Tim Mazac wrote on 06/17/14 at 08:45:11:


Cool mod!

Welcome GBG! You got a great deal. This is a cool bike and a cool forum. Fish around for a while until you get a feel for all the possibilities... You WILL get "mod fever!"  

Just got my permit yesterday, and my helmet came today while I was at work. I managed to squeeze a short, first (legal) ride in before sunset. I'm a happy boy.

That probably was the best factory colour scheme.

Hello my name is Diogo Cabecinhas, i am from Portugal, and i have a Suzuki Savage

Hi folks,

I am very happy to have found this forum.  Over the last 40 years I have owned a variety of bikes.  Currently I have a Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe that I love for distance cruising with my wife and pulling a trailer.  However, it can be a bit much for short runs around town.  Feeling a little bored and looking for a project, I came across a 2003 Savage at a great price.  It has some cosmetic issues but still a solid bike.  I plan on doing a bobber conversion.  I am thankful to everyone who has worked so hard to compile and share all the information I found here.  My project is going to go so much smoother.  What a gold mine of information and experience.  

Denny
2003 Savage

Morning, everyone!

I'm Jake, and I'm here on behalf of my wife.  We just purchased an abused and neglected '95 Savage for her first bike, and she's been learning how to ride on it.  She's making good progress, but it has been a bit of trouble for both of us; me trying to care for the bike's needs and wants and convince it that it has found a loving home and trying to teach her how to ride a Savage without fully understanding the nature of the bike, and her trying to learn how to ride a motorcycle that still isn't sure if it should trust its rider or not.

I know it's a lot of pictures, and we all know what a Savage looks like, but this is a sort-of progression from the weekend we brought it home until now.

22,000+ miles when we bought it; it's not a young pup by any means, but she's got spirit:


The day I drove it home, I discovered that the left fork seal was leaking...badly; so we only had the bike two days and I was already tearing it apart.  Also, the rear turn signal stalks needed to be replaced, and I discovered during that tear down that out of the 12 bolts meant to hold the chrome bars/back rest together, only 6 were present.  Now, the only two missing are the two that go through the bottom of the back rest.


But in the end, I got her put back together to join her stable-mate with pride at the front of the garage:


And she even got my wife through her first riding lessons:



And then on our way back from a short trip, my Mrs. Jman forgot to put the kick stand down before getting off (we've all done it, or personally known someone who has), necessitating me figuring out how to replace the rear turn signals...again.  An hour later, I had some flush mounts meant for my bike wired up, mounted, and working beautifully.



I've done other things, like adjust the belt tension, and replace the spark plug and air filter (K&N), but the one I'm most proud of is putting together a tool kit, since one of the previous owners felt it unnecessary to keep the factory-supplied tool kit with the bike it came with.  So I went down to Harbor Freight (about 1/4 mile away), and to the hardware store and bought some cheap tools that can allow a significant portion of the bike to be taken apart wherever it may be:



I've got some ideas for mods that I want to run past you fine folks, but that's a topic for a different thread.

Thanks for the add!