Hi all, I just picked up a 2004 Savage for my girlfriend to learn to ride. It needs a little fixing up, but it runs great after cleaning the carb and doing the white spacer mod. I used to have an 03 Savage, but a deer put an end to that one. I've learned so much from the members on this forum, thanks!

It has 3,600 miles. It is purple in color, which I think looks good, surprisingly. I didn't think I'd like the color at all. It's been dropped on both sides, so the rear turn signals are broken and it's missing a mirror, but it doesn't have any damage on the body.

You don't have to do a hard splint, you can do a somewhat flexible splint, in the order of what you had before as far as flexibility goes.

First, expoxy the broken rubber part back together with 5 minute epoxy on the broken faces just to hold it in place, correctly oriented and angled and all.  

Then take an old pair of black polyester pants and cut some longish 1" strips from it.

Take a tube of clear silicone tub seal or some other strong clear silicone stuff (buy a tube for your caulking gun -- much cheaper over time if you can remember to put a cap back on it religiously) and apply the clear stuff to one side of the polyester strip for at least six inches, rubbing it through the fabric with your fingers.  

Wind it tightly around the broken section (so that silicone forces through the cloth) adding more silicone to the bare cloth as you go so it oozes through the cloth weave and makes a good bond to the next wrap layer.  

You need at least 3-4 wrap layers for sufficient strength to make it "handling and road vibration" proof.

Quit when you have enough, leaving the outside layer mostly bare fabric showing and not all slicked up with silicone.   Appearance is better that way.

Cheap, and immortal turn signal bust off fix.    You know its there, but most folks eyes just glide right on past it as it blends in so well.

I have done this with epoxy, but the epoxy makes the joint too stiff and the next blow causes another breakage.   The silicone moves and bends some, like the rubber underneath it used to do.

I am planning on trying to fix the turn signals instead of buying new ones because I can see new ones being broken right away. My bike is a 2004, so it has the bullet style signals like the S40 has and they are cracked where the stem meets the bullet shaped part. I used JB Weld on them, but we'll see how that works. I'm not overly confident it will hold up because of the vibration from these bikes. Those fixes would have worked great on my 03.

If you ever plan to replace your signals, get the ones for YOUR year bike. The connectors changed at some point.

I bought some for my bike that matched exactly but the connectors were different. I had to sell them and find some more because I didn't want to have to make the new ones work.

I discovered another small bit of damage after my right-side drop. When the weight fell on the brake pedal, it got pushed upward with great force. This bent the postage stamp -size tang that holds the brake lever stop screw, causing the stop screw to miss the lever when it is released. Result: the brake lever comes up too high.

This tang is welded to the chromed peg mounting plate with a fairly crummy, bubbly weld. I was able to hammer the tang back straight without breaking the weld. The first chance I get I will have the 3/4" butt joint re-welded with a Tig torch.

I straightened the foot peg by bending with a pipe wrench and reattached the cone broken off the rear turn signal stalk with a 1/2 inch strip of packing tape tightly wrapped around 4 or 5 times followed by 1/2" black duct tape a few wraps over that. It has some flex, looks fine and when it weathers off it will only take a minute to replace it.

I did order an OEM master cylinder clamp, which holds the mount for the right mirror and which broke when the mirror hit the pavement. $23. Ouch. All that handsome clearcoated cast metal on the handlebar controls is hardly more than cheap pot metal... brittle stuff.

There's not a lot of pressure on that stop screw and tang, just the pedal's return spring force. Until you tump the bike over on it that is...  

No, you can't weld worth beans through chrome plating. The joint would have to be ground clean, which on that little weld you could do with a dremel or a file and wire brush.

Mine straightened out too, just by hammer tapping for a while. I'll prob. just keep an eye on it now. It's obvious if it breaks or mis-aligns -- the brake pedal comes up too high. Nothing to stop you riding home like that.

Joe,

The left front turn signal will work on the right rear.

The right front turn signal will work on the left rear.

You will have to disable the wire that is for the running light when you move a front turn signal to the rear of the bike.

Kenny G