That was one of the better factory colours, I'm sure you and your wife will enjoy it. The fifth cog will drop the revs 3 to five hundred at 60 mph

Congrats, will be pretty cool to hear what differences you find, other than the extra gear.

jcstokes wrote on 08/10/15 at 23:16:24:


You go faster at a given RPM if the circumference of the tire is larger.

But examining the rpm/speed graphs you can see that 4th gear on the 4 speed is taller than 4th on the 5 speed.

Which was a BS engineering decision, as what the original Savage needed was the same ratio in 4th and a substantially taller ratio for 5th. Which they did not give us.

The real payoff would have been a comfortably lower rpm at 60 and 65 for long rides, not a higher top speed.

Maybe they decided if they built a 110 - 120mph Savage people would crash & burn, which some doubtless would...

Yep, all that is in the mix.

I don't know if it goes up logarithmically, but drag at 70 is substantially higher than at 60. It may be Suzuki tried a taller 5th and it was too much strain on the engine. The fact they lowered the 4th ratio a little when adding the 5th gear is telling.

RYCA folks with the chain mod and smaller rear sprockets have doubtless explored this territory.

But the belt drive is hard to mod. There's not room to enlarge the drive sprocket and making a smaller wheel sprocket would be an expensive mfg. task for the aftermarket. And you'd need a shorter belt.

I guess people have looked for other brands' existing parts that would swap out but I'm not aware of any success.

Dave, really cool problem solving. Given parts and machinery availability and a few bikes and a few of you guys, I can't help but believe that there would be some way cool Savages out of that.
With every trick to the motor and mods like this,, and of course a couple of chain mods, for comparing, put a few of you guys in a shop, toss in food and leave y'all there till they are done.
Attention paid to ditching pounds, instant acceleration gain.
Peg location, seating, so many ways to do this bike... and so many have really been done well around here. Still digging that seat pan we just saw..
I like ingenuity...

And where there is a method
There's a methodist..

I picked up my white S40 and made the 25mi mixed freeway/city run back to the house very comfortably, good smooth quiet power, no issue but some howl from the belt rubbing the back sprocket. Easy fix.

The gear spacing feels too narrow on the 5 speed when you are an early 4spd Savage heathen. The difference between 3rd and 4th is almost a formality. And then there's 5th, a little taller than 4th on the LS650. It's worth having. But they shoulda left the original 4spd ratios alone and added a legit overdrive.

The shifting was crisp and positive; I never missed a shift. The suspension and brakes felt solid and smooth, the whole thing is in newish looking condition. The tire wear is all in the middle, the exhaust header is only the palest gold tint at the top. It hasn't been ridden hard.

The drag bar feels good good.

It has been infernally hot and it hasn't rained in Dallas since the end of June. The last few miles bringing the bike home the sky opened up and downpoured with loud close lightning, turning the dust caked streets into KY jelly. Sopping wet, rain stinging the hell out of my face and I'm just grinning. Rain of Benediction on the new ride. Hey now.