As long as this old subject has reared it's head up again...
(Hi Krop, how it goin' ?)
It bears mentioning that one of our German brethren designed and built a small
electronic circuit for the early bikes; which is supposed to greatly reduce
the chance of the "kick back" and destruction caused by the early Savages lack
of a clutch in the starting gear mechanism.
IIRC, we (at least Krop and I) asked and gained permission to copy the
un-patented circuit for personal use or distribution to those in need. A
handful of common electronic devices, housed in a piece of PVC pipe, or
similar construction wouldn't be that difficult. However, nobody with
the necessary skills ever seemed to find the time to make a few. If any
inspired newb has time on their hands, they are welcome to ask for the
schematic. I might even be able to find it amongst my several thousand others!
Through study in prep on a possible purchase, I recently discovered that
the early comeback Triumph triple cylinder bikes had a similar problem
with the same potential for disaster: Best case; striped or broken gears;
worst case: busted crankcase and serious expense and work!
I don't mind the idea of such a possible flaw in a bike worth several hundred
or a couple of thousand $$$. But the idea of riding a 10+YO bike that is a
ticking cracked crankcase, didn't appeal to me. However, Triumph supposedly
completely eliminated the flaw in later series of bikes; as did the Savage/S40
with their starter clutch.