My oil consumption is what tells me when to change it. On new oil, it hardly uses any. Once I get some miles on it, it starts to drink a little. How much? How soon? Well, depends on how much wick gets applied. I run easy, oil stays in better. Get to  2,000 or 2,500 miles on it & I start needing to add more oil & do it more often, then I dump it & start over. OIl has long string molecules that get sheared as they pass thru things. 2quarts running thru the gears & the little oil passageways, getting squoze & crushed here& there along the way does physical damage to it. Its a pretty hostile environment in there, what with all the crushing & shearing & heat & all. Wanna run a synthetic? Wouldnt say I blame ya. I dont, because I think the Rotella will keep the engine in good working order for as long as the rest of the bike is good for.
I think I'll replace the clutch throwout lever/paddle ( whatever, you know, the one that breaks,inside the cover) when I replace the cam chain. I got 20,000 miles on the first one,& I dont even use the clutch all the time.

IMC, not changing the filter is not about saving money !
Its more about it being a messy PITA !
If I have to change filter every time (once a yr) then I'm just gonna trade for a bike w/ a spin on ! :'(

I had a little trouble finding the right filter. I went to a local auto parts store with part numbers that are 'supposed' to be for a Savage. I even brought a couple different brands to be safe. The employees working entered my number and brought up the product that matched and it was a canister filter that CLEARLY did not go into the savage. Sooo they popped out their books, looked up my bike, and sure enough the book suggested that this was the correct filter.

Anywho.. after a long goose chase they couldn't find anything that was like the filter I needed. VERY strange.. I don't know if the books were wrong or if these guys didn't have their heads on straight. Or perhaps they are just hard to come by around here? I ended up ordering three K&N 137 filters at $6.50 a pop plus a $6 freight fee. Seems like the only option..

THEY reached the conclusion that Suzuki licensed the right to only K&N as the only other company allowed to make these filters. This is obviously wrong, as everyone on here uses different brands not to mention their book listed filters FOR the Savage made by OTHER manufacturers... but the wrong part...

Long story short I put the same filter back in, but will replace it in about 4 days when the K&Ns get here.

<Local independent shop has them for around 3 bux.. I buy several & keep O-rings & crush washers hanging on the wall...

I wouldnt sweat backflushing it, Id replace it, every other time I changed oil. Usually, I cant remember if I changed it last time or not & wind up changing it, just to be safe. I WANT to say I Used to have a better memory, but I really dont remember if I did or not,,

My local Suzuki dealership (where I bought the bike) sells me the factory filters for $4.85, seems like a small price to be sure my new oil is not getting dirty brfore it does any work. Just a thought. Maybe they only sell them to me that cheap, who knows.