I went to the dealership to get my wife a bike to learn on and got a sweet deal on a new '13 S40.  $3500 OTD.  She has 10 years riding experience on four wheelers and now wants to ride on two wheels.  She's already signed up for a local MSF course next month and I'll teach her some basics prior to the course.

I've bee saving up for a touring bike and plan to buy the BMW K1600 GTL next year.  I've been riding since '01 and have owned the following:  2001 Kawasaki ZX-9R (sold), 2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000 (sold), and my last bike was a 2008 Kawasaki ZX-14 (sold).

While at the dealership I called my wife and told her about the S40 I got for her.  She asked me why don't I buy a bike so we can go out and about together?  I reminded her that I'm still saving for the BMW and she said to go ahead and find something cheap because she doesn't want to ride out by herself once she starts learning.  

I asked the salesman if he had anything used, $4K or less.  He showed me a '15 V-Star 250 that looked really good but the price started at $4300.  Knowing that it's a V-Twin was intriguing but I decided to pass on it.  

Since he didn't have anything else I called my wife and told her that I'd only be buying one bike for now.  After completing the paperwork the sales manager asked me if I would be interested in buying another S40 if he made me a sweet deal for both.  I wasn't really interested in one for myself but I told him give me a price and I'll think about it.  Well, it just so happens that he had another '13 S40 still in the crate and quoted me $7K OTD for both.  Suzuki was also running a 0% interest special for the duration of the loan so I said what the hell and picked up both bikes and had them delivered on Saturday.  One is orange/black and the other is pearl mirage white/veil silver.    

The initial plan was to find a bike for $4K or less and pay cash but I couldn't pass up the deal for both.  Since I couldn't swing another $3K in cash and since Suzuki had the 0% interest for the duration of the loan I decided financing both wouldn't be a bad thing.  I also got a 5 year warranty on both bikes.   

I'm still saving for my touring bike but will enjoy the S40 until I get it.  The S40 is definitely different from what I'm use to, but I'm happy with it so far.  I plan to order a couple of AirHawk seat covers for added comfort but that's about it for now.  

Well, just wanted to say hello to everyone and hopefully I can learn a lot from everyone here.  .


DM

You and your wife will find the S40 rider sympathetic, flexible and of reasonable, if not outstanding performance. You will find many on this forum heavily critical of Suzuki dealers. They use the term "stealership". The five year warranty is very interesting. I would be checking the cost of dealer services and how much of a warranty it's worth. In my country the standard Suzuki warranty was two years. I would allow the dealer to carry out the initial services and after a year or two decide whether you want to do your own maintenance. There is plenty of good advice here. I let the dealer do mine because I don't have a lot of maintenance ability, but I've had 30000 plus miles without trouble. When the stock tyres wear out you might find a 140/90 rear suits better. I have an Airhawk and find it useful. Although after a couple of hundred miles plus your gluteus maximus knows you have been riding. The S40 is apparently best suited to country riding with hills and curves, there is a lot of debate about how they like long distance on American "super slab". You have a small volume petrol tank so don't push over 120 miles without a fill, you may be on reserve at 120.

The entire Vstar line, I think, looks good. I rode with a guy on his 650 once. I didn't wanna ride as slow as his bike was, and he couldn't begin to stay in my mirrors. We rode once. I understand the oil change on them requires pulling an exhaust, could be wrong, but they're slow.

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 10/12/15 at 22:36:25:


It's only the V Star 1100 that one has to pull the exhaust off to change the filter. And yes the V Star 650 is slow (until uncorked)

What a great story, and welcome to an outstanding LS650 forum, ddm5000. Get your darlin' on here, too... she'll get a lot out of it.

You have to own a Savage/S40 for a while to figure out what the doggone thing is. I think of it as a spirited little pony of a motorcycle, one of the last examples of a very pure traditional MC. Its element is in town and on  winding green county roads, but it will happily endure the freeway if you insist. It has a fantastic engine with a lot of character and a useful power band. A lot of things were done right on this bike, which has been around  going on 30 years with only minor changes.

It also has a few design flaws, one of them serious (the cam chain tensioner), but they won't affect you on the new bikes, so just ride the heck out of them.

I am 6'3" and am cramped on the Savage, and the seat, even modded by raising the front, makes my butt sore after an hour or so. But, hey, ponies ain't built for all day comfort, they's built for fun!

I am about to add a Kaw Vulcan 900 to the stable for a bigger ride better suited to my ergos, but will never stop loving the LS650. It is that cool, with that much character that you can't find anywhere else.

Happy riding and get ready to find answers to whatever you want to know, because they are all here on SS dot com. The men and women here are good folks and they have wrung these bikes out and come up with solutions to every possible issue  with them. Hey, now...

Oil......these are the recommended oils on this forum.  The recommendations are based on proper protection of the engine, availability, and price.  You will notice the Suzuki brand oils are not shown - they don't have the proper amount of ZDDP to protect the camshaft.  If the dealer insists you use it....then you need to add enough supplemental ZDDP to get the protection needed.  (Let us know if the dealer requires you to use the Suzuki branded oil, and we will figure out how much ZDDP for you to add).

Dino        -- Rotella T Triple Protection 15W40             $12.99 a gallon  
                                                                           
Synthetic -- Rotella T-6 5W40                                     $21.99 a gallon

Synthetic -- Mobil 1 Racing 10w40                                $9.97 a quart

Synthetic -- Mobil 1 V Twin 20w50                                $9.97 a quart


There are some other oils that work...like Klotz or Brad Penn - but they are not on the recommended list as those are not easy to find or can be overly expensive.

If you don't use an oil with the proper amount of ZDDP, the cam and rockers can wear out really quickly.  This engine only had 4,000 miles on it.....and the previous owner said he used whatever oil the dealer sold him.

I tapered the leading edges and cut grooves across the shoes to minimize surface contact area with the drum.  The brake became predictable and I could vary the pedal pressure and feel the brake vary, instead of just lock up as soon as I  could feel pedal pressure feedback. A handheld 4 1/2" grinder, breathing protection, planning, patience,
I took , IIRC, four slices across each shoe and the leading edge. The grinder disks are 1/4" or so thick, and had been used, so the edge was rounded, creating a radius in the bottom of the grooves, eliminating hard corners that might allow cracks to start. I wish I had taken more off. IMO, a rear wheel lockup is nothing but bad news.
More than casual pressure on the pedal should be required.