Don't worry. The bottle won't be there when you get off.

I would go with the Airhawk, I feel it helps and you must face the fact that after two hundred miles, your arse will be riveted. I've just come in from about 150 miles on a glorious winters day. Arse isn't riveted but I'm shaking with cold, should have worn over trousers. I can't offer experience, but if you want bigger, have you considered the Yamaha Bolt?

Check-out the new Indian Scout.  100 HP and its only 450 ish pounds. !    and its perty !!  

A friend sent me an email....his brother is selling his 1974 Moto Guzzi V7 sport.  Probably not a step up in comfort....but definitely a performance improvement!




Seriously.....there are plenty of bikes out there to choose from  and most likely there will be one that is right for you.  The problem is finding one that fits you and your riding style.  The Savage is well suited to your height/weight.....you will find that a lot of the Sport Touring or Adventure Touring bikes have too tall of seat heights for you (and me with my 30" inseam).  Go to dealers and test ride some bikes....ride some friends bikes....see what you like.

The Savage is a great bike for roads with speeds below 65.....it will do 70 without much fuss......if you want to ride 75-80 that is a bit much for extended rides on a stock bike.  (I have modified my engine and gearing and it now will cruise comfortably at 70-80 mph speeds - however it does cost money to do that and I could have sold the Savage and bought a bigger/faster bike for the money.....but I like my Savage).

For me personally......the cruiser seating is not the most comfortable.  Sitting low and reaching up for the handlebars while my legs are out in front of me makes my back and butt tired.

I much prefer a "Touring" or "Standard" style of seating where the handlebars are just below my chest, and the footpegs are underneath me.  This seating style seems to keep some of my leg weight in the footpegs and takes it away from my butt.

I am also OK with the "sport touring" seating where you are leaning forward a bit.

I imagine the "sport bike" seating could be tiring on long rides, especially for the passenger.  When I see young girls riding on the back of a sport bike with their legs all folded up and their body all bent over......I just can't help but feel sorry for them.

If I was looking for a bike in the $ 3,000 - $ 5,000 range right now....I would be looking at a BMW RT 1100/1150.  Plenty of power, great handling, very reliable and comfortable.....the downside is that when you need parts they may not be available locally and are a bit expensive.  I currently have a Honda ST1100 and it was very affordable, very cheap to buy and keep ($ 3,400 for a 2002 with 34,000 miles....the only downside of me is the seat is a bit high for my 30" inseam and the bike is kinda' heavy for me to hold up when sitting stilll (once under motion it rides great).

Ok...so I went and drove an '06 C50 today and honestly, I hated it. I am not sure if there are different styles (other than cosmetics) that have different bars, etc. but this one was just not for me. It was much wider than I expected . I guess the guys on the internet riding them are bigger and make the bike appear smaller.  And I guess I am so used to the S40 drag bars that driving the C50 made me feel like I was trying to steer an elephant by his ears.

So, C50 is no longer a candidate.  I am going to still look around and maybe drive a Shadow 750 as some of them seem to be more along the S40 set-up, but when I come home and look at my S40 sitting there it really is not a bad looking bike, so maybe I need to do some research on the seat upgrade and let go of the idea of trading up.

stewmills wrote on 06/23/15 at 19:45:27:


All the Boulevard line EXCEPT the S40 comes in 3 trim levels:
C (lassic) tends to hark back to the big 'ol cruisers of yesteryear, with fat tires, skirted fenders, and big cushy seats
S (port) are more bobberish, with smaller fenders, narrower tires, and drag bars
M (uscle) takes the S and blacks it out, and adds mag wheels

all the Boulevards above the S40 are bigger, heavier, liquid cooled bikes that are more suited to highway use and are less tossable
The shadow 750 I sat on was not to my liking, controls more forward than the S40, and less ground clearance, YMMV

stewmills wrote on 06/22/15 at 13:33:09:

I went to the GEEIA Reunion in OKC in September 2007.

Gardena to Holbrook, 570 miles.  Holbrook to Amarillo, 520 miles.  Just 260 miles more to OKC, arriving about 1 pm.  The Savage is just fine doing 65-70 mph down the Interstates.
-- 1000 miles from home in less than 34 hours

Tens of thousands of miles does not bother the Savage.  Neglecting your oil does.

You cannot know what bike you want until you buy one and ride for a while.  Some people go on from the little Savage to a bigger bike.  Some of them like it.  Some sell the big bike and new S40.  Some go smaller.