Important Maintenance Issues with a Suzuki Cavalcade

1) The most important maintenance issue is what's called the Secondary drive Plug. Failure to address this could lead to a rear wheel lock up. What this consists of is pulling the secondary apart and replacing the stock plug with a new type that can be ordered from Tracy at adnet@mpks.net . The new plug will permanently fix this potential problem. More on this can be found at http://www.billydump.com/cav/instruct/disclaim.htm . Also, the driveshaft seal can leak and cause the oil level in the secondary to become dangerously low and cause the same problem as above. So it's a good idea to replace all the seals and gaskets for the secondary at the same time. Some owners don't realize that the secondary has it's own oil and is not lubricated with motor oil. Check your owners manual to see how to check the oil level in the secondary.

2) To avoid costly unnecessary replacement of the stator and/or regulator/rectifier, the white connector in the negative battery cable located approximately 6-8 inches from the battery post, needs to be cut out and the wires be soldiered back together and sealed with heat shrink or equivalent. Also be sure the water is kept full in the battery to avoid the battery indicator showing up on your display.

3) Order the Shop Manual and Parts Manual on CD from Tracy for only $22.00. This is a must for anyone wanting to work on or find part numbers for their Cade.

4) To avoid trouble getting the bike started, the clutch safety switch should be changed from the stock one to a new type also available from Tracy. This switch being bad will also cause the cruise to not work.

5) Change the fluid in your brakes and clutch every 2 years to get rid of moisture in it and causing the clutch to not operate when it gets hot. Be sure to use DOT4 fluid, or even synthetic DOT4. This also flushes out any crap that could cause any blockage.

6) The radiator reservoir located above the front 2 cylinders often splits at the seam and will leak. This can be repaired or replaced, or disconnected completely when the problem arises.

7) This isn't an important issue, but one that happens quite often. If the radio is stuck on one channel, or the tape player, the buttons wear out and need to be replaced. It takes 16 of them and they can be ordered from Tracy also. You can find more on this at http://www.billydump.com/cav/instruct/radio_1.htm