New member new bike

[dcoffey48]

Hi all.


I was glad to find this forum.  Lots of good info here.

It's been about 15 years but I finally got another bike.  I picked up a 1990  GS500  and  I just love it.  My last bike was an '81 Honda XL185 purchased  new when I was about 17.   I rode it for years until it was totaled about 15 years ago.

The GS500 is just what I was looking for.  Light and easy to maneuver with plenty of power.   (I suppose "plenty of power" is relative but remember I came from a 185)





It's in good running condition right now (The picture was taken before the new tires were put on yesterday) so I will hold off on any  major mods until later.  (rejetting, airfilter, exhaust, etc.)


Dave.

[scottpA_GS]

 Awesome!

Welcome to the board  Seems to be a busy weekend for new GS Owners 

[reminor]

Shiny one! Congrats!!!

The rims are begging for red reflective tape from Tapeworks.com. I was amazed how much more clean and 'unified' my yellow bike looked after I put yellow reflective rim stripes on.

[ymatt11]

how did you get them on so straight?  I got better as I went on but the fist side is BAD... I got enough left to redo it, but I think I might rip them off and do them again next summer... any tips?

Shiny one! Congrats!!!

The rims are begging for red reflective tape from Tapeworks.com. I was amazed how much more clean and 'unified' my yellow bike looked after I put yellow reflective rim stripes on.

[reminor]

^^^^ No tricks really. Just a steady hand.

I made sure the tape is warm enough (to be flexible) before proceeding (as they advise). So I put the tape out in the sun for about 30 minutes on a warm day. Then I staged the bike on the center stand and applied the stripe on the rear wheel, one side at a time. No tricks, do just as they tell you to do - stretch a little, apply, rotate the wheel 3-5 inches (`15cm), repeat. I kept the tape stretched a little all the time, incl. while rotating. Just a tad. And constantly eyed the process to make sure it looks good. If it goes wrong (I had it a couple of times) you'll see it. Stop and pull that little mishap out, reposition and press on.

I lifted my front wheel by putting a wooden block under the engine just enough to spin the wheel by hand.
I was surprised how well I did actually.

Try practicing with a roll of scotch tape or electrical tape if you feel uneasy. Do the whole side with a 99c roll of thin electrical tape. Cheap price for a good lesson. I think it's made of pretty similar material, so you'll get a feel how the Tapeworks stuff needs to be handled.. Practice makes perfect.

Good luck! 

[Jay_wolf]

Thats a Really Good Idea. Ill Have to try that!