buying '19 Suzuki S40 (aka Savage 650)...any issues to be aware of?
- Thread starter kmrinpa
- Start date
No experience with that model or recent Suzuki motorcycles. Still have an '07 Burgman 400. Have had many other Suzukis, two and four wheel varieties. W/o hesitation I'll say they are some of the best engineered, most reliable vehicles I've had.
You can't go wrong with a Suzuki.
You can't go wrong with a Suzuki.
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The bike itself should be as reliable as dirt. The only problem I have ever seen with these types of motorcycles is that people tend to grow tired of them quickly. It's a single cylinder street bike that doesn't do anything particularly well other than give you the joy of riding.
If you're new to cycling then it will be a fabulous starter bike. If you're an experienced rider who wants to get back into riding then you'll likely grow bored with it quickly.
If you're new to cycling then it will be a fabulous starter bike. If you're an experienced rider who wants to get back into riding then you'll likely grow bored with it quickly.
I'm not the average rider...in years past I bounced between scoots & motos; been wanting one of these late model s40's with low miles & not overpriced; I need the bike to be under 400lbs to manhandle due to previous back issues;
I've had several bikes from 250cc cruisers to a 750cc cruiser (suzuki gz250's, buell blast, yamaha vstar 650, honda shadow 750); my current ride is a honda navi which I like...but this S40 will give me more capabilities to extend my riding without getting something too heavy to manhandle as needed
The tires ae original. Probably 2018 or 2019 vintage. You should plan on replacing them in the next few years due to age if they are not worn out by then.
Also, I would suggest flushing the brakes with new fluid and check the air filter for mice.
Also, I would suggest flushing the brakes with new fluid and check the air filter for mice.
Do you plan to do any interstate riding? If so, I would look elsewhere. It only has ~30 hp, and very poor aero, I can't imagine it would be fun trying to keep up with traffic on that thing. A safety advantage of most motorcycles is your power to weight ratio that helps get out of sticky situations...I'm guessing that is not an advantage on this particular choice.
If you are partial to the style, there are better choices. If you are partial to single cylinder, there are better choices.
If you are partial to the style, there are better choices. If you are partial to single cylinder, there are better choices.
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I have a 2007-- the only real issue is that the cam chain tensioner assembly isn't long enough, so as the chain wears and the tensioner expands, it eventually runs out of travel and comes apart.
A guru on the Suzuki Savage Forum (Verslagen) sells a custom tensioner that solves this problem. I've not purchased it yet but intend to do so in the next year or so.
Also, in my experience, the bolts holding the header pipe to the head tend to loosen over time, causing the exhaust to get louder and exacerbating the infamous backfiring that this bike has as a normal feature (there is no vacuum enrichener on the carb, so it tends to backfire when deaccelerating while in gear, which the devotees of this bike consider to be an endearing feature).
Overall, a fun bike that I love to ride!
A guru on the Suzuki Savage Forum (Verslagen) sells a custom tensioner that solves this problem. I've not purchased it yet but intend to do so in the next year or so.
Also, in my experience, the bolts holding the header pipe to the head tend to loosen over time, causing the exhaust to get louder and exacerbating the infamous backfiring that this bike has as a normal feature (there is no vacuum enrichener on the carb, so it tends to backfire when deaccelerating while in gear, which the devotees of this bike consider to be an endearing feature).
Overall, a fun bike that I love to ride!
to respond to points raised in previous comments...1) will replace tires as needed (wear vs dry rot), 2) not alot of highway...under 10 miles anticipated per jaunt; yes...better choices that are more $$$ & heavier; previous injuries prevent manhandling heavier cruisers & 250cc class bikes top out too quickly...loved my previously owned vstar 250 (sold a few years ago) but wanted more capability (650cc in a 250cc frame size); $$$ not available for fancier choices, 3) chain tensioner has me concerned...if I have it for 10k-15k miles I will address it; at 1250 miles (as of today) the **** thing isn't fully broken in yet; header bolts will be an annual check; the backfiring occurs for me at engine shutoff during hot idle which seems high...but then it's a single lunger
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Verslagen (suzukisavage.com moderator, overall S40/Savage/LS650 guru, and creator of the modified tensioner that solves the problem) says:
Which means that your plan for 10-15K miles before sealing with the tensioner is probably reasonable.
Note, however, that the wear on the cam chain (and thus the tensioner extension) can show some high variability-- there are some that have gone >20K miles without a problem, but there are also those who have had their tensioner let go as early as 3K miles!
Here, again, is Verslagen, answering a question about this low-mile failure scenario:
So, if you have the time and want to rule out the possibility of having an early failure, you might want to change the tensioner out sooner rather than later.
I have 9.5K miles on mine and have not done this modification yet, mostly due to lack of time. However, it's near the top of my list to get done now that I have retired. So far, I've not had any problems, but I feel like I'm pushing my luck...
On my S40, an annual check is not near enough. Even though I have the factory fasteners and carefully torque them to spec, one of them always comes loose fairly quickly. As such, I have to check it every 2-3 rides.
I don't think the backfire is related to being a single-- several of my bikes are singles, including some big ones (klr650, Blast 500). The S40 is the only one that backfires.
Generally, carbureted bikes have an "air cut valve/coasting enricher/anti-backfire valve" to make the mixture a bit richer on deceleration as it's the leanness when you cut the throttle while coasting that causes the backfire.
S40's simply do not have this system so, combined with the EPA-mandated lean jetting from the factory, this bike is basically designed to be a backfire machine.
Gurus on the forum consider it to be an endearing feature that is part of the charm of the bike. However, I'm not so enamored of it.
As you mention, within about a second of shut-off when hot, my bike will almost always give a noticeable "chuff" or occasionally a loud backfire. When coasting after full warmup, it almost always backfires, and not in a cool way-- it sounds just like a shotgun going off.
Kind of embarrassing when I'm in traffic, and even worse when I'm in a parking garage, so want to get it fixed one way or another.
My understanding is that by eliminating the EPA leanness by changing jetting to a richer mixture will help with reduce backfiring, and that's another mod I intend to do to my S40 in the coming months. We'll see if it works.