Tomorrow I am taking my little Thumpy to the mechanic for the big bore and cam install. I can't do it myself, not enough tools and no garage so I'm biting the bullet and laying out for the work to be done by a competent motorcycle mechanic.

I have the Big Bore kit from Windsor which comes with a properly sized head gasket, piston rings + pin as well as the cylinder jug and piston.
I have the cam and some assembly lube for it plus a printout of the clearances checklist.
And I'm having a gasket kit for the engine fedexed to the shop.

For materials I think he'll be all set.
He's done big bore kits and cams before and knows to check clearances and adjust valve lash etc.
He's worked on Suzukis before. A couple M109's, a S50 and their various sport bikes but not an LS650.

What sorts of LS650 specific things might I want to tell him to watch out for?
Are there any peculiarities he might want to know about before starting the job?

He doesn't need to worry about checking piston/valve clearance - all the parts from Wiseco and WebCam work together without any issues.  The Webcam will have different valve lash clearance than the stock cam - so he needs to adjust the valves to what the WebCam specs are that should be included with the cam.

He should used the proper Suzukibond or similar products from Yamaha or Honda....not an RTV from the auto parts store.  The official stuff sets up much slower and gives you time to work at installing the head cover.

What do you know about the health of your cam chain?  Have you installed a Verslagen tensioner....how far is the plunger extended?  20 mm out and you are about to have a failure.

philthymike wrote on 12/13/16 at 07:18:52:


Most Suzuki dealers don't know much about the care and feeding of the Savage.  They most likely didn't check the cam chain tensioner.

If your dealer put a stock rubber head plug back in the bike - it will eventually fail again.  You might want to install the Versy plug while the bike is apart - and never have to worry about it again.

Service manual doesn't call for sealant on the head plug.
Reality does.

Do you trust your mechanic to not use too much sealant and clog the oil passages? Most guys I know really pile it on thick to ensure a leak free seal. Not a good thing!

FYI, the white spacer mod will work better for you than upping the size of the main jet. Well, that is if your bike spends most of its time off a race track.

The bigger/badder piston, camshaft and DYNA muffler really don't change the jetting requirements much.

I had the same setup, and I spent a lot of time getting the jetting correct, and I used an air/fuel meter to confirm the jetting.

My engine ran best on a #50 pilot, #150 main, and 2 washers on the needle (there was a lean surge at low throttle settings with 3 washers on the needle).

I ride at an elevation of 500 - 825 msl.....so if you are below that you might need a larger pilot - a 52.5 is the largest jet you should ever need if you are running the stock filter system.

If your cam is new.....avoid any idling for the first 15 minutes after the engine is started.  Then for the next 500 miles be easy on the piston/cylinder.....no full throttle interstate trips, you should vary the speeds and do some runs rolling the throttle on/off to help seat the rings.

philthymike wrote on 12/21/16 at 12:43:28:


I would....the first hour is most likely the most critical time for the piston/cylinder to get to know each other.  It is important to vary the rpm and throttle during the break in period....and you likely can't do that when you are at the mercy of the other traffic on the highway.