There has been some intrest shown in how to reduce the load on the battery while starting a Savage. One way is to install a relay that shuts off the headlight while the starter is cranking the engine. Seems that Suzuki has just added this feature to the 2007 model. I added a cutoff relay two years ago to my '02 and here is how I did it.
First you need a basic understanding of how relays work, they are just electrical switches (contacts) controlled by an electromagnet. They come with different contact configurations that can have the contacts open (switch off) or closed (switch on) when power is applied to the control electromagnet. The contacts are also rated according to how much power they can handle.
For the mod I used a mico-relay purchased at Radio Shack. I used a double pole (DP) double throw (DT) relay with the contacts rated at 15 amps with 12 volt DC control voltage. The double pole (DP) means that you can run both low and high beams thru the relay. The Double throw (DT) means that the relay has contacts that are closed (switch on) with no power as well as contacts that are open (switch off) with no power. The contacts that are wired into the headlight are the ones that are closed with no power. These are marked on the relay as the NC (normally closed) contacts which will open (switch off) and turn off the headlight when the control power is applied to the relay. It sounds complicated but it really isn't, a relay is just a switch that can turn things on or off depending on which contacts are used, NC (on with no power) or NO, normally open (off with no power).
The control voltage needs to provide power to the relay only during starting. The easiest spot to hook up a wire for this is the terminal on the starting solinoid that the wire going to the starter is attached to. This terminal only gets power when starting the bike and can be found under the rubber boot under the seat.
Here's a picture of the solinoid
http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/644041/ I ran the wire, 14 gauge, along the left frame rail and just slipped it under the tank and into the back of the headlight. Although I never got around to installing an in line fuze I would recomend it, maybe something around a 5 amp.
Here are two other pictures of the relay being installed
http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/644049/ http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/644056/I put the relay in the headlight housing which turned out to be a tight fit mainly because of the extra room needed for the spade connectors. If I had to do this again I would just solder the wires onto the relay, a lot easier than fooling around with spade connectors and short wires. The other option is a toggle switch, just don't forget to turn it back on.
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