On the road again, after a long, long time!

Just went for a bike ride--on my Savage! Started out rough, lots of popping and backfiring. I almost brought it home after once around the ball fields (complex across the street from the house), but as I rode it it smoothed out. So, I passed the house and kept on riding up around back streets (no plates yet). The backfiring got less and less. It was hesitating and coughing when you tried to put the throttle to it at first, but that got better, too. I came back by the house and decided to run down Lakeshore to Kiwanis Park (about a mile) so I could get in all four gears. All the gears worked fine and by the time I got home, it was running much better and was really rideable.

I do have an oil leak above the exhaust, so when you stop billows of smoke come from there where the oil had dripped onto the exhaust. It looks like not a big thing to fix, just removing the cover on the heads and replacing a plug and sealing it all up. Thanks to the person on thsi forum who posted the procedure! In the meantime I may let it cool down, clean the area and try some high temp sealant on the outside and see if that slows the dripping.

The bike road really well and has lots of torque. The ride is cushy too. The brakes both work fine and all the electrics, lights and all worked perfectly. Even the speedometer worked.

At least now I don't feel like I've been wasting my time with this thing. Another afternoon of work and the leak should be fixed and I can really take it for a ride. I have the title and just need to run up to get the plates, but that unfortunately is $170!

Cheers,

Mike, now riding the "Virgin sleeper" as my wife calls it  

Welcome back 2 the road...and riding a virgin!  sounds like good times

Sorry, haven't been on for a while. The oil leak definitely seems to be that head cover plug back in the recess to the left of the exhaust port. I dabbed some high temp silicone on there and the leak has lessened.

I thought I had the bike running alright so planned on taking it out last Thursday. I started it up, but got a lot of backfiring again. Before it did that at first but after a few blocks and warming up throughly it smoothed out. This time though it did not smooth out. It was backfiring like crazy in the exhaust. Ended up taking my CB350 out that night instead.

I did recheck the coil while it was still warm, as the manual says it should be done, and it still checked spot on. I am guessing that gas is getting into the cylinder, not ingiting, then being exhausted whereupon the next time the bike fires the hot exhaust ignites the wasted fuel in the pipe. Because the coils checks out and the pickup coil also, I am thinking it might be a cam chain that has jumped. I have not had the right side off the bike yet, but I guess I'll do that next and see if I have a problem there, as I have read it is pretty common.

I was going to seek advice from my local bike shop guy today when I went to see him to pick up a new clutch cable, but found his place locked up. I called his phone later and his wife answered. Vince, owner of B.A.B.'s Motorycle Shop, the guy who has helped me out with my endless questions not only on this bike but on my '68 CB350, was hit by a SUV yesterday. He is in bad shape. His wife said they were going to take off his leg(s). He was T-boned by a cager pulling out of a side drive at a bank while he was going along minding his own business.

Anyway, my local source of info will be out of things for a long time now, so I will have to muddle through on my own. I had to do something today to get this stuff off my mind and pulled the carbs and did the valves and timing on the CB. If I pull the side of the Savage off I will need gaskets, etc. and also might as well pull the head cover whiel I am at it, requiring more parts. So it might be a few days before I can report anything more on the Savage.

Mike, bummed on all counts

ouch takin' off a leg huh?  guess that's what happens when you ride a motorcycle though.. no getting around it.. completely random too huh like playing the lotto, no amount of skill or experience or even protective gear will protect you.

Been a while since I've posted, but I now have a rideable Savage. My decomp solenoid was working but there was no cable bracket and the cable was frayed so it was not releasing. I installed a new solenoid, cable, and bracket and went to start it. Darn battery would not turn it over more than one turn. I took the bike to the local shop that sold me the battery back in June, and it did indeed turn out to be bad, so they replaced it with a new one at no charge.

The mechanic there tried to start it and said he was getting no spark so I went down and we found a bad connection on the lug on the wire going to the coil terminal. He reattached it and hit the starter and it flew right to life. Ran really well, with only a slight soft pop on dropping the thottle, nothing objectionable at all. In fact, that Softtail muffler is the perfect exhaust for that bike. It is the best sounding Savage I have heard--a nice low frequency rumble.

I still have the oil leak from the plug, but believe it or not, as I rode the bike it seemed to be dripping less, and last time I parked the bike I had no smoke coming off the header. I think I also need a new header gasket, as I can hear a small leak, but it is very minor. I also need to do something about the bar as my hands are not comfortable on the grips (already tried rotating the bars forward); the grips are angled too far back towards me. New tires (these have light sidewall cracks) now and I can really hit the road.

Here's the bike now with its new plates:


Thanks to all here you helped me out.

Cheers,

Mike