Posted by Bruce Clarke on July 11, 1999 at 16:26:56:
In Reply to: touring on a Savage posted by Allison Taylor on July 10, 1999 at 20:52:24:
>Two of these guys reccommended against long-
>distance rides on a Savage, in part because they
>run hot. As an example they cited a guy who has
>had the top end of his Savage rebuilt several
>times after roundtrips from Alabama to Ohio
I ride mine daily - but just short distances around town. I've done two lengthy trips (about 1500 miles/2500 KM) on my Savage. The bike now has about 16,200 KM (9800 miles) and I've never had any problem, not even the leaking head gasket I've heard about.
I've read that when running any air-cooled engine for a long time, you have to keep an eye on the oil level and stop every now and then to let the engine cool off. On this last trip I did have to put in about a 1/4 of a liter (about a cup) of oil halfway through the trip.
The Savage isn't meant to be a tourer, but neither were most other motorcycles. If most of your riding will 500 miles a day at 75 mph on the Interstates, then a Savage is probably not the bike you should ride. On the other hand, most of your riding is short trips with the occasional cruise on the smaller highways at 60 MPH the Savage will do fine.
My biggest problem with the Savage isn't reliability - it's luggage space. I find it impossible to pack along more than a pair of large saddlebags, a small tent and a sleeping bag. One of these days I'll have to break down and get a motorcycle with hard luggage.
Bruce