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1986 Suzuki LS650 Savage Repair/Restore

81K views 119 replies 15 participants last post by  canadiansavage 
#1 ·
I thought I might as well start a new thread as an "Official Get 'er Running" thread, even though I posted about Hylomar regarding this bike earlier. As I go through things and get everything sorted out I will post it here, just in case there are some other LS650 thumper owners out there who may benefit from the torture I am sure I am about to go through. First, let me say that when working on this bike it is useful to be an octopus with opposable thumbs, as all the clearances are tight and to wiggle stuff in and out often requires one to hold a dozen parts just so.

So far--I pulled the carb and did a thorough cleaning, pulling all jets, clearing their tiny holes with fishing line, putting in a new float valve o-ring and reinstalling the carb. While I was ordering a couple new o-rings for the carb (one spare; always buy one spare) I also ordered tanks mounts which were missing from this bike. Don't expect Suzuki (at least our local dealer didn't) to have anything in stock; you'll wait a week to get your stuff. I am pretty confident that this carb will now function properly as I have had much experience with other CV carbs (see the thread titled "So Close, but Yet So Far" about my travails getting my 42 year old CB350 to run).

I also put in a new air filter (there was none on the bike when I picked it up) changed the oil and installed a new oil filter. I also went out a bought a 18mm spark plug socket (don't bother trying a deep 18mm socket; it won't work) and installed a new plug, properly gapped. Before putting in the plug I put a teaspoon or so of oil in to soak down past the rings as this bike has sat since 2008 and there was zero oil in the top end.

I got two tanks with the bike and chose the less dented and less rusted one which I cleaned with muriatic acid, flushed out with water and immediately followed by denatured alcohol. It is now all clean with bare gray metal inside. I may reline it, but later once the thing has proven to me it can run.

I also discovered the forks were on backward with the rotor on the wrong side, so I put them right.

First big challenge was the petcock. By the way, Suzuki does not sell any parts for this; they require you to buy an entire petcock for about $70. It did not look bad inside but I found a rebuild kit made for other bikes but which fits this one perfectly (an o-ring is included which goes unused for this bike). The part came from Z1 Enterprises and its part number KL18-4344 "Petcock Repair Kit Suzuki". That renewed the inside of the petcock, now to mount it. As I related in the Hylomar thread; I remounted the petcock on the cleaned tank and had bad fuel leaks. I tried anaerobic sealant, which failed. I next tried Hylomar, a highly touted racing sealant, but the leak was still there. I flattened the mating surface with a file, followed by fine sandpaper, where the petcock flange's lozenge-shaped "o-ring" seated; but it still leaked. I once again removed the petcock and this time I saw the tiny pin-holes in the bottom to side flange, right next to the petcock base, which is what fooled me into thinking the petcock was the culprit. A bit of JB Weld cured that leak and a fine film of Hylomar on the petcock base, the mating surface of the tank, and on the bolt threads finally did the job of stopping the leak(s).

Next up was mounting the tank. The tank, just like the carb, has almost no wiggle room for mounting and removal and reinstallation is difficult and you must wiggle and hold your tongue just so to get things to fit on this bike. The space is so much more close around stuff on this bike compared to my CB350, where removing a carb takes me about two minutes (1/2 hour for my first attempt on the LS650). Anyway, I plugged in the instrument lights and put on the speedo cable and remounted the tank. Then hooked up the vacuum and fuel line from the petcock. Next, a new battery went in. Switch on, and the headlight works anyway, and the front turn signals come on but don't blink. I even have a working neutral light.

I hit the start button and whirrrr! the starter turned over. I left the bike for the rest of the day planning to try a real engine start after work, with fuel in the tank. Unfortunately, the whirr was only the starter; the engine was not turning over, as my brother and I discovered when we went to start it.

I pulled the starter and could turn the gear inside the engine through the hole with my finger. I drained the oil and started to pull the left side engine cover. Easy enough, as it has actuall hex head bolts holding it on, instead of those d*mn phillips heads like my CB. Uh oh; one is hidden on the bottom side behind the shifter/footpeg bracket, which is in turn held on with long big bolts that also serve as engine mounts that run across the whole width of the bike, terminating on the right side footpeg bracket. Finally, I removed the shift linkage and was able to get an 8mm wrench in from the front to this bolt and a tiny turn by tiny turn I got the final bolt out. The cover was loose, but the spring loaded kickstand switch is sticking out and keeping me from pulling it off. I can't hold in the switch, take weight off the bracket and pull the cover off by myself. So, this is where I am at; waiting for another helper to hold the bike and switch in, so I can pull the cover off and hopefully see what is going on inside, keeping the starter from engaging the motor. It is not clear from the manual or pictures how exactly this thing clicks in and out. Hopefully, seeing the gearing myself will shed light on this problem. There must be a mechanism that engages and releases the starter, as it cannot be spinning all the time with the motor, but it is a mystery to me--so far.

That's where I am at right now. Once the motor is working, there are myriad little things electrical to work on and multiple missing parts. Obvious future needs are left rear turn signal; front right turn signal as this one, although working, is flapping loosely in its mount; The neatral swith wire is broken and dangling under the bike--new switch I am sure required; mounts for the driver seat are missing; and a front left driver's footpeg is missing. Good thing I got the bike for free.

Cheers,

Mike

The Savage upon arrival in my garage after pickup in Dothan, AL.
 
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#28 ·
It's alive! It's ALIVE!!!!



I, indeed, had the starter clutch backwards. I reinstalled it the correct way and hit the starter button, and lo and behold, the engine turned over. It took a while, some battery recharging, and some little blips on the throttle with the choke all the way out, but eventually the beast roared to life! And, Man, is it loud! Going to have to joint the muffler to the exhaust properly.

So, now that I know it CAN run, I have to tackle this mess:



A lot of, um, "customizing" has gone on here. Saftey interlocks have been by passed, etc. The decomp stuff does not work. Need a new rear turn signal . . .

But, I will take solace in the sound of that motor roaring into life.

Cheers,

Mike
 
#30 ·
I pulled the "muffler" and took a look. The baffles had been screwed up and all that was holding it to the head pipe was a wimpy hose clamp. I took the old muffler down with me to see my local bike guy and see what he thought. He took me out back and showed me a pile of shiny mufflers that people had left with him when they had him put aftermarket stuff on. We pulled a few out and found one (Harley) that looked like it would work. Price--nothing!

I took it home and cut the front pipe shorter, behind the crossover connector, and it slipped on like a glove. Just need to get a foot or so of heat wrap (for a gasket) and a proper clamp and I can put it on. The mount to the bike's hanger looks like ti will be easy to rig out of some flat bar stock. I also received the rear pipe shield from ebay yesterday and it will hide any ugliness at the connection.

While there at B.A.B.'s, he told me he had some parts for me I had ordered. I had forgotten all about them. He had a break in and his computer was stolen so he had lost my number to call me the parts were in. So, now I have part for the missing front brake switch and a clamp/mirror perch for the right side controls. I ordered an aftermarket rear left turn signal, a front right signal (mine is boogered up), the front left peg (they do not seem to exist in used-parts-world for some reason) and a new clutch cable.

In the meantime, I am going to check the decompression stuff and see which part is bad. I'll either buy a used part and repair or I may rig a manual release soemwhere that I can pull when I start the bike (which might be a cool element if I rat this bike, which I am strongly considering).

Once these final parts are here, I will have enough to put the thing on the road and see what it will do. I'll post back here as things progress.

Cheers,

Mike, getting closer
 
#39 ·
Thought I'd pass this along for those with petcock problems. I have read that this petcock will work on the Savage:
Raptor part no. 5LP-24500-01-00
2003 Yamaha Raptor 660 YFM660R

And where you can get one:
See post above.

Cheers,

Mike
I was the person (or at least one of the people) who was having petcock problems. My Savage was sitting in storage for 13 years (!!) while I was overseas, and I was trying to get it going again. Wasn't starting and it turned out that the petcock was blocked or something. Ordered one on EBay and that did the trick. So I was able to get it running by just replacing all fluids, spark plug, pulling and cleaning carberator, replacing battery and finally replacing the petcock. The front brake fluid had also leaked out and turned to a mush. Thought I'd have to replace something there too, but I just had to pull off and clean the front brake master cylinder and lever, and front calipers, and then bleed the brakes. Now that's working also. I drove it up and down the street, and it seemed to run fairly well, but there was some light smoke coming from the front of the engine. I'm hoping it's just something superficial. Was going to look into that, but ... I had to leave the country again, but only for a month this time. Hopefully it's something minor. Plan on looking into that and some other smaller things when I get back. Having fun checking up on your much-more-involved project from time to time. And good to know that I can get a new petcock if this one starts having problems (the one that I got off of ebay, while cheap, was from a bike even older than mine and it fair-to-poor condition). Ciao.
 
#32 ·
I was out checking the fit of the new muffler (for a H-D FXS1450, I think Softtail Shovelhead?). I thought I was going to have to manufacture a mount of some sort to attach this to the Savage's rear muffler support. I found out that one of the mounting bolt holes on the H-D muffler aligns with one of the Savage's mounting holes on the muffler bracket, so all I had to do was find a bolt that fit, cut it to length, add a couple washers to spane the big Savage hole and the thing mounts directly!

I may cut some heavy fiberglass cloth in a short strip to act as a buffer/cushion between the muffler and the bracket. I have not been able to find a scrap of exhaust wrap anywhere here, so I cannot finish up the installation quite yet. You'd think many shops would have short cutoffs, but no luck here. I will take a picture of the whole rig once I get it all tightened up.

Cheers,

Mike
 
#33 ·
Progress Report!

I worked some more on the Savage this weekend. I talked to a couple people about mounting the muffler and using the exhaust wrap and the consensus was that it was unecessary. So I bolted it on.

The muffler cut easily behind the crossover connector and I cut four slits to enable me to squeeze this onto the head pipe. This H-D pipe fit nicely, slid on without a struggle but not sloppy either. FYI-the diameter of this pipe where it attaches is 1 7/8". I had to use a regular hose clamp for now, but I have a proper motorcycle muffler clamp on order. I used some high temp silicone sealant (red) to help air-tight the joint. The mount on the muffler has two threaded holes and one of them lined up with one of the two oversized holes on the Savage muffler bracket. I used a couple washers to mount the two together. It is not pretty but seems solid. One could use strapping to rig something more elegant. I could not help but fire it up to hear what it sounded like. Nice, low rumble, lkoud but not obnoxious and very little backfiring. Best Savage sound I have heard.

Here's the muffler where it joins the header:



And here it is where it is mounted to the bracket. You can see the muffler was designed for a H-D FXS1450.:



Next, it was time to remove the rear wheel (note: remove the belt guard when you do this! DAMHIKT) and install the right side passenger peg and replace the green fender with a black one I got with the bike. I had once again removed the tank in this picture in preparation for wiring work.:



Unfortunately, the black fender is bent to the left side. Here you can see it. The bike that originally had the fender on it must have been dropped on the right side. I have already pulled a lot of this bend out and a little more work should straighten it out close to completely.:



I have started troubleshooting the wiring. Most is OK, but the safety interlocks have been disabled. I may fix those or not. I am used to a bike with none anyway (my 1968 CB350). I do want to fix the disabled compression release system. I checked the decomp solenoid and it is working, so I moved on to the time/controller unit. I made up a bunch of jumpers and carefully following the Clymer manual checked both timers. Timer one is bad on this unit. I found one on ebay last night and just got word it shipped so soon I should be able to wire this up properly with a working decompression lever.

I also checked the neautral switch, the wiring from which is dangling under the bike. It tested OK so I will splice it into the wiring. I still have no winking turn signals, although they work now that I have put in new bulbs. I looked at the relay and it is very corroded so I am hoping a good cleaning might get them to wink.

Cheers,

Mike, each day a little closer
 
#35 ·
thanks for the read , sounds like your having fun , I got to say , it sounds like you "motor cycle guy" is an actual human being unlike the "if your not dropping a ton of $$ every time I see you dont bother me" type I'm used to from the local metric dealer.
Oddly enough I saw this http://treasure.craigslist.org/mcy/1862461659.htmlyesterday thought it was a coinsidence finding this thread today.
 
#37 ·
Going slow. I am still waiting for some parts that should have been here already. Andrea is out of town for the rest of the week so I have the added complication of having a six and nine year old all to myself.

I did get a new decompression controller from ebay today along with a new fuse holder and I got those on. I also received a new starter solenoid (mine is dangling amongst the wires with no mount) but I still have to get that on. With any luck the rest of the stuff will be here tomorrow--left rear turn signal, front left footpeg, and a new clutch cable.

Cheers,

Mike
 
#38 ·
More progress today as new/used parts came in. First, finally a driver's left footpeg. It's hard to ride without one and they are virtually non-existant in the used market.



I also received a four pack of relays bought on ebay off a 2006 Savage, which included a new decompression controller that I needed.



Also, with the package came a new fuse holder, which is nice because it came with the rubber mount enabling me to secure it on the right frame under the seat, unlike my old dangling one.



My turn signals all lit, but would not "wink" so I figured I needed a new flasher relay. Here's one I picked up at Autozone for $2.99, compared to the $38.52 for an OEM. It plugged right in with the same connector.



Finally, I also received a used starter solenoid via another buy on ebay. Here's the old. Bit of a mess, to say the least.



And the ebay purchase. This one has the mount so I can secure this properly down on the frame and out of the way. It also has the rubber cap to keep other wires from causing me grief by hitting the hot terminals, and it has a proper hot lead and cover. Still have to switch these out.



I had turn signals for the left rear and right front on order along with a muffler clamp, but that stuff has not come in yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Cheers,

Mike
 
#40 ·
Glad to hear you got your problem solved. Bad thing about the Raptor petcock is there is no reserve.

I had the same thing on the front brake on this bike. That brake fluid had turned to jelly. I thought a rebuild was in order, but once cleaned up, the brakes worked fine again with new fluid.

I am having some smoke from the front of mine, too. Mine is coming from where the exhaust header connects to the cylinder. Check and see if yours is there, too. There is a plug in the head cover just above the left exhaust mounting bolt (looking at the motor from directly in front--your left). I have read that it is pretty common for that plug to leak and when it does it drips onto the hot exhaust pipe. I think that is what mine is doing. While not super easy, it is something that can be done with the engine in place. It is in the head cover not the head, so that makes it much simpler. It looks like it is a simple press fit plug. A little sealant and push it in and close 'er up again.

My local bike shop guy says it may seal up once I've run the bike a bit. If not, I am first going to try a bead of high temp sealant as a temporary fix. Google "Savage Forum" and you will find some good resources specific to this bike. No where near as fun as here, but when I have need for knowledge I look anywhere I can find it! ;)

Good luck,

Mike
 
#41 ·
I'm going to check that plug out right when I get back. Pretty likely that that is the cause, because that's about where the smoke is coming from.

I remember there was another reoccuring leak on this bike, but a different one. Oil would leak onto one side of the engine (like I said, my bike has been in storage for 13 years, so I can't remember for sure which side, but I think it was on the left side). Anyway, the oil would slowly coat those cooling fins on one side, until one side of the engine looked silver and the other black or brown. I brought it in to get it fixed once, which worked for about 4 months, and then it started leaking again. This time the mechanic told me that it was a chronic problem on Savages. He said he could fix it, but it would likely break again, and at any rate, he said it didn't effect the functioning of the bike. He seems to have been right, because I put another 15K miles on it without an issue, other than having to clean the engine every once in a while. Also, when I checked out other Savages on the street, sure enough, a lot of them had oil coating a good part of one side of the engine.

I think this is another problem though, because I never had smoke coming from that other leak.
 
#42 ·
OK. Spent the day after cutting the lawn in the garage sweating my b**ls off working on the wiring. I unwrapped most of the "harness" which was simply wrapped with electrical tape and went to town testing.

I found my clutch switch working intermittently. A few blasts of contact cleaner got it working consistently. The wire from the start button ran here and then on to the decomp controller, but probably because of the clutch switch wasn't working properly the switch was bypassed. After gettng it working again, I once again routed the wire through it and to the decomp controller, which had also been bypassed. My old one was bad but now I have a new one in its place. So, from the start button to the the clutch switch and then to the decomp controller now. Then the wire was reattached from the decomp controller that went to the starter solenoid.

I also had already tested the neutral switch and it was fine except for the wire just dangling, so I hooked that back up to the diode per the wiring diagram.

I hooked up the new starter solenoid and redid the wires going to the small terminals. I rewrapped the harness and reinstalled the tank, side covers, and seat (I know, too much confidence!). Forgot to check the front brake light switch again before buttoning her up.

I installed the battery again and hit the key and the lights still worked and the turn signals now blink and work all around.

That was it. It was too hot to do more testing. I will wait for later or the morning to try and fire her up. It was so hot out there I could not see for the sweat running in my eyes.

I also received the title Friday, so if I get this thing to fire up again I will be able to put it on the road.

Cheers,

Mike, inching closer
 
#43 ·
Went out today and tried to start the beast. I could hear and see the decomp lever working, so that is good. I also have to hodl the lcutch to start now, which is the way it is supposed to be on this bike, so that little issue is reolved, also.

Problem is I could not get the bike to start. it didn't even make an attempt to fire. So, off is the tank and seat and I am back at it again.

First things first. I checked the rsistance of the coil and although I had no choice but to test it cold (the manual said to do it warm) both resistance measurements were spot on.

Next, I hooked my spark tester up to the spark plug lead, snapped it onto a head fin, and hit the starter. I got a spark (weak) for just an instant and then nothing. I checked continuity for the leads between the ignitor and the coil and both were good. Just for good measure I sprayed the contacts down with contact cleaner and cleaned up the coil temrinals and then reattached everything, hooked up the spark tester again, and got the same results--a spark, then nothing.

So, my conclusion so far is I have a bad ignitor, or perhaps still it is a bad coil with an intermittent failure/success. The book gives me no way to test the ignitor, so I may call Suzuki next time they are open and see what they would charge to bench test mine. There are slews on ebay, but I am a bit leary of buying one of these used just on the word of the seller that it is "good." Unfortunately, new is around $250. I might even be willing to pay that if I can be sure that is the problem. Of course, I could buy a (cheaper) new coil first and eliminate that as the culprit.

While all together with seat, side covers, tank, and all I snapped a coupel pistures of the biek as it will look when road worthy. I'll post those later.

Cheers,

Mike, sparkless in Florida
 
#44 ·
Here are the pictures of the bike all buttoned up and ready for a road test, until I discovered the spark problem. New muffler, front peg, and left rear turn signal and the unseen wiring fixed.





Looking for a like a bike now.

By the way, I started thinking about the possibility of the problem being in the "pickup coil," "signal generator," or "pulse generator" (all names for the same thing in my Clymer's manual--confusing, huh). That seems to be the only other possibility. Someone in a Savage forum also mentioned it, and that they had a similar problem and replacing the signal generator" fixed it for them. I checked the manual and they had a testing procedure for it so I checked it. The resitance is supposed to be between 200 and 240 ohms between the green and orange wires coming from it. Mine tested 230 ohms, so that should eliminate the signal generator as the culprit. I also tested the continuity of the leads from there to the connection to the ignitor and they checked out OK. I still cleaned the contacts, just because.

Another person on that forum offered to post the testing procedure for the ignitor, but has not yet. Cymer says you cannot test it yourself and must have Suzuki do the testing, so hearing that I might be able to test it myself is good to hear. When and if he does I will post that back here for the benefit of all you other thumper owners.

Cheers,

Mike
 
#45 · (Edited)
Thanks to "thumperclone" on the Savage forum, I now have the resistance figures for testing the igniter. Here is the chart below hopefully for someone else's benefit. The ohms that are correct are in the next to farthest right column and the ohms I got testing my igniter are in the far right column. As you can see, I got nothing even close to what I should have. The readings I got were not even consistent from each time I tested. Funny I got infinity on every test on lead 5, which goes to the coil primary winding--could be a clue.

ignitor unit
5 terminals on top 1>5
4 terminals bottom 7>10 (blank where 6 would be)

1 orange to pick up coil
2,3,4 no connection
5 blk/yel to ign coil primary winding
7 blk to starter relay
8 grn to pick up coil
9 org/wh to ign switch
10 blk/wh GROUND

pos probe on 1
neg probe on--K OHMS-MY OHMS
5--infinity-642
7--300-373
8--500-473
9--200-101
10--200-45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
1--20-Inf
7 --30-Inf
8--20-Inf
9--4.5-Inf
10--2.6-Inf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7
1--45-Inf
5--infinity-45
8--45-92
9--18-51
10--17-26
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
8
1--150-Inf
5--infinity-85
7--100-70
9--75-95
10--75-43
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
9
1--11-Inf
5--inf-55
7--17-46
8--11-110
10--2.4-5.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10
1--7-Inf
5--inf -3.56
7--20-16
8--7-Inf
9--2.4-4.35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope the chart makes sense; the formatting did not transfer. Just remember the correct K Ohms is the second from right numbers (right after the double dashes (--).

I found a couple igniters on ebay and ordered one today. I'll report back how that goes once it gets here. For now I cannot think anything but that the igniter is the culprit.

In the meanwhile I will continue to trace my front brake switch problem (only switch not working).

Cheers,

Mike
 
#46 ·
Igniter has been shipped. Worse part about workin' on old bikes (other than trying to get them apart!) is waiting for parts.

Also, got the title and went to retitle it in my name here in Florida--$170!! Yikes. Being an out-of-state bike I found out I have to have the VIN verified by a law enforcement officer. My b-i-l is a local cop and said he'd come do it; but so far no show. Oh well, gotta wait a bit before shelling out $170 bucks and the bike is not road-worthy yet anyway.

Mike, drumming his fingers on the desk
 
#47 ·
Another update. While waiting for the igniter, I have been trying to figure out the failure of the front brake lever to activate the brake light. After a lot of brainstorming and testing continuity and voltage reaching the switch, I went out today to check some more.

After checking the continuity from the wiring harness connector connecting to the right handlebar switches and from the handlebar side back to the connector, and from the harness side of both back to the light connector, and getting good readings all around, I thought the only other place could be in the connector itself. I looked closely at the terminal coming from the switch in the connector and it looked funny, too high in its little "recess." I took my tester probe and bent it down thinking it might have not been making good contact with its mate. Plugged it all back together and voila! The front brake now activates the taillight.

That makes the last piece of the wiring puzzle to be solved (other than the igniter). Unfortunately, the igniter still did not comein today so it will be until Monday at least before I can see if that puts me on the road.

Cheers,

Mike
 
#48 ·
Cool thread Mike, thanks for sharing the info. My first street bike was a 1986 Suzuki Savage LS650. I purchased it new right out of boot camp. It was black as well. I really enjoyed that bike. I'd like to find an old 86 model and restore it. I think the savage is a cool cruiser.

I remember my hands going numb after a couple of hours riding from the vibration. Brings back memories. :icon_cool:
 
#49 ·
Got 'er running today. Plugged the new igniter in and it starter right up---after I remembered I had to hold the clutch in to start the bike, now that I have reconnected all the safety interlocks; wish I had remembered that before I took the saddle and tank off again! :eek:

Ran pretty well and with a little adjustment to the idle set screw it should idle without throttle input from me. It backfired quite a bit, but other than that, it ran smoothly. I once again noted a lot of smoke coming from the header where it attaches to the exhaust port. I have a bunch of oil around the pipe there and as I suspected I am going to have to remove the head cover and replace a plug that sits right up above the exhaust pipe. Typical Savage issue. The plug fills an access hole to get to an head bolt right next to the exhaust port. At least I do not have to remove the motor to get to this. WHiel I am at it, I will try to fix the top motor mount that has the moutning bolt broken off in it.

It also looked like the exhaust to cylinder connection might need some attention, perhaps a new gasket. I would not be surprised to see once I open that up that there is no gasket at all.

I think I will still take her for a ride around the block this afternoon when Andrea gets home (and can watch the kids) if it is not raining--again. I'd like to see how it runs up and down through the gears and see if there are any other issues with which I might need to deal. All the lights and electrical systems seem to be working as designed now.

Cheers,

Mike
 
#50 ·
On the Road Again!

WooHoo! Just went for a bike ride--on the Savage! Started out rough, lots of popping and backfiring. I almost brought it home after once around the ball fields (complex across the street from the house), but as I rode it it smoothed out. So, I passed the house and kept on riding up around back streets (no plates yet). The backfiring got less and less. It was hesitating and coughing when you tried to put the throttle to it at first, but that got better, too. I came back by the house and decided to run down Lakeshore to Kiwanis Park (about a mile) so I could get in all four gears. All the gears worked fine and by the time I got home, it was running much better and was really rideable.

I do have an oil leak above the exhaust, so when you stop billows of smoke come from there where the oil had dripped onto the exhaust. It looks like not a big thing to fix, just removing the cover on the heads and replacing a plug and sealing it all up. In the meantime I may let it cool down, clean the area and try some high temp sealant on the outside and see if that slows the dripping.

The bike road really well and has lots of torque. The ride is cushy too. The brakes both work fine and all the electrics, lights and all worked perfectly. Even the speedometer worked.

At least now I don't feel like I've been wasting my time with this thing. Another afternoon of work and the leak should be fixed and I can really take it for a ride. I have the title and just need to run up to get the plates, but that unfortunately is $170!

Cheers,

Mike, now riding the "Virgin Whore" as my wife calls it :D
 
#53 · (Edited)
Leaky Oil Plug

This leak is a very c ommon problem on the Savage. Here is a picture of the place where the leaky oil plug resides, for the benefit of an Savage owners out there with a similar problem. Not easy to get to.:



And here is the diagram showing where the plug goes in the head cover. It is not necessary to remove the engine to take the cover off.:



Cheers,

Mike
 
#55 ·
Got the Savage registered in my name in Florida today. All that cost me was $220! yikes! For that money, though, I get a cool plate that will say "86 SVG"

I also applied with a long q-tip, some high temp silicone sealant on the outside of the leaking plug. I am not holding out much hope, but maybe at least this will reduce the oil leak enough for me to ride it until it is convenient to pull the head cover.

I think I will take her on her maiden voyage to Fuzzy's on Thursday evening, my "biking night."

Cheers,

Mike
 
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