Hi
I'm not much of a technical guy and I barely have any tools.
I'd like to turn my bike into a bobber. It's a Suzuki Savage S40 LS650 2005.
I'd like (in a dream world of course) to unbolt the stock seat and bolt on a solo seat be done with it. I suppose it doesn't work exactly like that...
What's the easiest, easiest way to do that? Any ideas, tips, maybe instructions?
I guess I'd be fine with keeping the stock rear fender if I find a way to cover the holes.
I guess I'd be fine with the wires underneath the stock seat, I'd just tie-wrap them together (Is that even possible?)
I'm obviously going fishing here, but can anybody help?
Thanks!

Well, hardly having any tools can be corrected.. Make a list & go for a ride, stop at pawn shops,, pull out your list, note what they have & the prices,, go to the shops that have what ya need at the lowest prices. If ya need it & cant find it,, hit up Harbor Freight, theres another store that sells El Cheapo.,. but I cant think of the name off hand.. Norther Sumpineruther,,

Spend some time lookin at pics of the bikes these guys ride. Serowbot & I wanna say Old Feller & theres another who has a pretty screamin Savage ( screamin as Savages go). Bobbers are cool lookin, but fenders exist for a reason,, & you can have a trim lookin bike, with fenders,, No way would I ride w/o them,,
Wanting performance? The quickest, easiest way is make the bike lighter. Want it looking trimmer? A really simple step that does both is ditch that chrome trash can of a muffler & stick a Dyna on it,, Thats a real good first step for a beginner mechanic & ya get a snappier lookin bik AND better performance AND it sounds sexier,, Its not a win win, its win squared, or cubed, or something big like that.,.
Just go slow, step by step,, read, ask questions, add to your tool collection, get a maintenance manual or download one,
How many miles on yours?
If its gettin close to 15,000 miles & you dont know if its had a cam chain put on,, its time to look at it.
Its an 05,, petcock is gettin old,, if its a stocker, its time to go the the Raptor petcock, That can save ya a ton of headaches.

Yes,, Early Savages had a 2 piece seat. It wont fit IGGZACT, I dont know all the ins & outs, but I do know its not hard, however, the fender is home to some of the electricals & when ya pull the long seat off & slap that solo on, youre gonna need to move it,, its been done by many, snot hard,, But, the top of the fender isnt really sexy, someone used a part off a Honda? Dang, what was that? That guy has been gone for a long time,, but he sure slicked that up.. anyone remember who Im tal;kin about?

Yeah, I saw them. The kit's more expensive than the bike is.

Where you live and where/how you ride are major factors in how you build your bike.

A bobber/barhopper is a toy. Period. You can commute on it, but, it isn't very practical. My 98 was a daily rider barhopper for a few years. It now has functional full sized saddlebags on it; a full sized METAL sidemount headlight that can actually be aimed unlike the stock bottom mount PLASTIC piece of useless sh**; full rear fender; wide bars instead of high bars; floorboards instead of pegs; and an exhaust system that will out obnoxious an open pipe Shovelhead (sounds like a mid 1960s Huey helicopter)... basically, I turned it into a miniaturized 1956 FLE.

My current daily is a 2003 with a big windshield, Progressive rear shocks that are taller than stock, functional police looking saddlebags (that are coolers), wide handlebar, stock muffler, reworked carburetor, stock tins... need to take an updated picture tomorrow. Have put just under 1000 miles on it since 4/7/14, mostly commuting.

Do you want a weekend toy, a commuter, a combo, or both?



Yes, that is an antique drum front wheel on the orange one, and no, you can't do that to yours. Even though it does stop better than the factory disc...

@Demin Yeeesss! That's what I'm looking for. Where can I buy? How can I build?

Cedrik wrote on 05/03/14 at 08:04:15:


I'm a little spoiled vehicle wise... Trucks: 1949 Dodge, 1969 Dodge, 1985 C10 short wide, 1987 C60, 1992 Ranger (parts roach), 1994 Ranger. Cars: 1972 Super Beetle, 1995 Outback, 2006 Vibe. Motorcycles: 1971 CL100 (rigid project for grandniece), 1996 VS800, 1998 LS650, 1999 VN1500J (Drifter), 2003 LS650. There are 3 residents on the farm, we share vehicles back and forth as needed.

Oh, forgot the 1971 titled motorhome (running gear, chassis and dash spec out as 1968), a couple beater travel trailers, 5 riding mowers (including a 4wd diesel), 4 John Deeres, Massey Ferguson 165, gray market Kubota...

My favorites? John Deere 1020UL, CL100, motorhome, Super Beetle, both Dodges. They all have points ignitions, carburetors and drum brakes.

The kit Demin posted would do the job easy-peasy.  Just be prepared to catch a bit of crap if you keep the springs but don't remove the shocks in some fashion (read; struts or hardtail). Some folks are a bit hung up on stuff like that, but they're mostly custom bike types so if that isn't your crowd of friends, no worries.

That is actually why I don't go to local bike nights or the big events near me; I heard no less than 5 people give an old greybeard crap for that exact thing on his 1966 Bonneville chop, which he bought new in '66 btw, at the last bigger show/swapmeet I went to. This from guys who all rode in on bone stock late model sportsters and dynas... So yeah, I stay away for the most part.