Posted by hogryder on October 27, 1999 at 15:03:45:
In Reply to: Curious part 2 posted by Witch Doctor on October 27, 1999 at 04:54:41:
Why did I buy my first Savage ('87)? At the time I was riding a high milage Honda 450 (the odometer had quit at 25,000 three years ago) and wanted a larger bike for longer trips. I had ridden the 450 on a two-week, 3000 mile trip and it just didn't cut it. The only Harley I could come close to being able to buy was the Sportster 883 ($4000 at the time) and I didn't like the way it "felt" when I sat on it. The fact that I only had $1600 cash and no steady job may have influenced my decision. (Some time I'll tell you guys the story of the source of that $1600.) The big cruisers felt a lot better but there was no way I could afford one.
I was wandering around a Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/ dealership I hadn't visited before, not much liking what I saw. The only bikes in my price range were the 450's and 500's, the 750's were too expensive and were just larger versions of what I already had. Drooling on the HD's had put me in the mood for something a little different than the "cookie cutter" Japanese bikes I had always owned. Then, tucked in a dark corner of the showroom, I saw something that looked a little like the HD's I'd been looking at the week before. I went over to get a better look.
It looked like a cruiser, but was smaller. It couldn't be a "real" cruiser, it only had one cylinder! Too small; with one cylinder it was probably a 250 or something. It didn't even say what it was, just had a stylized "S" on the side of the tank. But that cylinder sure looked bigger than a 250. A big single on a cruiser? What's this? Belt drive? The only belt drive bikes were Harleys!? What's going on here? I finally cornered a salesman and asked him what that thing was.
He told me it was a Suzuki and he thought it was a 600 but didn't know for sure. They had gotten this bike as a replacement for another model that was out of stock and he wasn't familiar with it. It had been sitting in the corner for several months and no one had asked about it. I asked for a test drive and he went to find the key. We had to move four other bikes so we could get this one out. When we got it outside we discovered it hadn't been set up for use. No oil, no gas, no battery. The salesman didn't seem too thrilled when I asked him to have someone set it up for me. He said if I came back the next week, maybe it would be ready. He wandered off to another customer and I found another salesman. This one looked young and hungry, probably hadn't sold anything for a while. He found the owner's manual and let me read that while he wheeled this "Savage" back to the shop. 30 minutes later I went for my test ride.
It was love at first ride. I'd never had a bike that sat like this one. Feet forward, leaning back, buckhorn bars just the right distance for my short arms. In the sunlight it was a beautiful dark purple that they called "Suzuki Blue".
We talked about the price and the salesman did his little dance about going to see the manager. My final offer was $1600 cash (in my pocket) and my old Honda for the Savage and an add-on cruise control (throttle lock). SOLD!!
Over the next three years I came to appreciate the well balanced single, the belt drive, the light weight, the comfortable riding position, and everything else about this bike. The only bike I like better is my HD and even after I traded off my Savage as down payment on my SuperGlide I wished I had been able to keep both.
Why did I buy my wife's '96 Savage (which she shares with me)? Because of my '87 Savage and all the fun I had on it. There is no better light cruiser on the market.
That's my long-winded reason for buying a Savage. What's yours?