So there has been a long struggle to get my bike working correctly. I got it from my mother who bought it back in 06' and promptly dumped it for her (now) BMW riding habit (just recieved the 100k award). Only had 450 miles on the savage and a friend of the family used it to learn how to ride and dumped it hard on gravel on a 15 mph turn. I took it upon myself to repair/replace everything myself and she graciously let me ride it for a year, putting 7k on the motor. But after a four year hiatus, things wore down and like usual, parts started to seep and get out of spec/seized.

Thanks to everyones excellent posts and technical writeups i've managed to fix everything from the WAAYYYYY out of adjustment valves to the horrendous squeal from my speedo cable.

I just wanted to share my gratitude with you all and say thank you!

My daughter and mom celebrating my first victory on the savage.