First let me say this looks like an amazing community and I'm super glad I was approved!

Second I am overly exited about this community so sorry for the overdone post...

Now that that's out of the way, hello i have recently joined the savage family with my 97 ls650p!! Got the bike for 650 !!great price! Running. Rode the bike home that day.

I'm a mid level (in my opinion) mechanic I can handle most things and have a decent set of tools and what I dont have my father and in law does have.

I will not be restoring the bike its just to rough for that (dents,past wreck) missing all plastic just broken things here and there and ALLOT of bad wiring….. Its amazing it runs…

Now the guy I got it from said he replaced head gasket and tensioner last year, idk if I am going to believe him considering he said he did the breaks and allot of things he said he did I'm finding to be a lie… Front caliper is leaking (removing today to see why)...ill post some pictures of what i've done, me and my father are making a custom exhaust tip since the old owner welded on a Kawasaki tip that fell off on the way home...sorry car behind me…

What the top of engine leaks a bit under the metal cover I cleaned it and haven't cranked it yet to see where its coming from yet.

[What I have done so far]
Petcock replacement (vacumeless)
New fuel line
Pod air filter (old air box was already removed but I have it)
Going threw replacing and fixing wires
Just ordered a new turn signal/horn/headlight module for bars.(old one broken)
Just ordered some bullet rubber led turn signals
(no turn signals on it)

[Things I know I need to do]
Rear fender (custom I am going kinda bobber)
Fix oil leak top of engine
Oil change??
Choke rod plastic thread bolt?? Is broken
(still works)
Front brake caliper leak
Front forks are bad need to reseal but idk how

Hey man, welcome!  
Beautiful children there.  If that's your daughter, she looks like she's giving you a "disapproving wife stare"!  

First let me say this looks like an amazing community and I'm super glad I was approved! Grin Grin

Well, you'll realize soon enough our standards are really, and I mean REALLY, low. Fill in the blanks and
Shazzam...
OTOH, I have No Clue how many try and aren't approved..
Anyway, welcome,
And I was reading her face as saying

Dad gets all the cool stuff..

Sometimes the old grungy bikes are the coolest.

Way back a long time ago I bought a Suzuki TS90 with a blown cylinder for $40.  I put in a new piston/rings, took the headlights off, installed knobby tires....and went racing hare scrambles with it.  It proved to be incredibly durable and reliable, and I didn't have much invested and I never felt nervous about letting other folks ride or race it.  The amazing thing was that in the late 70's a ratty bike like this could even win some races!

So......if you get your bike reliable and running well - you can just ride the wheels off it and not have to worry about getting it dirty!  Just go riding and don't worry about polishing anything!

Long live the Grunge bike!  

batman wrote on 03/28/18 at 08:16:26:



Yea I have some digital resources but I will splurge and buy a book any good sources? I have rode the bike about 40 miles so far after tinker here tinker there it runs (to me) smooth but it has been in a wreak and it has a good vibration when riding not bad enough to go numb but noticeable could be the spokes tho???

15k and some change the past owner said he did the chain tensioner but allot of what he said he did was either jackleg or a lie... Ive never done a tensioner on a bike (I'm more of a car mechanic but have a few hours in bike work) should I take a look inside at it?? Also is there a torq on the top bolts of head? I belive tjats where ots leaking some oil under cover where plug is and it hits a few fins...