suzuki savage

My wife is interested in the savage. I found a 2004 for sale in great cosmetic shape and only 1800 miles. Appears to be a nice bike and size would fit her well. I took it for a test drive, but feel I have a hard time to compare to my seca 750. Seemed to hitch. Owner indicates he has premium gas and stable in from storage. He talked about it backfiring when downshifting and was told by the dealer that this is normal for this bike. It did this when I turned it off also. I think I could get the bike for a reasonable price, I am just concerned. I don't want a bike that could be a mechanical $ drain. I am not a mechanic and not sure I would know if there was a significant problem with the bike. I believe the owner moved up to a bigger bike and this is typical. I wish I had another savage to compare. I know it is a single cylinder engine and not the 4 I am accustomed. Any savage owners out there with thoughts?

 

Never had a Savage but from memory the motor is from the DR650 road/ trail bike and has an enviable reputation for reliability.Mechanical bits and bobs should not be a problem.
Cosmetic stuff, side panels and such, may be.
Not much of a cruiser fancier but always thought that motor in a standard road bike would be a good thing.

 

A friend of mine has one and it backfires on downshifts and under hard acceleration. I think it's just the nature of that motor. His has about 60,000 miles on it and is still running strong.

 

i had a DR650 and i don't remember any backfires, that could just be a tune-up
what i do remember is it shook, bad, did nice wheelies though

 

It may be a bit lean but if I remember right its
a single cylinder yes?
Sure cant cost much to maintain or correct a tuning
issue.
Back in the late 80's a friend of mine had a 650 savage.
It looked nice but was low on performance and just about
rattled him out of the seat.
By 2004 things may have improved.

 

They do vibrate more than a Harley, that's for sure

 

When ya have a 650cc single under your but, it's gunna shake a little

Dez has one for a short time, i didn't ride it (i'm too big to fit on it and drive) i can't remember if it backfired at all or not.

 

I was looking to buying one after finishing my motorcycle course, they had two and they were a blast to ride...
Unfortunately couldn't find one within my budget when it was time to buy...
As far as the backfire is concerned they did from time to time... but not always.. I guess it depended on how hard i accelerated and then eased of the throttle...

 

My girlfriend passed the MSF course and one of the instructors rode his in one day and she fell in love. Long story short I found one low mile/good deal/primo condition. Rode it home after being "serviced" at the dealer and it bucked me the whole 20 miles. Thank goodness the PO paid for it. They did change the oil and battery but did NOT clean the carb and they charged them $175 for it!!!!! I pulled it when I got home and the emulsion tube was green/gunked up. Cleaned it up put it back in and figured all was good. It ran a lot better but still bucked at cruise and backfired on decel. Found http://www.suzukisavage.com/cart/index.php and it helped tons. They come from the factory WAY lean mid to pass emissions. At very least you need to pull the tank and the top hat off the carb to get to the needle. It is like stock XJ needles and has "no" adjustment. Until you go get some # 4 washers and take the plastic spacer out and replace it with ,to start out, half the amount of space with washers. After you get it back together and see if it still is lean mid. Take washers out until it gets a smooth cruise and/or doesn't backfire anymore. My girlfriends bike is all stock. With one washer it's cruise is nice and smooth but still backfires on decel. Pretty sure I'm going to have to jet it up to get rid of that but cruise is night and day from when I rode it home. We found five or six and looked at 2. These bikes have been made since 86 and are still being made as the S40 and have a good following. I would say pull the trigger!!!

 

It is not the DR650 motor, it is it's own design. Some say it's half of a 1400 Intruder, but I think the big Intruder had three valve heads, I may be wrong on that. It's no powerhouse, at around 30hp, and the earlier 4 speed ones were only good for about 86mph before the rev limiter kicked in. The later 5 speed motors were good for a touch over 100mph. The backfire after shut down was noted in early tests of the bike way back in the mid 80's, causing one journalist to say he wasn't too happy to ride a bike that farted. Overall, they got some very mixed reviews. They are a basic beginner's bike that may or may not grow on you, just don't expect XJ like performance or refinement. I remember wanting one back in 86, just for the drag bars and the gauge in the tank.

 

Appreciate all the responses. I pulled the trigger and wife is happy. Happy wife, happy life. I talked with mechanic friends and was hearing many of the same responses. Made a pretty good deal on low mileage savage. I drove it home. Seemed better than my test drive. Of course I had ridden the Seca 750 to the test drive, so not a fair comparison. Noticed the backfire more frequently on deceleration. However, I hope to have it jetted out and clean carb. Has good acceleration and held it's own at 70 mph. I think the wife will like this bike after she gets done with the course in a couple of weeks. Teased her that I am going to drive it until she is legal. Too small for me for an every day bike, but a nice change of pace.