Is a GS right for me?

[sclay115]

Been without a bike for a few months now, been working on building up a Vintage Cafe bike, but I want something to ride in the meantime. Always been interested in the GS, but was wondering if it will work for me for what I want/need it to do.

Most of my riding is city, to and from work and what not. But I want a bike that can be made into a very formidable twisty machine. I know the GS is no powerhouse, but my Bandit 400 wasn't either, and I did fine, at least off the highway. Problem I had with the 400 was on the highway, say 80-85ish crusing speed, the engine is seeing a good 10k, stock gearing. Needless to say a little buzzy.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a sport tourer, but I do want it to comfortably do about that speed and still have some gear/power left, and maybe be a little more relaxed at those speeds, engine wise.

I know of the many options for turning them into carving machines, Kat front end, Bandit 400 rear wheel or Kat rear wheel, and I have seen them all done up, but, say put next to a SV650, rider skill aside, would the GS hang? I know that seems like an objective question, but maybe someone who has ridden both can comment, and I know straight line speed is no question, but I'm more concerned about the corner stability and the ability of the chassis to handle the load without any objection.

So what do you all think? I like the GS, styling and simplicity wise, but was just curious about those few things...before I go out and buy one.

Steve

[Wrecent_Wryder]

A6

[hmmmnz]

the gs will forfill all your needs, it will never keep up with the sv,
around town its sweet and on open roads its fine, ive had mine at 100 mph (indicated) all day (obviously had to stop for gas a few times) but i had no problems with it,
in the twisties it lacks the power coming out of a corner compared to the sv, but will happily take corners at speed, it just requires a little more gear shifting to get the power when you need it.
if you can afford the 650 then i would get that,
but if your looking for a reliable bike with easy maintance and loads of spares available then you can't go wrong with the 20 year old design of the gs

[poolshark]

I'd get an older GS if you could find it: try to wrangle a good deal, then sell it later for the same price or more. Like everybody says, it's no powerhouse, but it's probably the best bang-for-the-buck bike I've ever owned. Maintainence is a breeze, and it's just... fun.

[sclay115]

Seems to be a standard trend here, easy to work on and fun to ride. Which is pretty much what I'm going for. The only thing that has ever 'looked' hard on the GS, so it seems, is the valve adjustment, shims, ugh. Is this a big of a deal as I think it is? And I mean, after setting them, how long until I need to check them again? Everything else looks simple and easy to do, which I like, but the valve actuation looks very similar to my old Toyota, which was a real PITA to deal with.

Steve

[Egaeus]

The valve adjustment is easy with the MotionPro tool. 

I've been fighting with carburetors since I bought the bike.  It was neglected, so just about every orifice was clogged.  I think I found the last one just now, but putting it together and going for a test ride just got rained out.  It's been sufficiently irritating that I won't buy another carbureted bike. 

If you buy a GS, get one that runs right and don't neglect it.  However, I'd buy the SV if you can afford it since you're at least somewhat experienced.  It's a much more refined machine, even if it's not an I-4 supersport.

[sclay115]

Yeah my buddy has an SV, love the thing, sort of thinking I might just scrap the Cafe project, as I have recently learned I need to move soon, and I'd really hate to keep moving parts around. And in the end, it would be really difficult to 'use' as it'd be a purpose built machine that would be almost too clean to want to ride. Rather get something I can just take out and not worry about it.

But I hear ya on the SV, seems like people progress up to that point starting from a GS or EX or whatnot. And I love, obsessed with, that L twin rumble. And lately, seen a bunch of SV's for around 2500-3000. Not bad.

But let me throw this out there. Say a clean GS runs me 1500, with 1000$ worth of new bits, there is not way it'd run down a SV on a twisty backroad is there?

Steve

[Egaeus]

All things being equal, not a chance in hell.  The GS's 2 valve per cylinder parallel twin just can't put out the power.  You'll maybe be able to squeeze 10-15% more HP normally aspirated with bolt-on mods.  There's no way you're going to go much past 50 (if that far), much less the 70-some HP of the SV.  Just be sure, unless you like carbs, to get an 03+ SV. 

[sclay115]

All things being equal, not a chance in hell.  The GS's 2 valve per cylinder parallel twin just can't put out the power.  You'll maybe be able to squeeze 10-15% more HP normally aspirated with bolt-on mods.  There's no way you're going to go much past 50 (if that far), much less the 70-some HP of the SV.  Just be sure, unless you like carbs, to get an 03+ SV. 

Heh, see I used to have a real hatred for carbs. Had two old Datsuns, both with Weber's, one 510 with twin 44DCOE's, then a 240z with triple's. But once I got my Bandit, (4 CV Mikuni's), I learned to work on them, and quick, and now, I like the simplicity of them. EFI is great, don't get me wrong, but most of the car's I've built have been injected, and I'm just tired of diagnosing computers and wiring and the like. Carbs are easy now for me. And, I've heard real bad things about in adequate EFI mapping on most bikes. Big dead spots right off of idle and such, carbs never seem to give me that problem. Granted, walking out to a bike, hitting the 'go' button and just not worrying about it does seem enticing.....

Steve

[werase643]

buy a clean un beat to sh!t F2 / F3.
And you will be happy

[Susuki_Jah]

Yeah my buddy has an SV, love the thing, sort of thinking I might just scrap the Cafe project, as I have recently learned I need to move soon, and I'd really hate to keep moving parts around. And in the end, it would be really difficult to 'use' as it'd be a purpose built machine that would be almost too clean to want to ride. Rather get something I can just take out and not worry about it.

But I hear ya on the SV, seems like people progress up to that point starting from a GS or EX or whatnot. And I love, obsessed with, that L twin rumble. And lately, seen a bunch of SV's for around 2500-3000. Not bad.

But let me throw this out there. Say a clean GS runs me 1500, with 1000$ worth of new bits, there is not way it'd run down a SV on a twisty backroad is there?

Steve

its all about the rider man,  the GS has an advantage in the corners as it was told to me by an ex racer.  it doesnt have enough power to throw your rear wheel out in a hard corner so you can really get down on her on the curves and back roads. with the more powerfull bikes you have to balance your power a little more. I have heard many stories of the GS out running many bikes on the back roads... straight line NO WAY.. twisties TOTALLY doable. 

[scratch]

The only thing that has ever 'looked' hard on the GS, so it seems, is the valve adjustment, shims.  Is this as big of a deal as I think it is?

Shim-over-bucket is far easier than the shim-under-bucket design of the SV, shim-under-bucket requires cam removal and a calibrated torque wrench to retorque the camcap bolts upon re-instalation.

And I mean, after setting them, how long until I need to check them again?

Manufacturer suggests every 4000 miles.  What is the valve adjustment interval on the SV?

[sclay115]

The only thing that has ever 'looked' hard on the GS, so it seems, is the valve adjustment, shims.  Is this as big of a deal as I think it is?

Shim-over-bucket is far easier than the shim-under-bucket design of the SV, shim-under-bucket requires cam removal and a calibrated torque wrench to retorque the camcap bolts upon re-instalation.

And I mean, after setting them, how long until I need to check them again?

Manufacturer suggests every 4000 miles.  What is the valve adjustment interval on the SV?

You know, that's a really good point, didn't even think of that. Comparatively the adjustments would be much easier to deal with the shim on bucket setup as apposed to some other ones. I mean, the rocker arm with the screw type adjustment seems to be the easiest, but I suppose shim on bucket would come in a close second.

One a side note, what would I expect to get out of a good running GS power wise?

Steve

[Wrecent_Wryder]

T4

[dgyver]

.....  What is the valve adjustment interval on the SV?

15,000 miles

[pres589]

There's a pile of options out there.  For the money, if you want something a little more comfortable and all-around, don't forget about the Katana 600 or 750.  They're a little different looking no matter what year we're talking about, but they're like the GS; been around forever, not a lot of changes.  And for shame, no one here mentioned the Bandit! 

What's the budget really like?  Note that $2k vs $3k makes a huge difference in what you end up with at the end of the day.  And if time at ~80mph is a big deal, the GS probably isn't a great idea, just because of the exposure to the wind plus the power levels that it can easily produce. 

[ducati_nolan]

I cruise my GS comfortalbly at 75 to 80mph all the time without problems, It'll go faster but it gets a little bit uncomfortable.

But let me throw this out there. Say a clean GS runs me 1500, with 1000$ worth of new bits, there is not way it'd run down a SV on a twisty backroad is there?

You could with new suspension and nitrous, but if you aren't looking for a project (sounds like you already have one) just get an SV, Kattana, Bandit, etc. It wouldn't cost much more and you wouldn't have to screw with it.

The GS will do everything you originally said you needed it to do, but it won't be the fatest. They are, in my oppinion, the most reliable, lowest cost, and capable bikes out there though.

have fun with whatever. 

[sclay115]

I guess I did sort of run off track there for a bit. The project I'm working is just for fun, who knows what I'll do with it when I'm done. And in no way am I really looking to boost my ego or prove something to anyone else. My previous bike was a 400, so imagine the look when I told people that. And I'm certainly not looking for a powerhouse, but I do want something that I can ride on the highway with.

Budget for right now, since I do have another project, is more sub 2k, I could obviously wait and save up more for said SV or F2/3, but I would much rather do something different, like a heavily modified GS. Ride the GS, stock until the project is done(if it gets done), and then put the GS under the knife.

And I guess some of my statements got misinterpreted, I'm not looking to line up next an SV and have a drag race, I just want to know if it could hang in the corners, which it seems, from what I've read, it can, and would. Granted, rider ability aside, and I'm not trying to say I am a pro rider, I just want to know what it 'can' do.

All in all, I appreciate everyone's input, and it looks like the hunt for a GS is on. Seems to be able to fit the bill for right now, and hopefully will work for me later as well, which, from what I've read through searching, will as well.

Steve

[Wrecent_Wryder]

Y4

[pres589]

If I knew then what I know now about my GS, I would have done the following straight away;

- Kreme the tank if you see any rust in the carbs or elsewhere in the fuel system.  Mine had rust issues that I had hoped to get around with changing the filter often, but that's dumb.  I was afraid of the acid treatment, I shouldn't have been.
- Picked up the Pingel petcock .  I feel a whole lot better about the simplicity that gives me versus the twin petcock with vacuum setup from factory.  This probably isn't a popular idea with a lot of people here, I don't know.  So take it with a grain of salt.
- Rejet.  Mine was worse than many in that it came with a Vance and Hines system and still had the stock jetting.  There's a ton of jetting threads here, and depending on the year the carbs are different so don't worry about this until you pick up a GS.
- Decent set of tires.  I'm still working on that one, will have some Pirelli Sport Demons mounted within the next two weeks, I really should have done this straight away but it took a little while to figure out how crap the ones in mine really were. 

After that it's kind of up to you what you want to do with your GS.  There really aren't tons of aftermarket options to get confused by, like there's really two or three exhaust systems for it and it's it.  This is kind of a drawback but it's also a plus in that it's to figure out which is the "best".