I was just curious and not in need as of yet, but has anyone here replaced the rear brakes on their Savage? Is it difficult considering I've done my vehicles? Is there a drum that needs turned when this is done? Tried a search and couldn't find anything on here. Do they last longer than fronts?

When I had my back wheel off last year the shoes looked almost brand new with around 2,000 miles, though the front pads were used up. Looked like a fairly easy job to replace them when the time comes.

really nothing to it - just drop them in more or less - no big springs to tug on - you just slip the springs in the shoes and fold the shoes together, drop them in, and unfold them to clamp the posts - here's a post on it

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1121446954

The rear brakes definately last longer than the front.  The front ones are, in my personal opinion, ridiculously thin and short-lived.  I lost track of how many sets I've gone through, and I seem to get more miles per set than a lot of others here.  I had my rear tire off not too long ago (keep working on the rear fender) and at well over 8000miles, there's plenty of wear left in them.  

I usually use my front and rear brake at the same time.  I guess it just makes more sense to me.  If the rear brake picks up some of the tab, that's less wear on the front brakes, perhaps?  And I figure that if something goes wrong and I need maximum braking, I'll already have my foot on it.  *shrug*  The way people drive around here, that's happened more times than I'd like to admit.

If you do wear em out, let us know how long it took ya!  I'm also curious as to how long they last...