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Message started by misterdub on 08/19/08 at 15:20:31

Title: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/19/08 at 15:20:31

I have a stock 2003 Savage. I bought it at ~700mi and I've put about ~1300mi on her since I got her about three months ago. On my way home today, my bike felt like it was getting a bit sluggish in 5th gear. I was in 5th, going 55mph, opened the throttle a little more to get up to 60mph. I nearly had to throw the throttle wide open to get it to budge. Also, it was staying revved in the higher RPM's much longer than I felt it should when I let off the throttle.

When I was a real newb, I forgot to close the choke before going on a ride and it acted the same way (but much more pronounced). Slow to bring down the RPM, sluggish in all the gears. When this happened I thought for sure I forgot to close the choke at the office before I took off. I pulled over and it was completely in; so that's definitely not the problem.

Lower gears were fine. 1st through 3rd were as responsive as usual. 4th gear was questionable -- I think it might have been a little sluggish but that could've been in my head since I was watching so closely.

Any thoughts as to what it may be? The stealership I bought it from swore they did the 600mi service when they brought it in and I didn't need to do anything until 3000mi. Could this be something they neglected to do -- some maintenance I should do immediately? Do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone?

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by EssForty on 08/19/08 at 15:41:03

The first things that come to mind are restrictions, a dirty air filter, or clogged jets. If it had only 700 miles on a 2003 it sounds like it may have sat a fair bit over the past 5 years. Have you tried running any seafoam thru the engine?

Link: http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpConsumer.htm

Cleaning your air filter and adding some seafoam to your next tank might do it. Good luck!

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by YonuhAdisi on 08/19/08 at 16:36:15

I agree with Essforty, check air cleaner and maybe run some sea foam through it.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/19/08 at 19:23:10

After today I decided this weekend to do an oil change just incase the dealership lied. While I'm doing that this weekend, I'll also change the air filter and be sure to get some seafoam.

Will I make it to the weekend? If it's a dirty air filter or clogged jets, can I expect this to progress quickly? We're supposed to have good weather all week so I was planning on commuting by bike all week -- if that's in jeopardy, I'll make a trip out to the local shop after work tomorrow.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! Glad to hear this doesn't ring any alarm bells for something serious.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by Digger on 08/19/08 at 22:28:08

The next time it acts up, CAREFULLY AND WITH DUE CAUTION, reach down and position the petcock lever to PRI. See if that helps the problem.

Then, report back, please.

Good luck!

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by barry68v10 on 08/20/08 at 03:43:42

Good suggestion, Digger. Don't want to forget about the ol' vac petc0ck...it's stumped more than one of us in the past :-[

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/20/08 at 04:08:53

I'll try that today if it acts up on my way home.

I will say that's the only thing that changed. The day before this happened I had just run the tank to empty, set the petcock to reserve. The morning of this problem, I filled up the tank and set it back to ON. Not sure if that information helps at all...

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by EssForty on 08/20/08 at 04:12:29

FYI. You shouldn't have to change your air filter, just clean it. Instructions are in your manual.

I certainly would not want to be doing 50-60 mph on the highway with a bike that may or may not respond when I need it too. Heck, I wouldn't drive my cage under those circumstances. Too many idiots on the road who don't see you. Sometimes you have to speed up or slow down to give them enough room to finish text messaging or applying their make-up. ::)

Digger brings up another possible source of restriction-the petcock. And his safety warning is critical. I would sit on the bike while it is off, and practice finding the petcock while I looked straight ahead. Do it over & over until it is second nature and you know which way to turn it without looking. (Don't actually switch it to prime until you are running and it starts to bog down). You do not want to be looking over the side of your bike for the petcock while doing 50 mph.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/20/08 at 04:17:10

The safety warning is strictly related to eyes on the road, finding the petcock without looking? Having run out of gas multiple times, I've gotten pretty decent at that. ;D It sounded like it was also a little related to the problem.

Just for background information, how will setting it to prime fix this? What may be going on?

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by EssForty on 08/20/08 at 04:19:06

393F2C2A365E0 wrote:

Yes. If it's the first time you went to reserve, that could be a key piece of info. Sediment could have been in the lower part of the tank. Doesn't take much to cause a restriction.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by EssForty on 08/20/08 at 04:35:24

7E786B6D71190 wrote:

When in ON or Reserve. the fuel flow is regulated by a vacuum switch, so that you do not flood the engine. When on prime, it takes the vacuum switch out of the equation=pure gravity flow. If it flows well in prime, but not in reserve, then your vac switch may be acting up.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by T Mack 1 on 08/20/08 at 06:12:15

What does your sparkplug look like???? Black.... tan.... white?????

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/20/08 at 06:29:24

Looks like I've got a fair amount of stuff to check tonight. I'm currently rooting for the air filter. It's my daily commuter, so I ride rain or shine these days and pass by a rock quarry and lots of construction on my way to work (so lots of dust and debris). After you guys suggested the air filter, and checking in the manual, it makes a lot of sense. I'm at ~2000mi total now, when I should clean it anyway, and I'm riding in the exact conditions they describe to necessitate cleaning/changing it more frequently.

While I've got the seat off, I'll check the spark plugs like T Mack suggested and report back. Hopefully, once I clean the filter, I won't need to ever switch to the petcock to PRI. I didn't ride it in today -- not having the throttle in case of an emergency made me too nervous.

Thanks for all these suggestions. I'll report back tonight with what I find.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/20/08 at 06:40:46

I would switch to PRI occasionally just to make sure I can & to keep any corruption that might build low in the tank to flush on out before it gets so big it would choke it out if you did put it on prime or reserve/

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by Ed L. on 08/20/08 at 06:41:03

Easy stuff first, try draining the bowl on the carb. and see ifyou pulled any water into it when you went to prime. There is a drain screw on the bottom of the bowl, the newer bikes have a philips head screw that you back out a few turns, the older carbs have a small bolt that you unscrew.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/20/08 at 06:55:52

081711160B0C3D0D3D05171B50620 wrote:

What's occasionally? The start of every tank (or maybe the end) -- or less than that?

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/20/08 at 08:26:18

Every few tanks would be fine. If you get caught out in a driving rain, maybe be a good idea to check, just to make sure the cap is doing the job. If you put it on PRI & it starts coughing & choking, switch back till it clears,

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/20/08 at 20:05:50

I got home from work and, since I don't have a garage with lighting, had limited time to mess with the bike. I did take out and clean the air filter though. How dirty would it have to be to interfere with the acceleration?

When I took the air filter out there were bits of grass, dried leaves and dirt all over it. My original thought was to use the electric tire pump to blow the dirt/grass/junk off but it didn't have enough oomph. So I used a vacuum cleaner to clean it and it darn near changed colors. So is that dirty enough to cause issues?

Unfortunately, the bolts for the seat were a bit awkward so the regular wrenches I bought didn't work. I had to make a side trip to Home Depot to get a socket wrench to take the seat off. By the time I was done the sun was setting so no more tinkering -- didn't have time to mess with the spark plugs.

After that, and checking the oil levels, I think the dealership lied about doing the 600mi service. >:( I hope this doesn't shorten the bikes lifespan...

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by YonuhAdisi on 08/20/08 at 20:53:05

797F6C6A761E0 wrote:

When I took the air filter out there were bits of grass, dried leaves and dirt all over it. My original thought was to use the electric tire pump to blow the dirt/grass/junk off but it didn't have enough oomph. So I used a vacuum cleaner to clean it and it darn near changed colors. So is that dirty enough to cause issues?

Yes, that is definitely dirty enough to cause the issues you described in your first post.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/21/08 at 05:13:44

Just to close off this thread, for anyone who may look for this in the future, it was totally the air filter. I'm going to replace it this weekend even though everything's okay. From what I read online, filters like the one in the Savage will absorb moisture from the air if they sit for extended periods of time and they're never quite the same.

After giving the existing filter a good once over, it definitely runs better. I think better than it has in the entire time I've had it. I got her up to 70mph on the highway on my commute today and still had throttle left and it was as responsive (if not more) than before.

Thanks for all your help guys!

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by T Mack 1 on 08/21/08 at 11:45:21

So... the question I have is where did you do the off road driving to get grass & leaves in the air box?????

Or...... do you park the bike by where someone cuts the lawn frequently, with the lawnmower chute aimed towrds you bike.... :-?
IF so, don't park there or cover the bike.

Title: Re: Sluggish in 5th gear?
Post by misterdub on 08/21/08 at 12:06:57

0871113D3F376D5C0 wrote:

So... the question I have is where did you do the off road driving to get grass & leaves in the air box?????

Beats me, I've never taken it off road. I bought this bike used a few months ago from a dealership. They claimed to have done all the service before handing it over and I believed them. ::)

I figure it was a 2003, with only 700mi on it, maybe the previous owner parked in their garage next to the leaf blower, the weed whacker and lawn mower?