hey all, new member, new rider, and just bought my first bike! 2002 savage ls 9800 miles....gorgeous......just need to get it started....

it had a dead battery when i showed up to check it out...tried another battery i had but it was too small and the seller wouldnt let me jump from car...yeah yeah yeah, as long as the engine is off shouldnt hurt it but whatever.....

as we were trying to get it started you could smell the darn varnish cooking....the bike "apparently" hasnt been started since december...6 months ago....needless to say, it didnt turn over, but i bought it anyway.....its in MINT condition and i got it for 1260....so even if there is something else funny....i can easily flip a bike this nice overall on craigslist if needed...not sure how she rode it like she claimed when the title i was handed was still in the name of the guy she bought it from...lol....i didnt make a stink, no sense when i was going to buy it anyway....

my limited knowledge base tells me im going to have to clean the fuel system i guess, lines, tank, carb....but thats ALL i know...as far as getting started with step 1, what products to use, common newbie mistakes to avoid etc etc i could use some help...

im excited at having my first bike, frustrated i cant ride it yet, and scared at the possibility more is wrong with it than that, but there is no way of knowing yet.....

how should i start this process? ill be chewing on this all day till i can get outta work, get home and start tinkering.

thanks all in advance for whatever you can share with me.....i plan to stay around as i hope to turn this into a bobber one day....


KD

there wasnt much gas in it, but you could smell both from the tank and especially the exhaust that it was gonna be causing problems internally.....ill get pix up soon, its the stock silver....garage kept, not a dot of rust ANYWHERE

I would recommend draining what gas is in there and starting over. As a precautionary measure I would replace the fuel line (5/16") and the vac lines (smaller, don't remember size exactly).

These bikes take a full charge to get them started, so a new battery is your best bet, but you might be able to get it started if you give the old one a thorough charge. BH is right the Big Crank is a desirable battery to have, but they run about $90. I've limped by on mine for long enough, but I think I will replace it with a similar to stock battery for closer to $40.

Do a thorough inspection of the cables/hoses/tires, check for dry rot and fill to the proper PSI.

Good Luck, and let us know how it goes or if you  need more help.

(PS - be sure you have engaged all safety switches before trying to start 1. on/off switch by throttle, 2. kickstand up, 3. clutch pulled in & 4. bike in Neutral)

check this thread
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1298579303

Stock Battery replacement - Yuasa YB14L-B2

Do everything the experts have said above and I'd check the spark plug... usually it's the simpler things that get people!

Good luck mate!

Ian (Morgii)