Part I, Introduction...
Hi all, I'm (potentially) new to LS650s, but not so new to bikes. I've been riding on the street for 31 years, since the day I turned 16. Didn't even get a car license till I was 28.

My current bikes are an 89 FJ1200 and a 2000 1200 Bandit that's been lightly cafe modded. Lightly.

I've been fairly active in maintenance and wrenching in general, so I'm not afraid to get dirt under my nails. I have an engineering degree, own a machine/fabrication shop, and used to be a weldor. Whatever that's worth.

Part II: The questions

OK, so I have my mind set on a project for the winter, and that project centers around a 650 Savage. I need the motor, a clean title, the wheels, or at least the hubs, the electricals, and enough of the frame to be able to see the VIN number. The rest will just go on the shelf.

So I see this bike on craigslist...
(tried to post a link to the craigslist ad, but I can't do that in my first post, so I'll post it in a minute...)

lowest price for a bike with a title I've found, owner *says* it runs well, and I don't care about the forks, triple clamps, or handle bars.AND its got a Supertrapp slip on, which is a BIG plus, cause I need one for this project.

So far so good...

But I notice the blueing on the pipe goes all the way back to the slip on, and that raises a red flag for me. Don't think I've noticed the discoloration go THAT far before, usually just down the header and not much further. Is this common on these bikes, or has this one been left to overheat too many times? Assuming it actually runs, this overheating potential is my one big concern.

Anything else to look for on this model? Obviously I'm not going to be taking it for a test ride any time soon, so I'm limited to hearing it run. Your thoughts and experience is appreciated!

That is REALLY blue.

Personally, I would not worry about the blueing.  I have a trapp, and it blues that way.  It's kinda odd for the header to blue at the bottom rather than the top... could be the picture, but may indicate that it's caused by polish.

Key thing that I would be looking at are the valves, any ticking or knocking.
worn out cam or rocker will knock at the top where the rocker hits the decomp cam.
A worn out cam chain will cause a knocking on the clutch cover right behind the oil filter cover at the top of the case.
A knocking that you can't locate could either be the piston, or a loose flywheel nut.

w/out riding, that's about it.  just leaks that are easy to take care of.

That POS isn't worth $600. Blueing of the pipe is the least of its troubles. The blueing on the header pipe doesn't look that unusual. I don't know why the Supertrap is discolored...it could have blued on a completely different bike. If you're looking for a project, then part of the project will include a borascope of the head and cylinder wall to confirm the condition.

Gary might not be as harsh as you think ,I don't see the front brake caliber ,the hit was hard enough to snap the front right fork(never seen that before) ,the neck may not be straight ,and that's wear the vin  numbers are stamped. you said that you don't want the front end ,but there aren't many others you can make fit ,(vs 800 suz has been used with a little work). the pipe being that blue is a bit scary to me being the header is two ply, it looks like someone put on the supertrapp but never tried to tune /rejet ,and ran the hell out of it.It may be the sale of the century or a pig in a poke ,I'd go see it in person and be looking very hard!

I'm not sure if everyone actually read your post.  But, $600 for a ~10k mile motor, a title and the only part of the frame you need???  Buy it today!!!

You'll be able to part out the rest of the bike for most of what you paid and still have what you need for your project.  Front bakes parts are easy to get, (I have a complete unit).  You can even get a big brake kit if that fits your project.

As for the Supertrap, it's probably due to an air leak where it's mounted to the header.  My Dyna muffer did the same thing when I had a leak. Do yourself a favor and overpay for Ryca's adapter.  It fits perfect and will save you a bunch of headaches.

Maybe jack it up , start it and run it thru the gears before you buy it !

ohiomoto wrote on 11/07/17 at 06:02:33:


Good points. I was planning on putting a high pipe on the left side, leading to the Supertrapp. I've seen some of RYCA's stuff and it's nice, to be sure, I'll look around for their adaptor. THANKS

Ironically, a guy not far from me sold a mid-project Savage with a RYCA cafe kit half installed. I think he wanted 900 for it, which was reasonable, I thought, but the motor was completely separate and there would be no way to run it, or even turn it over before forking over my hard earned play money, so I passed. I'm gonna second guess that one for a while.