I need advice on a GS

[Mr. Wolf]

I am looking into a GS500e and the owner has removed all the guages to clean up the bike and left the wiring inside the headlight. Is that common? How hard would it be to replace the gauges? Anything else I should check for besides rust, the tank, the sprocket, brakes, and tires? thanks

[Roadstergal]

Is that common?

Er, no.  Gauges tend to be kinda useful things to have on the bike.  You'll find them stock on most bikes for just that reason.     Also, the odometer is in the cluster, and that's rather a big deal on a street bike.  Provided all of the wiring is intact, you can get another cluster on eBay - but if the owner took them off for "cleanliness," he/she should still have them, all nice and clean and tucked in the closet - right?

That should ring a few alarm bells on two counts - one, possible wrecked bike; two, possible owner who routinely does stupid things.

[Bluebellylint]

possibly lying about mileage on bike.

[RVertigo]

Tell him to give you the gauges he removed...

Tach and Speedo are pretty cool to have.  

[Mr. Wolf]

Yeah I wondered how he knows the exact mileage. He said he got rid of the gauges and I could find some on ebay. The price is cheap but I like to live by you get what you pay for.

[Alphamazing]

I wouldn't trust him. At all. Who knows what else is wrong with this thing. Are you willing to put in a considerable amount of time and money into this bike, and even after that not be sure that everything is fixed? If you can get it for $200 or so, turn it into a track bike!