Stimpy - FSO wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:10:

Aye... I think it was in '64, maybe '65.  We had a mid-size '63 Plymouth, 225" slant six, auto.  Went to visit my brother in Navy Boot in Chicago, on the freeway back to detroit.  Mum's asleep.  Sis is asleep.  Road is clean and clear and straight.  Depress the accellerator, picking up speed.  Got up to the magical 100 mph -- cruising along quite nicely.  Not bad for a six-cylinder econo-car.  Caddy passes me doing at least 120 mph.  Let the speed ease back to 75.

I have no clear highways around here.   But I think you have the right of it -- yeah, it's just a little cruiser, yeah it loves the back roads at 45 mph.  But what is it's top end; stock and with a little assist?  The stock gearing will do 100 if you can find the HP and cut the wind drag.  

I've gone and put a windshield in the wife's Amazon shopping cart.  

For me, it's mostly about the rolling acceleration ... especially in 2nd  & 3rd on the Savage because that is where most of it is ... I just like the feel of it.   100?  I am just curious to see what affect the latest change has done to the performance capability.
Besides, it is a noise making machine and when it is running really good I love the sound.

When in the Army flying helicopters in Vietnam (no speed limits, no rules, if you can make the machine do something then you just did it) I loved flying low and fast.  It was a necessity to avoid being shot down, but aside from that one little drawback, it was a blast to do.  The UH-1H Huey is essentially a pickup truck, and only good for about 120 knots (~140 mph), but when flying 3' off the ground and dodging bushes, water buffalo or little farmers in the rice field, or maybe turning up sideways to skinny in between 2 trees,  it was a bunch of fun.   You know how it seems you are going so fast on a go-cart because you are so close to the ground?  It's that kind of thing when you're just 3' up @ 140mph.
I had ONE incident while doing that, it was this skinny little sapling sticking up about 10' above everything else, except that it did not show itself until we topped this little rise and had all of .1 seconds before it SLAPPED the front of the fuslage ... broke out all of the windshield on my side ... @ 140 mph it gets pretty darn windy let me tell you...and I was the one flying!  I hollered for the other pilot to take the controls, the crew and passengers all thought I was cut to pieces at first but fortunately not.  We were still flyable but at a much slower speed as we made our way back to the base.

One of these days I should tell you all about the "falling off the top of the mountain" flying technique.

You know what I find funny about all this?

That for some reason a Savage is considered (in most reviews and by today´s standards) a "small" bike.

It´s a 650 FGS!  Brando´s bike in The Wild One was a Triumph Thunderbird 650, and that was the baddest, coolest, biggest bike around back then. Yeah, things have changed, but that´s the whole point: the Savage stayed true to it´s classic roots

(...amazing stories Lancer )

Reelthing wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:10:
    Yes indeed I am getting close to the non flex years I will be 69 next month,however I have been on a diet of late and lost 25 lbs ,I exercise every morning,I'm almost down to my army wieght of 135 just 4 more pounds to go before I would fit in my old uniform,if I hadn't thrown it away in complete discust.
      I can touch my toes without bending my knees,the only difference now is that I creek a bit ,and let loose the occasional fart. and as I always say,"your a long time dead"
       One more thing ,my 70 year old brother in law drag races a chevy pick up at the strip that is very close to us,he is doing about 84mph in a quarter mile,I would very much like to beat his sorry a$$

Mick, The riding position on any bike is a matter of individuality...I'm 61 years old and can ride my ninja 250 for 500+ miles a day and it doesnt bother me in any way...I've done it several times.. To me that position is more natural and comfortable, no sore back or monkee butt..I could never last that long on the S40, even with the frequent fuel stops required..

Stimpy - FSO wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:10:


signals are not required in washington state.

reducing the weight was pretty easy. signals, signal mounts. right hand mirror, every reflector, all  that stuff adds up.

the biggest gain came from the bob job.. fender, fender rails, sissy bar. both seats. muffler change.

here's the end result, check out the lines from handle bars to rear wheel.  down the tank and curved over seat and fender, and the dual triangles of front end and engine area.  i spent alot of time getting the lines right, and i believe it shows.  i bought the machine just so i could bob it. i was stripping off stuff the day i brought it home. every part i replaced has come off some other machine.  50 year old tail light, used supper trap, used chopper seat.  seat springs off a thirty year old bicycle seat. handlebars from a junk pile.  chrome fenders off a 25 year old gn400.
thats why everybody thinks it's an old harley.  ask max, he's seen it in person.  he provided the suppertrapp, and helped me burn off the rear tire.  thanks max it's gotten alot of hits on youtube. only regret from that deal was it was just me and him.  i watched a simular burnout on biker build off, the crowd went wild. and it wasn't even as good as mine.  just in case you missed it http://youtube.com/watch?v=E4pnqtSfqcM

i'll buy that concept for a dollar.  the lower seating position allows the rear pegs to be used in a better aerodynamic seating position.

franky, i made the mods as appearance mods, not performance. i will probably not take it up to top speed again.  yeah right.   i am quite satisfied with the way thumper looks and runs.  when i get the need for speed i go beat up the kids and their high rev tuners with my 95 accura.  it looks like a grandpa's car, fly's like a bat out of well you know where.  i topped that out at 139mph one evening on a road we closed at 3 am. a trooper friend of my did the radar to verify, a fact the department never heard about.  i wanted 140 but just couldn't get it.

torque wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:10:


with the exception of a k&n filter it's stock. that's why i don't consider it a HRT.  but it is the engine model number the kids are looking for.

oh yeah,  i'm getting your piston from lancer to make a headlight out of.