bobert_FSO
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SuzukiSavage.com Rocks!
Posts: 421
Wichita KS
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The Savage is already a pretty light bike for its displacement and available torque. That was one reason I bought one. This makes for a pretty quick bike off the line. It is quicker off the line than a lot of other motorcycles-- up to about 50mph. That is when its rather low horsepower rating shows itself.
If you've built your Savage as a tracker, it has probably lost a bit of weight, making the weight/torque curve even better.
If you have raised the rear of the bike a little, that will lessen the trail on the front end geometry, making the steering a little quicker. This also might give you the feeling of a livelier ride.
In the right tune, these engines run very well. When stock they are usually tuned a little lean. I think the white spacer mod is the single best modification you can make. Mine was a 2001, with the white spacer mod, one size larger main jet, one size large idle jet, and a dyna muffler with a 3/8 inch hole in the baffle for a little more noise. It ran great. It didn't after-fire when the throttle was closed, although it did a lot of grumbling and snapping as it approached lower RPMs (which I liked). Occasionally if you shut if off immediately while hot, I would get a soft "poof" out of the exhaust. I usually got about 46mpg, which wasn't all that great compared to some of you guys. It was probably a little rich, but it ran great. No hesitation, no bogging.
Here is my experience on lean vs rich for midrange and full throttle. If you open the throttle and it sound like it is bogging, but things improve if you close the throttle just a hair, you are too lean. If you feel the engine surging a steady speed, you are too lean. If you open the throttle wide and you get some misfiring, you are either too rich or way too lean. Spark plug color is also a good indication of lean or rich, especially on a Savage where it is not possible to modify the ignition timing.
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