Posted by WD on April 17, 2003 at 20:52:49:
Is it just me, or does it seem to others on the site that the Savage and in my family's case the VS800 Intruder, come standard with gremlins?
Went to bleed the front brake on my Savage yesterday after finally installing an over-spec hose to compensate for the apehangers. The piston was stuck about 1/4 of its travel distance in the caliper. A bit of WD-40 and a c-clamp fixed that, but it still won't build up enough pressure to bleed the caliper. Called 2 local shops about overhauling it, only to be told it is a throwaway caliper that retails for $280 plus tax and special order fees. Even replacing the damaged bleeder screw (head rounded off-oops, gremlins) is not an option according to the dealerships.
The Intruder has had a recall on the petcock for a couple years now. Didn't leak when we bought to bike, so we didn't bother with it. Took it in a couple days ago, smelling fuel the whole way to the shop. There is a 5-7 day turn around on replacing an off the shelf part, and you have to take in the whole bike. Why the shop can't just run your VIN and verify the leak by looking at the old petcock is a mystery to me.
Savages and Intruders run the same lighting systems and pieces. The Intruder had a rear signal off my Savage to repair a torn rubber mount. The bolts that hold it in the fender rail are the same. The Intruder bolt cut off the Savage wires. Go figure.
My Savage is on its fifth speedometer cable lower end oil seal. It still leaks. Whoever had the dry Savage cable break must have one rare machine. Every Savage I have looked at (except brand new on the showroom floor)has sealing problems at the top and bottom of the cable sleeve.
My 98 Savage loves to play a game called Hide the Petcock Vacuum Line. Because of my torn up lower back, I haven't ridden in over a year. I keep tinkering with the bike to get it ready for my son to ride, and I always hook up the line if the tank has been off. He'll start the bike, let it warm up, and just when he's ready to try and ride it, it backfires and shuts off. The gremlins have disconnected the vacuum line- AGAIN!!!
Actually, I think the gremlins must have been added during the move out here (western Washington) from the Memphis TN area. The worst the bikes ever did down south was eat fuses or spit out battery cable bolts in the middle of nowhere, at night. On second thought, maybe they were standard issue after all. Think about it, of the stuff that goes screwy the most on the Savage takes tools that the bike either didn't come with or that the factory tools will tear up trying to fix.
KTRSD
-WD
PS: I actually love my Savage. I would not have made it into an old school true chopper if I didn't. And chasing down it's gremlins keeps me occupied while I await a surgical decision for my back. If it wasn't for customizing and troubleshooting, the only bike related stuff I could do right now was look at it through the window.
Later.