SuzukiSavage.com - New Savage Owner!

cursal

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Daily Savage Rider

Posts: 175
Eugene, OR
Gender: male

New Savage Owner!
08/11/09 at 22:35:59

Hello Everyone!

My name is Brian and I have finally caught one of my dreams.
Becoming a Motorcyclist.
I took the Motorcycle safety class 10 days ago and finished top of my class on the range and in the class room. Was fun and felt great to be on bike..even the 250 Eliminators the set you up with.

First I would like to thank you to the owner of this website and forum. I have found it very helpful as I have ventured out in buying my first bike....guess what it is? Grin

A Suzuki Savage LS650P (yr. 1998)
It is in great shape, been well taken care of, looks new for being 11 years old and only has 10.5 k on her.

I had her checked out by a local mechanic ( he drag races motorcycles for a hobby after doing 20 years on the streets) who said it would be a great first bike and what I paid for it was 'great' price. $1700
She comes with
-leather saddle bags
-wind shield
-custom mirrors
-tachometer
-mini-stripe gas tank cover
-owners claimed to only put premium gas in her

I will post a pic later when the daylight come back.

Very exited to be riding.

Looking forward to sharing and leaning from what looks to be a great bunch of people here.

Next step is insurance and then taking her out and getting use to how she handles and then out to the coast of Oregon for first "long" ride.

Dreaming of the open road...
-Brian

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1998 Savage, 18,700 Miles, Wind Shield, Tach, K&N Airbox Filter, Leather Bags, CYCLE-TRON II Battery, verslavy cam adjuster, Kevlar F Pads Black.
Professional Web Developer: www.OregonPublishing.com

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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28644 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #1 - 08/11/09 at 22:51:39 Congratulations and welcome!.... We have a few members here from Oregon and Washington.... Ride safe, and watch out for deer!... Serowbot
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #2 - 08/11/09 at 22:54:17 Welcome! Sounds like you got one all dressed up & well cared for. How many miles on it?
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PerrydaSavage Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Riding "The Rock"! Posts: 3522 Republic of Newfoundland Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #3 - 08/12/09 at 00:23:27 Welcome abaord young Grasshopper, from an old warrior from the "Far East of the Western World"! The Savage is an addiction ... one we hope you won't want to kick! Ride Safe ... Ride Often!
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4carbcorvair Full Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 175 Maine Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #4 - 08/12/09 at 05:45:11 Welcome! I'm still consider myself a newb, even after having my s40 for over a year now. LOTS of GREAT information here. You've come to the right place.
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Duane Senior Member Offline Creatively Maladjusted Posts: 335 Terra Plane Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #5 - 08/12/09 at 06:45:19 Congrats, take some pics of your tach. I wish I had a tach on mine. Is your bike a 5 or 4 speed?
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danibugg Junior Member Offline Posts: 59 PNW Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #6 - 08/12/09 at 06:47:15 HW101! My destination for the weekend. See ya out there
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kimchris1 Serious Thumper Offline Pink Posse Rider... Posts: 2135 Belfair, Washington Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #7 - 08/12/09 at 06:47:34 Hi and welcome.. Enjoy your bike and keep us posted on your adventures.. I live in Wa State so don't forget the Wa coast. Also I recommend you riding up to Mt. St. Helens. That ride is awesome on the bike.. I am also a new S-40 owner as of 2 weeks ago, yet not new to riding.. Again welcome and stay in touch...
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cursal

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Daily Savage Rider

Posts: 175
Eugene, OR
Gender: male

Re: New Savage Owner!
Reply #8 - 08/12/09 at 08:24:26

Thanks for the warm welcome.

A question about when she starts....
Just after you push the starter button there is click from around the top of the engine area and it takes about one cycle or revolution before she starts.
Is this normal?
Is this a warning sign of some possible starting issues to come?

My Mechanic wasn't sure if that is model specific, but did say he didn't know either way. He says most bikes just start right up, no 1-2 second lag.
Your opinions?
How does your bike start up?

@justin_o_guy2 she has 10, 532 miles. Front tire is still stock, rear was replaced some time ago.

@Duane Is is a 5 speed and all gears smooth when shifting. Haven't made it to 5th gear yet Wink

will have pics later today of bike and Tach for all to see.

Full specs on the bike here: Mine is Black with green flecks in the paint though.
http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/suzuki_ls_650_p_savage_1998.php

@kimchris1 I would love to head up to Mt St Helens and that will happen hopefully before the weather gets to chilly.

@danibugg yeah have fun out there is weekend on 101. Sunday is supposed to be perfect riding weather here

This bike IS the transportation, year round. I will be riding daily, some for work, most for pleasure.

Safe riding is what I'm very focused on right now, practice, practice, practice. The class helped a lot..I still forget the blinker sometimes. Nice that it has a cancel button and not just the back and forth slider.

I did ride a little 80cc dirtbike back when I was in high-school around the ranch I lived on in Colorado, many years ago.

Ok will be heading out for some riding soon....more to come along with pics.

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1998 Savage, 18,700 Miles, Wind Shield, Tach, K&N Airbox Filter, Leather Bags, CYCLE-TRON II Battery, verslavy cam adjuster, Kevlar F Pads Black.
Professional Web Developer: www.OregonPublishing.com

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #9 - 08/12/09 at 08:40:06 There is a decompression solenoid up under the tank, thats the big "KLIKK" . I spose thats why theres a little delay in the startup, too. Also, its a single. A twin has a piston coming up on compression in 1/2 the time, so itll be fired right up with just a bump. We have to spin ours a bit longer to get the piston up on TDC.
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verslagen1

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will, I want to be
in it.

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Re: New Savage Owner!
Reply #10 - 08/12/09 at 09:15:03

cursal wrote on 08/12/09 at 08:24:26:

A question about when she starts....
Just after you push the starter button there is click from around the top of the engine area and it takes about one cycle or revolution before she starts.
Is this normal?

Normal
I had the decomp solenoid adjusted too loose for awhile. And she would fire immediately. But I wouldn't recommend it, too much strain on the starter when she stuck on a compression stroke.

Take a look at my sig line, it has the current status of my bikes. This way if I have a problem, I won't have to state what year my bike is, how many miles and what mods. Also have a general location listed, makes it easy for people in your area that might want to meet up with you.

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Versey's Place
Tech Section Index

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cursal

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Daily Savage Rider

Posts: 175
Eugene, OR
Gender: male

Re: New Savage Owner!
Reply #11 - 08/12/09 at 10:49:28

Cool good to hear that is all normal. I'll update my mechanic on that too, sure he would want to know.

Justin, thanks for the explanation "A twin piston coming up on compression in 1/2 the time". Make complete sense.

verslagen1, thanks for your tip about bike info in sig, great idea. Sure that will save me some typing time and help others help me Cool

Ok, mapping out some areas to go ride on. Taking the camera with me.

"see" you soon

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1998 Savage, 18,700 Miles, Wind Shield, Tach, K&N Airbox Filter, Leather Bags, CYCLE-TRON II Battery, verslavy cam adjuster, Kevlar F Pads Black.
Professional Web Developer: www.OregonPublishing.com

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cursal Full Member Offline Daily Savage Rider Posts: 175 Eugene, OR Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #12 - 08/12/09 at 11:43:15 Pics Still haven't made it out yet today. Friends want to visit and see the machine. I've been talking about getting a bike for years..so looks like an afternoon ride into hills.
Back to top	1998 Savage, 18,700 Miles, Wind Shield, Tach, K&N Airbox Filter, Leather Bags, CYCLE-TRON II Battery, verslavy cam adjuster, Kevlar F Pads Black. Professional Web Developer: www.OregonPublishing.com IP Logged

PTRider

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Posts: 397

Re: New Savage Owner!
Reply #13 - 08/12/09 at 12:26:04

Your bike looks good.

Check the age of the tires. The last four digits of the DOT code are the week and year of manufacture of the tires. If they're about five years old or more, seriously consider replacement. Some minor checking (cracking) in the rubber is probably OK, but if the cracks are circumferential or getting deep, new tires are needed very soon. Always keep the tires inflated to at least the pressure shown on the sticker.

Adjust the shocks to suit your weight. The original setting is on the second notch (first notch is softest). For my 200# plus riding gear I like the third notch. Your handling suffers if you hit either the top or bottom of the shock when riding over a bump. Adjust the handgrip position and brakes/clutch/shifter levers to best suit you.

Use a diesel engine 15W-40 or 5W-40 oil, or a motorcycle oil, or a top quality 20W-50 oil (not Castrol SynTec), but never an automotive 10W-40 oil. HifloFiltro oil & air filters are very good, much lower cost than Suzuki branded filters, and available (by special order) at just about any non-Suzuki shop. If the brake fluid is any darker than a very light amber, plan of a fluid flush at your next maintenance.

Our bikes don't need high octane gasoline unless they're very hot, especially long idling in hot weather or very hot riding. Regular is fine. High octane gasoline isn't better than regular--it is just more resistant to ping/spark knock/pre-ignition. Some brands may put more detergents in their high octane. Some brands put max detergents in all grades. Some brands put the EPA minimum detergent level in all grades.

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danibugg Junior Member Offline Posts: 59 PNW Gender:	Re: New Savage Owner! Reply #14 - 08/12/09 at 16:45:05 Hahaha! I looked at that same bike, back when they were asking way more for it. Found one closer to home (Albany), so I got that one instead. Lemme know if you are in the area sometime and want another rider.
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