And she doesn't want to drag her '97 Suzuki Savage with.
You know I can't resist a thumper, and free makes it even better. But I can't stand cruisers, so I'm going to cut this one up a bit. Bobber? Cafe? Maybe Brat? Not sure yet.
And she doesn't want to drag her '97 Suzuki Savage with.
You know I can't resist a thumper, and free makes it even better. But I can't stand cruisers, so I'm going to cut this one up a bit. Bobber? Cafe? Maybe Brat? Not sure yet.
http://www.rycamotors.com sells parts to build Savage cafe racers and bobbers. At least, the pictures on their website will be good inspiration.
+1 on taking inspiration from RYCA. Their prices are high, but I wouldn't have had the vision that they had for these bikes.
I've known of Ryca since they first started. Their prices were high then; they are sky-high now. Looking to do something a little less vanilla, TBH.
Do what all great artists do: steal. Steal the idea, and do it yourself.
Well of course.
I will be stealing ideas from several locations.
stuart in mn said:http://www.rycamotors.com sells parts to build Savage cafe racers and bobbers. At least, the pictures on their website will be good inspiration.
Holy tar 4.5K for a frame kit and some fenders with powder coating included. They can suck an egg at that pricing.
In reply to wearymicrobe :
#IJS
Street tracker try Omars fiberglass.
Damn. That kit used to be $2,300. I thought it was expensive then.
In reply to Appleseed :
I'm truly amazed that they can get people to pay what amounts to a finished semi-custom bike price for a kit that will only turn out a mediocre looking copy worth less than the kit price.
Moving on, I think one of the biggest challenges for me with be the 650's lump itself. It should have quite a bit going for it with its really tall cylinder and smallish transmission, but it just doesn't seem to have any character.
I think I need to mess around with different ideas for the head/rocker cover area and paint/polishing to get it to look like it isn't a chunk of plastic in some kid's ride-on toy.
Cooter said:In reply to Appleseed :
and paint/polishing to get it to look like it isn't a chunk of plastic in some kid's ride-on toy.
black wrinkle-finish VHT everywhere. sand the fins with 220 after paint. mask some of the fastener heads and other details before paint if that's your thing.
I'm thinking maybe something similar to the treatment on my Seca 650, but a little closer to grey instead of black.
Still need to figure out what to do with the top end, though.
Found someone photochopping one on DTT, and it greatly eases my discomfort with the engine.
It also looks as though that upper tin maybe be easily removed, as well. I don't like the tank, and this doesnt make me fall in love with it either. But that isn't a huge challenge; I shop gas tanks like my wife shops shoes.
The engine on a Savage does have a certain Norton Manx look to it, particularly in how the exhaust pipe is routed.
I would go light on the black spray paint on the engine (or on other parts, particularly the wheels). It gets way overdone these days. Bikes back then may have had a lot of unpolished aluminum parts, or magnesium parts that got dark from exposure to the air, but they didn't have all that much black paint.
Those are a maintenance night mare if you ride them on the freeway very much.
It will leak oil from one of the rubber stoppers on the rocker cover and it will like it is coming from the headgasket.
There is a spring in the carb that has a little too much pressure, clip a little off it and it wont pop so much on decell, There are a few writeups on the web about it. And if the Air/Fuel mixture screw is still capped you can take the brass plg off and turn the screw out a little.
If you dont like the belt drive you can convert it over to chain by using GS 650 sprockets if I remember correctly.
If you do ride the freeway a lot watch the gas tank mounting tab, they tend to crack.
They guys at Ryca found that most people bought the kit when they crased their bike and used the insurance check to buy it.
In reply to MulletTruck :
The bike was my sister's IBA Rally Bike.
Trust me, it's pretty well sorted.
If you like the toaster style Manx tank, see if you can lay your hands on a Misfit tank from Cleveland Cyclewerks. I have one for my TwinStar and it fits the Honda style mounts perfectly. Lockable gas cap, petcock, and only $220 with tax. I would have spent more rehabing the CB 200 tank I initially wanted.
Cooter said:In reply to MulletTruck :
The bike was my sister's IBA Rally Bike.
Trust me, it's pretty well sorted.
Cool, I wish the 50 or so that I had to work on were sorted.
Hard to travel 10,000 miles in a week and a half on a bike that won't do highway miles.
FYI: The modern name for the Savage is Boulevard S40. About the only update is S40 has belt drive vs chain. I like chain better myself as you can gear it for your liking. So you might search S40 to find more "kits"
Not looking for any kits.
Do to all sorts of things going sideways, I finally picked up the bike today.
It is going to need quite a bit of cleanup before I tear into it. My sister rode it year round, and it shows.
More later, I hope.
So...
When I originally agreed to take the Suzuki, my sister moved away before I could do anything about it. I figured the bike was gone, as I never heard anything form her; just saw on FB that she was in Cali.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I get a FB message asking if I could pick up the bike in the next few days. Since we were dealing with my FiL declining health, I said that I really didn't have an opportunity to deal with it. My sister says "I get it. I'll take care of it" Well, at the funeral I get a message from her wife asking me when I am picking the bike up, as she is in town, and will be heading back to California Wednesday (tomorrow).
Really?? So, since the DogeVan might have a fuel pump issue that may leave me stranded 30 miles from home on I-55, and the Sprinter needs brake lines, and we are still dealing with sorting out the legal and financial aspects of the estate, and the only chance I have is basically Monday afternoon, I rent a u-Haul pickup. A brand new 2019 with 90 miles on it. 80-some odd miles later in rush hour Chicagoland traffic I am back, and manage to get the truck to the facility before they cos;e with 10 minutes to spare. The "free" Savage is now about $150, after rental gas, and tolls. I got a free aluminum ramp out of it, however, so there's that.
She had a saddle custom made for the IBA rallies. Pretty sure it is a Russell Day-Long® Unfortunately, the seat will be going, along with much of the rest of the bike.
D ay-Long®Da y-Long
No, that's not medium-high milage for a Japanese motorcycle. The odometer has rolled over. I think the engine had a rebuld arond 90K mi. I will have to ask for particulars (but not through FB)
I need to decide if I am going to ditch the belt drive. I want to relace the 15" rear wheel with a new hoop to upsize the diameter, and would prefer to do the chain conversion from a GS550L at the same time, but I am still not sure whether I would like to keep the belt around. If I go scrambler or desert sled, then, I will go chain, but might keep it for other styles. Still not sure what the bike want to be yet. The jug just doesn't speak to me at all, and I can't stand the tins on top of the head.
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