If you have the buckhorn bars, which are stock with a 96, then all you need is the right size allen wrench to loosen the clamps that hold the bars onto the triple-tree. You can adjust the bars forward and back, though you might want to adjust the mirrors and levers after youre done just to make sure theyre still comfortable too.

Congrats on the new bike, how many miles?  Where are you at?  We're always looking for new people to wrench/ride with.

Welcome Dice.  I just got a 95 in Jan.  I have learned a lot from this group...and have been doing a bit o' wrenching myself....

Welcome Aboard...please take your seat...we will leaving momentarily!

Hey Dice (and other newbs...) I've done a lot of experimenting with many different handlebars on the Savage, and I absolutely detest the factory buckhorn bars worse than anything else I've tried.

Funny to it seems, because my old Yamaha "Specials" back in the late 70s to early 80s had similar shaped bars and the bars didn't bother me on those bikes... but they ran a lot less rake than the Savage. I recommend getting just about anything else. Drags on risers; Beach bars; just wide plain bars... whatever it is is just about bound to be an improvement.

Here's three types of bars I have installed on Savages at the moment, and I'd take any one of them over the buckhorn bars in a heartbeat:



Oh... and one last piece of advice: ALWAYS cover the tank with a good thick towel when working on the bars/controls. You WILL drop your tools and scratch or dent the tank otherwise!

Ehhh... One more thing, I just recently noticed that JCW has added to their line of handlebars that will fit the Savage, and the prices aren't that bad on most of them.


Have fun!  

And NEVER...never, never put a wooden dowel in the spark plug hole to check for TDC...


Did I say NEVER?


oh...and don't ask!