Been sick for about a week, but I'm finally getting back around to posting some more on this project:
This is one reason why the axle bolt should go through from the LEFT side:
That is unless you LIKE pulling your exhaust to pull the rear wheel!!! Personally, I put it back the way the Suzuki service manual shows it, and the way two different shops put it back in on two different bikes when replacing the rear tire. I think there's a legit reason why it goes in from the left, and I think I know why. Anyone else care to venture a guess?
BTW, SevierSavage was right, if you loosen all the muffler and header mounting stuff up and wiggle it around some; you'd be surprised how much room you can make without cutting anything. I finally got it looking like it might be alright on the right side. BUT THEN... of course I ran into more problems... on the LEFT side:
I'm not sure even re-installing the 17 tooth front sprockt (which was too high geared for my liking) will make the chain clear the swing-arm; unless I also go up to a 45t or 47t on the rear to make more room (and get my gearing back down where it should be anyways.) Of course then I'd get to spend another $70 or so on another cheap o-ring chain; since this one is going to be too short if I do that.
I didn't really like how the 12" shock was jacking the rear up so high anyways.
Notice I said 12" and didn't add the 1/2"? That's because I've realized that none of these shocks I've been working with are the 11-1/2" and 12-1/2" I thought they were:
Here's one of the shocks I've been replacing:
About 11" center to center.
And the Progressive:
Closer to 12" than 12-1/2"
And look how short the one's on my "chopper" have been cut down:
I keep the short ones on the highest preload setting, and they almost never bottom out; and it doesn't ride bad either.
Looks like I may scrap the whole tall shock thing on the "road bike" and save them for a planned enduro/track bike version Savage. Notice I've got the old purple 87 kind of set up that direction in the pictures in my sigfile. I'll really need a chain conversion on whatever bike ends up being more rugged off-road use oriented anyways. And that bike should also be one of the 5-speeds, not a 4-speed.
Hmmm... I can see it coming now. the old low-mileage 87 ends up being the "road bike;" and the current "road bike" becomes the "track/enduro" bike with those tall shocks; some low gearing (big sprockets) with the chain drive, and some long travel fork tubes from a dirt bike. Gonna have to chop at least 5º of rake out of the frame at the steering head to make it handle decent.
Like I don't have enough projects going around here at the homestead as it is.
Hey... Anybody wanna give me about $5k for three good running Savages; and a half a garage full of spare parts: 3-4 good extra seats, both solo and double; 5-6 extra sets of handlebars; 3-4 spare exhaust systems; extra shocks and a 3.8 gallon GZ250 tank that shouldn't be too hard to fit to a Savage? All bikes combined only have about 32K miles on them.
Then I could just go buy me a Kawasaki Versys or a Bonniville Scrambler and just stop all this freakin' tinkering...
I started off kidding as I wrote that, but now it sounds like a pretty good idea!