Introduced myself an hour or so ago.  Recap:  Bob in North Carolina, 83 years old, 36 bikes so far counting the 96 Savage LS 650 I brought home today.  Have two bikes left.  Rebel 250 and Savage.

Ask me to define ohm, amp, watt, volt and I am (way) out of my depth.   Thus the subject of this posting.  New-to-me  bike has 12000 miles.  

Tackling "dying' battery is first item on fix list.  It only gets one and at  most two starts after a charge before it cranks insufficiently.  (Headlight remains very bright.)  I plan to take it out and make sure it is filled with distilled water.  Then take to get it checked to see if it is any good.  I am hoping it isn't, so that I can buy a Yuasa battery, install it, and be care free for awhile...Of course if  instead (or also) there is a bad stator or rectifier that is another matter.  First things first.

I did hook up a voltmeter to  the battery while it was running at maybe 2000 rpm and it registered 12 volts.  the meter shows that the "good" charging number is a bit less or more than 14 volts.  (I have no idea what that means)….

Clutch also slips.  I can live with it for awhile but would like to remedy it before late spring and  have seen tutorials claiming the clutch doesn't usually fail, but it gets caked with a substance that makes it slip and can usually be remedied by sanding the discs (is discs the right term?) and the fiber parts and soaking in oil and replacing...I'd also put in heavy duty springs from Barnett.  I can afford new parts for it and would buy Barnett brand if that would be a good bit easier.  

Any suggestions, links to good explanations, comments,  etc., are very much appreciated.  

Thank you in advance for any assistance from y'all.  

Bob in North Carolina

The clutch slip could be as simple as the previous owner using incorrect oil. Modern oils with friction modifiers can cause slippage. It might be worth doing an oil change before you start taking the clutch apart.

There is ALOT of information on this site about oil. I believe a lot of guys in the USA go for the Rotella T6.

for clutch slip, 1st check adjustment of the clutch lever on the bar and check it on the engine too.  there should be a gap between the lever and the perch, at least an 1/8".
On the engine where the cable meets the lever, you should also have free play.  Pull up on the lever, push it back down.  If there's no free play your cable is too tight.
Also check the lever position when you pull up, there are 2 marks in the case behind the lever, the bottom side of the lever should be between the 2 marks.

Guys, a thousand thanks for the many valuable suggestions and comments.
I treasure your goodwill.  I'll keep you all posted on my status as the work progresses.  
Many regards,
Old Bob in North Carolina...

PS....Any additional comments and suggestions are most welcome

Bokobob wrote on 02/01/20 at 18:12:15:




Hey, I'm next door in Charlotte. Have had 7 savages so far with the recent one being my son's. Just saying welcome to the party.
Cool.
Srinath.