Having owned a ton of Harleys (which means 1964 and older big twins) and a ton of Hardlys (1965 and newer big twins)... I bag on the post-65s from experience, as a whole, they've been junk. My last (and I mean that in more than one way) Evo big twin ate 4 engines and 6 transmissions in 6 months.
Having had the same Savage since February of 1998, I feel just fine bashing MY Savage as being the same class of garbage as every post-65 Big Twin (and every Sportster) I've owned. MY particular Savage has been plagued since day one with electrical problems, fuel issues, brake problems, shift linkages that fail if you look at them wrong, gaskets that sometimes seal and sometimes leak. I keep it around because 1) it's a cute little toy motorcycle 2) I've modified it so far from original that it has a negative resale value and 3) I wouldn't knowingly sell somebody used parts off a cursed bike.
On a good day my Savage will eat any HD it can find. On a bad (typical) day, it's sharing the bed of the truck with one.
For the last 2 years I lived on the west coast, my Savage shared the covered patio with a 1957 Panhead rigid framed, springer fork barhopper. The Savage came to TN, the Panhead went back to the guy I got it from. Savage needs a few hundred bucks in parts/work to be back on the road, I quit adding up HD parts/work at $28K...
Would I buy another post-65 HD, a Sportster or another Savage? Maybe, but not likely. Certainly not as a ride it every day machine.
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