GS500 yearly changes...

[Grant D]

What changes have been made to the gs500 over the years?

Thanks


Grant

[Kerry]

Let's see....  I'm sure I'll miss a few, but here goes.

1989 First year.  Clip-on bars.

1990 US models changed to 1-piece tubular bar.

1994 Front sprocket gained a shoulder/spacer due to a change along the countershaft.

1996 New front brake caliper and pads.

2001 Larger fuel tank, new seat, plastics, and signals.  New carbs.  Dual throttle cable setup.  New ON/RES/PRI petcock.  New bar-mounted controls.

2004 Faired model.  Added oil cooler.[/list:u]For color changes over the years see the handy (although not quite up-to-date) GS500 Colors by Year chart on this site.

Somewhere along the line the front brake lever gained a 4-position and then 6-position adjuster.  There have also been small changes in the electrical control placement, indicator light colors, etc.

More stuff, anyone?

[tdan553527]

2004 also changed the forks, and some minor wiring changes

[glenn9171]

The 2001 does not have an ON/OFF/RES petcock.  Mine was the standard ON/PRI/RES petcock.

[Kerry]

The 2001 does not have an ON/OFF/RES petcock.  Mine was the standard ON/PRI/RES petcock.

My bad!  I meant to point out that the frame-mounted petcock had changed (as opposed to the tank-mounted one), but not that it had new positions.

Thanks for the feedback.   I fixed my original post.

[goat]

has the front wheel changed at all, or just the brakes?

[Kerry]

"Click through the years" at http://www.ronayers.com/fiche/getyear.cfm?groupid=2960&man=su and compare part numbers.

Just because a part number changes over time doesn't mean that the part underwent extensive changes.  Still, it might be educational to make a list of the part numbers for each year.  (You DID volunteer to help with the "master reference" web site, right?   )

To be REAL thorough, go through the years at BikeBandit as well.  I have noticed that the two sites take different approaches to obsolete part numbers.

[GRU]

i noticed that the new gs500f's have a different muffler than my '92.....it's bigger and the pipe of the muffler is larger

[ollie357]

Don't mean to niggle, but my '04 GS didnt come with an adjustable front brake lever. When I installed aftermarket levers thats when I got one.

[goat]

OK, I looked on bikebandit and ron ayers:

Ron Ayers (suzuki part #s):
64111-34C00-28W (1989-1996) $327.66
64111-34C00-17U (1989-2000) $335.16
64111-34C00-Y6G (2001-2002) $335.16
64111-34C00-291 (2001-2002) $335.16

BikeBandit (bikebandit part #s):
512944-001 (1989-1995) $437.79
512940-001 (1996-2000) $447.82
730765-001 (2001) $447.82
1487455-001 (2002) $447.82

I'm thinking that they are all the same. Even though the part #s are different, The Suzuki part #s are interchageable for many years and all of the wheels except for the first one are the same price. The parts guy at the dealer told me they were the same, but he gave me an answer pretty quickly so I am not relying on that one too much.

It's also interesting to note the difference in price between the two stores. New wheels are expensive either way. Thats why ebay is good