Hello, I've been reading for almost a week. Nice forum you have here!

I've never owned a motorcycle, my entire MC riding experience consists of one afternoon on an old Honda 305 Dream, about 27 years ago. I'm now in my 50's, ~5'11", way too heavy, ~30" inseam, and that doggone bug has bitten me again. I'm strongly considering a Suzuki Savage or S40 for my first bike.

I've spotted one on CL that would require a round trip of less than 300 miles, not bad compared to some of the other trips I've considered. The bike in question: 2001 Savage, ~8600 miles, seller claims mechanically perfect, ride it home(but I'd tow it on my 4x8 utility trailer, gotta learn to ride it before any long trips!)- *BUT* bike needs rear turns, mirrors, and one foot peg. Asking price isn't too bad, $1100. Missing parts- bike doesn't look wrecked in photo, but photo ain't that good. Maybe due to making a "bobber" out of it? It does have small sissy bar- factory? I haven't called the seller yet.

Big Question 1:  if I call & it looks worth investigating, what will new rear turn lights(gotta be OEM, or are there cheaper alternatives?), mirrors(ditto), and a footpeg cost?

Reliability- after readng on this forum for several days, things that really worry me about the Suzuki 650 single-cyls are the cam chain mechanism, & head & camshaft problems. That's the impression I got anyway.

Big Question 2: Is there any quick & easy way to check & be sure the cam tensioner/cam/head is in decent shape? Or is that completely a crap shoot?

I'm really tempted to call & see what he says about wrecks, drops, etc. If it's good cosmetically, & sounds ok when running, & has clear title, then adjusting valves doesn't scare me. I owned an old Volvo 120 series sedan for over 20 yrs, & had to adjust valves on *4* cylinders for it!  

So, what do you think?

Thanks for any help & advice you can offer.

As you can probably guess, we all love this bike, so we are a bit biased.

As far as turn signals and other parts, cheaper than OEM parts are available.  Search the forum (since you are new here, be sure to change the drop-down menu on your search on the time frame because the default is a week).  There aren't alot of aftermarket parts especially made for this bike, but there are plenty of things that work.  They just don't get advertised exclusively for the bike.  

So.... go for it!  We get alot of comments about the help given by members of this forum and if you stick around, you'll see it.  Lots of knowledgeable folks, and guys who know this bike inside and out.  We're here for ya!

A little over a year ago I was right where you are.  Mid 50's and no riding experience.  6' 1" and 350.  I took the class, got my license and bought a '97 Savage.  It has been a GREAT bike.  I have learned so much. I put about 8000 miles on it in a year.  I dropped it twice (both low speed) with no real damage.  I added and changed some things.  I put on a set of Ed L.'s forward controls to give my legs a little more stretch and get more comfortable.  

Baby Hog is right, there are after market parts that will replace the turn signals and mirrors, but you might need to get an OEM peg.  These seem to have a different shape to them, and most of the off-the-shelf pegs I tried needed to some modification or adapters for them.

+1 on the trying to get it a little lower, especially with the missing parts.

If you don't get this one, keep looking.  I didn't notice where you're located, but there is a 2000 w/5k mi for $800 over on the Volusia Riders forum right now.  

http://www.volusiariders.com/51-bikes-sale/210097-650cc-savage-4-sail.html
Good Luck and Ride Safe

I have been riding 40 years never took a rider course,Never been down,I recommend you learn to right the motorcycle yourself.If you can ride a bicycle you can ride a motorcycle.

I personally wouldn't negotiate a price until I had more answers and seen & heard the bike in person


+1