Hi all I'm a newby in every way I just found thissight and just bought a used 2001 S-40. Been commuting back and forth to work for abouta week and got to tell you it's been very enjoyable except in winds or going past big rigs (scares the hell out on me!) LOL. I have a few questions: 1st I would like to know when and how to change oil and filter and where do I locate the filter(told you I was new). Second, I have noticed a little oil on the head is this normal and if not is it covered under extended waranty? Also I get a little backfiring what's up?

Hiya new guys, I was a new guy not that long ago.  The Savage is light but that saved me a couple of times when I did an oops .  The one thing I recommend if you are going to do alot of highway riding is to get a windshield, it helps get the wind off your chest (that feeling of being blown off the bike) and gives a little more stability over 50MPH.  And depending on the prevailing wind, the size and shape of truck etc I do shift to the right hand track until I feel the blow by and then back to my blocking position.  (Can you tell I am a newb, I still remember stuff from the handbook ).

I like my little windshield but I think I might try something a little bigger.  If you want to try a nicely made inexpensive windshield the Streamliner Spitfire is a good choice...I picked up mine for $80 CDN.

fossilnut wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08:


http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1099572561

Photos clearly show where the filter cover is.

Thanks,
Sacage Rob, and radioman I really appreciate it guys. Waht a great step by step huh?

mavrik:  Well anytime I'm out on the bike, I keep my eyes peeled for any other savages or S-40s - but haven't seen any in my neck of the woods.  The local dealership told me that they sold 7 of them last year so there's some around.  

We quite often shop in Peterborough (Lindsay doesn't have a Home Depot or Walmart), but we go in the cage since there are four of us.  

I also joined the Southern Cruisers (Durham Chapter), but there's a Peterborough Chapter too.  They do group rides etc. if you want to ride with other bikers.  I did my first group ride a few weeks ago.  

Anyway, maybe I'll see you on the roads sometime!

Ride safe!

charbour wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08:

The stock seat is IMO, horrible. I have a sheepskin and gel pad that I use which helps alot. The only other effective solution seems to be to retrofit a Sportster seat. There are plenty of posts about that here. A kit is sold regularly on Ebay.

I don't have long legs so I don't have the need to stretch out like you do. Your only solution is: get highway bars or forward controls.

Thanks, Mavrik, for making me feel like I'm not the Lone Stranger anymore.  I'm 50 years old and for some reason, learning to ride a motorcycle suddenly sounded like a good idea.  I took the safety course, got my endorsement and started shopping for a good starter bike.  I drove 50 miles to look at a Honda Rebel 450 that turned out to be a hunk of junk (not Rebels in general, just that one), so decided to drive another 30 miles to see what the bike shops had.  My brother has ridden bikes his entire life, so I took him with me for advice.  We walked into the first bike shop and my brother almost started salivating when he saw the Thumper sitting there.  I sat on it and knew it was the bike for me.  It came with a wind screen and I've since added saddlebags, a front fork tool bag and a windshield bag.  I can honestly say, I'm in love with my bike!

I ride it to work and on back roads.  You've got me beat by riding on the highway.  I haven't gotten up the nerve to ride on the Interstate yet.  Not sure I ever will.  Trucks scare me.  People driving 90 mph scare me.  The bike is light, but that's part of what I like about it.  Its light weight and belt drive make it easy to move around.  I'm pretty hefty, so it doesn't take long for a case of monkey butt to set in with me.  I bought a gel pad, but it seems to lean me forward just enough to throw me off balance a little.  I think I'm going to take the seat to an upholsterer and have the stock foam shaved off and some memory foam added.  A friend of mine did that with her new Kawasaki Vulcan 900 and it helped a lot.

And oh, yeah....  I'm getting anywhere from 55 to 59 mpg.  Not sure what that translates to in Canada, but in the U.S. it means WooHoo!

Happy riding!