Hello everyone!,

I purchased a new (2013) Suzuki Savage/S40. I got it from a dealer with no miles on it. I've mainly purchased it to commute to work since its better on fuel than my truck and is cheap to maintain. I do have a few questions.

-When should I change the oil for the first time? I'm at 350 miles now.
*I read the posts about oil and the recommendations. The redline 10W40 looks to be the best oil out there.

-It seems like once I get going and its warmed up all the way there's a clicking/sewing machine sound. Is this normal?

-I'm looking for an exhaust. The stock exhaust is very quiet and I would like something louder. I realize I'll need to rejet. I really like the look of the one piece raask but he doesn't make the one piece anymore plus it would be more expensive. Are there any exhausts similar? I also really like the sound of a more free flowing exhaust.

Don't idle it down real low like a Harley either.  It won't have enough oil pressure to keep oil in the cam bearings in the head.  It will kill it very quickly.  Keep the idle at 1000 or over.

Thank you for taking time to reply! I read the manual and saw it states that 87 octane is fine which is nice to know. I'll go ahead and change the oil now. Is there a particular oil filter that's better than others?

Also nice to know my ticking sound is normal. As for an exhaust I've been reading on here about the different options but haven't really found one I'm in love with besides the Raask. I'll definitely look into the Harley muffler.

I'm new to motorcycles but have ridden motocross bikes and race quads.

I have two other questions.

-is it normal for it to be difficult to get into 5th gear at times? Sometimes it goes in very easy and others it's a harder pull up to get it in.

-Is there anything to do to help the ride at 55+mph? It feels very shaky especially when I'm around other cars. Probably because I'm not used to riding on the road but figured I'd ask. I'm a small frame guy at 5'4 120lbs so I'm sure that doesn't help.

It's new,, once You and the bike get used to each other and it gets some miles on it and you get some experience with it, it will either smooth out or you'll realize that it has an issue to address. A genuine transmission problem? I don't think I have seen one... shifter adjustment, shift linkage,yeah,  but internal failure? I don't remember any.

Here you go.

http://tkat.com/forkbrace.html

tkat@tkat.com

Best regards,

How to install...

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1294811496

while the fork brace will help if there's actually a flex issue there, (doubtfull unless you ride like Wayne Rainey) make sure you relax while riding
it's pretty common (and wrong) for folks new to street bikes to get tense on the street, especially the highway, and especially around other traffic
If you have a death grip on the bars, the bike will not track properly, loosen up your grip, relax, and the bike will likely turn out to be a lot mo=re stable than you think it is

I ended up ordering the Super Brace fork stabilizer,  the Tkat web site didn't work.