I'll start with a quick intro, my name is Patrick and I'm new to bikes. I picked this '87 Savage up from a friend for $500 with brand new tires and brakes when he bought a bigger Honda. It's my first street bike and I've been having a blast on it for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I have a problem where I can't leave anything I own stock, so the mods have begun. Here's how it looked when I got it.





It has a half assed black paint job and a torn seat, but those are easy fixes. Tonight I pulled the carb and jetted it using the kit from Ryca, and installed an ebay cone filter to match. I'm a big fan of minimalist styling, so I decided to ditch the airbox, and I'll be making a new mount for the battery. After I finish this 'step' up, the rear fender and lights are next. I'm not 100% what I'll be using yet, but expect it to be cheap and homemade. The goal of the build is a cool looking bike that I can commute to work on and cruise around without breaking the bank. Here's a few pictures from tonight to keep you from getting too bored.

Gunk in the carb.




After cleaning everything and putting in a 152.5 main, as well as the new filter.


And how she sits now, with a rough idea of what will be the new battery location.

How much longer are you gonna tolerate that chrome cannon they call an exhaust? Dang thing is HUGE,,

Cavi Mike wrote on 05/07/12 at 21:06:13:


Yup, me too!!    

Thanks guys, I got really lucky with this find.

I wanted to ride this weekend, it was ~75* and sunny, but the bike shop failed to get me my new petcock when they promised. It looks like it will be here by Wednesday, so I'll have to put some miles on her next weekend. I did however finish the battery tray and painted it. I still need to tie up a few wires, but I'll wait until I start putting it all back together to do that.



I did spend Saturday afternoon on the dirtbike, so the weekend wasn't a total waste Here's a picture of my other toys, just to keep people watching.

hello

Bike looks good!, just wondering if you have a stock battery, or if it is some sort of sealed battery, just concerned about fluid from the battery being dripped due to the inclined position.

lch2 wrote on 05/15/12 at 07:57:29:


Stock battery, I was wondering about it leaking myself. I guess there's only one way to find out....

If youre serious about the Rat Bike attitude you mite consider going to the muffler shop & looking around at some small mufflers. I got one for the backhoe & had about a 3 foot pipe welded on & spent a whoppin $30.00 .
If I was doing a Rat Ride, Id ditch the chrome header & get a regular car exhaust pipe bent with a smallish muffler in it,.BUT,, I have No Idea what that would sound like. The Hoe is a 3 cylinder & I have no idea how big the ppistons are. Its kinda loud, not a screamer, but not exactly quiet. Neighbors can sure hear it, I expect its obvious to anyone for 1/4 mile that someone is running a machine,But then, If I got after the bike, the same would be true.

Okay, I went lookin,,


ype:      Ford
Fuel:      diesel
Aspiration:      natural
Cylinders:      3
Valves:      -unknown-
Bore/Stroke:      4.4x4.4 inches [112 x 112 mm]
Displacement:      201 ci [3.3 L]
Power:      55 hp [41.0 kW]
Power (gross):      59.5 hp [44.4 kW]
Cooling:      liquid
Coolant:      11 qts [10.4 L]
Air cleaner:      dry
Compression:      16.3:1
Rated RPMs:      2200
Torque:      157 lb-ft [212.9 Nm]
Torque RPMs:      2200
Starter volts:      12
Oil capacity:      7 qts [6.6 L]


You wouldnt believe how much work that thing does on a gallon
O diesel,


Okay,, 67 cubic inches / cylinder, if that little muffler works on that, it otta keep the Savage sounding okay.,

I'm definitely sticking with the rat-bike theme, for two reasons. First, I love that look, it's minimalist with a touch of the builder's personal style. Second, it's a cheap way to build something that looks cool, and I'm a cheap SOB.

So that brings us to mufflers....

I think a simple 12-16" glasspack might look and sound cool, and can be found for ~$20. Is that the kind you ran Justin? I'm also thinking of doing a straight pipe with a chrome turndown, but I don't want it to be obnoxiously loud. Either way I plan to wrap the exhaust with black wrap from the block to before the chrome tip. I'll mess around with it this weekend if I have the time.