To WD: I have read the post about tire replacements, and am more or less confused. These tires aren't designed for the Savage, right? So the turkey carver process is to... shave off extra something or other? This allows it to mount to the stock rim?

To Spacepirates: So you're saying that while it is an upgrade, it is an unneccessary one. Unless I bore out something and put a hot cam in. Is that because it makes the engine run hotter, and the boring makes for a larger piston or something?

To Dave: Good advice, I will be taking it slow, but there isn't any harm in drawing up diagrams and fantasizing wistfully while I work is there?

To EJID: 140/90-19? What exactly do these numbers mean? And what are the advantages of having a larger back tire, exactly? Better MPG? or just looks/feel?

To Teabowl: Roughly, I'd be leaving Oregon around June, heading north to Seattle, the East through Canada to Ontario. Then Down through Michigan, and East again to the East coast, either in Maine or NY. Then down the east coast till Florida. Then West again till New Orleans. Then depending on several things, I'll either head back to Oregon, or to one of 5 different places.

This is a really long trip, but it wouldnt be constant, there would be at least 5-6 days of stop between jaunts. I'm going to be visiting a lot of people I met over the years. I did some research, and found that the Savage was a highly reccomended model for cross country, mostly for it's simplicity and gas economy. So my priorities as far as functionality is to increase travel distance/time per day.

Total Distance is roughly 5000 Miles. I've got a bit more than a year till I would be leaving, so I'm not in any rush to get out there. Hopefully ya'll don't think that I have made an error in getting the Savage for this trip. It's only gotta do it once! well maybe twice... Who knows? I'm planning on being gone for quite a while, at least 6 months.

WOW!
That's a really long trip... I'm jealous; it'll be a lot of years before I have the time to do anything like that.

A larger rear tire might make the bike ride smoother and slightly more comfortable. The 140/90/15 rear tire that these guys are recommending is just the size of the tire. You can find a lot of different brands and types out there. Also a lot of opinions on here about which tires are best. Look for a good long distance touring tire.

I believe that size motorcycle tire should fit right to your rim like normal. When you're talking about the post that discusses the turkey carver, I believe you are referring to the thread about using a MUCH larger car tire on the Savage. I definitely wouldn't recommend that for your needs, and if you read that whole thread, you'll see it's generally NOT recommended at all.

I wouldn't worry about changing the carburetor either. There are a few simple mods that you can do to the stock carb that will help performance, but the more you do to make the bike faster, the more you're going to lower your gas mileage. In your case, if you're happy with the stock bike's performance, which should be perfectly reasonable for that kind of traveling, I think you're best off leaving it alone. It'll also be easier if you do end up having problems on the road if you have a more-or less stock bike and need to find a mechanic to help you out in a pinch.

I'd be focused more on your shocks, springs, seat, and handlebars. All the things that are going to make you more comfortable. If your bike is older, I'd also be sure your steering bearings and other bearings are in good shape; wheel bearings, swingarm bushings etc...

You're going to be putting a lot of miles on that bike; a lot will depend on how old your Savage is and what kind of mechanical shape it's in. What's the bike you are starting out with?

Most importantly, if your Savage doesn't need one of these yet, it probably will before your trip is done. Might as well do it before you leave!!

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1180206459

To Verslagen: Its got 7600 miles on it right now, and a verslavy is one of the definite replacement parts I'm going to be getting. Just waiting on funds, which will start to appear once school starts up again, and I pay back my buddy who spotted me the loan to buy this beast. The bike was definitly not maintained very well, I've found quite a few little things that are eyebrow raising on it. Nothing big, just loose bolts where its kind of concerning.

I have decided what my first mod is going to be, however. I'm going to fabricate a seat bracket that fits into the existing configuration, and has the holes and whatnot to hook the stock seat in a different angle and height. Then longer handle bars to keep me from reaching forward and straining my lower back. We've got a whole bunch of aerospace quality aluminum piping out back that I can grab off of for free, and with a little luck and a lot of patience, I think I can increase this bikes comfortability for me by a bunch. Just need to take some measurements and figure out what angle would be best. This will require removing the back seat, but this isn't a passenger oriented build, so i figure that'll be alright. I'm hoping that by moving the seat back and up I can fit a bigger tank on, maybe like a 4 gal or bigger. I'm limited by the slimness of the frame for now though, as I don't want to be banging my knees on the sides of the tank. We'll see!

I'm probably gonna start a Project thread sometime in the next couple weeks. Soon as I get the seat mod on. Pics and commentary will abound!

Not to sound mean, but if you couldn't afford a beat-up Savage, how can you afford a 6+ month, 5000+ mile trip?

Sounds like a lot of sleeping on couches and spare-changing for gas money.  

Seriously, I think right now, if it's running good and you're riding it every day, that's the best thing you can be doing. Ride the pants off of it. put as much time in the saddle as you can. Getting familiar with the bike and how it fits you is the best thing you can do.

You'll find a lot of ideas on here from people who've modded everything under the sun on their bikes. Almost all of them are good ideas, but only you will know if they are good ideas for you.

As far as a bigger tank goes; there's a guy here who put a Harley tank on his for extra gas, and it was pretty easy for him as I recall. Also, there was a thread this week from a guy doing more of a cafe bike project who used a tank from a 1970's GT 550 I think. That went on pretty easy to according to him.

Most tank swaps (such as mine... ho ho ho...) are not so easy...

I think the tank was 500 not 550

140/90-15 isn't any wider than the stock tire, just 14 mm taller sidewalls. 130/90-15 has a rounder profile when correctly inflated and goes into curves easier, the bike will lean faster.

If you really want to run a big tank, your options are limited by how compact a distance you have from forks to seat. And by the fact you are dealing with a flared out frame roughly 1/3 of the way up from the rear of the tank. To fit the 4.75 gallon tank I really want to run I'd have to stretch the frame 6 or 8 inches. Not that big a deal, I could use the extra reach, even with 15" apes it gets crowded as is. The tank I have now is an old unit from the send to the melt yard pile at a bike graveyard I used to work at. Same capacity as stock, but the shape allows for better leg positioning.

I wish I got 100-150 miles to the tank. With 15" rise handlebars and my 6'2" 225# self as a sail, I get 36 mpg on a good day. Still better than any of my cages.