Can you feel a knock on the clutch cover next to the oil filter cover?
that would be the cam chain tensioner.
either replace the chain or get my mod'd tensioner.
see the marketplace

ya kiddin right?  

I'd love to sell you a verslavy, but it's a couple weeks out before I start having them.

MIte as well get your gasket lined up & get a tool to pop the timing cover loose. If its makin noise, pulling the side off & looking at it would be a grand idea, unless youre willing to park it.

It would be best if you had a service manual, if you cant lay hands on one, theres a download available, comes complete with mistakes, & theyre documented with the correct answers available here,,somewhere..

Timing cover is on the shifter side, some people put them on too tite & they can be tuff to get off. Theres quite a few tools people have built to get them off, I have a heavy washer on a car door hinge post,, a little grinding to get it to seat deep in the groove almost all the way across the slot & works w/o loeaving marks. Thats how ya line up marks to get TDC,, you can do it with a straw in the plug hole,,

I have also noticed a bit of backfiring and read many places that this is normal for the savage. Is that true? I would hate to overlook something that could be a potential problem.

Oh I see, yeah they are just pops when the bike decels but it seems that sometimes when i shut the bike down i get a louder pop than the other times.