Since the Savage is the only single cylinder cruiser on the market in the last 30 years I was wondering what made Suzuki design it?  My guess would be that the engine is half of the engine from the Intruder 1400 so it was inexpensive to design.  Any other theories?

Actually, it's not the ONLY cruiser single out there. Don't forget the baby sister to the Savage, the GZ250. Suzuki's answer to the Rebel is a fine small caliber cruiser with serious capabilities.

Keith_T wrote on 02/14/08 at 07:01:29:
Mind you, it's more of a frigate than a cruiser.

Or maybe a patrol boat.

They did'nt think this design would sell!

Before settling (I think) on buying a Savage, I had thought I wanted a Royal Enfield, until I investigated.

Except for just one model, they all have drum brakes, front and rear - really outdated.

Don't expect more than about 75 mph top speed, unless you weigh under 100 pounds, have a tailwind, and it's in perfect tune.  It's not an interstate highway bike - of course, when it was in its heyday in the  late 1950s and into the 60s, there were no interstates here.  Motorways in England were beginning, and of course, the Germans had a few autobahnen by then.

According to my buddy, a local dealer who dropped RE from his line-up, ( he sells Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris, Triumph, Ducati and Aprilia) the quality control is the pits, warranty claims take forever, and the tooling at the factory is the same old stuff that the Brits used 45+ years ago, and is just plain worn out.

There are very few dealers nationwide if you need help while on a trip with one of them.

Other than all of that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

Keith_T wrote on 02/14/08 at 05:15:12:

Marketing.  The vast majority is beguiled by horsepower and speed.  Only the truely knowledgable know that for a given displacement nothing can match the torque of a single -- and it is torque that accelerates you from the light, not horsepower.

Anyone could make a Thumper, but they don't because the market barely supports the one.  Savage sales are not such that anyone else has a great yearning to jump in and grab a piece of the action.  Our engine is Old Tech, and will soon die from excessive emissions.  Suzuki.co.uk does not list the LS650 in it's current lineup.

HOPEFULLY Suzuki will slip one of their other singles into the Savage frame rather than drop the line altogether.  They have the  398cc liquid cooled mill from the DR-Z400 and the 644cc air/oil cooled from the DR650.  Kawasaki has the 651cc liquid cooled single in the KLR650, and Honda has a 644cc air cooled single in the XR650.  Lack of a suitable engine is not the reason there are no other Thumping Cruisers.  

if they ever put a drz400 engine in one i'm buying me one. talk about torque, woooo hoooo.

Jerry Eichenberger wrote on 02/14/08 at 13:28:41:


Up to the point where it put the primary chain through the cases, not bad when it was actually running.

1950's British engineering and design, Indian quality control -- even the export grade Enfields are a reliability disaster, especially if you think a 500cc bike should ride at least as well as an old Honda Super 90!



Yeah, drop-dead gorgeous, but my wife was getting tired of picking me up so I could bring it home on the trailer!

(And yes, the shift was on the right, and that's a disk brake up front!)