SuzukiSavage.com - Whatcha all think?

SuperSavage Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 341	Whatcha all think? 05/02/12 at 09:07:57 '93 Intruder 800 cc for ~ $1,200. 13,000 miles, clean, just needs rear brake light switch. Anyone familiar with this motor? I hear it's a PITA to work on due to it being sandwiched in the frame. '93, will the shaft drive seals have to be replaced due to age? Otherwise, the bike is clean, clean , clean! I'm just thing out loud... JohnnyCat
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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28675 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #1 - 05/02/12 at 09:15:15 That's a bargain,.. and it's a great engine... bit of PIA to service, like you said... Buy it if you want one... I don't,.. it's more than I need, and a bit too choppery for my tastes... ...
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #2 - 05/02/12 at 14:41:54 When I was shopping for a bike, I remember a salesman being so kind as to inform me I would have to drop the front exhaust, just to change oil,, IDK what bike it was now, but look at the book & see what is required for basic service. Ask what it costs in the shop,, thatll give you a clue as to how hard it is.,
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Drifter

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Re: Whatcha all think?
Reply #3 - 05/02/12 at 18:41:52

I had a 94 great bike, only problems is carb sync, several cables to do the job. If its as clean as you say buy it, that is a great price. Very reliable bike the seals should be fine. I got 56 mpg with mine put about 10k miles on it with 0 problems. The other thing the seat is hard and hurts your arse after about 30 min. The suzuki gel seat is far better.

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Stimpy - FSO

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Re: Whatcha all think?
Reply #4 - 05/03/12 at 03:15:55

Intruders are awesome!

I had one for a couple of weeks from a client
who left it for me to revive, clean and tune,
it was a black 97'/800cc.

It is basically a longer savage with an extra engine,
it is nice and low, a bit heavier but not like a HD sportster
or anything (those things have their center of gravity
on their gas tank!, god HD sucks).

Also they're almost as thin as a savage and quite nimble
and maneuverable in the city and on the road, they're
good with gas and run very smooth; in my opinion overall
better than honda shadows, specially cause of their handling.

The large (21"?), thin front wheel is not my thing
but reacts very quickly, at high speeds however,
because of its size, it acts kinda like the sail from
a boat and pushes the bike around a bit like
when passing an 18wheeler and such, so be aware
of this detail. Also the battery goes on it's belly,
kinda weird to get to and also a bunch of savage
parts fit it.

Price sounds fair, those motors are famously bulletproof
and I never heard of any problems with leaking shaft seals.

Good luck.

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Recently sold 97'savage (change of residence) - looking to buy another - just bought a temp, a great SR125 called 'methadone'

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LostArtist Ex Member	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #5 - 05/03/12 at 12:38:25 that's a good price, but if you have a savage, there's really not much difference between the savage and the 800. it's not enough of a change to make it worth putting down that kinda money, I've had both, I still wish I woulda just kept the s-40, it really is a gem of a motorcycle
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prsavage

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Nanaimo BC
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Re: Whatcha all think?
Reply #6 - 05/03/12 at 22:49:14

I had a 1997 Intruder 800 for a couple of years. Very snappy performer. Seat puts you in an awkward riding position. The handle bars need to be changed to a drag bar. The foot controls need to be changed to forward ones. The carbs are hard to set up because they are not a matched pair as one is downdraft and the other is sidedraft. The battery is a pregnant dog to change as it is removed by dropping it out the bottom.

All that said, I liked my bike a lot. It is the best handling, most nimble of all the bikes I have ridden. I have only ridden cruisers: 1990 and 2003 Savages, 1997 Intruder, 2005 Boulevard C50, 2006 Vstar 1100.

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WD

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Re: Whatcha all think?
Reply #7 - 05/06/12 at 04:06:20

My wife Lisa has a 96 800 Intruder...

Battery is easy to swap if you have a floor jack. Just undo the top nuts and then drop the bottom plate.

Exhaust leaks. Bad design and the Cobra crossover set she runs doesn't help. Easy fix though, just needs some shimming where the head pipe and tail pipe joins.

If you are taller than 5'8" you will be riding on the pillion. Horrible ergonomics.

Bar needs to be swapped. Lisa runs 10" mini-apes on hers. Stock handlebar is not adjustable, has slots that lock it to riser teeth.

Swap the rear shocks out for Savage shocks unless you really like the dirt bike style fender to tire gap.

Mustang or other aftermarket seat is a must. Stock seat cover is not UV resistant. And the padding is a joke.

Good luck keeping the carbs in tune.

On the bright side, the shaft seals may weep a tad but don't really leak. Coolant never needs to be changed, the stock fill in her bike still is clean and tests out perfect. Oil change is a piece of cake (drop front pipe is V Star 1100).

Just be prepared to have your behind handed to you by every other V twin on the road. Power to weight ratio is a joke. Even a slightly modded Savage will walk all over an Intruder 800.

Welcome back to the 1980s (Intruder 700-1400, VN700/750 and the OLD Shadows are all circa 1985).

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On 2 wheels since 7/87

Black and Chrome 2003 1950s style custom

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #8 - 05/06/12 at 08:55:29 Stock seat cover is not UV resistant. Some design flaws are to be expected on everything, but a motorcycle seat, NOT UV resistant? Seriously? Theres no excuse.
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WD

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Re: Whatcha all think?
Reply #9 - 05/06/12 at 09:51:08

It gets crunchy and then alligator cracks like sub-standard asphalt. And then chips of the black plastic fall off. And then the faux wool starts shredding and the foam pops through. And the foam then turns into grit and falls apart.

Leave one of the cheap white Wal-mart bags out in a hot vehicle for a couple months. Same effect, just faster.

Suzuki has long been known as the worst made rice bike. The stock seat for my 1963 Honda didn't fall apart like that until 2009.

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On 2 wheels since 7/87

Black and Chrome 2003 1950s style custom

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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28675 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #10 - 05/06/12 at 10:22:43 WD wrote on 05/06/12 at 09:51:08: The stock seat for my 1963 Honda didn't fall apart like that until 2009. That's gotta' be a record... 45yrs for a vinyl seat?... Call Guinness!... ...
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WD Serious Thumper 2005 No Login Offline Professional "scooter trash". Posts: 5207 Rosemark TN Gender:	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #11 - 05/06/12 at 16:40:38 Only if they bring me a keg... and not the watered down dreck they try and pass off as beer in the states. Oh, you meant the OTHER one.
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SuperSavage

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Posts: 341

Re: Whatcha all think?
Reply #12 - 05/06/12 at 22:27:02

Thanks for the replies guys. I ended up not buying the bike, it is FAST, but not the most ergonomic bugger out there. It's about as fast as my airflow/exhaust, re-jetted Vulcan 800A, but not nearly as comfy as it or definitely not as comfy as my customized S40. I was gonna chop it a bit and bobberize it with FC's but the $$$ were adding up quickly in my noggin...

WD, you should write a blog on MC's and anything made prior to 1970, you have a way with words... Grin

JohnnyCat

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #13 - 05/06/12 at 23:09:51 Yes, he does,, you wanna know WHY he is able to write about those pre 70's bikes?,, C'mere I gotta whisper it, dont tell him I said this, Its because He's OLD Now SHHH dont tell him ,,
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LANCER Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Savage Beast Performance Parts Posts: 10668 Oklahoma Gender:	Re: Whatcha all think? Reply #14 - 05/07/12 at 03:30:39 OLD ??? Naw, he's just coming into his prime ... ya'll will understand when you get grow'd up the way we are !
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