Posted by Hoggryder on July 20, 2003 at 13:46:44:
In Reply to: An interesting question posted by Richard fssnoc#4368(Ks) on July 17, 2003 at 23:26:09:
Bought my first Savage in June '87. Couldn't afford a HD so was looking through a sea of unimpressive rice grinders at the Honda/Suzuki/Yamaha dealer in Livingston Montana. Everything I saw looked just like the old Honda 450 I wanted to trade in on something bigger until I saw what looked like a little HD sitting in the corner with a layer of dust on it. I got the lone salesman to help me dig it out so I could see it, sat on it, and fell in love. At that point the only thumpers I had owned were dirt bikes so was a little apprehensive. The salesman said it had been sitting there for about 8 months and no one had been interested but, if I wanted to wait, the mechanic could put a battery in and fill it with oil so I could take a test ride. I waited two hours. They finally decided I wasn't going to go away until I rode the thing so they got it ready. Rode it around the block, down to the river on the east end of town, and back to the dealership then went in to talk price. I thought it was black until I got it out in the sunshine where I discovered it was a very dark purple. (They called it "Suzuki Blue")
I got my Savage, they got my old Honda 450 and $1600 cash I made from hoarding original formula Coca-cola, and we were both happy.
I outgrew the Savage and traded it in three years and 30,000 miles later on my Super Glide but have always had a warm spot in my heart for the Savage. My wife now rides her '96 Savage and my father-in-law rides an '86 he picked up while visiting us last year.