New Rider. Chose a 2005 Suzuki Savage as my first bike. It seemed like a great option..

But then the bike stopped running...


Did I burn out my clutch already?

I rode only about 500 miles for three days on this bike. The bike's total miles is 1.4k miles now. Highest speed I ever rode was 60-70 mph and ive only ever ridden on clear country road (and for me to run ar that speed is rare).

BUT I unknowingly made good use of the clutch thinking that this meant I was riding responsibly...my hand was almost always pressuring the clutch.
I
1) Often entered friction zone in tight intersection corners
2) "Coasted" down long hills for smooth rides and what I thought was better fuel efficiency by holding down on the clutch and reducing power to the rear wheel.

3) I moved the bike on foot when it was idle on any gear by holding down on the clutch instead of shifting to neutral

4) and maybe worst of all I revved the bike while slowly releasing the clutch so I would not roll back downhill at full stops or so that I would not stall when launching off. I don't think I did this one often though!


I honestly thought that all of these behaviors were acceptable and they seened to work so well for me that i convinced myself that they were, in fact the legitimate, safe and efficient techniques that i was supposed to follow... it did not help that so much of the msf has us in the friction zone.

Yesterday, shortly after I performed #4, my bike slowed down to stop.
I pulled to a shoulder and I revved the bike. I heard a small-ish pop like a backfire and I think I smelled something, but it was faint and short lived... not at all obvious to any of the good people who tried to help me out. No visible smoke. After that, every gear i switched to left me feeling like I was riding in neutral. The bike would still audibly rev when I pulled the throttle, but it would not move.

Two of the guys (not a bike mechanic)who helped, diagnosed the issue as a burnt out clutch. One informs me that because of how much it would cost on his harley, he thought it might cost me $500-700 to get the parts needed to replace the clutch, plus another however many hundreds for labor costs. Guys... this hurts me as this is a season in my life where money seems to be flying out of my pockets due to unexpected circumstances. I wanted to use the bike for my commute.

Is it the clutch without a doubt that I have to replace? And whats it gonna cost me? Any good options, either cost effective or quality-wise on a clutch set? Thanks.

Welcome to the Savage group.....unfortunate that you need to be here for a repair.  However that is how a lot of us found this forum.

Your riding approach is not clutch friendly.  You should not ride with your clutch lever pulled in unless you need to shift gears, come to a stop, or are waiting for a light or getting into motion.  You should not intentionally slip the clutch for extended periods or coast for long periods.  (I do hold in the clutch and brake/coast to a stop while downshifting from higher gears when I need to stop from traveling at highway speeds). Learn to slip the clutch only when needed to get moving).

As Fast650 said - the Savage clutch is pretty durable and doesn't often fail.....however it sounds like you may have abused yours.  The symptoms would also not likely be instant - did you experience a period where the clutch would slip whenever you applied throttle and attempted to accelerate?

As Fast650 said - look to see if the lever on the right side of the engine moves when you squeeze the hand lever.  Next see if you have any "slack" in the clutch lever - there should be a small amount of movement of the lever that doesn't push on the clutch springs.....it will be a small amount of movement that is easy prior to the pull becoming harder.  This "free play" is important as it allows the clutch springs to apply full pressure to the clutch plates.

If the clutch needs repair - it is not expensive if you can do the work yourself.  Unfortunately labor rates at repair facilities can often be more than $100 an hour in this modern economy, and I would expect that the time needed would be 2-3 hours, as the exhaust and footpegs have to be moved in order to allow access to the right side engine cover - then the work to remove, clean and reassemble the clutch needs to be done.

FIf you have no experience or tools - you might want to take the bike to a local Savageforum meber who can help you - or find a trustworthy mechanic.  Suzuki dealers could do the work - but maybe you could find a mechanic with a bit less overhead that is more affordable.  Find an experienced motorcycle buddy who can help  you learn to ride properly - a lot of us old gray haired bikers who have been riding for half a century have learned how to ride and maintain our bikes so that they don't need to be taken to the dealers for repairs.