Whisky:
On 11/11/08 I walked in to the HD dealership and wanted to purchase the $2900, 2008 Honda Rebel 250 "trade-in" that they had on their showroom floor. (You know just to ride around town and back and forth to school.) Well sitting next to it was , "Black Beauty", a $2500, 2003 Suzuki Savage LS650, and the salesperson starts telling me how she now owned a Sportster, but her first bike which she still owned was a 1996 Savage and it was far superior to the Rebel. More torque, more power, faster, better able to carry the weight of a rider and a passenger. And on and on she went. (By the way there were many used Sportsters on that same showroom floor). By the time she had finished weighing in, (as you will find most Savage owners will do), I was sold. I took the bike home, took the MSF Course, got my license, and found this really awesome forum. The rest is a story of the fastest metamorphosis into a true Savage owner I could have ever imagined. The resources available here have enabled me to do these mods:
Changed oil and oil filter
Raise Seat Mod
Idle Mixture Screw Mod
White Spacer Mod
Sportster Muffler Conversion
While you may hear that there aren't many accessories available for the S40/ Savage, and in fact a lot of Savage owners like to take stuff "off" their bikes (chop/bob), I like to add bells and whistles:
Here's what I've been able to add:
Windshield, Chrome Highway Pegs, Chrome Rider Heel-Toe Pegs, Brake pedal pad, Chrome Passenger Pegs, Saddle Bags, Chrome Luggage Rack, Digital Tach, Go-Pro Wide angle camera, Garmin GPS, Chrome Brake Fluid Cap, Oil tempature gauge, Flashing LED Brake light, Driving lights/ visors, Fork brace, Throttle lock/Cruise Control, Throttle Rocker, Whitewall tires, Sportster "Pillow Seat" Upgrade, BeadRider seat beads, and I put together a "real tool kit" I keep in my saddle bags.
I picked up many of my add ons right here in our "Marketplace" and others came from "ebay" and other online sites. I have hard saddlebags, and license-plate mounted rear turn signal lights waiting to be installed
In addition to this forum I joined the SE Virginia Chapter of the Suzuki Owners Club and I visit both sites on a daily basis to soak in as much of "all that is Savage" as possible. I have participated in poker runs, charity rides, and "BB" & I rode "Tail of the Dragon" in April, and on invitation entered the Bike show at the OBX HD Bike Week, where once a few hard core Hd'ers realized they had invited a "metric" to join them it was too late: their true feelings for my bike were already revealed---I often appreciate the admiring comments and looks from the HD crowd for my (Is that a Sportster?) bike.
In conclusion, you can't go wrong with a Savage. The bike is economical, versatile, and has a fantastic history and track record, as well as fantastic (almost fraternal) support. You can make this bike whatever you want it to be, then change it if you care too without huge investments. The innovation in the mechanical minds of some of this forum's members is mind-boggling. (Research the Cone air filter, the forward controls, the Pam Spray Cooking oil Air Filter, Cam chain & adjuster mods, etc...).
Whisky, I'd say buy the Savage. As a P.S., I went back in March and the HD salesperson needed quick cash, so I bought her running 1996 Savage for $400. Still not sure what I'll do with it. It only has 2,600 miles on it and only needed a battery and a muffler. (I bought a battery and installed the stock muffler that came off of "BB".) Maybe one day I'll bob/chop so I can have one of each. Right now I have little time for extra projects because I want to ride "BB" every chance I get!
Hope I didn't give you too much input, but like most here, I love my Savage!
Regards,
Darrell