Hello all, first i would like to thank the moderators/webmasters for doing a fantastic job with the site. I've learned so much reading on the forums I would also like to thank the knowledgeable riders who contribute their wisdom for noobs like myself.

I'll get to the point know.

i recently bought my first bike, a used '04 Savage all stock (10,500 miles on it) and I was wondering what should be modified to lengthen the life of my bike. I'm riding for fuel economy and low maintenance if that makes a difference.

i also wanted to clear up the issues i had with the transmission... is it correct to be in top gear at 31 mph? thats how i interpreted the owners manual...  just want to be sure I'm not hurting my bike.

Thanks!

I believe its possible to be in 5th at 31 MPH, BUT, the slightes attempt at acceleration is hard on it, the least headwind( breeze) or slightest grade will make it need a downshift, IMO. I coast along at that speed only rarely & even downhill, it feels like its ready to start chugging & bucking.Be nice to the bearings, let the engine spin free.

nosepher wrote on 06/02/08 at 23:43:48:

Correct?  Don' know.  Can it be done?  I do it regularly.  You'll accelerate less briskly, but still quicker than most anything else out there.  I don't like high-pitched tingle buzzy and may have gone too far the other way, but I LIKE the sound and feel of the Thumper at full throttle / low rpm.  Partial throttle at low rpm gets wierd, but messing around I can pull top gear, relatively smoothly, from about 25 mph.  Relative smoothly with the understanding that I was disappointed with the lack of vibration with the Savage, they did the counterbalancer good.

As for hurting the bike, can't say as I'm no mechanic.  But I got my 2000 in '04 with about 5K miles on it.  Three and a half years later it has 24K and I have not yet to looked at the spark plug.

The bike, registration, gas, oil, tires, brakes, windshields, saddlebags, horns, mufflers, etc I have spent less than $6000 total for 19000 miles of travel -- less than $.32 a mile.   And every mile more lowers that figure.  It could explode tomorrow and I would simply go get me new S40.

Oh, and while I do run abusively low RPMs, if I want to get going faster I do let it wind out -- will merge into freeway traffic in third gear.  Have caught myself at 65-70 thinking "little buzzy, aren't we" and then sheepishly shifting to fifth.