dontwannapickle wrote on 09/19/17 at 11:43:37:I had a Savage for a year or so. I also have 85k miles on a Yamaha sportbike that was their racer in the mid-90s, but was replaced as their racer by the R6. I've raised the bars an inch on it. Although it has a 13k+ redline, mine rarely revs above 4.5K till I get over 65. Gets 63mpg!
I didn't miss HP on the Savage. It pulls fine at all legal speeds, even wiff Shorty on back. I DID miss, terribly, the great, adjustable suspension and better riding position of the ThunderCat.
I had to remember to avoid a certain lane on the local I-state with a groove scratched into it by something that had dragged there, or the front would start shaking at 70mph. The forks are terrible! And forget about two-finger braking.
Those flimsy forks without much option for improvement, the wooden brakes, (correctable using parts from good bikes, the T-cat for irony), and the terrible riding position (which is subjective, I suppose) were why I couldn't enjoy my Savage.
IMO, Savages are fine for sub-55 mph, sub-five-foot-six societies, which IS what they were designed for, afterall.
Ive had my `03 Thunder Kitty for just at 2 weeks now and only put close to 250 miles on her so far but I am completely in love!
I had an `82 XJ1100 years ago and the 600r just feels like it has all the giddy up and power of the Maxim and then some... half the weight but still amazingly solid, and twice as responsive.
I'm a pretty lightweight guy. I average 165lbs most of the year. Also a little tall at 6'3". The seat on my Savage could use some adjustment by way of the riser mod, and a set of 5-6 inch forward controls... and possibly a handlebar adjustment. Beyond that I feel like it could be a comfortable bike for longer rides. Night and day differences between any of the bigger (more powerful) bikes I have ridden. Everything seems to happen at a much more leisured pace on the Savage. My Savage was perfectly happy scooting me down the road at 80+mph for a solid 30 miles with no breathers before something let loose. So they
can run up the needle on the speedo pretty easy... just dont push them for too long at a stretch.