Newbie Here!

[A_Rivers]

Hey guys and gals.

I just purchased my first bike this Sunday, a 1995 GS500E with only 4500 miles on it. I bought it on Ebay for $1500 which I thought was a very good deal. It was in Dallas, so a friend of mine and I drove down from Nashville Tennessee, it was about 11 hours one way so I was happy to see that the bike was in very good shape, got the bike, ate at an all you can eat sushi bar and headed back.

Now that I have the bike I was hoping to get some advice from all of you on how to take care of it, and what mods if any I should perform. Also for some reason it looks like the front wheel isn't straight. I could be looking at it wrong but it appears to be pointed to the left (when looked at from the front) a little, is this normal or should I have it checked out, the bike rides great and doesn't seem to have any handeling issues.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

[glenn9171]

There's lots of stuff.  Just do a search on the forums of any questions you may have.  Just about everything has been asked at some point.

For starters...

1.  Good tires.  Bridgestone BT45 in the stock sizes work very well and are not too expensive.

2.  Progressive fork springs.  A MUST for all GS500's.  Period.

3.  15 tooth front sprocket.  Better acceleration and easier to get the bike started without having to slip the clutch.  Cheap mod.  ~$15.

4.  Katana 600 rear shock.  Found regularly on Ebay cheap.  I got mine for $17.51 including shipping.

5.  DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN NUTS  while replacing the oil filter cover.  Just snug is tight enough.  The studs will break if you over-tighten them.

6.  Keep all nuts and bolts tightened regularly.  They can and will vibrate loose.

7.  Take and pass the MSF course.  This should have been #1.  

8.  Clean and lube the chain every 600 miles.  More often if it's wet when you ride.



This should get you started on the way to GS guru-ism.  Do a search on any of the above for more detailed information.  Good luck with the bike.

[scratch]

Also for some reason it looks like the front wheel isn't straight. I could be looking at it wrong but it appears to be pointed to the left (when looked at from the front) a little, the bike rides great and doesn't seem to have any handeling issues.

Welcome to GStwin!

You may only have to loosen the four screws holding the fender to the fork brace and realign the fender.

[A_Rivers]

Thanks for the replies people. I took the MSF course in May and passed with flying colors so that is all taken care of. As for the tires, it has a new rear tire and the front is a little dry rotting. I belive I am going to go ahead and replace both of them unless y'all think otherwise. I will do some more searching I just wanted to know if there was anything specific I should be searching for. I think thats about it for now. I will try and get some pics posted here soon.

[cernunos]

Jaysus, 11 hours to buy the bike...and I thought I love the GS500 :lol:  I'm just replacing the front on mine at this time, a lot of people here say that will work just fine. Luv that little bike dontcha...luv this forum too.

Cernunos

[A_Rivers]

Jaysus, 11 hours to buy the bike...and I thought I love the GS500 :lol:  I'm just replacing the front on mine at this time, a lot of people here say that will work just fine. Luv that little bike dontcha...luv this forum too.

Cernunos

Yeah 11 ONE WAY... It was a long day thats for sure, we left at 1a.m. Sunday morning and got back 1a.m. Monday morning. I had been searching for a bike for 5 months and could never find a SV650S  that was in my price range (wanted an '03 after test riding it, but my insurance would be more than I could handle) so I jumped at this bike instead. It didn't look to far to dallas when I had that crazed "I'm gonna get a bike look in my eye"

[scratch]

Just replace the front.