I know quite a bit about this bike as far as specs and the backfiring issues it has, but i was curious about peoples experiences with this bike, mostly reliabilty(I have heard that it is) anything positive/negative you have to say would be helpful.

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"Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose" -Janis Joplin-

Yup, definitely a good beginner bike.

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Flickr.

Good beginner bike, easy to handle...but it runs lean and is prone to backfiring. Many riders don't seem to mind that...

great first bike, the lean running condition can be (relatively) easy to fix as well

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I haven't owned one, but my friend did for quite a few years (back when it was called the Savage). That bike was solid as a rock. Very easy to maintain and it always ran well. She put 22K on it over 4 yrs. before selling it (I put a few hundred on there too). If you're comfortable on it, and are not planning on doing a lot of two-up, long road trips, it's an excellent starter bike.

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Bikin' John
'93 Honda CB750 Nighthawk

I am already pretty sold on it, but i just wanted to see what the bike was like to own and at 40 hp vs. the rebels 18hp(i think) i mostly wanted to make sure that it wasn't too powerful, I'm not scared I just have a lot of respect for these amazing machines.
gypsy

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"Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose" -Janis Joplin-

My mom's first bike was a Savage. She still has it, but she also rides my brother's M50 sometimes now.

It is a great starter bike. The torque from the thumper makes it pretty hard to stall it, and it definitely doesn't have too much power.

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2008 BMW K1200S
2003 Z1000 - For Sale
1979 KZ650B - Work in progress
2005 Ducati SS 1000DS - sold :'(
1994 VFR750 Interceptor - sold
1984 VF700F Interceptor - sold
2004 Hyosung GV250 - sold

The power delivery on the S40 is very docile. It'll never surprise you. It's not in the Rebel category (which will struggle at Interstate speeds), but it has just enough power to easily carry you anywhere you want to go. Also, I've had a few of these bikes on the dyno before and their real life horsepower delivery is around 30 hp.

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Bikin' John
'93 Honda CB750 Nighthawk

I have heard that you can get a performance ground camshaft that adds around 10-15 hp i'm not sure if that is true or not but if it is than it is all the more appealing to be able to amp it up a little later when i am a better rider,
there are performance carb kits too, mess with the carberator( I would have to learn, but there seems to be plenty of resources on the internet to learn how.
thanks.
gypsy

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"Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose" -Janis Joplin-

I'm a dual sport convert, but I have owned and ridden many types of bikes, including cruisers. I'm not likely to ever wish to own a cruiser again, but if I were to buy or recommend a cruiser the S40 would top my list. It has enough power to take you anywhere you wish to go, it has the reliability to do it repeatedly, and I just love the look of it. Most importantly, to me at least, is the bike's simplicity which in itself accounts for the bike's good looks.

My second choice would be the Yamaha V-Star 650C.

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There is no such thing as a bad motorcycle.

Honda XR650L Dual-Sport