The Savage outperforms all other cruiser type bikes up in the mountains, regardless of displacement.

It is nimble and can negotiate a series of turns faster than any other cruiser.   (bigger does not mean better in the mountains)

Most 400 cc and up pure sports bikes can kick our butts on any form of straight away distance run, but cruisers and non-expertly ridden sports bikes are easy meat in the normal twists and turns that exist up in the mountains.

A good competent 400 cc and up sports bike rider is gone, simply gone and you never catch sight of him again.

Ditto for smaller, lighter bikes like 200 cc singles -- within their top end range they can kick our butts because they are more nimble than the Savage -- but ditto we kick their butts on any form of faster straight away.   It can be give and take up there ..... until a big 85 mph plus straight away comes up anyway.

Virago 250s and Ninja 250s are our nemesis -- we lose to them on turns and and don't make it back up on straight aways as they have equal or superior top end speed to the Savage.

The new class of light dirt bike derived supermotards kick our butts roundedly in all cases if ridden with competence.  A 450 cc supermotard pulls nearly 60 hp and weighs less than a Savage does.   They pull away immediately and we simply never see them again ....  they are busy going on to embarrass the sports bike dudes that left us in the dirt earlier.

The Dragon mountains are a tough place, you win some and you lose some and you can bleed some too.

While sitting on your driveway take you savage and lean it over right and left till the foot pegs hit the concrete. If you are brave enough to go that far when riding then that is how far you can take you bike. Scrubbing off sidewalls and the ends of footpegs is an art for the fearless.

The original question was about lean angle - and a comparison between the Savage and other cruisers.

Lean angle has little to do with top speed or performance. It has a lot to do with how much clearance your hard parts have, how much speed you're carrying around the curve, how your shocks compress, and how you shift your weight when leaning. With that in mind, lean angle is very dependent on the individual rider.

My experience with my Savage was that it was very easy to lean over and drag hard parts. It seemed to have softer suspension and drag at less angle than most other small cruisers and any other sport bike or touring bike. It could lean further than some cruisers and full dressers.

On my Savage, I liked to drag pegs in circles in parking lots. No good reason other than I liked to do it. I would counterweight and go fairly slow. I liked doing this on the Savage because it was light enough that my body weight made it easy to control the angle and at lower speeds I didn't have to worry about the MC sliding out from under me. If this is what you are talking about when you say you like to lean, the Savage is great at it (better than larger heavier MCs).

However, if you are talking about going through curves at high speed, not so much.

What stops your lean is not the foot pegs, they will fold up gracefully lifting your foot with them.

What hits "hard" on the right side is the exhaust pipe bracketry on the stock muffler, the acorn nuts on the long through bolts that mount the footpeg/brake casting.

That's if you are running a stock muffler.   Dyna is slightly different.

And, finally ("oops" is really close)  is the acorn nuts, the exhaust header itself and the Dyna muffler on the lower outside (assumes you are braking hard going into a steeply banked Dragon curve).

Oldfeller--FSO wrote on 11/06/10 at 14:16:34:

I got the title to my 68 Bonnie TT that says I will eat you alive in the twisties....379lbs with 50hp....I've ridden my buddy's s40 in the same places I've taken my bonnie, no contest. Its just as light, a little more power, plenty of ground clearance, and built to handle. If ya don't like that one, I have a BSA Victor we can try too.
Gotta Knucklehead too....

Knee-dragging on a vintage V twin bobber is sorta like french kissing your sister --- it might feel OK --- but it just ain't right !!!
olddog  

Oldfeller--FSO wrote on 11/10/10 at 17:31:21:

Thats just for slow rides.....We plan on running the dragon next spring. We normally take a few trips to Seneca Rocks/Spruce Knob W. Va. I haven't been to the Dragon since I was a teenager and left Clinton,NC