SuzukiSavage.com - Best $100 performance upgrade

littlefights

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Best $100 performance upgrade
07/12/10 at 07:12:53

I've got a little extra cash and a long weekend coming up, so I'm looking for the best $100 performance upgrade project that can be completed in that time frame. I've got an '86 Savage with an Emgo muffler and I rejetted at that time - main jet 155, pilot 50 w/ bleed holes. I still have the stock air-box. I recently got new tires and have a 140/90-15 rear.

I was considering either taking out the air-box and switching to a cone or a chain conversion. Or whatever other ideas anyone has to offer! I'm basically looking for a little more grunt off the line and maybe a bit higher top-end for around town, but I don't do any highway riding so a comfortable cruising speed of 70mph isn't important.

What will the air-box change do for me performance wise (I know I'll likely have to rejet)? I probably need to rejet anyways - since moving to NC I've picked up the backfire again.

Is there a good ratio for the chain conversion for what I'm looking for? I've searched and looked through quite a few threads that mention it, but most of them are focused on getting a good cruising speed.

What else could I do? I'm open to any and all ideas!

And as always, I'm grateful for the help. This forum is an amazing resource.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #1 - 07/12/10 at 07:17:47 If you dont have a fork brace & equate handling with performance, then Id go that way.
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Phelonius Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1897	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #2 - 07/12/10 at 09:06:48 If it is off the line you want, I would go with the chain conversion. 16X 50 was what I used to pull a sidecar with. It is only a small bit lower ratio than the belt. 16X52 would give a more noticeable acceleration but you might not like the loss of top end. Phelonius
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Hashbrown

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Re: Best $100 performance upgrade
Reply #3 - 07/12/10 at 09:25:55

you may not even have to rejet with the new air filter if your already running a 155 main jet although a 50 pilot seems a bit small, prob just retune the mixture screw in the carb. most people say you dont see a noticable difference in the airfilter change but i def did. bike takes nice deep breaths now. may get a few more hp out of it but ill tell you what, you will def hear a noticable difference in the sound. she's gonna growl at you Grin

Also the cone looks way cooler then that rubber boot

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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #4 - 07/12/10 at 09:28:51 I would think you will lose a little bit of low end with a more open filter.
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jabman Senior Member Offline Posts: 411 England Gender:	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #5 - 07/12/10 at 10:23:14 bill67 wrote on 07/12/10 at 09:28:51: I would think you will lose a little bit of low end with a more open filter. it doesn't as long as the low speed circuit of the carb is set correctly to suit the new air filter you will have more low end
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Routy

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Re: Best $100 performance upgrade
Reply #6 - 07/12/10 at 10:30:25

Think !
If a filter was giving any restriction whatsoever at low and midrange RPM, it would be pouring out black smoke and choking to death at WOT. That is a no brainer.....IMO.

Therefore, if you see any increased performance using a less restrictive air filter, (or even no filter at all) it will be at WOT only. This is the case w/ any engine, not just this one.

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Rich
'07 S40 Blvd stocker, except drilled OEM exhaust and white spacer mod...1/2 (.055)

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ArGaT YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 43	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #7 - 07/12/10 at 11:41:57 Sorry guys im not up to date with the acronyms, LoL dont even know if i spelt it right... what does WOT mean please? Also what would a rejet cost and why would i do it also what benifits would i get from doing it please?
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #8 - 07/12/10 at 11:51:01 WOT are you talkin about? WOT = WFO, Wide open throttle. he he he,
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Re: Best $100 performance upgrade
Reply #9 - 07/12/10 at 13:22:50

You are not going to gain anything by rejetting if it doesn't need rejetting. Some bikes need it, some don't. There are several ways to tell if its running rich or lean. Checking the spark plug color is one. Checking performance is another. If when pulling the choke at a given speed, the engine speeds up, then it is running lean, but maybe only at that given speed, which specifies which circuit in the carb needs it,.....not all of them. In my case, raising the main jet metering rod .050 fixed it right up perfectly. Opening up the exhaust can cause a need to richen up the main jet circuit,.....but if operated at higher altitude, it may not even need that.
IMO, just an air filter mod/change would never be cause to rejet.
As a rule, these bikes come from the factory jetted on the lean side. Some are a problem, some are not. IMO, if its running good at all speeds, don't rejet.
ArGaT wrote on 07/12/10 at 11:41:57:

Sorry guys im not up to date with the acronyms, LoL dont even know if i spelt it right... what does WOT mean please?
Also what would a rejet cost and why would i do it also what benifits would i get from doing it please?

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Rich
'07 S40 Blvd stocker, except drilled OEM exhaust and white spacer mod...1/2 (.055)

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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28884 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #10 - 07/12/10 at 13:40:30 WOT = wide open throttle.
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littlefights

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Re: Best $100 performance upgrade
Reply #11 - 07/12/10 at 13:40:58

Oooh, I hadn't thought about a fork brace. That is a strong contender. Its not that I really need anymore power - she's got more than enough for fun riding, so better handling may be the ticket.

Phelonius, what does the 16x50 do at getting-around-slow-car speeds - say 30-40mph? Does it make a big difference compared to the belt? How much of the top end would I lose?

The previous owner did the white spacer mod and messed with the mixture screw. I've never touched it since rejetting after the exhaust mod fixed things, so I'll have to give that a try.

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james may

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Re: Best $100 performance upgrade
Reply #12 - 07/12/10 at 18:43:00

Id go for the fork brace. For performance the only time I would think lowering your gear ratio would help would be first. After that just wait longer before you shift for similar performance gains. Of course there aren't any good projects. Brace could take an hour if you have to take the forks out to put it in. Air filter maybe half hour and only cost 20$ if you rejet, 8 if you don't need to rejet. For real performance. I'd look into either dropping in a bigger cylinder or a performance cam, but those are more like 200-300$.

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Skid Mark Serious Thumper Offline FSO Posts: 1216 Calgary, Alberta Gender:	Re: Best $100 performance upgrade Reply #13 - 07/12/10 at 19:14:23 A fork brace made a huge difference in handling on my S40. Less twitchy at hiway speeds and a lot more stable when handling ruts etc. The bonus is that it's real easy to install. If you don't need more engine performance, I'd say the fork bracemshould be on your short list.
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littlefights

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Re: Best $100 performance upgrade
Reply #14 - 07/12/10 at 19:14:57

With this heat wave, I won't be too disappointed if I can get the project done in a couple of hours. I've got a few others things I'm going to do at the same time, too. Relube the axles - didn't do a good enough job when I changed the tires, pull the passenger foot rests, and depending on how much I end up spending on the performance project, removing the rear-fender rails and installing new turn signals, maybe a new taillight.

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