05 S40, 15,000 miles. I have a slight leak at the clutch actuator rod/ thru right side case. I had the thing apart & could have tossed another Oring in it, but didn't. It's really that slight, I can see a film, no drip. Havent heard of any siezures/bearing failures recently. That may have been from someone using the wrong viscosity oil & starting so cold it didnt get it oiled up there before it was hurt. The head leak is a simple fix should it occur. It's not the head per se, but the plug on the end of the cam. Bolts are supposed to be crummy, but I have the stock bolts & have no problems. I suspect some folks get a bit rambunctious with a 10 mm end wrench.
If the bike was such a poor example of what motorcycles are supposed to be, Suzuki couldnt afford to continue building it for so many years. Motorcycle buyers are a savvy enough lot that a piece of crap will not have the sales necessary to justify its manufacture after a short time. I would suggest that the low resale price isn't so much a slap at the bike, but that  the bike is a popular "first" bike & people are hesitant to buy a used first bike, because they know they dont know hoot about a bike, Dont need any problems, need a warranty & they get one, outgrow it, or Think they do, & sell it & trade up, instead of modifying it to get the performance they want after they get comfortable with the 650 in stock configuration. Lots of folks on this forum have loads of experience with big, powerful bikes & have chosen this one for its nimble ways, ease of maintenance & dependability. The belt is an issue, till ya just say, who cares? It's not causing any problems, so what if its not perfect & silent? The rest of the bike more than makes up for this issue, in my opinion. It galled me for a while, because I wanted it to be quieter. I learned how toi adjust it, BIG improvement, & there are sprays that make it quiet. I may try on one day. For now, I am okay with it. The belt can be replaced with a chain. It's been done by 2 on this forum recently. Step by step, blow by blow, it's in the tech forum. Forward controls are fabbed up by a couple of the guys here. Those pictures are available. By the time you jet the carb, free up the intake airflow, free up the exhaust flow & maybe add a cam & possibly bore it & jack up the compression & displacement, you will have a great sounding, Harley eating( to 60 MPH or so), dependable, nimble bike. If you do the chain conversion, you can get the thing running a top end towards 100 MPH.

I would do it again. I havent heard anyone say they are sorry they bought one. I have heard that about other bikes.Hope that helps you decide.

I think the fellows above said all & more than I could say other than I'm happy with my savage, am 5'10" & am not constricted by it, like its nimbleness, did not drive a car until I was 35 & used a bike for my sole transport until then so had more than my share of bikes including british iron & "'nuffsaid!" (with apologies to the old Marvel comics quote!)  

I been riding British bikes and have owned about every Harley you can think of from flatheads to evos. 40 years of fun. I bought the Savage for medical reasons and LOVE the thing. Small mods for power and I wanted a chain from the beginning. I finally figured out the combo(with a lot of help from people here) and was the first to convert to chain. Now you can tailor your bike to your riding style. I posted the "how to" in the tech section. A few more people have converted to chain and all are happy. Like I said I LOVE MY SAVAGE.  You didn't mention if the Sportster you have is an 883 or 1200. If it has forward controls and you feel cramped, the Savage is not for you. It is smaller as far as room goes. If you find one to set on at a dealer you will soon find out. The newer models also have drag bars on pull back risers. I did not like them stock(to close,cramped feeling) I reversed the risers and that put the bars more forward and higher, much more comfortable and made the bike feel a lot roomier.  Hutch

Folsomjack wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:

Sounds like you got all the reasons not to get a Savage.

How about a KLR-650 for around town?

I have a 2000 Savage with over 13,000 miles on it, previous owner had apparently taken a nasty spill because of all the damage to it, but these bikes are like a timex watch, the take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.

I am 6ft and weight approximately 254lbs and this bike fits me quite nicely.