I've been doing some tuning on my Savage lately. I swapped the 145 main for a 150. I started to go for a 147.5, but the amount of trouble I had changing the jet, I went ahead with the 150. I currently the 3 washer spacer mod with stock air and exhaust. I worried that it was a bit rich, but it's better slightly rich full throttle than lean, right?
She's got plenty of power and takes off like a rocket, but don't most people with 150's have air/exhaust mods? I am at 1000-2000 ft, but the weather is still cool which would compensate.
I can tell the difference, particularly in the sound. The last bit of throttle had more of a dry sound before, now it's more gurgly. Not sure about pulling. It might pull better on the last bit of throttle than before. It still pulls alright with the enrichment knob all the way out, but part throttle seems to suffer noticeably. The greatest difference the enrichment gives is in the idle circuit. Running with enrichment does seem make the engine run smoother, but hurts idle and may hurt power.
I do know one thing... I used a lot of gas.
Started going up the mountain, and it felt weak, so I pulled over and turned around to a flat spot and checked the oil. When I put it on reserve, the idle sped up. Then I checked the tank. There was some gas still visible, but there was a lot of bare metal down there. When I filled the tank (spilling over), it came to around 2.3 gal. Might have gotten 100 miles out of it. Not positive of the exact number. I guess running the snot out of it hurts gas mileage.
Another thing is that, when warm, it often knocks upon cranking. Does this mean it's getting too hot, or is the idle mixture just too lean, or does everyone have that?
I've been working on the suspension again. This time the rear shocks. By the way, my homemade fork oil is working fine.
On the other hand, I wish it had a better VI. In freezing temps it was a bit too stiff. Now, since temps are milder, I wish it were stiffer.
I guess that's the way it always is.
Anyway, I've been messing with the rear shock settings. I noticed that if you turn it too far, it'll reset itself to zero. That doesn't hurt anything, does it?
I really liked the stiffest setting, but I was worried that if I set it too stiff compared to the front, I would encourage a wobble.
. I tried all the way out (softest), and that was nice, but I felt like I could feel the increased squat. It's kinda like sitting in the bike as opposed to sitting on it. I liked the firm support of the stiffest setting, but it also worried me that it didn't squat much when I sat on it. When set a click below firmest, I got good support, but the ride seemed rough. I seemed to feel more bumps. Could it ride better firm or soft and worse in between? It's probably just me.
The front has a huge amount of travel and is soft, but the rear doesn't have much at all. If I set it firm for support, will I cause a suspension imbalance? Should I make pvc spacers for the front forks and put in even thicker oil? Should I just get some used Progressive Sportster shocks from Ebay? Do those cheap used shocks tend to have issues... like being worn out? I am considering the 140/90 tire. Do I need to use the firmest setting for that or, better yet, get some taller shocks?
I weigh around 200 lb, by the way.
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