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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> being told different or misleading information.
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Message started by mountaintrout on 10/29/08 at 07:55:27

Title: being told different or misleading information.
Post by mountaintrout on 10/29/08 at 07:55:27

I am getting a 2007 s4 Suzuki this week. i have been told it has little power and wont go 75 on the interstate. i am getting conflicting reports from other people. i was hoping you could give me some facts. im 6 ft tall and 180 pounds. i will use it for commuting to work and just pain riding fun. than you all kindly.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by Fourby on 10/29/08 at 08:01:43

I own a 2007 S40 and have no trouble maintaining 75 mph on the interstate. Without a windscreen that is about the maximum I've run although the bike will run more, just haven't tried it.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by Bleemus on 10/29/08 at 08:10:48

It will go 75 but you will want a windscreen. My bike seems happiest around 65.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by srinath on 10/29/08 at 08:19:05

Its low power, but its light ... no problem till you hit an indicated 90 or so.
Pipe it, K&N it, Cam it or smooth bore it ... or both ... or all 4. for more speed, but watch out, you can float valves or stuff at high speeds. You'd want a tach ... for sure and stay under its redline anyway ... gear it taller etc etc after you make more power.
Cool.
Srinath.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by verslagen1 on 10/29/08 at 08:37:36

I have a '96 and was nearly stock when I got it.
Came with a windshield and had no trouble doing 90 when traffic allows.
Very comfortable tooling about 70/75.
I have a hill on my route that fully laden truck move at a pedestrian pace up thats my performance monitor. 70/75 at the bottom WOT to the top at 87. That's uphill incase you missed it.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by mountaintrout on 10/29/08 at 08:58:13

thank you all for the quick reply and great information. can you tell me more about the kits and stuff for more speed..im not a speed freak, id just like a little zip in my trip so to speak

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/29/08 at 09:23:58

60617A7D72677B130 wrote:

Wuhhh? It wont redline if the rider changes the gears. In low gears it May tach out all the way, but in high gear? Nope, wind resistance is too much for it.

MountainTRout said
" i will use it for commuting to work and just pain riding fun. than you all kindly."

I see youve heard about the seat!

This little bike IS Zip in the TRip. Its a cross town running little dude. Short hops are its specialty.Tho, some here have taken theirs cross country with great success. BeatDuck went from Florida, to Arizona( ir one of the Desert States), North to Canada, East to above New York & back to Florida. Alone! What a great adventure..

It pulls away from a stop as quickly as is needed. Any quicker would raise eyebrows & get tickets. Really, I can rip across town a quickly as I ever dreamed of. Someone on a crotch rocket might get there quicker, but this bike lacks nothing IMO.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by srinath on 10/29/08 at 09:30:47

First you ride it and break it in.
You can swap muffler then pipes, flows more and makes more noise ... May have to rejet.
Then you get rid of the intake side, and slap a K&N. A must rejet.
If that isn't enough ... you swap the cams for the ones lancer makes.
At this point, you have to have a tach and you would be better off fitting a larger OD tire. Again Lancer here will have details.
Then fit the smooth bore carbs again lancer.
If definetly you want a lot of power (maybe go and test some one's K&N and pipe equipped bike before saying yes) skip the first few steps, cam, smooth bore and pipe and taller rear tire.
I am working on getting savage #4 running. Once it is, it gets sold as a stock bike ... nearly stock.
The chopper I am building out of the savage gets a little performance mod ... I may just do pipe ... definetly dont want the K&N and that may mean I have to stay away from smoothbores, so pipe and cam maybe ... or pipe only ... I am not a power freak ... that bike has been lightened ... over 40-50 lbs is now in the dumpster ... Rear fender, rear seat, rails and rear pad, rear everything ... front T/S'es, front wheel is aluminum 21 inch, Buck horn bars swapped for feather weight drag bars and aluminum risers, which are a bit bulky for my liking, but still feather weight compared to the stock bar.
I dunno what I will do with it, but pipe already is on it.
Cool.
Srinath.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by mountaintrout on 10/29/08 at 10:00:34

thank you justin and siranth so much. im so excited about the bike. i get it tomorrow. i need a great helmet. one of the things my wife asked of me and i was more than willing to comply. what would you suggest? i am looking at an icon for 250.00. please give me a thought or two. thank you all again

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by sjaskow on 10/29/08 at 10:04:05

I'm 5' 8" and 220 on a good day. My stock '06 with an OEM wind screen will do 90 indicated with a little throttle left.

I had it up to 80+ with no wind screen but it was really hard to hold on.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by srinath on 10/29/08 at 10:12:02

Helmets - Icon is fine, so is much of the rest.
The surprising thng is how well the cheapo helmets have been for safety. Fulmer, Z-max I think etc etc have rated very well.
The trade off is, cheaper helmets have larger shells, makes for a pretty safe helmet cos the thing has styrofoam ... lots of styrofoam and that is what protects you ... the cheaper helmets also have poorer venting and they are less aerodynamic and more noisy ...
Like they are less air flow when vents are open and seal up less efficiently when vents are shut. They are almost all noisy at all speeds ... but what do we care, savage never gets fast enough to matter.
Anyway, buy for fit, comfort and feel, not for paint or decals or brand. Helmet does not have to match the bike ... bike in fact does not have eyes. Neither does helmet. Cant go too wrong with all the popular brands.
I have of late become a shoei head. Used to be a Bieffe head, but shoei has been fitting me well the last 4-5 years. Have a RF - 900 and a RF 1000 hayabusa I bought cos I got it for 125 bones. I have never had a hayabusa ... ever ... dont plan to get one either.
Cool.
Srinath.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by srinath on 10/29/08 at 10:12:46

Z1-R not Z-max.
Cool.
Srinath.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by mornhm on 10/29/08 at 10:20:04

As far as your question about the helmet. Get one that fits. See how many you can try on in your area and then get the one that fits best. I got a Shoei because it fit better than the other helmets I tried (quite a few) and haven't been sorry, when you figure the cost over the number of miles it doesn't even come on the screen. I'll get another one before too much longer, and again I will try lots of different helmets for fit.

As far as top speed on the Savage and rideable speed on the interstate, I'm probably in a minority of one on this website, but I don't think (and am willing to say) the Savage is an interstate type of MC. There are a number of reasons for this, but if a fair amount of your riding is going to be interstate I think before long you'll want another MC. As always, I'm not trying to offend, and I think the Savage is a great MC, just not an interstate tourer.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by mountaintrout on 10/29/08 at 10:20:36

which would you recommend full face, of flip up?

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by verslagen1 on 10/29/08 at 10:57:12

yes

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by srinath on 10/29/08 at 11:20:59

26243E253F2A22253F39243E3F4B0 wrote:

which would you recommend full face, of flip up?

Full face, 1/2's and beanies are BS. I ahve caught enough rocks and sticks and bugs and cigarettes with my jaw piece and facesheild to know its useless if they are not there.
Cool.
Srinath.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by Trippah on 10/29/08 at 11:24:35

Helmet choice is somewhat personal..I prefer a 3/4 helmet and use a windscreen on my Savage. if your young and somewhat inexperienced, you might consider a full face- they offer greater protection should you and the bike part ways while riding. And as suggested above, try them on and get one that fits comfortably.
Enjoy your ride.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by srinath on 10/29/08 at 11:51:10

Oh he's right ... I buy full face and I hate windscreens.
Cool.
Srinath.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by mornhm on 10/29/08 at 12:09:34

My older son and I have full face helmets, My wife and younger son have flip ups.

Advantage to the Full face for lightness and quieter while riding. Advantage to the flip up for people who wear glasses or when fueling etc. in the summer when you don't want to take off your helmet, but it's really hot out. Bottom line you can't really go wrong with either, so it becomes personal preference.

As far as any helmet without a chin strap, every FF helmet that I've seen that was involved in a collision had a big set of scrapes across the chin and cheek. Not surprisingly the riders that I know that hit their head without a FF helmet had corresponding scrapes on their face or worse.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by EssForty on 10/30/08 at 02:53:28

34362C372D3830372D2B362C2D590 wrote:

which would you recommend full face, of flip up?

If you wear prescription glasses, the flip up makes it easy. If not, the full face is fine. Personally, those are the only choices I would consider. Skid Lids and 3/4 face may look cool to some, but do not offer sufficient protection for me.

Any DOT approved helmet will work as long as it is comfy and fits securely. It should not be easy for you to twist it around on your head when secured and should not be too snug. Venting is very important in warmer climates, too. If a helmet is also SNELL approved, it simply means that there is a third party, the SNELL memorial foundation, that checks the testing methods of the manufacturer. DOT approved means the manufacturer certifies themself (think about all the self-certified Chinese products on the market and be cautious) . My helmets are full face SHOEI and Bell that are DOT/Snell approved.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by Sandy Koocanusa on 10/30/08 at 06:26:27

I ride my '87 Savage around at 70 mph all the time. That is the speed limit here. I have run it down the freeway at 75-80 and it never even wheezed. I've noticed with mine that it just goes and goes right up until about 85 mph, then stops climbing all of a sudden. No rough or weak running prior to top speed. Me thinks the guy who told you the Savage wouldn't hack it either has never ridden one, or wants to sell you something else. I'm 6'-3" and around 185, by the way. My freeway trip included about 50 pounds of gear.

As for the helmet I wear a full-face HJC that I paid something like $120 for. I like it. It's comfortable, well ventilated, and bug and rock proof. Hopefully, I'll never have to find out how strong it is.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by mountaintrout on 10/30/08 at 07:05:04

thank you sandy and EssForty. you are very kind to help me.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/30/08 at 07:11:55

FCrash statistics show helmet damage. I had a regular Ol Helmet with face shield, till a guy explained how many crashes take the riders chin off. Then I bought a flip face. Then I stuffed my vface in the cab corner of a smnall pickiup, Anything less than full foverage would have been big time pain, possibly dead,

To be fair, I wasn't even wearing a helmet the first 2 tiomes I totalled a bike & the first time, IF I had been wearing one, I would be so dead it aint funny, cuz it would have broken my neck, as it is I had 3 cracked vertebrae, a helmet for a fulcrum between shoulder & head & POP,, dead, so, you pays your money & you tyakes your chances, Im sticking with the flip face.

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by LANCER on 10/30/08 at 07:51:26

I received my new from the crate '96 Savage in '99 from my newly employed son (after 6 years in of higher education) for Father's Day ... yes, a very good boy! He knew of my love for big singles and being without a bike at the time he just wanted to say thanks and express his love.
Anyway, when new and bone stock mine would max out in the low 80's on a flat road with no wind. A rejet of the stock carb and a different muffler added about 8-10 mph but that particular muffler was not the best choice. Time and a lot of input from many many folks on this forum have shown that a rejet and good tuning of the stock carb and replacing the stock muffler with an '04 or earlier HD Dyna or Sportster muffler will result in a very nice bump in power and responsiveness and also make for a bike that sounds like a bike should and not a lawn mower.
The cost for rejetting and muffler swap can be as low as $50.

One of the greatest attributes of this motorcycle is the bag full of torque that is available for moving it and you around on the road. It is that idle to near redline TORQUE that provides that strong pull that makes this bike so fun, efficient and just all around rideable. Whether a brief trip to the store, a cross town commute, or cross country tour, it can do it. It does really shine in the short to medium range type of ride, and bigger and heavier bikes are more comfy for the long range stuff, but if you only have one bike to use and are not spending over 50% of your time in cross country touring then you would be hard pressed to find a better and more usable bike.

Throw in the simplicity of maintenance, fuel economy and low cost, this bike becomes one of best deals on the road.

Not that I'm biased of course. :)

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by drharveys on 10/30/08 at 08:21:12

OK, just to totally confuse you, there are actually three certifications: DOT, Snell and EC (European). Here's a brief rundown on the differences.

Snell: Is a private foundation, and a Snell helmet is the only one you can use on a track day. These must be full face. Snell does not certify a flip front, period. Snell also developed from motorsports, both automotive and the two-wheeled variety. Snell also has a "double impact" requirement that requires a "harder" type of foam energy absorber than the others. Receiving two impacts at the same location is far more likely to occur to someone who is strapped into a roll cage than bouncing off a motorcycle. That's why there are some who feel the Snell foam is "harder" than necessary or ideally desirable.

EC: This is the European standard. They do certify flip up helmets. I'm not positive, but I strongly suspect that that includes some type of standard for the latching mechanism. The impact absorbing foam is midway between the DOT and Snell standards.

DOT: Anything less is sold as a "novelty helmet". DOT will certify pudding bowls and beanies -- which use air as a protective material in many critical places. However, testing has shown that for the areas actually protected by a particular DOT helmet, the "softer" foam may well be an advantage in minimizing injury. There is not, to my knowledge, any standard for latches on the flip-up style.

My opinion: Full-face. Go for fit, ventilation and comfort. The best helmet is the one you actually wear, so if you find a full-face that you like, it's your best choice. DOT, EC or Snell don't appear to be critical in this category, unless you want to do a track day.

That said, I use a flip-up around town. It's just easier to use with glasses. For flip-up, go EC standard.

If you absolutely, positively go bat-shot claustrophobic in a full-face, well, then you're looking at a 3/4. Stay away from shorties, beanies and other "make-believe".

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e204/drharveys/DSC02300.jpg

Title: Re: being told different or misleading information
Post by dasch on 10/30/08 at 09:58:18

too add my 5 cents, mine did 140km/h fully stock when I bought it. Easy. I was to scared to push it further, but it could do more. As guys said, the TORQUE and that pickhammer-like sound and thumping are a blast. I've had a few motorcycles so far, this one has the personality I will not give up easily. Uunderstated. and I keep up with friends on Harley's, intruders and shadows very easily. That much.