That exhaust port has been the topic of a few threads. Nobody has suggested such radical measures. I don't have any way to look at one, but I have read your posts. Based on what I have seen, I just gotta say
Give it your best shot... I wouldn't dream of trying it, but you just might win..

BUT, wait on a few guys who have been in there further than I..

Dave,
Got the 'shelf' thing, but not sure what you mean by the 'donut'. Got a pic of what you mean? Maybe a before and after pic when you de-donuted the port?
thanks
-Armen

Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber (was head wrench at a Suzi-Q dealer when those models came out)
Stolen from Keith Duckworth of Cosworth Engineering.

Boofer,
The TSCC idea was to have the intake charge tumble forward while entering the combustion chamber. Earlier 2 valve heads did the swirl thing by offsetting the carb and causing the intake charge to circulate the combustion chamber in a horizontal plane.
With a 4 valve head, offsetting the carb doesn't work.
Making a steeper intake tract causes the intake charge to circulate on a vertical plane. Two intake valves gives the 'Twin' part of TSCC.
I can't see any way that a craptastic exhaust port could help or in any way cause swirl of the intake charge.
More likely explanation is that the stylists wanted to keep the engine height as low as possible, so they buried the valve spring pockets into the exhaust port.
Honda singles have short engines because they are dry sump. With the wet sump Savage motor, the shortness had to come from somewhere.
-Armen