Saw a neat little Savage at a car dealer, so I went down to talk to 'em about it. Cute little '97 with a little over 5K miles but with a horribly ugly custom paint job that was cracking and peeling on the top of the tank. But otherwise it looked ok, a few little oil leaks in the front. I asked what he wanted for it and he told me 2800. I told him that was a bit high and I'd be willing to trade the White Owl straight up...he wanted the little Baby and 1500 boot! :o . I told him no way, the Baby is in mint condition. Oh well, he's got several people coming by later with cash-in-hand :roll: . Guess I'll keep lookin'. I figgered since the Sausage needs new paint that an even trade would be fair. Love the Baby GS, Virginia (they keep their roads in pretty decent shape), and this forum.
C........
every running bike in creation is over 2 grand this time of year. Gotta buy in late fall or during the winter if you want a good deal.
$2800 should get you something nicer than that, tho! This guy has had ads up for over a month...
http://seattle.craigslist.org/mcy/72204835.html
How about THIS one: http://seattle.craigslist.org/mcy/73186444.html
Well... It looks cool anyway ;)
i sat on a couple of savages when i was bike shopping... those things are low-riders!
felt like my butt was on the pavement :)
For someone of my height, flat-footing a stock bike is a rare event and a blessing. ;)
That's what I like...my ass right next to the ground, bars up shoulder level and torque to move me around without a lot of shifting or revving. Love the little GS, Illinois (flat flat flat), and this forum.
C........
If it weren't for my back I'd love to have another hard-tail. Love the little GS, Mississippi River (it changes shape every day), and this forum.
C.......
My buddy has a Savage that he's done some custom work to. Basically all old school chopper type stuff (ie. drag bars, solo seat, custom rear fender made from a trailer fender..lol)... all stuff that can be had or made for less than $20 per part sort of thing. It's very nice and simple with none of the stupid "occ" type chopper flashy crap. He even custom made a suicide shifter and foot clutch for it. He originally bought the bike as a crashed unit (the bike was literally in several different boxes).... it's come a long way since then.
suicide shifter?
Quote from: RoadstergalFor someone of my height, flat-footing a stock bike is a rare event and a blessing. ;)
How tall are you? My sister is 5'3" and can flat-foot her's... But it's a cruiser :dunno: (Boulevard S40)
5'1" with ~27" inseam. I can flat-foot a Savage, but that's about it. I was tippytoe on my old GS, and am having the seat cut on the current one. My SV is slammed (Hayabusa dogbones and slid-down forks) and has the seat cut.
The dogbones crack me up. They have "Hayabusa" engraved on them in script, and I look like I'm trying to pimp out the SV... :lol:
Mines still for sale :]
Suicide shift is a hand shift. The early bikes had them, HD was on the left side, Indian was usually on the right. I can't understand anyone converting to that type except for aesthetic reasons. I'd like to find a good basket case to build, but they are getting harder and harder to find. Love the Baby GS, Granada (tiny little war there with Cuba in the '80s), and this forum.
C.........
Yeah... I can see how you'd have issues on the GS... My sister sat on my GS and said, :? "Uh, NO WAY!" I can totally flat-foot it and still have lots of bend left in my knees.
When I sat on her bike, I felt like I was sitting on the curb :lol: And... It isn't nearly as comfortable as the GS. Still a cool bike if you're into cruisers... (which I'm not)...
You have pics of your SV?
How many CC's is the Savage? Reminds me of the little Honda Rebels and Suzuki GZ 250's we rode in MSF course ( really started to like those little bikes).
I think I could see myself on one of those one day.
Quote from: RVertigoYou have pics of your SV?
Ja, I had a pic of me on it in the Hello again thread.
This picture is a horrible pic of me, but it gives you the scale. That's a reasonably tall friend to my right.
Quote from: Jake DHow many CC's is the Savage?
650. It's bigger in size and displacement than the GZ250, but not much heavier. I wouldn't take the GZ on the freeway, but I've cruised a trip at 80 for an hour or so on the Savage.
Yeh, the little Savage is definitely not a rigid Pan but it's a reasonable enough of a facsimile that it would do for my purposes anymore. Not to mention it should be a hell of a lot cheaper...unless somebody has an old basket layin' aroun' somewhere. :) . Love the Baby GS, Michigan (UP the place to be), and this forum.
C.......
Quote from: RoadstergalThis picture is a horrible pic of me, but it gives you the scale.
Your bike looks HUUUUUUUUGE!!! :lol:
I've been trying to get my wife into riding... She's about your size... 5'2"... But, I think it'll be a while before we can afford to have another bike. :oops:
Quote from: RVertigoQuote from: RoadstergalThis picture is a horrible pic of me, but it gives you the scale.
Your bike looks HUUUUUUUUGE!!! :lol:
And it has been lowered! She might be able to drive over a deck of cards (if you take the Jokers out).
Is it me, or does the old tube-style frame of the early SV look better than the new flat-slab frame? The older one just really does it for me...the new one looks too much like, oh I dunno, like something from a kid's toy box. Love the little twin, South Atlantic (never seems as stormy as the North), and this forum.
C.......
Quote from: Jake DShe might be able to drive over a deck of cards (if you take the Jokers out).
Looks cool lowered... As long as you're ok with doing a wheelie over speed bumps :lol:
how could you wear a shirt that has different numbers than your bike?
That's the length of her bike in inches. Love the Baby GS, Wisconsin (the dairy cattle are not a myth), and this forum.
C........
Quote from: RVertigoQuote from: Jake DShe might be able to drive over a deck of cards (if you take the Jokers out).
Looks cool lowered... As long as you're ok with doing a wheelie over speed bumps :lol:
You ain't kiddin'! Although that might be part of why I get such puzzlingly high mileage... less drag...
Quote from: davipuhow could you wear a shirt that has different numbers than your bike?
It's the shirt I've got. But if someone has a shirt that fits me with the same number as my bike that they want to donate, I won't complain. :lol:
ok, then. you are offically banned from wearing shirts till you get one with the right number on it. :mrgreen:
When Bebe got me the White Owl we had looked at an '01 SV650 that had been lowered one inch. That wasn't too bad, kinda like a cruiser and the ergos felt great. Alas, my Bebe just didn't have the cabbage put back to buy into that machine (I named her Psyche) so she got me Nicci instead. Now everytime I talk about wanting another type of bike she says "you wish you had Psyche don't you", with a hurt look on her face. But I love the little 500 (pathetically wrong for my type of riding it may be), Missouri (the sad state of), and this forum.
C.......
Davipu. . .Brilliant!
Quote from: cernunos. . .Missouri (the sad state of), and this forum.
C.......
Sad state? Why, I'll show you.
Nope. Can't think of a reason to be sad. But I get my happiness from within.
Quote from: RoadstergalBut if someone has a shirt that fits me with the same number as my bike that they want to donate, I won't complain. :lol:
I have a shirt with that number... But, it also has a '69 Super Nova on it...
It's a shirt to me, it would be a dress for you. :lol:
Quote from: Jake DSad state? Why, I'll show you.
:lol:
Hmm, there's a guy at work I've had my eyes on - maybe that will help. "It's the dress code, sir!"
The SV650 non-S is a nice bike. But for an upright seating position, my F650 is the best bike I've been on. It's not a cheapie, though (this one is coming out of the insurance settlement). But maybe consider a V-Strom 650?
Quote from: Roadstergal
Hmm, there's a guy at work I've had my eyes on - maybe that will help. "It's the dress code, sir!"
Shirtless will help. Or go sans bra, turn the AC d - o - w - n. . .
But like the attorney I clerked for my first year of law school used to say:
"Rule number one, Jake. . . Don't bang the help!"
I live by that rule. It is my mantra.
Quote from: Jake DI live by that rule. It is my mantra.
I hope he doesn't...
No, V-Strom too top-heavy, too tall...I like my ass close to the ground. Lowered SV is close to what I want but...ahhh, the Harley Gods would doom me. Besides, V-Strom sounds like something you order in an Italian restaurant and I don't like Italian food. And remember, it has to be CHEAP...as in "basket case" or trade for Nicci. Love the White Owl, Missouri (they got a river flows right into the Mississippi don't they...that's happy), and this forum.
C........
Quote from: cernunosLove the Baby GS, Michigan (UP the place to be), and this forum..
Say "Ya" to da U.P., eh?!
So... Eino and Toivo come to a set of railroad tracks... (typical beginning of a Yooper joke...)
Quote from: cernunosBesides, V-Strom sounds like something you order in an Italian restaurant and I don't like Italian food.
Pronounce it "vaay strum" with a roll to the "r". The "o" vowel is funny: try saying "errr", but pull your chin back (in). It could mean "V-twin power", depending on how you translate it.
S&S...V-Twin power. If I were to build me a bike from scratch and had the cabbage I'd use one of their new motors. You can get motor kits from them starting around two grand or so from about 90 hp up to over 150 hp. If I had twelve grand to blow then I'd just build it all new from scratch...but I don't, so I keep looking for a CHEAP Savage or Blast or Royal Enfield. Something along those lines. I don't care if every single piece of it is apart and in boxes...the cheaper the better. Love the little GS, Iowa (never been there), and this forum.
C........
well almost every guy knows better than tt shaZam! whare he sleeps so to speak....
Iowa, your not missing anything.
C... you work for frommer's? by the way, are you going to swing by and check out that savage in seattle? You're pretty close by right? ;)
Now now :nono: ... no prying into C's whereabouts. :lol:
Believe I found it. An old buddy of mine, one I haven't seen in YEARS, called last nite and we were shootin' the shaZam! about old times and days gone by. He's been touring the states on his Indian Scout ('42 model I think) and is back in town for awhile and wanted to know if I could go for a ride. I told him I don't get to do much riding these days and I don't have my Glide anymore or even a Sportster...but I do have a little GS500. So he was like, "whatever...it's got two wheels, let's go ride". Man, that dude can ride a hand-shift bike like you've never seen! At his place he has a bunch of old Indians and HDs that he's in the process of restoring and one of them is a 1934 VL model that I absolutely fell in love with. It's all there, just needs restored. He told me I need another project to keep me feelin' alive and would I like to take on the VL? :o Do I need to say what I had to reply with? So it looks like I'll be restoring an old VL to ride...the only caveat he had was that I have to keep it suicide clutch. He doesn't care if I bob it as long as I don't cut the frame (as if!) but I have to keep it hand-shift. He said it was high time I learned to ride a cycle the proper way :lol: . No problem here. The nice thing is that I asked him what he wanted for the bike and he just looked at me and said "I owe you one". It brought tears to my eyes. I hope to be picking her up sometime next week so I can spend some time getting to know her and start tearing into the old gal so I can see what she needs. Oh, happy joy! Life is good. I love the Baby GS, USA (right or wrong), and this forum.
C.......
That's awesome C, have a blast restoring the old beast. Got a name picked out for the ol' gal yet? I'd suggest something old-school, just like the bike...None of this new weirdo spelling artsy crap they've been trying to get away with for the past few years. Enjoy as I know you will!
Yes, I'm looking forward to this. I've been needing something like this for a long time. I don't know her name...I looked at her and she just layed there, but when I touched her I could tell she has a soul. Once she is home I'll get to know her and her name will come to me. Interesting thing about her; she has what's called a "total loss" oil system. You have a hand pump that you work every now and then to replenish the oil in the bottom end of the motor. There is an automatic pump but it's good only up to about 35 mph or so. Man, I can't wait to start tearing into her! Love the Baby GS, old VLs, and this forum.
C........
Yea Total loss ... yea my 89 GS had one ... leaked 1/2 burnt 1/2 sprayed 1/2 every hundred miles ... Yea good system ... :lol: No oil changes needed ... you fill gas and oil and ride ... easy.
Cool.
Srinath.