I have an '87 Savage 4 speed. I love it. It has torque and I like the range of 4th gear - goes in at 35-45 and I can leave it there seems like forever- around town or on the highway. I don't feel the need to shift at the upper end- just feels smooth.
But they replaced the 4 speed with a 5 speed in the Savage a couple of years after my bike. Why and what's the difference in ride?
Has anybody ridden both of these and what do you think?

Thanks TC  http://suzukisavage.com/yabb2.2/Templates/Forum/default/smiley.gif

5th speed the way it is geared is virtually useless.
500 rpms is not an overdrive.
top end between the 2 is a tad higher in the 4speed, but not noticable.

I've got them both (4 and 5 speeds) and there isn't that much difference between them as far as having the "perfect gear" for any situation. Just a few casual observations: Both respective "high" gears: 4th and 5th are fine for their intended purpose. Even though the 5 speed has a slightly higher ratio in the transmission in 5th, it also has one cog difference in the primary gearing between the crankshaft and the clutch basket; and they both share the same ratio on the belt drive; so the overall difference in final gearing is practically nil (in fact, the 4-speed has a very tiny higher overall gearing in final gear!)

Other "ride ability" differences: Sometimes I find second gear on the 4-speed to be a bit high for negotiating very tight city street corners at a safe speed. This requires shifting down through neutral to first gear; which I would rather avoid. The slightly closer ratio of the 5-speed means I can make most tight corners clear down to <10mph and stay in second gear.

OTOH, with a little clutch slipping, I feel like I can actually get a quicker launch with the 4-speed from a dead stop. First gear in the 5-speed is so low that it has a tendency to smoke the tire or wheelie if you drop the hammer too suddenly. Also, you are forced to make that 1st-2nd gear shift in just 25 feet or so. With 1st gear on the 4-speed, you can travel 40-50 feet before having to shift. One more shift is time lost without power going to the ground. I haven't really tried it, but I suspect that launching in 2nd with some clutch slippage on the 5-speed might be preferable to launching in first gear (if you were really serious about launching like when drag racing!) The Savage certainly doesn't lack in low RPM grunt to get it moving without winding the engine up tight. In most other cases, because of the wide power band curve of the Savage, I find both varieties to be adequate in gear spacing for general riding. As some have mentioned before though, the difference between 4th and 5th on the 5-speed is not a very wide gap, so I don't think that is the reason Suzuki decided to change the ratios. I suspect they re-engineered the transmission to take some strain off of the clutch pack; because there IS a big difference between the lower couple of gears on the 4 and 5-speeds.

Suzuki's biggest screw up by not making that fifth gear higher while they were at it. 4th and 5th are way to close to each  other you don't to that with a torque y motor.

That was the story from the motorcycling press, too. The change to a five-speed was unnecessary from the point of view of the engine and motorcycle, but the marketing department needed it.

I could agree to that. And the 4-5 shift isn't smooth, so sometimes by the time you actually shift - your speed drops slightly and rpm stay the same