Posted by Bruce Clarke on June 18, 1999 at 17:08:37:
In Reply to: Re: Savage has no power ? posted by Knud L Rasmussen on June 13, 1999 at 15:27:36:
Knud L Rasmussen wrote:
>I know the Savage has more momentum then Virago
>535 - less (horse)power though, but also less
>weight. Topspeed is irrelevant - in my case it's
>about 140 km/h (over 90 m/h). The Virago 535 has
>a higher topspeed. But there is no idea in
>riding over 80 m/h on bikes like that.
I think the Savage's weight is the key: it has a dry weight of 350 Lbs, easily 50 to 100 Lbs lighter than any other mid-size bike. I rented a Honda Shadow VLX-600 in California for seven days: it has a slightly more powerful engine (say 35 HP compared to 30 HP) but is about 100 Lbs heavier. I found that it was much slower in acceleration than my Savage up to about 90 KM/H or so. A that point the extra power starts to help the Honda, and it eventually has a higher top speed. If I had to buy a new bike it would be an even choice between the two bikes.