Shipyard wrote on 07/24/18 at 10:58:04:I took the carb out and cleaned the main and idle jets. this seemed to help the problem, but now it's extended out to 10-15 minutes of idle before it dies a slow death.
What Batman says......extended idle on an air cooled bike is a horrible way to treat your engine. If the bike is not moving - there is little or no air flow through the cooling fins.....and there is very little oil pressure at idle. Even worse may be that you are killing your exhaust cam lobe and rocker if the bike is leaned over on the sidestand.
In the 10,000 miles I have been riding my Savage - I don't believe it has idled in any one spot longer than a traffic light at a busy intersection. I put on my riding gear, get on the bike, start it an hold the throttle open to a fast idle of around 2,000 rpm to get the oil flowing - then after 30 seconds I ride off gently and allow the bike to warm up while I am riding. I never use full throttle until the bike is fully warmed up.
If your bike is dying when you roll off the throttle and pull in the clutch - then it is likely your idle speed is too low, or your idle fuel mixture is too lean, or both. You may have a vacuum leak somewhere - the petcock could also be to blame.