I got the strip on.  I put it on the clutch cover, right over the oil passage at the top and it must be right after where the branch that goes up to the head.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1151246239

Easily readable... while stopped.  The temp shows up as a khacki kind of color.  The rest are dark, and the one under temp is a dark blue.

My commute is 25 miles and most of the way at 70.  Off the freeway and the temp strip says 70-80°C.  And then I come to a dead stop.  And the temp starts climbing up until all the bars are dark, over 90°C.  Time to start planning a new route or look for a bar.  

Are you questioning if the oil pump is burned out?  I'm sure it still flows. I know that my situation was unique because I bought it used and the previous owner probably did not take care of it.  The black plastic that you saw was the cam chain guide, and the oil I took out was thick and grey (no oil change in a long time).  So if you take care of your bike, use a magnet oil plug, maintain your cam chain tensionor (mine previously fell off and took off a lot of metal in the case), you should be fine....just get in there and check your tensionor.  Wait for an oil leak to check your oil pump or if you love working on the bike, check it now.....JUST STAY ORGANIZED.

RATS!!!  I got so involved in routing oil lines and tinkering with fittings that I didn't bother to look to see if I had the right drill bit to tap into the oil filter housing.  Turns out I don't.  Well, guess I'll have to wait to finish.  But, with the extra time I started rethinking this a little.

Anyone know what size the port into the oil filter housing is?  I may thread that and restrict the flow a little to force more oil thru the cooler.  Thoughts?