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LS650 Long Term Report

From: Tumi Laamanen

I bought my maroon LS650F,1989 model in autumn 1990 with 12500 miles on it. I wanted a very simple bike that I could maintenance myself and I thought belt driven single would be as easy as they get. I rode the bike for 5 summers,averaged about 6000 miles each 5 month riding season and finally sold the Savage in spring 1996 when the bike had about 44000 miles on it. I also had totally outgrown the bike in every sense and needed something else.

1. GENERAL DESIGN ETC.
Compared to my current bike,a Honda of similar vintage,Savage has low degree of finish. Particularly the paint seemed to be pretty soft and easily scratched. Also the clearcoat was slightly patchy and at least the front fender faded badly. I think it had very thin coat of lacquer. Usual points like engine side covers pitted quickly after the clearcoat had worn off. Someone suggested to strip off the clearcoat and polish the bare aluminium but I'd suggest to check how much chroming or even powdercoating would cost. Polished bare aluminium tends to oxidize sooner than later at least in humid climates! Also the frame paint was thin. I found some weld seams somewhere near the battery box which were badly rusted,even though the seams were in no straight contact with dirt or road spray.
If you do your own maintenance,you'll soon notice areas where Suzuki designers cut corners,I mean you'll find brackets and fasteners which could be much better located to gain easier access. Ever removed a Savage carb? I wouldn't have thought possible to be that time consuming to remove a carb from a single. Also the parts quality was modest compared to a Honda. Valve cover bolts are about 'single use only' and,as Performance Bikes Magazine tech editor J. Robinson puts it,Suzuki seems to use its own grade of alloy which british mechanics refer to as "'kin monkey metal".
Please use a torque wrench and thread fastener,Loctite or similar.
My bike originally had those narrow drag bars. As I'm over 6'2" the riding position was pretty cramped. Also those narrow bars made the bike heavy- steering. To gain more seat-to-handlebars clearance I installed a set of Harley buckhorns and turned the slightly pullback bar risers 180 degrees so that they faced forwards. I didn't need to lenghten any wires or cables but I had to re-route them just a bit. To my surprise the bar vibration decreased with those wider and taller bars and steering got a lot lighter.
Next I removed seat cover and removed some of the seat foam (to let me stretch just a bit more rearwards) before stapling on the old cover.
Comfort or should I say discomfort wasn't affected,at least negatively.. I've noticed some Savages have thin aftermarket seats. If I remember it right,there's a regulator/rectifier unit bolted on the rear fender. Check if there's enough clearance between reg/rec unit and seat because that box runs pretty hot. It might burn your aftermarket pillion pad or overheat itself and go pop. Electrical parts are expensive,be warned.. If you want to remove original sissybar you have to remove it together with the fender rails. They will be a real bitch to prise off without scraping huge marks to rear fender. I'm not saying they can't be removed without damage but I never succeeded.

2. ALL KINDS OF TECHNICAL TIPS (my categorizing sucks but I'm writing this at 3.35 A.M. at night shift)
The brakes are modest but realistically there's not much you should bother to do to improve them. Braided hose and premium pads for the front and proper maintenance for both brakes is about all you can do. When checking the front pads,check they have worn symmetrically. If another pad is worn more than the other,something (caliper piston or a sliding pin) is sticking and cleaning and greasing is needed. My original front pads were still on the bike when I sold it.
Suspension could be improved but as with the brakes,ask yourself how much you are willing to spend on flashy parts or could the money be more wisely spent towards a better bike. Front suspension spring rate is about in the ballpark with the pullback bars which throw the rider's weight rearwards lightening the front end. You can make cheap fine-tuning by changing the fork fluid viscosity and level. As with all non-cartridge forks,lighter fluid lightens damping making the front respond better to small road imperfections and vice versa. By rising the fluid level by 5-10mm you can add more compression damping (front doesn't sink so low during braking) but be slightly beware as those fork seals wear out faster with added fluid levels and added pressure. My original seals began to leak after 20000 miles and cheap universal aftermarket seals leaked right after installation. Original Suzuki seals are more expensive but seem to be worth the price difference. Rear shocks are on the cosmetic side of that custom compromise between looking good and having reasonable suspension travel. Short shocks cannot have enough travel to suspend the bumps and longer shocks rise the rear,which doesn't look good on a custom. I see not much point in different shocks although I'd like to test ride a Savage with really good adjustable damping shocks with lots more ride height..
Steering head bearings are poorly protected against elements. If you notice a telltale clunk during braking,regrease and adjust them. Mine needed attention before 25000 miles.
For the tires I'd recommend premium touring tires. They have enough grip for Savage's performance and have very good mileage. I had a Dunlop Arrowmax front which lasted nearly 30000 miles and in rear I used a 140/90 Metzeler Marathon which might have lasted for 20000 miles. Then I tried an Avon Elan HL30 150/90 (yes!) which had 3mm of tread after 16000 miles. OK it had poor wet grip especially when new. BTW,you can fit a 150/90 tire into Savage if you really must. Please measure different brands of 150/90 tires for width and choose the narrowest. 150/90 is just a norm and manufa ctures build tires at different widths inside the norm tolerance. 150/90 tire is,I really hope I remember this right,7.5% taller compared to 140/80 (140/90 is just 4% taller)and lenghtens the final ratio at same amount. 150/90 tire lets you go 7.5% faster at same engine revs compared to 140/80 and Savage really needs that taller ratio. 150/90 tire will rub,in my bike it rubbed against fender rail nut inside fender,against some welding slag in swingarm and against belt guard. All the rubbing was very slight and was not dangerous so I let the tire stay on.
...And now about the engine. Please go right now and check whether your Savage engine has even a single drop of oil coming out of cylinder head rear left side cooling tunnel or from the right front cooling tunnel just below the exhaust pipe. If there is any oil soot near the valve cover seam say hello to your new companion that's going to stay with you as long as you keep the bike. SAVAGE VALVE COVER LEAKS ARE ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE TO CURE.
Suzuki designers have decided it's a nice idea to split that cylinder head horizontally at the camshaft level. That seam is supposed to be sealed with Suzuki's own brand of sealant. I consulted local importer's own mechanics and used a premium silicone sealant which they recommended. I also tried numerous different sealants all of which lasted 2500 miles max. before letting hot oil seep outside. There's also rubber plug covering right front cylinder nut from above. The plug must also be sealed. That bastid valve cover is attached by about 15 bolts,most of which are slightly different lenghts. If you fit 5mm too long a bolt it's easy to snap it when it bottoms out. Too short a bolt pulls threads nicely from alloy cylinder head. That valve cover must be the stupidest thing about the whole engine and I still absolutely hate the memory of having to re- seal that seam every routine maintenance,although after a few times you'll remember every single torque value without consulting your manual.

The engine itself seemed to be strong enough. I noticed some cam chain noise but it didn't need any attention as the noise was slight enough.
I've heard some early engines (1986-1987) had cam chain tensioner troubles, the rumour says tensioner ratchet had no internal stop and tightened the cam chain until tensioner spat itself off. This is only a rumour. I did notice increasing oil consumption. At the beginning the engine needed about 0.2 quarts of oil every 600 miles. Then at around 35000 miles the oil consumption jumped up and at 40000 miles the engine needed an average of 0.7 quarts every 600 miles. I once rode 1400 miles in 4 days (520 miles first day),it was 75-80 Fahrenheit and I needed nearly 2.5 quarts in those 4 days. I thought there was a serious problem and decided to sell the bike next spring. Later the buyer rang me to tell he had checked the engine at 46000 miles and the valve seals were shot. There was no problem with the valves although he decided to hone the cylinder and re-ring the piston just to be sure.
About which oil to use..I've read many articles about motorcycle oils and according to various experts and my own experience Savage runs fine with automotive 10W40 provided it's of API SG rating. I did use ordinary Mobil 10W40 which was API SH/SJ rated and it caused some clutch slippage. The main difference between SG and later SH/SJ ratings is that later have more friction reducers added. They play havoc with wet clutches so I'd recommend API SG car oil or pure motorcycle oil,which is a lot more expensive and you decide whether it's worth the added cost. Synthetics are better than mineral oils but do remember my Savage lasted pretty long without any noticeable oil-based wear. Check the oil level often as it's only 0.3 quarts between max and min on the oil check window. Also there's a long way between oil pump and cylinder head so let your engine run gently and steadily for a few seconds after starting. Don't develop that mechanically stupid habit of blipping the throttle right after starting as there might not be enough oil at the top end. Ride gently for a mile or so to ensure proper oil circulation.
Transmission is trouble-free except gear lever pivot near the left footpeg. There's no separate bush nor sealing rubbers so dirt wears slack in the pivot decreasing gear change accuracy. Clean and regrease now and then.
Original drive belt lasted 30000 miles until snapping. Before that I noticed thin white lines running across the belt meaning there were hairline cracks letting moisture in to rot the kevlar cords inside the belt. Original drive belts were really expensive (over 400 US dollars here 6 years ago) so I wanted to check any other alternatives. Original belt was manufactured by Bando so I checked their universal toothed belt catalog.
The closest thing was 135 toothed belt (original 133) so it was 18mm longer. I bought the universal belt,which had the correct profile and width and began to work. I had some pieces of flat iron welded into swingarm ends and machined the axle eyes longer to let the rear axle move farther back to get proper belt tightness with longer belt. It was third of a cost of the original drive belt although I had to machine the left rear shock lower attaching nut slightly to avoid interference with rear pulley.
Belt alignment should be carefully checked by long metal rulers or lenghts of string. Swingarm alignment marks are off by a wide margin so don't trust them any more than a hippie. In my Savage there was misalignment between pulleys (remember Suzuki build quality?) and I could never get it just right. Shimming and/or machining of pulleys would have been needed. I had to change a leaking front pulley oil seal at 40000 miles but it was no problem. If you need to touch that front pulley,remember its nut has left hand thread and you very probably need an air wrench to loosen it. Also clean the splines and grease them slightly to avoid spline trouble.
Remember the corner cutting design? One such spot is one of the bolts fastening the front pulley guard. One bolt hole is bored through to the other side of engine case and the bolt is slightly too short. Water accumulation rusts the bolt and engine case together so when you try to loosen the bolt,it snaps.
Another major design flaw lies in airbox. ORIGINAL SAVAGE AIL CLEANER LETS DIRT PASS THROUGH. Next time you remove the air cleaner element poke your finger into the rubber tube connecting airbox into the carb. If you notice any grit consider changing into K&N or similar universal pod filter. I really recommend that modification. Trouble seems to be poor attachment of the filter element as it's held on by a single screw. I always oiled or greased the foam seal to make it seal better but it wasn't enough. At 43000 miles I had some idling trouble and decided to remove the carb to check for dirt lodged into jets etc. That airbox-carb tube was internally covered by 2mm layer of dirt mixed with blow-by oil from breather. It really was not a pretty sight. There was enough dirt build-up to block the carb idling circuit passage at the edge of the carb. If you are really sure you want to use the original air cleaner you can improve its breathing by removing the rubber intake snorkel at the top of airbox under the seat.
Carb idle mixture screw threads can seize preventing adjustment. Maybe just a bit of copper or silicone grease (before the screw refuses to budge) might help.

3.PERFORMANCE MODIFICATIONS?
Savage has ridiculously low state of tune out of crate. 31 hp even from a 4-stroke single is almost nothing. One could say anything you do to a Savage improves its power. Do you know what kind of power is reached in single racing classes? I'm sure any proper engine tuner could find at least 60 rear wheel hp out of Savage. Of course that 94mm stroke limits usable revs at around 6000 rpm but there still is quite a lot to gain. I'd say even intake (pod filter,if you find one that fits into that restricted space around carb/battery box) and exhaust mods combined with PROPER jetting gives you at least 20% more power. About the exhaust: really minimal baffling or open pipes mix up carburation. You'll get flat/rich spots which are hard to sort out by simply mixture screw/main jet/jet needle height adjustments. Use an exhaust with some back pressure to ease carb set-up. If you have an access to dyno with exhaust gas analyzer,USE IT . Cylinder head work would be easy as the original intake shape is less than perfect. Also higher compression to about 10:1 would be worthwhile..
Next trouble point would be that final ratio. It's plain too short and should be 10-15% taller even with original hp. There is no easy way to alter this apart from different profile rear tires. You get no more useable mph with any engine mods if you can't alter the ratio. Maybe you could fabricate smaller rear pulley as there's no space for larger front. Chain conversion is one route to change gearing but I'm no fan of messy chains. Does anyone have any working solutions to this gearing problem??

That's it. If I had to ride a Savage again I'd possibly alter it towards '60's cafe racer style like old British singles,Gold Stars etc. used to look like. Someone might complain I've only reported possible or actual troubles with a Savage but I think this might be more informative than all these " Gee,last year I bought a Savage and I've already ridden 350 miles.
Last weekend I customized it with a chromed cup holder with special long simulated leather fringes. What a lovely bike." stories which are nice but sadly not much use to anyone else. Just remember that every bike including Savages are meant to be washed and polished but also ridden..if you like it ,just ride it no matter how many better working bikes there might be.
Complaints/ideas/further questions? contact me at rdr647@netti.fi
PLEASE NOTE: There is an updated and expanded version of this article available on Tumi's website.

06/24/2006