Yup,.. my Savage can touch bars to pavement and I can still recover...
... an 800lb bike gets past 10 or 15 degrees off center... and it's goin' down... ...

I have a buddy that buys and sells dozens of bikes per year...  He's about 5'-6" and 110lbs wet,... and can ride anything with total confidence... that dude is focused...  
I can ride as fast as I can, through the wildest twisties, and he can peg me at my 5 o'clock, and never lose me...

I'm so unfocused, I can get wobbly on the kickstand...
...'course,.. I've been know to doze off on long straightaways, too..
Focus, Serow, focus!.... ...

You can balance any bike with one hand,.. as long as you don't don't go off center...
Once yer' off,.. yer' in a gator wrastle... ...

If you're worried about handling the weight,.. ask one of the guys at the bike shop to give you a lesson in walking bikes...
They push and pull them in and out of the building, every morning and evening...
20 to 50 bikes,... in and out,... every day...
In one month,.. they will have rolled more bike weight, than you will in your life...

I use my left hand on the bars,... right on the seat, or something in that area,... and keep my right thigh in the area as a catch... and if anything starts to go off,... I pull onto my thigh... like a flesh kickstand...
... but pro bike pushers may have better advice or explanations...

Just ask for a lesson... people are usually proud to show their skills and share their knowledge... and even appreciate that you notice...
...

OK...a small local car dealer has a 2005 Boulevard M50 for sale...low miles, saddlebags, sissy bar, and Cobra pipes.  I went and took it for a low-speed ride around the parking lot (don't have my helmet or riding gear with me, plus it's 45 degrees today....brrrrr)...I can tell it's heavier than the S40, but it seems very well-balanced (low COG) and very manageable.  My gut feel tells me I could adapt to this without too much difficulty.  It's big enough to stretch out a little (controls are more forward vs. straight underneath like the S40), big comfortable seat, etc.  It's wide compared to the skinny S40, but I can still plant my feet on the ground just fine. Those Cobra pipes look and sound nice.   

I think he's asking a bit too much for it (almost $5K), but everything is negotiable...especially motorcycles and boats in late Fall.    I plan to go back with riding gear on the next warmer day and take it for a spin on the road instead of just the parking lot.  

Dave

I met to say M50 in the above post.

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 11/06/12 at 22:41:05:

That's my favourite button..  
I wish my bike had one... ...

Serowbot wrote on 11/06/12 at 22:59:32:


Sometimes I wish my mouth had one.  

Dave

Here's an irony ... one of our former Students, a gal I was romantically involved with this past summer, I recommended an LS to and we searched and eventually found for her a silver 2004 Savage in like-new condition with only 2400kms on the clock ... for literally a song price-wise. She fell in love with the Bike, took to it like a fish to water and bragged to all who would listen just how perfect this bike was for her ... anyhoo, a bit of back-story; a few days after taking delivery of her Savage (and only about 2 weeks after we had started seeing each other), while Riding home from work one day a member of a local RC riding a 1300cc Honda Cruiser pulled next to her at a stop light and started hitting on her. She told me about it that evening and I told her to get used to it as she was an attractive gal with her own Bike and was sure to attract the attention of "stray dogs". She thought this hilarious and over the next few months she'd tell me that this dude, who hung out at a local coffee shop near my house would, if she stopped by there for coffee on her way to my place, continue to hit on her. She also told me that she had no interest in Riding Clubs and preferred to be a "Lone Wolf" and do her own thing. So long story longer, she emailed me one day not long after, giving me the Dear John and a sob story about not having "room in her life for a relationship right now" and week or so later I find out that she had shagged off with the "stray dog", joined the RC and is now selling her beloved Savage to buy a "bigger" Bike (Yamaha 950 V-Star), because I guess in her mind she needs a bigger motorcycle to ride with "the club" ... Now this gal is all of 5'-1' and maybe 115lbs on a good day ... so I wish her luck with that V-Star ... hope  she doesn't regret the decision to sell her Savage ... or the "stray dog" ...

@Dave Sisk- Why is she only doing 35Mph in a 55Mph zone with a GZ-250? That bike will do upwards of 70Mph no problem with a lighter rider, sounds more like she's afraid to keep up speed on it