where you at DD?

many of us started on dirt bikes, the savage is an easy move, you'll get used to the forward controls and then wont want to ride any other way, VERY comfortable! i put a set of harley bars on our savage, because origional suzuki pullbacks sucked very badly, they had our wrists at a wierd twist, not straight like a dirtbike as we're used too. the bike is light weight, and WILL move around some, in the wind, not bad though. mechanically, it is simple, and serves well. it is a nuetral handling bike, with very good manners, you really cant go wrong with one. i dont know enough about a buell to help you make a legitimate comparrison.

I was afraid of that. The news s40's only come with the drag style bars as seen on suzukis web site.

Im Sure I can get used to them.

I have Ridden both the Savage with the OEM "buckhorn" style bars and the S40 with the OEM drag bar/pullback riser combo ... found that the S40's setup gave much better steering control when cornering. As previously stated the Savage's buckhorns put the wrists in an awkward position (and kinda tucked my elbows in too) ... I solved this by rotating the buckhorns forward, which had the effect of raising the grips, thereby straightening my arms some and improved the Bike's comfort and handling considerably!

Its a Shame I cant get a dealer to let me ride one.
I Know its not a super exspensive bike but $4500 is alot of money to me.

I Almost expected them to be a little more helpful being as the end of the riding season is coming near.  

From chatting with my local Rider forums it seems that pretty common around here to have the dealers not offer test rides or even want to run the bike.

 Take my comments with a grain of salt as I am a new rider (only placed 800 miles on my bike).  Orginally I was going to get a Buell as I used it in my MSF class.   Liked the handling but wasn't that keen on it's looks.  Guess I really wanted a cruiser styled bike and wasn't aware of the S40.
 When I went to a local used bike dealer to test ride a Buell that caught my attention it was sold,  Looked around the dealership and saw the S40,
 Needless to say after the test ride I purchased the 2006 S40 and am very pleased with the decision.
 Although riding comfort can only be judged by the individual rider, I believe the S40 is more comfortable then the Buell.   Certainly my butt believes the Boulevard's seat is more comfortable.  
 The S40 had noticably less vibration then the Buell especially at idle and lower speeds.  From my research and newbee experience on the Buell I believe gas mileage and handling are similar.  Braking is more sure on the Buell then the S40 and supposedly you don't have to adjust the valves.
  Find someone who will let you ride the S40, I think you will not be disappointed.  Try a business selling good quality used bikes, they seem more flexible then the dearlerships.  Since I was a newbie I cut a deal with the dealership I purchased from that if I dropped the bike I would buy it.  This convinced them to test ride the bike.  I did not drop it but happily bought it.

Helpful comment here,  if you want to test ride a bike, it really, really, really  helps if you pull up on one.  The Seller sees that you made it there in one piece so they feel a little more comfortable handing the keys over.  Doesn't matter if it's an Enduro dirt bike or old 70's bike.  It just helps the seller feel more at ease.  So, make a freindof someone  that has a spare bike.