Well . . . What I do is usually stay in third gear and keep it around 25-30 mph tops. Faster seems to scare the poopers out of me with every little jiggle, and slower the bike seems to want to wander all over the place. I do a l-o-t of dirt, gravel and back woods riding and the thing is to remember that patience is THE virtue.

All of my riding of late has been on a top heavy GS 850 and the above works  just fine. On the Sav with the darksider on the back it's even easier.

Jack

Loose dirt/sand. Slow before you get to it, put your weight as far back as ya can & gently accelerate. Keeps thr front tire on top better which keeps it from wobbling in the dirt.

Hands off front brake,, fingers, even a pinky, off,,

step 1.  make sure your tires are at the proper pressure.
step 2.  make sure to top off your fuel tank.
step 3.  buy a klr

My old dirt bike with nobby tires, lots of suspension, and mid placed pegs rode well on dirt and gravel.  Sure they scooted around a bit, but not in a scary way.  Hitting the corners and applying throttle to hang the back end out and throw gravel roostertails was fun!

The forward pegs, smooth round tires, narrow and high handlebars, and marginal suspenions travel on a Cruiser makes the gravel roads a bit more intimidating.

You can ride on gravel and with experience and practice it will become less intimidating....but go a bit slow at first until you get the hang of it.

My last bike was a Vmax and dirt roads were no issue.......

30 mph and let the bike do what it wants to.......it will wander and shimmy ya just have to keep your balance and keep it headed in the general direction......

Not much different than a steel deck bridge to me.....

$0.02 deposited

EDIT:  Loose sand SUCKS with only 2 wheels of any sort IMHO

I dont run on gravel roads, but the drive is.. Aaaand Ive seen a rock jammed thru the belt once

Practice. Stay loose in the seat, don't lock your arms, stay off the front brake (take the lever off until you get used to the feel of dirt/gravel), stay on the gas. Feather the clutch if you need to downshift or slow down.

I used to run the dirt/gravel road the 8 miles from Washington State University to the University of Idaho on a nearly stone stock 1973 CB350F, yep, a four banger. Thought nothing of hitting the corners at 40-60 mph, street tires, drum rear brake, chain drive.

Savage is fine on those roads as well. You just need to let the bike "shake" a bit without letting it get to you. I would recommend a better set of tires though, the stock IRC set is bad on pavement, it is as squirmy as a greased snake on sand/gravel/dirt. Not enough voids in the tread.

As for the belt, rock it until it snaps and switch to a chain and sprockets. Replacement belts are stupid high priced.