Can anyone think of a better bike for the buck than we get with the savage ?

In my case I had limited funds ($1200 from an ATV sale) and i had asked my friends advice, he said get the newest model year you can, no matter what it is. Everything I looked at was 80's, chain drive, needing something or other, then stumbled on to the savage, a 98 for $1100 jacket and helmet thrown in. yeah it had 16k but so what ? this was clearly a case of rather being lucky than good as the savage is in it's own right an awesome motorcycle.
recently we measured the 2 bikes to see if they would both fit in my toyota pickup and he was flabergasted when the harley was only 2 inches longer.
It's all in the sweeping savage rake.
By the way that friend who gave me advice rides a 2000 harley 1200 sportster xl for which he paid 8999 used.

Nop, canīt think of any bike that comes even close for that price.  

$1,100 for a 98 with 16k sounds pretty sweet to me.

Maybe you can get a recent model Honda Rebel 250 (or a Suzuki GZ250 or something from the now "classic" Honda CB series) for around that price.

Rebels are a bit underpowered and lack the torque of a Savage (which is the FUN part ) but the top speed issue can be fixed easily by getting a 30 or 28 tooth rear sprocket instead of the 33 stocker.

Rebels, and such, are cheap, light and nimble and good enough to learn the basics and this will give you enough time to save some more money untill you are ready sell the pile and upgrade, and buy a Savage .

With respect, I read the earlier post to be referring to changing the rear sprocket on the Rebel not the belt pulley on our Savages - an issue pretty comprehensively debated recently in another string.

All that Iīm trying to say is that:

- NO, I donīt think anything comes even close in value more than a Suzuki Savage. Thatīs why I bought one  

- And that I used to have a Rebel a while back and it would seem that the engine would explode at 60m/h (4th top/gear) untill I changed the rear procket and that helped things A LOT.

- And that the Rebel (and other bikes like it) and the Savage are in the same price range (both new and used) and that itīs clear which is the better choice, for people in the market for one, that is. Unless you want to spend $5000+ for a used Sportster which is the bike after which basically the Savage was designed after.

Thatīs all.

(And donīt roll your eyes at me for trying to participate and give my opinion and share my experiences )

Whilst I do enjoy going from zero to max in as short a time as possible I've not yet worked out how to time myself while doing it - it takes pretty much all my powers of concentration to get The Lettuce screaming down the highway without keeping half an eye on a stopwatch.  How? Any suggestions?

I think the Concours is more bang for the buck than the Savage, but then again some people would just call me cheap. A lot of other people out there agree that there isn't a MC that gives more bang for the buck than the Concours, and acknowledge the Savage as a close second. Personally, I think the Ninja 250 is a lot of bang for the buck also.

I got an awesome deal when I purchased my used Savage.  A 2000 with 7,400 kms. on it for $2899 Cdn.  New ones were going for @ $5000 here.  

I keep snooping in the Buy & Sell magazine - not because I am looking because I love my savage, but just to keep an idea of prices etc.  The only bikes I've seen with similar prices are the 250s, or older bikes with lots of miles on them.  The cheapest new Harley, the 883 retails here for @ $8 or 9 grand.  Though there are some pretty nice end of season deals.

DianeS