I'd plan to do your mods after the 600 mile check up if I were you. Any problems you might have should be evident by then. You might have a problem getting warranty work with the mods. I don't know if a dealer would perform the mods that are described here. They might have less problem with a Dynojet jet kit. Some dealerships won't do rejetting - something about the EPA  

You'll be fine breaking the bike in with the stock jetting. The best thing I could recommend would be frequent oil changes during break-in. There's alot of metallic junk floating around during the break-in procedure.

After break-in, don't hesitate to do the mods. They make a big difference in how the bikes perform. Yes, they'll run cooler and last longer with proper jetting.

Enjoy your new bike  

Thanks a lot guys, but I have more questions.

I should run premium gas right, and what oil do you recommend.

I'm a big believer in full synthetic.  I run it in my car and notice slightly lower temp and the oil isn't "burnt" when I change it.

Also what's the best plug money can buy?  Hey I only need one!

Any more advice about breakin?

Thanks,

Joe H.

The oil will be a contentious issue amongst riders and it really should take into account your climate and riding style.  I live in the Dallas area and often ride at 70+ MPH on the freeway.  I am currently using Maxum 4 Extra pure synthetic 15W50 and have observed no clutch slippage.  I also use the NGK Iridium plug.

Oh, on the fuel grade... I use the mid-grade just to cut down on the possibility of preignition, especially in Texas heat.

owners man on 06 s 40 calls for 87 octane ,thats mid grade here,,amsoil is a great product i run in my other bikes wouldnt use till after 1 k imo..

I have a 2002 Savage. I suggest you put about 1400 miles on it, that is 2 oil changes. Then change to synthetic oil, Mobil 1 or Amsoil.
Next put a SuperTrapp muffler on it, and you will experience an amazing improvement. Use 6 discs.
After you do that, you should up-jet the carb using a dynajet kit. Dynajet provides good instructions. The re-jet will keep the pipes cooler and avoid bluing. With the dynajet kit, you can upjet even further than I have and use 12 discs. I use the 144 jet and 8 discs.
Mine has a mid-range torque peak that feels like a supercharger kicking in. It also has much better sound.

On my '06 I did the white spacer mod, 1.25 turns out from stock on the idle mix screw, and went up to a 152.5 main jet all before the 600 mile break in.  The stock set up is lean...period.  So getting a bit more fuel into the system is fine.  Plus it's really nothing the dealer will notice during the check up.  After 600 I put on the sportster muffler and removed the air snorkle.  I may have voided my warranty with the muffler change, but I don't expect to have any issues before my 12 months is up.  

I always use high test gas (91-93), and notice better performance with it than with 87...I notice less backfiring with high test which makes sence to me because you end up burning more fuel per cycle than with 87...more fuel burnt = richer condition = less backfiring.  I've never experienced increased plug fouling with high test gas...I'll need to look into that...as I understand the science (and maybe I don't ) carbon build up should be less with high test, that's why you put it in older (even low compression) engines that may have carbon build-up from years of low octane gas.  The $$ for a couple gallons of 87 vs 92 is minimal.  Carbon build-up comes from fuel that is unable to burn in the speed of the combustion cycle, high test burns slower within that combustion moment, therefore more complete combustion, therefore less build-up.

I, in no way, believe that anyone should use high test, I just choose to for these reasons...

I'm always interested and willing to learn about the physics of the combustion moment, so if I have this wrong ???, please educationalize me

I think you're dead on about compression Savage_Rob...but I was under the impression that there was more to high-test fuel than avoiding detonation.

I also had been told, back in my days of working on air-cooled Porsche engines that the combustion moment is often thought of as an explosion, but should be thought of as a burning.  The fuel that explodes (low test) does so in an instant and when the explosion happens so fast, some of the fuel is not used.  High test fuel is more slow burning and allows all the fuel in the cylinder to be burnt in that moment.  Remember that we're talking about fractions of fractions of seconds here and the difference in time is really a physics discussion, but reality nonetheless.

So - less risk of detonation and cleaner burning, all for less than 50 cents more a tank...I think I'll stick with it until I learn some more...