I got my '07 savage mid Aug from a HD dealership. Found in trade barn I suspect it sat at least 2 yrs maybe longer. They kept it for a week to service it before I took it.
The mechanic that went over the bike w/ me when I picked it up told me these things...
He said "It surges." Said he tried to smooth it out by working on the carb. He said he had it off a couple times but he couldnt find the specs anywhere for Suzuki so he adjusted it the best he could.
That its geared high to run a lower gear with it and use 91 oct fuel because it was running rich.
Took it home. Road it local for a few days then took it farther. 60 miles round tr. by 30 miles it was running rough. back fire now and then, and when I stalled it once it blew some dark smoke. Also it smelled bad. the exhaust stunk.
Get it home and call local Suzuki Shop. Took it there for what they said was a needed carb adjustment. Which sounded right since the other guy said he did the best he could but didnt have specs.
2 weeks and $290 later I pick up my bike tonight.
Suzuki guy said carb was plugged full and adjustment screw was broke off inside. Had to be drilled out. and to use 87 oct fuel because it was running really lean.

So I call the HD mechanic because now I dont know who to listen to. He tells me the carb was cleaned when it left there. I must have run it with the choke on. I swear to you guys I havent. No. He also said it was a fouled plug probably. That there was no adjustment screw on my carb. it came factory set and thats it.

So as you can see I have 2 different stories. The only thing they both agreed on was to chose a lower gear.
It does have more pep and doesnt stink.
Any thoughts on which mechanic I should go with and could you please answer these questions?
1) Is there an adjustment screw in the carb?
2)Which fuel is best, 91 or 87?
3) Blue pipes... Means too much heat and running lean. Is that correct?
4) Backfiring/ popping off, Does that hurt anything once in awhile? I figured out what makes it happen. Quick release of throttle.
Thank you for your time.

The root of the problem is probably a failed petcock. Get a Yamaha Raptor replacement. Search the forum for details.

The carb has all of the usual adjustments including replaceable jets. I’d probably go see a Suzuki mechanic before a HD mechanic.

You don’t adjust the mixture with the fuel octane. That’s about the biggest bullshit I’ve heard. Octane helps with preignition, that’s it.

I agree with starting with the petcock.  After that, I would start with stock jetting because it's not THAT lean and the bike should run reasonable well.  You can fine tune it AFTER you get it running.  

I would pay close attention to the slide.  If it's sticky, you will get lean surges when it sticks during acceleration. Don't worry as much about popping and backfiring under deceleration.

Thanks guys for your advice..
I'm hoping that with the work they did and the fact it's running good now that it will hold out for a couple months as is. It typically starts snowing the end of October here so then I'm mostly done for awhile.
My carb mechanic (son) will be home from deployment in March and I will get a raptor put on and have him read all this. He does the carbs in dozers so he should be able to handle this. I'll see what he says.
I just didnt know which one was closer to the truth. Generally you can find the common things in 2 stories and work from there but they were so opposite each other..
Thanks again.

I didn't think there were any gas powered dozers left in the world, let alone one with a carb. Even so, dozer operators aren't usually concerned with throttle response....

Don't be afraid to dig into this carb yourself. They are VERY simple to work on and once learned, you are the master of your domain.