Ive tried to move the chain on the gears,, I couldnt do it. Maybe the PO had the cam out & got it back in wrong?  Did you measure the tensioner to see how far it is extended?
I musta missed it, but did you put a Versy tensioner in?
Anyway, good job. Pretty quick gettin in & out.. takes me that long to get things sorted & cleaned.

No i did it with the motor still on the bike. It wasnt to bad.

Though things would be easier with a motorcycle lift. I should invest in one since ive brought 38 bikes back to life in the past 3 years.

Now im thinking of how i can start making a way cheaper tensioner myself. I will take some pics of what i have in mind and can me made very easy. It will be a manual adjuster but heck you need to keep and eye on a stock one so i figured every 5k it should be checked and tightend a little.

Here's a pic

Well I am anxious for you to install that tensioner and let us know how it works.  I would suggest you measure the length between bolt centers before you take the stock one out.....then adjust your manual one to match.  You might also use some form of metal lock nuts for the jam nuts.....nuts that have a tight friction fit just to keep them from vibrating loose.

Several people offer manual tensioner replacements for sport bikes, as the stock automatic tensioners can fail.  The only basic difference is that those can be adjusted from outside the engine, and don't require you to take the engine case off to make an adjustment.

Get going.....install that thing are start racking up some durability testing miles!

Not to throw a wrench in your line of thinking but.... spinning chains change tension with speed and torque. If you have a solid tensioner, it will not allow the chain to flex as it needs to do as it spins around the gears, might want to add a spring side to that somehow.
I would be a bit afraid to throw a solid tensioner in there, the tension plate would wear really quick with the chain stretching and tightening as it move around the gears.

You mite not be the typical Savage "newbie". I apologize for having failed to ask more questions about YOU instead of the bike. If you wanna tell about some of the work youve done resurrecting some of those bikes I know Id read it,
Others have threatened to go with a manual adjuster. I can see ( mentally, visualize) several ways to go at it. If I was gonna do it Id really want to modify the side cover. An inspection plate that allowed access to that area, avoiding having to pull the whole side, dodging the pegs/exhaust & all that hassle, thats what just keeps coming to the front for me,
Or, an adjuster that can be tightened kinda like a brake drum adjuster. A slot cut out of the cover that would allow a slim flat blade & snug it up.
That little turnbuckle with a washer notched on the edge & a spring that drags on it to keep it from backing off, That thing may be too fat, may seem some clearance issues, but theres my mental image of what Id try. Until the sides off & parts are in hand, thers no telling just what there is room for.