Posted by Frank on February 10, 2000 at 23:49:02:
Hi Savages,
I guess I missed Bruce's post on the "Long Term 650 Savage Report" on the Thumper page until now. To me this is pretty significant news. These are the kind of articles that get wider circulation and attention than just us Savage owners here on this site. As most of you know, I think I have the highest mileage running Savage out there. Therefore I feel I can substantiate/refute some of Tumi's claims. Much of his report is personal opinion and he's entitled to that of course. I his report to be somewhat on the negative side, but as someone else stated, "for a guy who didn't like the bike much, he sure rode the sh-t out of it!"
First of all, Tumi seems to have a bias against Suzuki, in general. I got this out of his first paragraph. This is my third Suzuki. My first one I bought used while in the military (79 GS425 twin). I sat through two below zero winters in Montana. When I got out of the service, I had it shipped to California for basic transportation. All it need was a new battery. It served me well for years after that. My next Suzuki was just as reliable. Suzuki has led the sport bike world since the late eighties with it's sophisicated and advanced engineered GSXR series. It also ushered in the first great Japanese Cruieser (not the in-line two and four cylinders customs of the early eighties), the Intruder. The Intuder is one cruiser with some actual power! Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is this: The Savage is an entry level cruiser bike. You really can't get into the cruiser bike market any cheaper if you want a highway legal bike. Suzuki probably didn't put it's best engineering into this model, but I don't believe that Suzuki does anything shoddy. The company has a proven track record of the usual Japanese excellence. This is why Japan took over the motorcycle world in the first place right? True, the welds are not Harley Davidson smooth. (I admit, Harley makes a beautiful bike), but frankly, I didn't even notice the frame welds on my Savage until someone brought them up on this site. The bikes looks appealed to me because of it's simplicity combined with a big single motor. I didn't really think about the chrome much. As far as the paint (mine is 1997 Midnight blue. Looks black without sunlight), I've been riding it two years now, it sits in the sun at work and the paint is fine. As far as scratches, there are some but I put them there myself. Tumi also talks about removing the carb being difficult. I have removed mine three times now and on the third time, I did it in about 20 minutes. (the trick is to remove the battery box.)
There are some things that I agree with. Tumi mentions that the bike leaks oil. This is a fact. However, what he fails to mention is that these leaks (as long as the bike is not still under warranty)are not catastrophic. I've had leaks for 45,000 of the 50,000 miles I've put on her. I had one fixed under warranty (it just leaked agin a few thousand miles later) and I just periodically tighten the various bolts on engine down and wipe the oil off. I leak from the front head bolt, some small seepage from around the head and from where Tumi mentions the gear shift shaft. My belt also suffers from those tiny hairline cracks that his suffered, but the belt has yet to snap. My fork seals have not started leaking yet. As far as the regulator/rectifier, I have not noticed any overheating at all. He's right about oil consumption on the Savage, but I've been preaching that since I found this site.
The bottom line is this: Like WitchDoctor says, Is it a twenty thousand dollar Harley? NO. Is is hot rod sport bike? NO Is it expensive to own and operate? NO. Will it get you to work and back, take you to your weekend get away spot and deliver you to your local hamburger stand on Wedensday cruise night in a little bit of syle? YES!