Seems like there's lots of regular maintenance.  Weird stuff, too.  Torque head bolts.  What car needs that these days?  Short oil change intervals are OK.  But having to disassemble the cam cover every year?  And having to check the cam chain?  What if that tensioner is bad?  Lots of work.  

Are all motorcycles this way?  I'm kind of surprised at how much is called for so often.  If I find there's too much to track all the time, maybe a different bike would be in order.  No idea what would be lower maintenance.

How far do these 650s go before they really get "old"?  I drive cars to 250,000 / 400,000 miles and generally find they're mostly falling apart by then.  More trouble crops up than is worth fixing.  When does a Savage reach that typically?  How about other bikes?

I sat on a Triumph Bonneville today.  Pretty nice.  $3000. 2001 version.  But heavier I think, and not so much better fit as to make me wish to change out bikes.

But some of those Honda Shadows.  Or even the next size up Suzuki.  They look pretty nice.

If you can seriously find an easier and cheaper bike to up keep, then you should get it. These are like polar opposites of Harley's when it comes to being maintained.

That head retorque thing,, I have 20,000 on mine, those head bolts have never been touched.

As for the valves, Now that I set them down as tight as the specs allow & all the contact points have had plenty of time banging into each other, they dont need set near as often. The contact points seem to have "work hardened" or Im just doing something better.

The cam chain needs looked at around 15,000 miles.

Once you get it all sorted out, its just change oil & tires & ride & have a look at things so nothing gets out of hand.

I've had the '96 from 16k till 44k miles, over 2 years.
I've had to do the verslavy mod, but I also pulled the cover to measure the cam chain stretch.  And replace the head plug.  I've had the petcock issue.  Other than wear items and cosmetics, nothing else.  Well I did replace the fork seals, but they weren't leaking, but wanted to replace the oil and didn't want to replace the seals later.

I bought an '88 recently with a burnt piston.  20k on the ticker.
Found a wrecked '02 with 10k and swapped engines and most of the hardware.

My mechanical knowledge is limited to pre smog, carborated engines.
I really enjoy working on this bike when I have to.  Once you have the tools (wrenches and such) you don't need much else.  And everyone is equiped with the engine extraction tools, Mr left and Mr right.  True, some will need a second set of those but it can be done.

For low maintenance and long life, get a Honda with hydraulic lifters and shaft drive...
But,... like a modern car,.. you won't be able to service it yourself and it'll cost an arm and a leg to get anything done at the dealer....

Our Savages are basically Model-T technology with the exception of electronic ignition...

Other bikes have fuel injection, computers, radiators, fuel pumps, etc...
Can make the bike run better for longer, but these things also can break and will cost more to fix...

"probably just getting overexposed to problems on this forum!!! "

That's a definite... Try any bike or car specific site and it's full of problems...
That's when most members post,... when they have a problem, and need advice...

It's basically a pretty sturdy bike, and it's fairly forgiving about it's maintenance schedules...

The weakest link,... seems to be the cam chain, some have gone as early as 8K miles, others have past 30K without problem...
I wonder if it's too low of an idle speed effecting chain longevity...

I must have been rewarded with a bike that was either treated well by the PO, or worked on internally by a good mechanic (signs of sealant on both cylinder seams), or both. Outside of the head cap leak, I've had no major issues with it at all. I change the oil/filter on a regular basis, tighten nuts and bolts, changed the air filter and installed a battery in the almost year and a half that I've owned it. Rolled over 20K a couple of weeks ago and have never had the tank off. It runs sweet.

My 2 Sportster's, a '72 and an early '84, both required carrying a full set of tools at all times. I've pushed the '72 2 miles home, had them both in the back of pickup trucks more times than I care to remember, and always had grease under my fingernails. And, the oil leaks were much worse than the Savage. The '72 faired better than the '84 that blew a rod. Both had carb problems, the '72 had a Mikuni and the 84 had an SS, but neither I, or any of my mechanic friends could ever get them right. Talk about high maintenance! So, with my limited experience with 2 iron head HD's, the Savage is a dream bike in comparison. Sure there are design flaws, like why the heck they decided to put the spark plug in a place that requires removing the tank, but there's even a mod for that.

Right now I need a rear tire/tube/strip, brake pads all around and need to check my cam chain and tensioner. The rear tire is getting done by a shop and I'll probably have them throw pads in while they have the wheel off. Some things are worth paying for. Found a independent shop with good rates close by me. Just have to bring him the tire and pads. The cam work I'll do myself. All of that after almost 1 1/2 years and over 7000 miles spent riding, not wrenching. Not bad at all.

The bike needs a fork brace. Doesnt matter if you dont thru a corner over 30 mph, it will feel more sure footed & your grip will relax & some of that Buzz will go away. See how softly you can hold the bars & wear padded gloves. The Buzz in the boots feels good to me.