Question about older Suzuki Savage LS650

[je2000]

Looking at an LS650 with 16,000 miles. Have not seen it yet. Sat for 5 years, but now it is has been ridden a few times a week for the past 5 years.

Anything I should be looking out for that is unique to the Savage? It's a 1988 model. Hoping to make it my girlfriends first bike.

Asking price is $1400. Guy says the chrome and paint are in good shape for a 1988. Garage stored.

It's quite old but I would think that it should still have quite a few miles left in it.

Anyone looking to get a free lunch can come with me to look.

 

[rogerlee]

The normal stuff for a bike that has been sitting. Oil and filter change, brake fluid change, battery, tires [cracked], fork seals? Also look in the tank with a flashlight . Rusty tanks can be a real problem. BTW, the ls650 is kinda slow even for a 650cc bike. It does have a low seat height and fairly lightweight. Even though this bike has been rode the past 5 years you should still check the above items.

 

[Tracker]

miles wouldn't scare me. I agree it probably has a lot still left in it. However, 21 years old means anything rubber or plastic is probably reaching end of life--doesn't mean they have to be changed right away; just more likely to fail without cause.

Any fluids that haven't been changed in last 5 years should be. I would factor that into what I'd offer.

numbers to kick around

nada lists a '95 at $980 for ave retail. (only goes back to 95)
kbb lists a '88 at $1500 for retail (have to be showroom new, no miles, IMHO)
eBay completed sales shows a clean '98 with 3.7K miles sold for $1000.

 

[RedPill]

The timing chain tensioner is known to go out fairly early on these bikes. Look at suzukisavage.com to find info on that, and on the bike in general. One of the folks on that site sells a kit to extend the tensioner. You can listen to try to hear the chain noise.

One other thing: the valve clearance check interval on these is 4000 miles. It's adjusted with a nut, not shims, so it's not too hard to do, just a bit of a pain every 4000 miles.

 

[TWTim]

The bike is pretty easy to live with, but is uncomfortable and underpowered. At 75 miles per hour, the Savage has virtually no power left for passing (and I'm speaking of the post-1995, 5-speed variant). It is also prone to power-fade on hot days.

I bought my wife one of these bikes circa 1997 and she absolutely hated it. That's when I learned the important lesson of never choosing a bike for someone else. Put your girlfriend through the MSF course and, at the end, she'll have all the basic information she needs to go search out her own bike based on her own personal preferences.

After my wife rejected the Savage, I rode it back and forth to work for about a year, then finally got tired of it myself and sold it. I always thought it was a good-looking motorcycle with its classic, chopper-inspired lines, but it didn't work very well for anything other than banging around town at 40 miles per hour. Combine that with its torturous seat, weird ergos, and irritating, jackhammer of an engine, and it's actually one of the few low-power cruisers I wouldn't recommend for a beginner. So again, let her make the decision -- don't make it for her.

 

[jcyuhn]

Seems expensive for what it is. You can score post MY2000 Ninja 250s in reasonable condition and with much fewer miles for less than $2K. It is the quintessential beginner bike. So long as you don't break it, it will be easy to sell next year for the same amount of $$$.

- JimY

 

[je2000]

She took the MSF course with me and has sat on the S40 and S50. She's sat on the Ninja 250 and 500 and see keeps gravitating towards the cruisers. I think it's because they are lower and that inspires confidence with footing.

It can't be any worse than my 250cc dual sport on the highway. It's what, 30 horsepower? Also, the 88 version is only a 4 speed? That kind of sucks!

Thanks for the input guys! Tim, you got me paranoid now. I guess you don't ever really know if you like a bike until you ride it. I know she's sat on this bike before and she says it feels good. She's very short and not very strong...I keep telling her it doesn't matter, it's all in technique and we will practice the MSF course in a parking lot to get her used to it again...

Then again I may have scared her by having her attempt to ride my bike...hehe...

 

[RedPill]

. . . Combine that with its torturous seat . . .

You got that right, for sure! I took to calling mine a motorized butt-pain device.

 

[je2000]

Pfff...and I hear guys complain about the stock KLR650 seat. This can't be any worse than my bike!!

Maybe I will ditch the whole "surprise" thing and have her come out actively on bike visits.

It also sounds like I should try and talk the guy down to $1000.

 

[TWTim]

Tim, you got me paranoid now. I guess you don't ever really know if you like a bike until you ride it.

Well, I don't mean to scare you. It's a tough, bulletproof little bike that looks good and will still be running at the end of the world. But that said, it is what it is -- minimalistic, uncomfortalble, and underpowered.

Maybe I will ditch the whole "surprise" thing and have her come out actively on bike visits. It also sounds like I should try and talk the guy down to $1000.

Those both sound like excellent ideas. Good luck.

 

[je2000]

Well, I don't mean to scare you. It's a tough, bulletproof little bike that looks good and will still be running at the end of the world. But that said, it is what it is -- minimalistic, uncomfortalble, and underpowered.



Those both sound like excellent ideas. Good luck.

Ideally I'd rather her on a S50, but I am bit concerned on weight. That or a Virago 250....

 

[TWTim]

You got that right, for sure! I took to calling mine a motorized butt-pain device.

I'm pretty sure it would've ruined my back had I continued to ride it -- and I was fighting competitively in Kuoshu tournaments at the time and had normalized myself into being in constant pain anyway, so that's saying something.

 

[SL350]

As time goes by I appreciate simplicity more and more. No experience here with the LS650 but a dose of respect for fixing just one carb, replacing one pipe, buying one air filter, checking one plug...

The older the bike, the more important. That is one reason why I am wrenching a Twinstar with one carb and one set of points on a bike most people hate. It just draws me to it that it is so easy to fix.

 

[Tracker]

If you can find a used Honda Shadow DLX, they're nice bikes for that price/category. Low seat height, V-twin, Honda solid, water-cooled and only 30 lbs heavier than the Suzuki. I test road the Savage and the VLX and bought the VLX as my first bike getting back into motorcycling. I put 16K on mine before I sold it and did all kinds of tweaks just for the fun of it--timing advance, Dynojet kit, windshield, etc.

 

[jcyuhn]

You know, a 650 single might not be such a great starter bike. Even though it only has 30HP, it will have plenty of low RPM torque. That translates to a pretty solid punch when you give it some throttle at low speed. Not really newbie friendly. In contrast, a little buzzbomb like the Kaw 250 is completely gutless at low RPM, though it develops the same 30-ish HP (at about a bazillion RPM). So it's a bit less threatening while a new rider is developing the fine motor skills to operate the throttle and clutch. Yet is equally capable of highway speeds once mastered.

Maybe we can Tim to comment on that aspect of the Savage. Of course, it also depends on how quickly the SO climbs the learning curve - some folks are naturals, others, not so much.

- JimY

 

[Moose]

If you can find a Kawasaki 500 Vulcan I'd suggest giving it a try

500 ninja motor in a cruiser frame- and nice and low with little maintance


The Savange is a neet little bike and pretty simple - but not really slab worthy. It would be a fun in the hill country tho

 

[je2000]

That is a good point about a 650 thumper. She reminded me she really liked the Ninja 250. There are waaaay more of these for sale than the other bikes I was looking for. Cheaper too! Looks like there are a few Vulcan's out there too.

 

[TWTim]

Maybe we can [ask] Tim to comment on that aspect of the Savage.

Yep. The Savage will wheelie straight up into the air if you rev it and pop the clutch.