WD wrote on 10/02/12 at 15:07:28:

and here are my impressions about s50..
I just tried that once sit down and take a ride on it. I thought he seemed very much like a savage. only a little more playful. then everything is simple-it has the v-twin! by landing on it seemed to me even a little bit closer than the savage. in my lower back (ass) is hampered by step between the driver and rear passenger seats. liked the sound of the engine
but to change their savage on s50 don't want to...

I owned a 1997 Intruder VS800 for a couple years.  The bike has its strengths and weaknesses.
The good:
It has great acceleration and top end speed.
It gets good mileage and a good range per tank (about 225 km if I recall)

The bad:
It needs drag bars instead of the buckhorns
It needs aftermarket forward controls
It needs an aftermarket seat
It needs shorter shocks to close the ugly tire to fender gap
The battery is hard to change
The carbs are hard to set up (one is sidedraft, one is downdraft)

There are lots of aftermarket parts available and it is a great ride especially after the seat/bars/foot control ergos have been fixed.  The good outweigh the bad in my opinion.

IF I was to go to a bigger bike...I've been looking at the M50...but it still just doen't seem as much fun as the little savage....what do i know tho'...my other bikes are mopeds...

Its so easy to want a bike with enough power to accelerate strongly at 80 MPH & handle like a scalpel, But, If a bikes performance envelope is as big or bigger than mine is, then I can get in over my head. The Savage wallows in a long sweeper, so, I keep the speed down,,

I guess what Im trying to say is, its more fun to ride a slow bike as fast as ya dare than a fast bike slow enough to not get in trouble.

the S50 is better than the S83, which is weird, but true, neither of those bikes are a real good step up from the S40/savage, if you want comfort, try a Yamaha 950 it has a tourer edition with bags and a windshield. or maybe a Suzuki C50 or M50?  the S50 just isn't enough difference from the S40/savage.  A Triumph America or Speedmaster would be great also if you are sold on the cruiser idea, the Bonneville is great though if you are looking for a change to a more flexible standard bike, luggage is an issue though, well, only if you want stylish luggage for reasonable prices and you have bastardized your Bonneville with a 70's racer reminiscent fairing that doesn't compliment any of the "bobber/cafe style" style baggage offered by OEM.  The sportster is also an excellent option.  

intruderalert.com is the forum for the S50/intruder and S83/intruder as well as the LC1500???  and harleys and conservative think tank/echo chamber madness, but if you stick to the technical boards you can avoid all the political crap.

seriously the Yamaha 950 is excellent  

Wow, this thread is still alive.  LOL.  

I've had my S40 on the highway a couple of times, and yeah it's not that comfortable at 65-70 mph.  My came with a windshield that I took off...now that's it's chilly, I will prob put it back on to deflect some wind.

OK, thanks for all the thoughts on the S50 and similar models.  I saw the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 mentioned...I've seen all kinds of good reviews on the Vulcan 750, 800, 900, etc., so I may give one of the Vulcan's a look at some point.  One thing that strikes me though is that most of the other bikes with displacement simlar to the S50 are quite a bit heavier...the S50 is by far the lightest at about 440 lbs wet.  I kinda feel like the S40 is just a tad too small (legs wise)...thus my thinking that maybe an S50 would be the perfect fit.  But hey, everyone has different likes and dislikes, and you really don't know until you ride it.  

I'm in no hurry to trade up, btw...I definitely love the S40, and would highly HIGHLY recommend it to any beginning (or re-beginning) riders, or someone with a 250 who wants to move up.  That said, I still need to look at raising the seat a little...that may drastically improve the comfort level.  

Cheers!
Dave

I've had mine up to around 70mph or so...at that speed, it kinda feels like the wind is whipping me around. (I guess that's what "wind buffeting" means?) Maybe it's just me though, and adding the windshield back will remove some of that sensation?  I've changed the exhaust and tweaked the carb, so I'm sure it would go quite a bit faster...just not sure the rider would want to.  

I wish 5th were geared a little taller on these bikes (just 5th though...the rest of the gear ratios seem about perfect)...or a 6th gear.  A lot of buzzy vibrations from an extended ride at those revs.

Cheers,
Dave