As the clutch wears and the plates get thinner....it is common to have to adjust the cable and maintain a bit of slack.

The problem in the Savage is that the little block that pushes the clutch has very little adjustment range, and you can run out of adjustment long before you run out of clutch plate friction material.  So what happens is you end up adjusting the cable slack - but at some point the plates just don't get full spring tension as the rod is holding the spring pressure off the plates a bit....and you need to take the rod out and shorten it a bit - or buy one of the Suzuki replacements that is made shorter (they come in two shorter lengths).

The way to check if the rod needs to be shortened is to look at the chrome lever down on the right side of the engine.  As the clutch wears the lever will move farther down, and when the lever is at the lower tick mark....it is time to shorten the rod. (The lever position is checked when the clutch is at "rest" like you are riding....not with the clutched lever pulled to the hand grip). 

This one is within specs, and after several cable adjustments the lever will be down at the lower mark......and it is time for a shorter rod.

And the trumpets blare!!!

I finally get it!

Ha! I didn't catch that!  

For an "upgrade"....you can use a rubber band that matches the color or your tank and fenders!

Oldfeller put the rubber band on to take out the slack when he took the picture.....otherwise the lever would just fall to the lowest position.