I haven't been on this site as much...

[Alphamazing]

When I lived in the dorms I rode my bike to my calculus class at times when I had somewhere to go afterwards (across campus a few blocks away, at least) and would park right outside the building. I walked along and saw literally DOZENS of supersports, both 600cc and 1000cc variants. Walking along and looking at their chicken strips made me laugh. Most, with only one or two exceptions on occasion, still had unscrubbed and brand new tire at least an inch wide on both edges. It was nice to then walk up to my bike and squint to see the quarter-inch to non-existant piece of unused rubber. And that's with just around town riding, usually. It's true, the GS forces you to learn how to ride.

If you don't like the looks, why not just go naked then?

[annguyen1981]

My chicken strips are down to about a 1/4" as well...  I'm pretty proud of that...  I just got that mod done these past two months

[annguyen1981]

I'm not gonna argue; it's just sad to see you go so soon.

I'm not leaving quite yet...  I'm taking my MSF ERC on 7-22-06 (I think)...  I'm gonna use the GS just in case I drop her.

It's kind of disturbing to hear you say that GS500F riders  have to face at some point that they're not really riding a "true" sportbike.

I'm sorry about this statement...  I meant SS (supersport).  The GS is a GREAT sportsbike.

[Grainbelt]

Why buy a 600cc supersport for primarily street use? With all the bike choices available these days, I just don't get it.

If you are that busy, maybe you should mod your bike so that it is more usefull, and you can ride it more often, i.e. put on a top case so you can run errands more easily. The best bike is the one that gets ridden. A new sportbike that sits in the garage all week doesn't sound like fun.

[annguyen1981]

Why buy a 600cc supersport for primarily street use? With all the bike choices available these days, I just don't get it.

If you are that busy, maybe you should mod your bike so that it is more usefull, and you can ride it more often, i.e. put on a top case so you can run errands more easily. The best bike is the one that gets ridden. A new sportbike that sits in the garage all week doesn't sound like fun.

Yes I am busy, but as noted in an earlier post by me, I'm still riding to and from all the locations I need to go to.  It's not like my bike has been sitting parked for days on end (maybe during the heavy rain).

[jen_]

My $0.02:

As much as is sounds offensive, I sortof agree with that statement about the GS being a standard bike disguised as a sportbike.  I too have been looking at other bikes, and the more I sit on the supersports, the more sedate the gs feels to me.  I ride on weekends with gixxers, and cbr-rrs, and 636s.  Last weekend I sat on a gixxer and didn't want to get off.  I was so close to buying it.  I had to keep reminding myself there are better uses for $10k (the financing guys are great at making you forget how much you're actually spending).

Plus, I am still torn on the direction I want my riding to go.  I want to go to a trackday and try it out.  But I still want to take some longer bike roadtrips.  So do I ride a supersport (mmm gix6) or a tourer (a la honda interceptor)?  My tankbag wont even fit on a new gixxer's wierd-shaped tank.  The GS lets me avoid making this decision.  And gets kick-ass gas mileage in the meantime.

So, since I am leaning towards sporty right now, I ordered the SM bars, and some suspension.  I'm guessing I need rearsets, too, since I am always putting my toes on the pegs to make my feet feel farther back.  Does that make it a supersport? Nope.  But I am constantly amazed that 90% of people look at my bike and a gix1K, and don't really see any difference.

[Alphamazing]

My $0.02:

As much as is sounds offensive, I sortof agree with that statement about the GS being a standard bike disguised as a sportbike.  I too have been looking at other bikes, and the more I sit on the supersports, the more sedate the gs feels to me.  I ride on weekends with gixxers, and cbr-rrs, and 636s.  Last weekend I sat on a gixxer and didn't want to get off.  I was so close to buying it.  I had to keep reminding myself there are better uses for $10k (the financing guys are great at making you forget how much you're actually spending).

Plus, I am still torn on the direction I want my riding to go.  I want to go to a trackday and try it out.  But I still want to take some longer bike roadtrips.  So do I ride a supersport (mmm gix6) or a tourer (a la honda interceptor)?  My tankbag wont even fit on a new gixxer's wierd-shaped tank.  The GS lets me avoid making this decision.  And gets kick-ass gas mileage in the meantime.

So, since I am leaning towards sporty right now, I ordered the SM bars, and some suspension.  I'm guessing I need rearsets, too, since I am always putting my toes on the pegs to make my feet feel farther back.  Does that make it a supersport? Nope.  But I am constantly amazed that 90% of people look at my bike and a gix1K, and don't really see any difference.

Well, for all practical purposes the GS can keep up with supersports at street speeds if ridden correctly. I ride pretty regularly with guys on supersports and guys on FZ1s (a slightly detuned YZF-R1). I can keep up with them in the twisties. I can go long distances fairly easily with my GS too. I took a 600 mile round trip to Nacogdoches a month or so back, and regularly ride back and forth between here and San Antonio, which is 90 miles one way. Easy stuff on the GS, even with SM bars.

You'll totally feel like you have a different bike when you get your suspension upgrades. It's amazing how much difference they make.

[blue05twin]

I don't see why it seems everyone thats getting a bigger bike gets put down for wanting a bigger bike.  I look at bike purchases just like I do car's.  When I got my first car it was not sport car hell it wasn't even a new car just something that would get me from point A to point B without breaking down and that I could improve my driving.  Did I ever push the car to it's limits?  No.. did I have to upgrade my car?  No.
But I did want something that I liked the looks of and that I loved.  When I got my Cobra did I race it on the street or act like every stop light was starting tree at a dragstip?  No. 

Just because you havent pushed the limits of your bike doesn't mean that you should not get a new one even more powerful one.  Hell you would probally be breaking the law riding on the street pushing a bike to it's limit even the GS. 

Yes I know cars and bikes are different, and if he was a new rider then I would tell him to take the MSF and get a GS but he has 4K miles exp on the GS if he wants  to move up and can afford to why not?  The argument that " you have not ridden the GS to it's full potental "  is lame, seeing that would be illegal and irresponsible to ride like that on the street.

Oh and my wife is taking my GS and I'm looking at getting another one.  I just happen to like the GS and think it would be fun to have the same bike as the wife. 

[Phaedrus]

No one is putting him down for wanting to upgrade. But I think he is "reaching", ie, thinking that a bigger, more powerful and expensive bike will somehow fill a need better. If anything, we're just looking out for him.

Why drop $8k into a bike that you ride exactly the same way as a bike you already have?  For a little more flash? Sure, ok. It is his money, and if he wants to spend his money like that then more power to him. And like you said, if he really pushed the limits of the GS on the street it would be illegal, you know damn sure that a more powerful bike will certainly get him into trouble on the street if he even attempts to ride it to it's limits.  So then, what is the point? The GS and the new bike will both go 65, with "only" a couple seconds difference in 0-60. So obviously he just wants a little more flash and an added "cool factor". Ok, fine - his money, right? 

But he solicited oppinions, and got them. Nothing wrong with that. He can and will do what he pleases, as he should. But it is usually a good idea to listen to people with a little more experience about things like this; that is the whole idea of a support community. 

[annguyen1981]

No one is putting him down for wanting to upgrade. But I think he is "reaching", ie, thinking that a bigger, more powerful and expensive bike will somehow fill a need better. If anything, we're just looking out for him.

This may be true.  I'm not denying that.  My situation is more like Jen_'s.  I don't however, go on long rides (maybe 45 minutes at most, rarely) so I don't need a touring style bike.  And SS bikes are not too uncomfortable NOT to ride for that long of a period.

But he solicited oppinions, and got them. Nothing wrong with that. He can and will do what he pleases, as he should. But it is usually a good idea to listen to people with a little more experience about things like this; that is the whole idea of a support community. 

Yes, I asked for the community's opinion, and I got it.

UPDATED TERMINATION LIST:
Jen_
blue05twin
AlphaFire XS [ADDED]
Phaedrus [ADDED]


j/k guys.  I'm not one of those psycho's that go around killing people cause they don't have the same views as me...  I go around killing people cause it's fun.   

[Alphamazing]

dood, it's a 5 (five) not an S (essssssss)

Crazy Asian. 

But yeah man, it's your money and your choice, so if you really want to, go for it! Personally, I really like the old carbureted sportbikes in terms of styling (for the most part). The Ninja and R6 were GORGEOUS bikes then:

2000 ZX-6R


2002 R6:


Freakin' gorgeous.