What would you do?

[69intruder]

Hello everyone, Well I put in a new clutch and fixed the 96 intruder all up. Worked great then these 2 brothers came along and twisted the crap outta my arm and stole it away from me at CASH POINT! Offer I couldn't refuse you might say.

Now onto the pickle I'm in as follows: I found a 95 dark red Intruder 800 in show room condition 1 owner Engineer owned looks like the day Suzuki made it with a rear rack, saddle bags and supports, full coverage windshield BUT IT HAS 65K miles on it. It is absolutely spotless starts right up and the engine sounds very good. Would you pay 2200 for it OR walk away and buy a low mileage 3600 mile not as nice bright red<not so fond of that color 2001 Intruder for 2500.

I know i'mma nut case but it runs in my family.

My biggest concern is worn cam chains or transmission troubles.

[hillsy v2]

If it's been regularly serviced and looked after 65K miles is nothing. You will have more problems with a low mileage bike that has been stored / not ridden in comparison.

[sgtcall]

Buy it.

[69intruder]

Have you ever heard of a worn timing chain on a vs800? Engineer guy says he only used Belray oil and drove it to church every sunday( church is 3 states away from his home). Only flaw on the entire bike I can find is a small ding on the top of the tank but being its 28 years old what could you expect. The seat looks brand new too so I have to think it was replaced at some point. Thanks for your opinions

1 more thing, i'm going to do a compression test with the engine warm. What numbers should I be seeing. Last one was around 190.

[Herb]

If there is anyway you can afford it, buy both.

[navigator]

What hillsy says, well maintained, 65k is just broke in. buy it.

[69intruder]

If there is anyway you can afford it, buy both.

I only have use for one, I'm going to inspect the high mileage bike on Sunday. Compression test, charging system, check tank for rust and a 20 mile ride. If it feels right i'm going to buy it because of the condition. Local dealer told me to pay no more than 1500 because at that mileage its worth nothing. Guy will not budge from 2200 and honestly the difference between 1500 and 2200 isn't enough to really squabble about when something is in this condition. I've never seen cleaner or better maintained. I'm probably going to drive less than 1k a year but it has to be reliable.

[69intruder]

I bought a 2004 Savage 9k miles, hope it treats me well.

[hillsy v2]

I bought a 2004 Savage 9k miles, hope it treats me well.

Wow - that's a totally different beast.

Good luck with it.

[Herb]

And only one carb to deal with.

[69intruder]

Kinda disappointed in this Savage, it runs good and has plenty of power BUT it has NO ODOMETER! Who except Suzuki would build ANY motorcycle without a odometer? Unfortunately I didn't notice it until after I bought it. So I'm looking for another motorcycle with a odometer in the 350lb weight cruiser with low seat height with at least 35 hp. It only has a 2 gal tank till it runs into reserve and I've ran into reserve 2 times, the 2nd time it ran out and stalled in the middle of a busy intersection. Luckily I got to the side of the road as cars whizzed by me. VERY DISAPPOINTED the next time it runs out I'm letting it sit right where it runs out!

[hillsy v2]

Kinda disappointed in this Savage, it runs good and has plenty of power BUT it has NO ODOMETER! Who except Suzuki would build ANY motorcycle without a odometer? Unfortunately I didn't notice it until after I bought it. So I'm looking for another motorcycle with a odometer in the 350lb weight cruiser with low seat height with at least 35 hp. It only has a 2 gal tank till it runs into reserve and I've ran into reserve 2 times, the 2nd time it ran out and stalled in the middle of a busy intersection. Luckily I got to the side of the road as cars whizzed by me. VERY DISAPPOINTED the next time it runs out I'm letting it sit right where it runs out!

All road bikes have odometers. Someone has modified it and taken it off.

Unless you mean trip meter?

[Herb]

Any suzuki speedometer will work, just find one that you like and switch it out.

My 1400 speedo went tits up at about 200K and it now has the speedo off of a GS250 that I junked out. Works great.

[hillsy v2]

Any suzuki speedometer will work, just find one that you like and switch it out.

My 1400 speedo went tits up at about 200K and it now has the speedo off of a GS250 that I junked out. Works great.

It depends on where the speedo gets it's signal and the ratio of the drive / wheel size. Sure you can hook up another speedo but if the drive ratio is different then the speedo will not read correctly.

[69intruder]

Trip odometer is what it doesn't have. It is driven off the transmission so i have no idea what the ratio is. Also the cable is huge in size so I'm not sure if it will even attach to a different speedo. Unfortunately for me on a motorcycle a trip odometer is like the bible. Run out of gas in a car you're walking, run out on a motorcycle it could be very risky. So I always watch the trip odometer and when I see 00 I fill up. With just a odometer I have to try and remember 3 places on the odometer and there is no way I'm going to remember that over time. I'm going to explore replacing it with a different speedo but the stocker mounts on the tank and looks to be a little larger and like I said trans driven.

[69intruder]

Had it out today and the 1st place I headed was the gas station and sure enough it was close to reserve. Now another weirdo thing this bike does under hard power it LURGES on every shift HARD. I'm not sure why its doing this? heavy flywheel maybe? In the lower gears its the worst, wind it up good and shift 1-2 wow the bike jumps ahead hard then settles down WTH? I never experienced this before on any motorcycle. Me think this Savage has some design issues.

[hillsy v2]

As far as your trip meter goes you could fit a bicycle computer as well as your current speedo. If you mount the pickup on the rear wheel it will be more inconspicuous. Even wireless ones are cheap - you can get one for under $10.

[69intruder]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will explore that if I keep it, I've owned a few single cylinder bikes before including a very cool Yamaha XT500, none of them acted like this thing does. Its a strange ride for sure.

[hillsy v2]

Had it out today and the 1st place I headed was the gas station and sure enough it was close to reserve. Now another weirdo thing this bike does under hard power it LURGES on every shift HARD. I'm not sure why its doing this? heavy flywheel maybe? In the lower gears its the worst, wind it up good and shift 1-2 wow the bike jumps ahead hard then settles down WTH? I never experienced this before on any motorcycle. Me think this Savage has some design issues.

Assuming you are using the clutch when shifting? It sounds like the revs aren't coming down between shifts. Either you are holding the throttle open, shifting too fast / dropping the clutch or there is a fuelling issue that doesn't let the revs drop when you close the throttle.