I'm not sure I understand how your thread title relates to your post, but I'd say that when you convert the Savage to a lighter street tracker and then do the air/fuel mods you should expect a livelier ride.  If you went with a larger rear wheel as many do, you should also expect more on the top end too.  FWIW, I'm glad you're having a good time. That's what it's all about.

Sounds like a wrist problem... ...

The Savage is already a pretty light bike for its displacement and available torque. That was one reason I bought one. This makes for a pretty quick bike off the line. It is quicker off the line than a lot of other motorcycles-- up to about 50mph. That is when its rather low horsepower rating shows itself.

If you've built your Savage as a tracker, it has probably lost a bit of weight, making the weight/torque curve even better.

If you have raised the rear of the bike a little, that will lessen the trail on the front end geometry, making the steering a little quicker. This also might give you the feeling of a livelier ride.

In the right tune, these engines run very well. When stock they are usually tuned a little lean. I think the white spacer mod is the single best modification you can make. Mine was a 2001, with the white spacer mod, one size larger main jet, one size large idle jet, and a dyna muffler with a 3/8 inch hole in the baffle for a little more noise. It ran great. It didn't after-fire when the throttle was closed, although it did a lot of grumbling and snapping as it approached lower RPMs (which I liked). Occasionally if you shut if off immediately while hot, I would get a soft "poof" out of the exhaust. I usually got about 46mpg, which wasn't all that great compared to some of you guys. It was probably a little rich, but it ran great. No hesitation, no bogging.

Here is my experience on lean vs rich for midrange and full throttle. If you open the throttle and it sound like it is bogging, but things improve if you close the throttle just a hair, you are too lean.  If you feel the engine surging a steady speed, you are too lean. If you open the throttle wide and you get some misfiring, you are either too rich or way too lean. Spark plug color is also a good indication of lean or rich, especially on a Savage where it is not possible to modify the ignition timing.

sea level: vancouver bc.
white spacer 1/2+ off. it doesn't surge, but really moves out.
jets 55/152.5, dyna muff.  Most responsive bike I've ridden, almost no backfires. I'm probably making too much of this, time to ride!

You might be a tad rich. I'm also at about sea level (maybe 200-300 ft. above). See my signature for how I tuned the carb. It runs great with no surging and gets over 60 mpg.