The Fizzer stayed home today!

[n1one]

Hey all,

I rode to work today..nice cool morning here in New England, but the Fizzer stayed home today....

The thumper came out to play today......here she is:

View attachment 20522View attachment 20523View attachment 20524View attachment 20525

It's a 2002 Suzuki Savage 650...I bought it for my wife last year when she got her license to ride! She does not get as much riding time in the summer because the kids are home, but I am happy to take out the thumper once or twice a week!

I picked it up for $1800 bucks with (2,000) miles on the clock. It had been dropped by the previous owner in his driveway, so it has some minor dings....one on the tank and the pegs are a little bent. I figured this would be perfect for my wife to build her riding skills on and if she dropped it...no big deal.

This bike is well known for running very lean, as set from the factory.....it backfires alot and has no go, because it gets no gas! Sooooooo......This weekend I am going to pull the tank and top of the carb off and I am going to make an adjustment to the slide needle...I am going to remove 1/2 the spacer in the slide to allow the needle to come farther out and richen up the mixture from 1/4 throttle to 3/4 throttle. Should be interesting......:rockon:

I am hoping for a nice September so I can take a few days off and go riding with her....kids are back in school!!!!!

Oh...when I ride this "little" bike, I look like I am riding a pocketbike......:Flip:

 

[Mexi-can't]

Aww how cute. I've done the needle mod on a few different carbed bikes, it makes a big difference for just a little time involved.

 

[FZ1inNH]

Bill, that is what my wife started on too!

I think you should put her on the FZ6 and trade the Savage for an FZ1! You KNOW you want to....

 

[n1one]

Bill, that is what my wife started on too!

I think you should put her on the FZ6 and trade the Savage for an FZ1! You KNOW you want to....

Great minds think a like!

I just need to be able to lower it some...she is only 5'3":Flash:

 

[Less]

Hey all,

I rode to work today..nice cool morning here in New England, but the Fizzer stayed home today....

The thumper came out to play today......here she is:

View attachment 20522View attachment 20523View attachment 20524View attachment 20525

It's a 2002 Suzuki Savage 650...I bought it for my wife last year when she got her license to ride! She does not get as much riding time in the summer because the kids are home, but I am happy to take out the thumper once or twice a week!

I picked it up for $1800 bucks with (2,000) miles on the clock. It had been dropped by the previous owner in his driveway, so it has some minor dings....one on the tank and the pegs are a little bent. I figured this would be perfect for my wife to build her riding skills on and if she dropped it...no big deal.

This bike is well known for running very lean, as set from the factory.....it backfires alot and has no go, because it gets no gas! Sooooooo......This weekend I am going to pull the tank and top of the carb off and I am going to make an adjustment to the slide needle...I am going to remove 1/2 the spacer in the slide to allow the needle to come farther out and richen up the mixture from 1/4 throttle to 3/4 throttle. Should be interesting......:rockon:

I am hoping for a nice September so I can take a few days off and go riding with her....kids are back in school!!!!!

Oh...when I ride this "little" bike, I look like I am riding a pocketbike......:Flip:

Bill, IIRC when I had my 03 Savage, there was a plug on the side of the carb that you could drill out to get to the mixing screw to enrich the mixture. You did not have to mess with the float needles. I never did it as I sold the bike after a year, ( and yes mine backfired on decelaration all the time, but I learned to like it). I'll see if I can find the info.

 

[Less]

Found some info.

The most common method is to simply lean out the carburetor. The
low-speed and midrange circuits of the late-model carburetor are not
adjusted to give optimum performance - they're set up to produce a
minimum hydrocarbon count on deceleration. What miserly amount of fuel
they do deliver to the combustion chamber when the throttle is closed
causes misfire and an audible after fire in the exhaust pipe.
Getting back to your Savage 650, Coney, here's how we can specifically
cure its problem. We need to richen those two areas of the carburetion
curve that are factory set on the ridiculous side of leanness. Remove
the diaphragm slide from the carburetor and look down inside its bore.
Two small screws hold a plate over the slide needle.
Removing the plate, you'll see a small, white plastic spacer with a
hole through it sitting on top of the needle. Throw that spacer away
and reinstall the plate. A spring under the needle clip will now push
the needle up to the plate occupying the space vacated by the white
spacer. The distance that the needle has been 'lifted' is the thickness
of the discarded spacer - and that's ideal. With the needle raised,
more fuel will flow by it, meeting the actual needs of midrange
running.
We can also fatten up the low end of your bike's carburetor by turning
out the low-speed mixture screw. To gain access to this screw, you'll
need to drill out the brass plug pressed in over it and yank it out
with a ***-metal screw attached to a slide hammer. You'll find that
plug up high on the right side of the carb about where the mouth enters
the carburetor. Usually Suzuki applies a splash of white paint over the
brass plug so that it's immediately noticeable. With the engine warmed
up and idling, turn the mixture screw out incrementally until you
achieve the highest idle. There will be no doubt in your mind that
you're making progress because the idle will come up and sound
stronger. At this point, turn the idle adjuster knob out and bring the
idle back down to a leisurely gait.

 

[reiobard]

Excellent beginner bike, but i would look like a gorilla riding a football on one of those little guys

 

[n1one]

Found some info.

Less,

Thanks for the info, I had already pulled the brass plug and tuned out the low end a little better..still backfires a little though.

Today, I pulled the tank...what a PIA on the savage. to remove the tank you have to remove the fuel selector because it sits very close to the frame. the selector also has no "OFF" position......go figure....so needle nose pliers to squeeze off the line, pull the line and drain the gas into a gas can. Then unbolt the selector from the bottom of tank while being careful not to damage the filter.

So I get the tank off and notice that the previous owner must have already messed with the carb...one of the four screws that holds the top cover over the slide diaphram was missing and the threads were stripped out!:spank:. I guess using a screw and a lock nut did not occur to them!:spank:

So, off with the cover and pull out the slide......take it the basement to the work bench. I unscrew the plate that holds the spring loaded needle valve and I find another surprise.....the previous owner tried to do the spacer mod that I was going to do.......except instead of replacing the spacer with (2) washers (half as tall)...this idoit added (3) washers on top of the spacer.....:spank:What the H**l where they thinking:disapprove::rant: Doing this would make the bike run more LEAN...ie. run even crappier......

Oh well....so I fixed this persons mess and put it all back together

I started the bike up and reset the low end mixture and the idle again...NO MORE BACKFIRES!:thumbup:

At that point I figured I would go ahead and change the oil and the filter too.

I finally got it all set...fired it up and went for a ride......WOW...it actually goes like a 650 now....no more studdering, backfiring or anything....even has less vibration in the bars......

I am glad I took the time to do this, I guess you never know what a previous owner will do to a bike.....when they don't know what they are doing and don't get the proper help!

Later all and THANKS for the help and comments!