Paladin. wrote on 02/04/08 at 09:22:46:Slow compared with what? Also explain why 30 hp in a 354 pound bike is underpowered. Again, you have made the extrodinary claim, you need to support this claim.
The 535cc Yamaha Virago makes 44hp and is just as emissions-restricted as the LS. (It also handles better, stops better, does around 105mph top end and weighs about 46lb more)
What is extraordinary about saying that a 650cc motorcycle only making 30hp is under-powered? My dog can see that, and he’s not much of an engineer.
On the whole in the UK, the only people who would have a 30hp bike would be learners or little old ladies; I went for a Savage because I think it’s really cute and I think I can get a few more hp out of it to make it useable on the road. I’ve driven in the States plenty when working over there and on vacation, and can tell you that our roads are very different. We need more power because everybody around you accelerates harder for road position on our crowded little island and you need a machine that will respond to the throttle. Doesn’t a standard Savage take 7 seconds to reach 60? That’s a joke for a bike. We can’t expect all bikes to do it in under 3, but I’ve never had a road bike that would take more than about 4 seconds and I find it hard to believe that a 650 can take so long.
Quote: You claim to be incompentent. Fine. That does not mean the Savage is underpowered. .
Why, but why, do you have to go for personal attack every time???? I have plenty of track experience on both 2 and 4 wheels. I’m trained in defensive/evasive driving for some aspects of my military career, I cover 30.000 miles a year with no accidents for a decade, and (if I’m honest about it) can take just about any bike to the limit of its tyres. So why incompetent? Is that because I believe I can overtake a car more safely on a 50hp 250lb enduro bike than I can on a 27hp 354lb cruiser? Or is the ‘incompetent’ slur just another jibe because you’re running out of respectable, credible debate and have to resort to insults again?
Quote: Since I know, from personal experience on the twisties, that the Savage DOES handle well the only crock around here is the crock you are dipping out of. .
Yes, you CAN ride a Savage round twisties. Yippee, well done. Maybe it will go round them faster than a Fat Boy. Again, well done old chap. But, just because the Savage isn’t the worst handling bike on the road doesn’t mean it’s good. Is that so very, very hard to understand? I’ve tried pushing a Savage a few tmes out of curiosity – I live close to a hilly national park area with fantastic twisty roads everywhere – and would agree that it will go round bends, but far, far slower than a normal bike. Let’s face it, a trike will get round bends, but not all that fast.
Quote:You claim "too little power" -- back that claim up in the face of those who know from personal experience that the Savage has more than sufficient power. Poor Brakes? Substantiate that -- how many Savages have over run their brakes and smashed into things versus, percentagewise, the sport bike of your choice. Poor handling? Are you calling me a liar when I state that I was not passed by any sport bikes on two of the favored sport bike roads here in SoCal? Explain how the bike can have POOR handling when it performs so well in the twisties. Design quirks? What are you talking about? What is your hangup with the Savage?
I don’t have one, how many f####### times do I have to say I really LIKE the Savage? I have no hangup with it, but I have to question when people describe it as being powerful, or handling well, when those are not its virtues.
If you think the Savage has sufficient power, just think how much you’d enjoy a bike with a strong motor. As for substantiating claims, I don’t need to substantiate my own experience of good brakes then getting onto a Savage. I’d agree it stops a whole lot better than a 50s Harley – let’s celebrate that – but a tiny single front disk and a rear drum is a combination belonging in the Dark Ages. I expect a bike to stand on its nose when I even think about the front lever.
Not being passed by sport bikes? Plenty of guys without balls ride sport bikes slowly, or maybe they just hang back when some old guy is weaving all over the tarmac on a little cruiser with a frame and forks that act like they’re made of rubber bands when pushed.
Quote:Obviously. But you are not stating that you merely disagree. You are claiming that the Savage is pitifully underpowered, handles poorly, can't stop, etc.. You are claiming that as being factual and not just the misinformed opinion of a biased nut.
Look, I’ve owned about 60 bikes and ridden literally hundreds. I love bikes, have done for 25 of my 42 years, and I’ve had and enjoyed many kinds of bikes. I’ve just never owned one with the combination of weak engine/brakes/suspension that the Savage boasts. How’s about you try something novel here – post something back without stooping to personal insults against somebody who had the audacity to question the perfection of the mighty Savage, and while you’re at it, tell me what bikes you compare the Savage to? What other bikes have you had over the years?
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