Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: TOAD on March 30, 2007, 06:55:50 AM
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Think I've found it,the bike for me. Unless anyone has any bad news about them. THE SUZUKI LS650 SAVAGE!
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I don't think you'll find too many folk here having a bad word to say about the Savage. Could just be the right bike for you. Have you actually found one or are you putting out feelers?
Have a look at: www.suzukisavage.com or just "google" Suzuki Savage for loads of info.
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Ive not heard anything bad about them, the belt drive looks useful. Always found the name 'Savage' a bit daft, but then my wife always laughed when I mentioned I rode a 'Dominator'
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Think I'd much rather ride a savage than a dominator lol.
Saw one on e bay this morning.That gave me the idea.
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the ls650 savage or boulevard s40 how its called in the us is a good realiable bike and you get loads of parts to modify (longer forks , chrom parts, nice exhausts ) its a small chopper , great for touring as i have heard from some owners if you use it for what it is, a chopper means long distances on wide open roads with not to many corners as she doesnt like them too much , but here you go its a chopper and you certainly wont trash it around in the twisties ,just relaxed riding for hours
i have only ridden one once and that was a modified one with shorter and harder rear shocks and a 6 foot fork and the older engine/gearbox with 4 gears and it was lovely to ride especially with this nice straight through exhaust fitted
bam bam bam and it just keeps on pulling :-)
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I don't think you'll find too many folk here having a bad word to say about the Savage. Could just be the right bike for you. Have you actually found one or are you putting out feelers?
Have a look at: www.suzukisavage.com or just "google" Suzuki Savage for loads of info.
Thanks for the link,it's a good site.
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Well, its a better name than 'Goose' innit!. What is it with bike names? Would you feel a bit silly saying 'I'm just popping out to the garage to polish my Jonathan'? Nice bikes though. The Savage looks cool though. 26" seat height too. Just call it an LS650.
Dave B
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Well, its a better name than 'Goose' innit!. What is it with bike names? Would you feel a bit silly saying 'I'm just popping out to the garage to polish my Jonathan'? Nice bikes though. The Savage looks cool though. 26" seat height too. Just call it an LS650.
Dave B
The names were a big problem for the East Asians. Their production philosophy told them to have one name all over the world. The problem is all the good names (Bullet, Lightning, Venom) etc. were snapped up by the older manufacturers. They needed an English name as a market whose only Japanese word was Kamakazi and was already struggling with Suzuki/Yamaha/Kawasaki just wouldn't get Hayabusa etc. (although top marks to the person who noted times had changed). The marketing people then made the mistake of using logic. Bantam was a good name for a small bike, so just pick a bigger bird! Result: Suzuki Chicken? No. Suzuki Turkey? No worse. Suzuki Goose, sounds Ok, make 10 zillion side panels!
The sensible people just stuck to letters!
Andy
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Well, its a better name than 'Goose' innit!. What is it with bike names? Would you feel a bit silly saying 'I'm just popping out to the garage to polish my Jonathan'? Nice bikes though. The Savage looks cool though. 26" seat height too. Just call it an LS650.
Dave B
YEAH! LS650 SOUNDS GOOD TO ME.
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Andy, way back in the midst of time, the japanese producers werent permitted to use "agressive" names due to war sensitivities. Hence all the names were unofficial ones and they just stuck to model numbers as a result, which is why the black bomber etc didnt have its name appear on all the official literature. Ditto for the stinger and the samurai also of that period. S'all gone by the by now, but names that work in all markets are relatively rare, and they have to be carefull to stay away from pajero syndrome (pajero is spanish for w**ker, which is why we got the shogun instead).
we return you to your thread in progress ;)
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Well, its a better name than 'Goose' innit!. What is it with bike names? Would you feel a bit silly saying 'I'm just popping out to the garage to polish my Jonathan'? Nice bikes though. The Savage looks cool though. 26" seat height too. Just call it an LS650.
Dave B
The names were a big problem for the East Asians. Their production philosophy told them to have one name all over the world. The problem is all the good names (Bullet, Lightning, Venom) etc. were snapped up by the older manufacturers. They needed an English name as a market whose only Japanese word was Kamakazi and was already struggling with Suzuki/Yamaha/Kawasaki just wouldn't get Hayabusa etc. (although top marks to the person who noted times had changed). The marketing people then made the mistake of using logic. Bantam was a good name for a small bike, so just pick a bigger bird! Result: Suzuki Chicken? No. Suzuki Turkey? No worse. Suzuki Goose, sounds Ok, make 10 zillion side panels!
The sensible people just stuck to letters!
Andy
Sorry Andy, but the goose got its name from the kinks in the exhaust pipes I'm lead to believe. Aparently they look like a goose's neck :-?
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Toad, hope your happy with the Savage. Haven't heard anything bad about them, but I must admit, they don't appeal to me. If your going for low seat cruiser/Harley lookalike's surely the Yam 535 virago is the bike of choice. Now you really can spruce one of those things and they're getting quite a cult bike (though God only knows why!) Get the in line V twin look too.
Your call, hope you find what your looking for :-)
BTW what's wrong with riding a dominator?? some people pay good money for that! (sorry, wrong type of dominator :-0 )
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Toad,
Re the Virago ignoring all its good and bad feature of which I know nothing check out the word Virago in a dictionary it might put you off as your a lady
Bruce
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Two main reasons i'm going for the savage as opposed to the virago. 1. I prefer a single cylinder (much easier to work on) and 2. I hate the look of the virago (it's not in my dictionary but I can guess)
I don't particularly like this style of bike I'd like somthing a bit nippy that I can lean round the bends but given my height and age I think those days are gone. lol.
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As copied from The Oxford Dictionary of Current English:
virago /'vırα:gəu/ n. (pl.viragos) fierce or abusive women. [OE f. L. = female warrior]
savage /’sævıdζ/ a. uncivilised, primitive; fierce, cruel; colloq. very angry
I think I'm married to both!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BB
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Ural brought out their Lowrider style chopper a few years ago called the 'Wolf' (great bike)... the first few bikes came over with Wolf ( Volk in russian) emblazoned on the tank in cyrillic.....Volk in cyrillic reads 'BONK'...... much to the amusement of the motorcycle press.
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Not the best thought up tank badge then, but good for a laugh.
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Ural brought out their Lowrider style chopper a few years ago called the 'Wolf' (great bike)... the first few bikes came over with Wolf ( Volk in russian) emblazoned on the tank in cyrillic.....Volk in cyrillic reads 'BONK'...... much to the amusement of the motorcycle press.
Dont forget the Ural"Cobra".
Bright Yellow Rigid Custom with a picture of a snake on the tank.The Demo at Charnwoods
GC and myself rode one.....and found it....eerrrr !......interesting !
The forks were siezed...No Movement At All !
So it was rigid front and back.
The ride on their 350 Hatz engined diesel Enfield was much more interesting.
Jetho
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I knew the guys who ran Uralmoto pretty well as I used to be involved with the Cossack Owners club. Apparently they only imported 6 Cobras and at least 4 of them sheared the splines on the drive shaft - normally unheard of on a ural - some thing to do with the rigid back end i understand. The Wolf was a much better bike.
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I knew the guys who ran Uralmoto pretty well as I used to be involved with the Cossack Owners club. Apparently they only imported 6 Cobras and at least 4 of them sheared the splines on the drive shaft - normally unheard of on a ural - some thing to do with the rigid back end i understand. The Wolf was a much better bike.
Ah ! You might know Tim Berry from Bristol.
Jethro
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Certainly do! Last saw him on the Isle of wight - Klatchian Foreign Legion rally- a couple of years ago. He had a lovely1930's? Indian...foot clutch ...left hand throttle....nice bike but a bit of handful to ride in modern traffic. Don't know if he still has the VW engined outfit?
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Bigamist, bigamist BB is a bigamist....
R
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Bigamist - I'll tell her you called her that (as soon as she lets me out of the wardrobe*).
BB
* Yes!, it does have internet access 'cummerbund NOT broadbund' (I'll get my coat, conviently hanging nearby)
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Ahh that well known book - The loin, the switch and the wardrobe...
Remember to turn the brighness down on the screen - can be bright at such close quarters
R
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Hi Toad, My daughter has an LS650 and she loves it, so much so she painted it pink over white with black tiger stripes and calls it Lilly (Savage). The only problem she had was a couple of teeth missing off the starter ring behind the rotor, probably caused by a previous owner trying to start the bike with a low battery, causing the engine to backfire and loading up the starter gear. She ran it like that for a while until the charging system stopped working, so I opened it up and found a gear tooth had buried itself into a coil causing a dead short. I shorted out the coil, fitted a new starter ring and it's been running fine ever since, I even picked up a new stator unit from Ebay, and it's still in the box.
She loves riding the LS650, being a long stroke engine it plods along and the 4speed box is sufficient to cruise at 70-80 mph.I have fitted a loud silencer and rejetted the carb to suit and it runs surprisingly well being so light. She has even taken her boyfriend out on the back......
happy riding
Dave
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HI DAVE. GLAD YOU MANAGED TO SORT THE PROBLEM OK. I HOPE IT'S NOT A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THEM ,I'VE NOT HEARD ANYTHING BAD ABOUT THEM.
I'LL LOOK OUT FOR YOUR DAUGHTER ON HER BIKE,SHE SHOULD BE EASY TO SPOT. LOL.