The GS500/E/F as a Sport Bike

[gs500fromnb]

Why does this culture have an obsessive need to label and categorize every freakin thing??  That is the better question.

I agree 100%

[gsJack]

Why does this culture have an obsessive need to label and categorize every freakin thing??  That is the better question.

I agree 100%

Now we're getting there.  Good answer.  I ride a bike because it's fun and that is my main reason for riding.  It really does not matter what you call my bike as long as I still find it fun to ride.  

There have been many tests of the GS500 over the years and many comparos between it and the Kawi EX500 and even the ones that have been most unfavorable towards the GS generally end up saying it is fun to ride and that is what it is all about.  I just threw in the "If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand" borrowed from Harley fans T-shirts to explain the intangeable things about a bike they find favorable but can't really explain to others with facts and test figures.

It would probably be considered cruel and unusal punishment of a child now, but way back 60+ years ago when I was in elementary school it was quite common to make a child(frequently me:-) write something over and over again till they got it right. Go write this or that 100 or 500 times the teacher would say.  

So lets all say/write it 100 more times, "It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than to ride a fast bike slow" and then go hop on our GSs and just have fun.  Just like at home, my sense of humor generally goes completley unnoticed.  

[scratch]

Just like at home, my sense of humor generally goes completley unnoticed.

You're not alone. (and I got it)

[thirdman]

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'kay... i'm done.  Gonna go ride my slow bike fast now! :mrgreen:

[pandy]

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'kay... i'm done.  Gonna go ride my slow bike fast now! :mrgreen:

k, I did, too (see above...I cheat )....time for a nice, long ride!  :mrgreen:

[JetSwing]

my bike is too slow to ride fast  

[GSRider]

While I peek my head in here at times just to get some tips and tricks, I don't generally come in to defend the GS.
I have a hard enough time doing that on another website I frequent a lot more often.

There was a person who was asking about the GS and performance numbers, etc. All the newbie stuff that one would ask when thinking about the mighty GS as a first bike.

Here is what I wrote:

While I seem to be the exception to the rule, most people buy the mighty GS to learn on for a year or two (Buy used) and then when they think they are ready, they sell the bike for near the same they bought it for, to "step up" into the larger classes.

I've had my '00 GS now for a bit over 5 years, logged about 30,000 miles (Including taking a year off because of financial issues/broke the bike) and have had so much fun.

I had thought I had learned all there was to know about the GS within the first 2 years. In the past 3 years though, I'm doing more than I ever have before. I think people get bored with the acceleration before they reach the limits of what the bike was actually designed to do.

In town, the bike handles like a dream. It never feels like a pig. Keep it in second gear, and you can squirt into any lane as you please.

On the highway, droning along, yeah...it's boring. But it always will be with all bikes; even a car.

In the twisty stuff, I've taken quite a few corners at speeds just under what SpikedLemon does on his 929, and pretty much right on par when he is piloting his DRZ-400SM. I've lost more than a few other riders on thier 600 series race reps, and I smoked a GSXR-1K pilot in some real tight technical stuff.

In a straight line race, you'll get slaughtered. The bike was never designed to be a straight line racer. This bike will teach you that 39hp/27ft/lb torque (By my numbers) is all you need to rail through corners/traffic. The best thing about the GS is that the race rep bikes have to slow down hard to get set up for that corner. You (with experience ) will roll off the throttle, and push the bars until you feel something touching down.

And the best thing is that if you've never ridden any other bike, you'll never notice that the suspension is like "trying to stuff a wet noodle into a square hole" as SpikedLemon puts it

You also won't know just how comfortable the GS is until you get rid of it. Nor will you realize how much damn wind blast you get. Or how indestructable the bike is until you wreck it. (I wrecked at 55mph, and had to replace the speedo cable, and headlamp. The last one at 90mph tweaked my forks VERY slightly, my knee put a dent in the tank, and my shoulders took out the mirrors.)

Sure, by today's standards the brakes are soft/crap, the chassis is unorganized, the suspension is bargain bin, the power is on par with a Honda 750 Shadow.

But you have to know what you are getting yourself into.

This bike spells FUN all over it. Many an esport member have bought the bike, and quite a few still have a special place in thier hearts for thier mighty GS. Right 1slowF3?

I just gotta win the lottery or something to get a stable mate for my GS. I thinks she's lonely.

The basic jist of the post is that you have to know what the bike is designed for, not what people's conceptions (misguided or otherwise) are of the bike.

I own a slow ass bike that surprises quite a few squids in my neck of the woods.

[funwithtwins]

On Suzuki web site, GS500F is considered to be a sportbike. I believe it IS a sportbike. People call Ninja 250 a sportbike, why not Suzuki GS500F?

the ninja 250 is liquid-cooled and has clip-ons..

OIC its been cleared up every liquid cooled motorcycle is a sportbike gotcha. lol porsche has used air cool engines are they not sports cars because of that.  :dunno:

[Chris_B]

Ducati makes some pretty sporty air-cooled bikes.

[what?!]

check it out.  according to these guys, the gsf is a sport bike  
http://www.atlashondayamaha.com/new_vehicle_list.asp?sid=07642481X10K16K2005J9I38I05JPMQ1174R0&Manufacturer=4&Category=1&CatDesc=Motorcycles

so i guess the e is a nekkid sport...

[Alphamazing]

The only reason they consider it a sport bike is because Suzuki considers it a sportbike. Check the Suzuki website. It's listed under Sportbike, not Standard.

[Badger]

The only reason they consider it a sport bike is because Suzuki considers it a sportbike. Check the Suzuki website. It's listed under Sportbike, not Standard.

Not to prolong a fairly fruitless debate, but I would think the "sport" nature has less to do with the engine and more to do with the rake.  After all, "sportiness" is all about how quick you turn, not necessarily how fast you go straight.  Just my $.02.