So I have had my 1987 sauzuki savage 650 for roughly 4 months now and it has been a bittersweet experience.
When it runs its great, however there have been days when it would not. Initially when I got it, it ran well. Then after nmaybe three weeks it would not start,. I looked around for possible problems and got a new battery and changed the spark plugs and it ran well for another few weeks. Then it would not start again.
This time there was a leaky head gasket and I got that fixed professionally at Barnett's Suzuki at Raleigh. Since I went in there anyways I told them to take a look at any other issues and got my oil changed and all such other stuff. It was really smooth and ran extremely well for the next couple of weeks or so . And then one fine day without any warning it would not start. Since I had just gotten it looked at, I didnt mess around with it at all. I called up the guys and they said it had to be the dirty carbs, since I didnt really have any time on my hands, I asked them to do it for me. And it was back working again. This was a couple of weeks ago. I rode it on friday, no problems at all. It rained like crazy on saturday and hence it wasnt a great idea to go out, Tonight all of a sudden it wouldnt start. It was moderately cold here when I tried to start it (around high 30 to low 40).
So I dont really know what the problem is that it works like new for two weeks and then suddenly will not start without a warning.

When I brought it back after the first maintenance it had a much reduced backfiring, however after the second one it was crazy loud. However it seemed like it was much lesser after a few days..but still audible.

The mechanic mentioned that the bike needed a new petcock and it seemed like it was always on prime. I am not sure if that is true because a couple of times I have ran out of gas and the bike stalled off when in on, but on flipping it to reserve it was back to running.

This forum is my only true hope of finding a solution to this problem.

I had the same problem for a while when I first got mine. Turned out I had a load of rust/dirt in the tank which kept blocking up the carb etc.

It would be worth taking the petcock off and taking a look at the screen.

Unless your fuel line is freezing, (and froze on all the previous occasions), that doesn't sound like the culprit. Is the starter turning over? If not, is you battery charged? Are you getting fire to the plug? You can check by pulling the plug and looking for spark in the gap. Is the key and the ignition swith on, and are you in Neutral, holding the clutch in, and is your kickstand up when you try to start it? Are you using the choke? Also as previous posters have pointed out the issues with the petcock can prevent fuel from reaching the carb. A quik shot of starting fluid directly into the carb can tell you if it's a fuel supply issue. Some here are firm believers in running SeaFoam through the carb to clean it (jets, etc.). Good luck and try not to give to much of your money away to mechanics until you have exhausted the resources on this site. The Reference info, and the Old Timers here are sure to get you going, don't give up!

Looking inside the tank, It looks like there's no visible rust. I will take out the spark plug and have a look at it, but the spark plug was put in new less than a month ago.

Also is there anyone here close by...Raleigh,Durham or Chapel Hill, NC

desithug wrote on 12/06/09 at 23:26:29:



I can only fit one spark plug in.  

Hundreds of out of work comedians and I think I'm funny.  

Gaaaa ... the srinath is not the same as Javagal Srinath.

The srinath ... nearly as common in India as say John (more like Bill cos john is definetly sriram or srinivas)

King of romance, that I am ... oh yea ... the long line of women and all the roses and whatever ... yea ... easy to find the srinath's house ... just follow the women
Cool.
Srinath.

have you cleaned out the jets?

one question, are we positive the shop did what they said they did?

i worked @ a jiffy lube for a week, and if u were a repeat customer, they would only change your oil filter every other time, but still charge u....i couldn't work with such dishonesty, that and the only things the dudes knew about cars was where fluids went....heck, my girlfriend can do that lol

and look alot better then a 300 pound guy with his butt crack hangin out lol

now i'm a comedian !!!