2006 GS500F Lemon Law In Pursuit *New Advice Needed*

[06GSowner]

   For those of you who have lost track of my repairs after so many posts. Here they are in order. I purchased an 06' GS500F on June 20th.


       Date In     "Repair" Performed                           Approx. Mileage                             Repair time and Date back

1. June 21st   "loose bolt or nut on oil line"                     11                                              3 Days   June 23rd
2. July 1st       "Blown Head Gasket"                                 230                                            19 Days July 22nd
3. July 24th     "2nd Blown Head Gasket"                          400                                             4 Days   July 26th
4. July 27th     "Replacing Head In Engine"                        500                                             To Be Determined


I am now awaiting a response from the attorney about taking my case. Lets hope all goes well and I get my refund. Then I get to decide which bike to replace the old one with....another gs500f,ninja 500, or harley sportster. Probably another GS500F (Really like the bike but reliability is becoming worrysome on the 06's it seems).

[mike_mike]

that's insane! good luck with your claims.

[tussey]

wow....are there other reports of 06s with these problems? Maybe something got screwed up with the manufactering process....

well I know you are questioning the reliability of the gs500 but I can, and so can many others, tell you the thing is a beast and can take tons of abuse. There are plenty of 89s out there that are still running strong, mine included 

[rangerbrown]

get the ninja 650. 2006 is the last year for the 500 ninja

[sharkfin25]

wow....are there other reports of 06s with these problems? Maybe something got screwed up with the manufactering process....

Well, I have the same exact problem. Bought the bike on June 27th, took it in July 11th with 269 miles on it. They still have it as of today, July 29th. In fact, I called on the 25th and they told me the parts weren't even in yet. We'll see.

[TragicImage]

what are you people doing to your bikes?


Mine, also an 06 has something like, 5k on the clock so far, and not a thing wrong yet..... not even a fuel starvation issue.


*knock on wood*

[annguyen1981]

Mine's an '04, no problems (mechanically anyway)

[sharkfin25]

what are you people doing to your bikes?


Mine, also an 06 has something like, 5k on the clock so far, and not a thing wrong yet..... not even a fuel starvation issue.


*knock on wood*

I don't know. I never had my bike above 5k rpm's. Just started leaking oil all over my right boot and the right side of the bike all of a sudden. Pretty crappy way to start your motorcycling life, eh? 

[bbq]

get the ninja 650. 2006 is the last year for the 500 ninja

Sorry for going off topic. Is the 650r the replacement for the ninja 500? Or are they going to bring out a new 500cc bike?

[stllplyswthcars]

Dude, don't let that specific lemon sour you on the GS500 breed, I love GS almost as much as my woman.  As for your other two choices the one will be too noisy and the other has that strange mid-section missing from its' fairing.

[blue05twin]

I got an 05 and no problems with the thing yet, I routinly (sp?) open the throttle till 10K and have not had a problem.  Your bike is probally just a lemon and the mech's that are working in that dealer don't know what they are doing.

Ninja 650r if you go that route head to canada they have a beautiful champange (sp?) color 

[rangerbrown]

get the ninja 650. 2006 is the last year for the 500 ninja

Sorry for going off topic. Is the 650r the replacement for the ninja 500? Or are they going to bring out a new 500cc bike?

the 650 is the replacemnet.
its far better in many areas, its EFI, more power but not like a 4 cly 600cc. i hope to get on one soon.

[TragicImage]

the 650r was actually the first bike I was thinking about....

[Lukewarm Wilson]

What is this  people talking up kwakas over our beloved GS's you are all traitors to the cause the lot of you ohh the shame

I spoke to a couier who owns one and he said the performance was great but didn't have much else good to say about it he especially mentioned the suspension front and rear was very vague which sounds like the GS but having said that for the money saved over the kawka you could put good suspension on a GS and probably out handle the Kwaka having said that you could spend even more on the Kwaka and blow the GS into the weeds but I'll stick with the GS 

[dgyver]

  ....I am now awaiting a response from the attorney about taking my case. Lets hope all goes well and I get my refund. Then I get to decide which bike to replace the old one with....another gs500f,ninja 500, or harley sportster. Probably another GS500F (Really like the bike but reliability is becoming worrysome on the 06's it seems).

What state are you in? The Lemon Law does vary among states.

In SC, it requires 3 documented repairs of the same item and all within 1 year. I had a car that qualified but I did not know this until after the fact.

[sharkfin25]

   For those of you who have lost track of my repairs after so many posts. Here they are in order. I purchased an 06' GS500F on June 20th.


       Date In     "Repair" Performed                           Approx. Mileage                             Repair time and Date back

1. June 21st   "loose bolt or nut on oil line"                     11                                              3 Days   June 23rd
2. July 1st       "Blown Head Gasket"                                 230                                            19 Days July 22nd
3. July 24th     "2nd Blown Head Gasket"                          400                                             4 Days   July 26th
4. July 27th     "Replacing Head In Engine"                        500                                             To Be Determined


I am now awaiting a response from the attorney about taking my case. Lets hope all goes well and I get my refund. Then I get to decide which bike to replace the old one with....another gs500f,ninja 500, or harley sportster. Probably another GS500F (Really like the bike but reliability is becoming worrysome on the 06's it seems).

Any updates on this? I'm at 21 days in the shop as of today. When I called on the 25th, they told me no parts yet and that they would call when the parts came in. At this point, I'm assuming they still don't even have the parts to fix the bike from Suzuki. So, 9 more days and I'll be testing the California Lemon Law. Just to cover my behind, I sent Suzuki a letter telling them everything that has happened up to this point and letting them know I'll be wanting a new bike or full cash refund if I don't have my bike back in the next 9 days.

Anyway, I'm interested to know how this is going for you 06GSOwner.

[06GSowner]

My attorney is filing a lawsuit against suzuki on 3 different accounts. 1st is breach of contract. Can't recall the other 2 right at the moment. My lawsuit will be filed as soon as I pay the state filing fee and send in the paperwork. We shall see if Suzuki wants to settle or go to court. And yes my bike is still in service. I've been working 14 hour days for a week, haven't had time to work out alll the details yet. I will keep you guys posted.

[sharkfin25]

My attorney is filing a lawsuit against suzuki on 3 different accounts. 1st is breach of contract. Can't recall the other 2 right at the moment. My lawsuit will be filed as soon as I pay the state filing fee and send in the paperwork. We shall see if Suzuki wants to settle or go to court. And yes my bike is still in service. I've been working 14 hour days for a week, haven't had time to work out alll the details yet. I will keep you guys posted.

Wow. I can't believe it's gone this far. I would think Suzuki would just recognize that they screwed something up and try to make it right for the customer. I hope it doesn't come to that for me. I don't have the time or resources to go through a lawsuit. I'll probably just sell the bike when I get it back and buy something else. I did mention in my letter that I had heard of others having the same problem with the '06 GS. Maybe they'll look into it.

[coll0412]

Yeah dude that totally sucks that the dealershiped f***ed you over...but going to court with them will suck

THEM=Millions of $
You= hundreds of $

it sucks how money rules this country justice system...but I say...fight the power

[06GSowner]

I havent filed the lawsuit yet. Not until I send in the fee. I don't know much about law and think everything should go ok but i'm still worried I could get screwed somehow in a lawsuit. Suzuki is a big company and I'm sure they know every way to get out of things and also if I ever want to buy another Suzuki I better pray I don't have problems because I'm sure they will remember the lawsuit in the future. I think I may give Suzuki one last call and just say "I'm done dealing with this bike, I pay the payments and insurance to leave it in repair for 90% of my ownership of it,I don't wanna take legal action and don't even know if I have a case but if I can't get a new bike and you guys can't do the right thing for my situation then I'm going to have to find an alternative way to resolve the situation." Any opinions on what I should do or any other advice?