05/13/09 at 23:38:07

chucklehead wrote on 05/13/09 at 10:51:40:

Thanks Gort and Marshall,

if I wanted to check if the frame is damaged or not, could a motorcycle shop check it? Or would that be too much hassle.

Also, are there any other motorcycle frames that the savage motor can be put on? I was thinking on a yamaha xs650?

if you put enough work into it, it can fit in lots of frames... but, a savage frame can be had for 100 bucks or less on ebay... ive seen them as low as 35 bucks, plus shipping, of course.... i dont think many of the jap twin frames will be an easy fit, because of the height of the savage motor.... could try a suzi gr650 frame, it appears very similar, and the gr has a monoshock.... but, they cost about the same on ebay, and i dont think id be happy if i bought it and couldnt use it... get a savage frame

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