Hi, I am new to this forum, and apart from college class discussion boards, this is the first public forum I have ever joined. I am new to motorcycling. I took the MSF Basic course and got my license about a month ago. I got an '04 Savage for locally for $1K as my first bike.
The bike is a little beaten up, and sometimes I wish I could have gotten it even cheaper. It needs a neutral switch. The bike has been wrecked, probably multiple times since the pegs on both sides were bent. I guess it is a good thing I did not buy a really good bike since I lowsided it in a curve (10-30 mph) a couple weeks ago on my way to church. The rear tire is an 8 year old Metzler ME880, and the front is a brand new shinko 712 (I think). I had to replace the front tire since it was bald and wouldn't pass VA inspection. I gather that there is a controversy surrounding the belief that new tires are slick. Maybe I was another victim of slick new tire or an old rear--or I just leaned to far entering a curve going too fast
. Anyway, I was wearing a leather jacket and plenty of clothes, so I wasn't hurt apart from minor road rash. In fact, I even finished my ride to church
. Apart from bending the footpeg (again!) and more scuffs to the bike, the worst thing was that I broke my rear turn signal
. I paid $25 for some used signals that went to an old Honda CB 360. They looked pretty good too. Well, that didn't last long. All that money and effort wasted...
Anyway, the previous owner said that the owner before him had trouble with the bike, and was afraid he had blown the engine, but the guy I bought it from figured out that it was the carburetor and he "rebuilt" the carburetor. Now, before I noticed any real problem there seemed to be a very subtle surging, like the firing was just
slightly uneven. Is this normal? However, After the crash on the way back home, I noticed that it began to die so I switched to reserve thinking that I was running out of gas. That fixed it, and it made sense since I spilled some gas in the wreck. I went home and we filled it with some gas we had in a can. I believe it had a tinge of red from a bit of diesel contamination. I doubt that caused a problem. I began commuting to work with the bike, and I noticed that it started acting up on the highway, so I switched it to reserve and got some gas (non-ethanol). What I noticed is that I filled it up on less that $4 which made me think that it had not run out of gas after all. On the next commute to work, the bike started going crazy after I let off on the throttle and gave it gas again. I had to ride to work with the choke pulled and full throttle, missing all the way. I put carb/fuel inj cleaner
and Seafoam. It did not fix it. I then took the carb off and took it apart. I found the float needle retainer clip lying in the bottom of the float bowl. There was also some water contamination in the float bowl. I put the clip back and tightened it so it would not fall off. I put it all back together, and tested it. It ran fine
for awhile; however, then it began doing the same thing. I did not try to count how many times the bike has died, forcing me to pull to the side of the highway. I have put the hazard lights to good use. Sometimes, when I get it cranked back up, I
really have to slip the clutch to keep it from dying in first gear. I remember at least once literally running with the bike (straddled) to help it launch. Reserve and choke seems to help, but it does not solve the problem. The problem seems to be triggered by high speed and heavy throttle (e.g. highway driving). However, I went to vote today, and all the driving was little back-country roads. I did not make it very far before it started acting up. The only thing I can think of is that I opened it all the way up running from a couple of little dogs. That might have started it, or maybe the problem is getting worse.
I spoke with a dealer mechanic some days ago, and he suspected something in the ignition system may be going bad. From what he told me, I may end up running around the countryside with an ohmmeter in my pocket. I read that a low battery can cause performance issues; could that be the problem? I tried riding without the gas cap today after the problem started, but that did not seem to help.
NOTE: DON'T GET ANY IDEAS ABOUT THE VACUUM PETC0CK. SOMEONE HAS REPLACED IT WITH A MANUAL ONE It runs nearly a pint a minute. It is either a Raptor or something similar, but I have not yet found a part number. I took it off and looked at it it has one brass tube for the main and a white plastic screen tube for the reserve. The reserve tube is a little bent and has a few small holes. I bought an inline filter to stick on it. The only thing that could be wrong on that side is an intermittent clog or something wrong with the fuel in the tank, which I doubt. When I tested the flow, the fuel was relatively clean. An intermittent clog is possible, but I don't think it is the most probable thing. My Dad wants to take an air compressor to the tank and force the fuel out with air pressure. My opinion is to disassemble the carb again and soak the metal parts in a bucket of carb cleaner dip that we recently bought. I read someone suggest that one should not even get fingerprints on that carb slide. Could that be my problem? Wow, if that thing is that sensitive to contamination, how does it deal with gas and Seafoam and whatever else running through it constantly?
I did not notice any holes in the diaphragms, so unless there is something not so obvious that goes wrong with them (stretching??, hardening??, ideas anyone??), I don't think they are the problem. One last thing about the fuel system is a vacuum leak. I read about plugging off two lines when converting to a manual petcock. Well, only one line is plugged. I tried unplugging that line to see what it does, and indeed, it does cause a very obvious vacuum leak. However, the other line going to the float bowl does not seem to have any
noticeable vacuum. Should it have vacuum? Does that one really need to be plugged? There seems to be an identical one on the other side which goes to the airbox, but I could not find exactly where it goes, so it is also hanging free now. By the way is it normal to pour out gas when the bike is laying on its side, or is that a sign that there is something that needs to be plugged up?
Probably the next thing that I would think of is testing or replacing the ignition coil.
Since this problem has shown itself, my Dad really tried to get me to trade in the little thumper for a Honda Shadow listed just under 2 grand. As good a deal as it may be, I find the savage to be a good beginner bike for me. Besides, my Dad already helped me to get an old '83 Shadow 750. It is not road ready yet. I'll tell you this, the way those early model Shadows were made, they are alot harder to handle than the little Savage, even though they were supposedly lighter than many of the modern Shadows. Those early shadow 750s actually had alot more power than the newer ones, particularly at high revs. The Shadow does have a better ride--or the tires are just low
. Having to push that shadow is much harder than pushing the savage. I live in the back-country with a driveway that turns to mud when it rains. Today, that mud was mighty silppery. Not only that, I have a steep dirt/gravel road in
both directions to navigate. Wouldn't a light bike be valuable in these situations? The dealerships like to suggest that I get a dual sport
. Not that I wouldn't have one of those, but I like cruisers, and dual sports are harder to find for $1000. To make the situation more interesting, I am a 6'1" 200 lb male. The sales people like to say the savage/s40 looks too small for me, and I have to admit that there is not a huge amount of legroom for my 32 inch inseam, but this is a daily driver/commuter bike, and I plan on using it as such in as cold or rough of weather as practical for me (I ain't no poser
). I bought this bike with the idea that I would have a small beginners bike, but with more power and capabilities than a honda rebel. The idea is that I might be able to take it on the Interstate
on occasion. Alot of beginner bikes (cough: rebel :cough) aren't very good at that.
Let me know if I missed anything
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