SuzukiSavage.com - First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40

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First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
12/26/13 at 10:59:06

Greetings, new forum member here. I'm a new rider and just purchased my first bike, an 06 Suzuki S40 with just over 10k miles. I'm the third owner. She runs a bit rough right now, so she's going to the shop for a tune up, valve check, and complete going over. Bought a trickle charger and will be installing that later today. Also need to replace the left rear turn signal because it's currently taped on (previous owner backed into a pole). Any thoughts on cool LED taillight mods for this bike? Will post pics in a subsequent post.

Some pics of the new ride:

http://imgur.com/a/PMF1Q#3

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« Last Edit: 12/26/13 at 18:11:23 by hydrophish »

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jcstokes

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Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
Reply #1 - 12/26/13 at 11:12:55

Many on this forum are very critical of shop work, particularly that work done by Suzuki dealers, when you get the bike back, start reading some of the tech section posts about substituting a Yamaha Raptor petcock and consider the Verslagen cam chain tensioner modification. Remember it's not a powerful bike and the best you can hope for in standard form is about 87 to 92 mph. You should also consider using Shell Rotella for your engine oil as this has a lot more ZDDP additive , this helps your valve lifters. You don't say whether you are running the standard exhaust or not. When you get the bike back, enjoy it while you study the forum and don't rush into tear downs, customising, or modifications until you really feel comfortable with what you are doing. There were some posts on LED indicators quite recently.

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Completely stock 2010 S40, aftermarket rev counter and back pack, Airhawk seat pad

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S-P

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Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
Reply #2 - 12/26/13 at 11:16:20

Welcome! I'm a recent new member with my first bike since high school (1969). There's a LOT of good information here and some great helpful people. The first thing I'd check out is the "4 things new owners should know" and some of tech documents etc. After working on my bike, I'd say the first things you should be sure to check out are your cam chain tensioner (10K, you're probably about ready for the Verslasy mod), the carb re-jetting modifications and change your petcock to the Raptor 660.
It's a great bike! I'm loving mine!

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hydrophish YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 7	Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40 Reply #3 - 12/26/13 at 16:23:46 jcstokes wrote on 12/26/13 at 11:12:55: You don't say whether you are running the standard exhaust or not. Thanks, it's a standard exhaust to my knowledge.
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40 Reply #4 - 12/26/13 at 22:58:50 Man, domt take it somewhere. Theyll sell you labor till youll hate the bike. You can get it running fine. We will walk you thru it, Its a Lawnmower motor,, Gas, air, spark..Its probaly been sitting & needs the carb cleaned up, gas dumped out, fresh put in, Mite get by with just dumping old gas & putting fresh REgular gas in,.
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jcstokes

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Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
Reply #5 - 12/26/13 at 23:16:29

Yes Hydrophish, it looks a good stock bike. Another point to note is that as far as I'm aware you are probably running the original IRC tyres. These don't have a brilliant reputation, they will be ok, up to a point. The rear size is something of an orphan oddball size. Going to a 140/90/15 rear puts you in a more regular size, and according to some of the experts here makes the speedo read more accurately. Shinko seems to be a favoured brand on this site although I'm running Michelin front and rear and I don't want to start a tyre war. You are committed to spending your money, but having spent it, it's well worth heeding JOG2'S advice.

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Completely stock 2010 S40, aftermarket rev counter and back pack, Airhawk seat pad

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hydrophish YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 7	Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40 Reply #6 - 12/26/13 at 23:22:12 Thanks for the tyre advice, was wondering about that. Still lots of good tread on mine, but will look at Shinko when they're due for replacement. Any thoughts on saddlebags? The stock ones seem pretty cool (and cheap). I've read horror stories on trying to install the Viking ones.
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pg Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 5273 In Transit	Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40 Reply #7 - 12/27/13 at 03:32:33 Roger that what everyone else said. The shell Rotella really made a big difference for mine. You can get it at wally world and fred's. You should also look at getting a clymer manual as well. Good luck, welcome to the site!
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Steve H

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Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
Reply #8 - 12/27/13 at 08:50:36

Welcome to the board

It's always nice to get a new rider out here.
What everybody else said..check the tech section index everything you need to know there. Don't be afraid to pick up a wrench. There are many great people out here that know these bikes inside and out that will help you if you get stuck. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Shops don't really know how to work on these bikes. They tend to think it's just a dirt bike with lights on it and give it to the inexperienced newbie, since it's just a single. You'll end up paying lots of money for things that you don't need and in some cases that they broke/messed up.

Read and heed the oil recommendations. Your bike will love you for it. If your tires have any air rot cracks, replace them. Better a little money for tires than a wreck cause a tire quit on you.

Check out Verslagen's place in the marketplace about the timing chain tensioner mod.

There are several posts out here about LED lights. Many not too favorable. Search and read what others have done. It may save you lots of headaches.

Glad to have you aboard. Ride, be safe, have fun.

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87 LS650, 2005 Ninja 250, 2009 Yamaha C3, 2001 Honda Reflex. On 2 wheels since 6/80.

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NCSUindy09 Junior Member Offline Rollin' Posts: 64	Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40 Reply #9 - 12/27/13 at 09:38:55 Welcome! These guys are right. Try doing some diagnosing yourself using the information here. There's a nice table of contents in the tech section. See what you would have to do to repair whatever is causing your bike to run rough. If you have the tools and time I think you'll find yourself enjoying the work.
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justin_o_guy2

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Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
Reply #10 - 12/27/13 at 22:59:40

Its an 06 model with 10,000 miles.. so, its spent most of its life parked. No tellin how many times the carb bowl has seen its fuel evaporate. Id dump fuel, put fresh in it, put it on prime & let the bowl fill up. Let it sit a while & drain it into a glass container. See what ya get. More than once wont hurt a thing, I wouldnt be shocked to find jets are a little pluggy,
Take that thing to a shop because its running rough & theyll eat your billfold alive.,It will need a new plug, the valves checked ( whether they actually touch the valves or not, youll pay for it) & the carb will need cleaned ( which is probably all it needs).
Start w/ gas, flush the bowl a few times, if you can get it running good enough to ride it, try running some Sea Foam thru the gas.
I dont CARE how many people start chirping "Its doesnt DO anything" I KNOW it does. Im not typing the whole thing out again, but it made a big difference in my Back Hoe. & My pickup, so,, trust me. It wont fix everything, but it WILL make a difference in certain instances. Its worth the $$$ IF youre not ready to walk into the carb, & I dont think youre quite ready. Hang out here & you will be..

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Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
Reply #11 - 12/30/13 at 04:39:25

LED Tail and Brake lights? I have yet to see an LED tail light for a motorcycle that is DOT approved - or one that can be seen well in the daylight. The LED tail lights that are listed on eBay by the thousands for a very low price are not very visible in the daylight, and are not safe. If you are riding in the sun and you are looking directly at the turn signals you can see that they are working - but they are not bright enough to get someone's attention if they are not looking directly at them. The LED lights they make for trailers and trucks, and the original equipment LED lights on cars are great.......but I just have not seen any good LED motorcycle tail or turn signals yet.

I am sure someone will make some eventually......but I have not seen them yet. My Cafe' conversion uses the same cheap LED light that is provided with the seat I bought, and it was just barely visible in the daylight, and the small turn signals were not any better. I ended up using two 1.5 Watt surface mount LED's in each turn signal housings, and I bought a red LED strobe that could be set to run constant for my brake light. The LED strobe is a bit too bright at night and I had to put a red piece of vinyl tape over it to tone it down a bit.....it was almost blindingly bright!

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-wired-bolts/plm-series-wired-one-...

http://www.strobes-r-us.com/closeup.asp?cid=13&pid=720&offset=0

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Re: First Bike! 06 Suzuki S40
Reply #12 - 12/30/13 at 05:44:53

I just found this retailer.....and they have an LED universal turn signal that is DOT approved. It should be OK. The mounts will have to be adapted to work on the Savage. For the back you could build or buy the mounts that move the turn signals to a bar at the license plate, or modify the existing mounting system.

http://www.kandstech.com/index.php?page=universalsignals

http://www.kandstech.com/productreleases/newprod200.pdf

Their small turns signals are also DOT. They have reflectors which should help considerably - the small turns signals I bought did not have reflectors and were were not much good in the sunlight. Although the bulbs were 26 Watt....the light was not directed in a manner that used the light effectively.

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