I got my first Savage in 1988. I quickly learned that it popped less & ran better with the petcock set on prime. If I ran in the on position I could tell when I was getting low on gas because it popped more on decel.
I've also had a 2000 & still own a 2001. The '01 is the only one to get the raptor because the stock p/c started leaking.
The vacuum p/c would probably work better IF they had used a vacuum reservoir.
When you run one hard & pull a trailer like I have, there is just not enough vacuum to keep full fuel flow to the carb. Believe what you want but that vacuum p/c is responsible for the bike running even leaner than the factory intended.
Like I said, I've had 3 Savages going back to '88 & ran everyone in prime until recently when I put a raptor on the '01.I've never had one flood like you worry so much about. If the needle & seat in the carb are working correctly, It WON'T leak gas. Running an inline fuel filter will help insure you won't have a problem. BTW, I'm a professional mechanic & have maintained all my bikes going back to 1967. I've also worked on whatever bikes my friends own, including the Hyusong 650 one of them owns. If you run up on one of them, be prepared to be out run cause they are way faster than the Savage.
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