Thanks all
I got a good deal on it, paid $200 under blue book. Didn't have to haggle with the seller at all, and he was very open about the bikes history. He was the second owner, had bought the bike for his wife to learn on, but after she dropped it an intersection (gravel/sand in a turn at about 5mph), she decided she didn't want to ride anymore. He'd replaced the right hand side foot peg, as it had been bent. He put some bar end mirrors on it, which I really like. I don't think I'd be able to see behind me with the stock mirrors.
It has an aftermarket exhaust on it, so it's a little loud but not obnoxious. The seller still had the stock exhaust pipe, so I have it in case I ever want to make the bike quieter, but I'm going to keep it the way it is. That "Thumper" makes a very distinct sound. It was rejetted to account for the less restrictive aftermarket pipe. The tires have very little wear on them. Not a single leak anywhere on the bike.
Over the summer I had spend a lot of time researching motorcycles, trying to find one that met all of the criteria I was looking for: Not too powerful, but not too small, good fuel economy. Basically I was looking for a mid sized bike that wasn't going to overwhelm me as a new rider. The Suzuki Savage/Boulevard S40 very quickly made it's way toward the top of the list, and the one I bought came up for sale at the perfect time. It was almost as if it was one of those "meant to be" moments in life.
It was darn near love at first sight. When I gave it an initial look over, and asked the seller questions that he hadn't already answered before I could ask- I had become 90% certain that I had found my bike. The test ride completely sealed the deal for me, and I knew I'd found "The One". Like I said in the OP, the ride home was magic. I was a bit nervous when I was leaving the sellers house.. I'd not been on a bike since I took the Basic Riders Course in July, and was questioning my sanity for tackling 30 miles at freeway speeds (I used the test ride, to obviously familiarize myself with the controls). Those nerves quickly melted away by the time I hit the on-ramp. When I rolled on that throttle and heard that thumper sing, the smile almost broke my face. I may or may not have let out a celebratory yop.
Yeah, kind of sappy but you know, I think it's along the same lines of buying my first vehicle when I was 16. Really felt.. good.
I love it here in Oregon. I'm an hour from the Redwood Forest and Coast, and there are a ton of great places to ride locally!
