Posted by Rooster on February 05, 2003 at 23:53:52:
In Reply to: Limited Highway Milage? posted by SuReina on February 05, 2003 at 21:28:54:
I appoligize forehand for the following rant, but the Rooster has got some crowing to do. I am tired of everyone dogging on the Savage!! I am sick of people saying it was designed for short people, or it was designed to attract more female riders and that is why it has a low seat height, or the dreaded, "it is only for errand rides around town", and of course the classic, "it's a great begginer bike." Please stop it... I am sure that we could all agree that any of these statements could likely be the motive of Suzuki, but I would not agree with any of them whole heartedly. Look, the fact of the matter in my oppinion is that the Savage was launched to be an economical introduction to the cruiser market, of course the manufacture is hopeful that you will like it so much that you go out and continue to buy Suzuki upgrades like the Intruder 800, 1400, and finally the 1500. God forbid you out cc' yourself with these monsters. I owned a 82' V45 magna 750 some 10 years ago, and it had a pretty good pull of power. But after burning up two sets of valves from gear heading I realized I would either have to accept that my bike was a cruiser or I would have to buy a crotch rocket. I chose neither and instead let the bike sit in my basement for 9 years until I finally gave it away two years ago. After I regained my thirst for riding I went out looking for a nice affordable cruiser, and wouldn't you know it, I happened upon a Savage. After I bought it I began having reservations of the choice I had made, it was, in fact, "NOT", the biggest motorcycle in the row of bikes in the parking lot. Maybe, I should feel weak and ashamed because every one else rides big V-twin Harleys', Hondas', and bigger Suzukis'. I even considered trading my Savage for a new bike, but then something happened, I realized how cool this little bike with the belt drive really is. I slipped on a Jardine exhaust last year and that alone changed how I felt about this massive single lunged thumper, then I started staring at the body of the Savage and looking at the pics on our beloved homepage. Oh yes, I began to see what the Savage was truley made of, the simplicity of a classic design coupled with the smooth running 652cc engine. My dad had an old BSA back when Triumphs and BSAs ruled the land, but it was no 650 single, I mean a 650 twenty five years ago was a pretty fair sized machine. I then started looking at other thumpers on the internet and came to the conclusion that bigger bikes really are just bigger money pits, and a whole lot more to handle. Sure, big bikes are cool but they are also big bucks, my bike is paid off in two more months and I currntly have it at a friends garage with the back fender ready to hit a grinding wheel this week-end. I can't believe I ever considered getting rid of this bike, it is part of Thumper history and way off the beaten path of the ordinary V-twin considered necessary to be essential on motorcycles of today. The wind will still hit my face the same at 55mph on a Savage as it would on a bigger bike. And as far as the mechanic at the dealer is concerned, my dealer couldn't even make a suggestion to risers for my bike. Stay out of the Dealers greedy fingers whenever possible. The Savage is plenty of bike, you don't need to go wasting more money of a bigger bike.
Grace and Peace,
Rooster