Woohoo! Survived my first week-long GS tour

[surf.seppo]

Hey guys! Ok, so, I just got back 7 days (almost exactly to the hour) after setting out. 1400 miles over the week, and the GS handled beautifully. Shortest driving day: 100 miles, longest: 540 miles.

Since this was my first long tour on any bike, I can't do much, comparison. But here are some random thoughts:

- Putting about 40-50lbs of saddlebags on the tail really evens out the rear suspension. I feel like she compresses softer through the corners and is less squirrely. I did about 200 miles of country roads through Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, and all of the twists and turns felt absolutely brilliant. There were some crazy tight corners that had me down to about 20mph (of course, well within my comfort zone). 

- The buzzing drives me insane! Need to get some handlebar weights, because I swear the buzzing killed my wrists after a couple hours. My longest day was around 11 ( ) hours on the bike, and I was in pain. Tucking low into the wind works really well though. 

- *Love* detachable soft bags. So easy to take on and take off, and they go on secure and easily. Four clicks later, my GS is ready to go. 

- While I'm thinking about bags: Need a tank bag ASAP. Had to try and memorize the next few directions, execute them, and then pull over for a shot of espresso to read the other ones. 

- Speaking of coffee, a cup goes for about $1 throughout virginia, and definitely powered my entire journey. To drink a cup is long enough to read some directions, think about life, and warm up. (And wait for wrists to stop vibrating).

- Parking  sooooo easy. I managed parking at an unnamed University in DC near the front in a motorcycle slot. Didn't get a parking slip, didn't get a ticket. Dodged the gates when I was ready to leave, and was off.

Epic journey. Loads of fun and adventure. Riding the GS was a necessity to get me from Providence to Morgantown and back, and the stops made along the way were fun. The GS was really reliable--no issues at all (minus one bit of overheating in the Bronx ... bad route choice  never use cross b. expressway). I'm hooked. 

[bucks1605]

Glad to hear your ride went so well and you had fun. I haven't been on a ride like that, but hopefully some day I can. Definitely need to get a tank bag, they have those clear map pockets perfect for reading directions.

[surf.seppo]

Yeah, I guess I was just too cheap to spend 30 or 40 for a handy bag. Would've helped with maps and toll moneys. Shucks. Lesson learned. 

[GeeP]

Cool!

I'm suprised you have a buzzing problem.  My GS is smooth as buttah, especially between 70 and 80 indicated.  I have superbike gel grips, they probably help.   

Sounds like you had a good trip all the same.  Where to next?   

[frankieG]

i am pleased that you enjoyed your ride.  gel grips will take care of those annoying vibrations....more so than bare weights. so no pictures? 

[frankieG]

i am glad you enjoyed your trip did u take any pictures?  i agree that gel grips eliminate most if not all of the vibration...more so than any bar end weights.  they are not expensive and easily installed.  hope this helps

[yamahonkawazuki]

or you can remove one grip, and fill bars with bb's. and tehn replace grip

[bucks1605]

or you can remove one grip, and fill bars with bb's. and tehn replace grip

I might do that with my clip ons.

[yamahonkawazuki]

or you can remove one grip, and fill bars with bb's. and tehn replace grip

I might do that with my clip ons.

it changes teh harmonics of teh bars. i did this with my sportster, and my first gs. oh damn it helped. allthewhile not adding too much weight

[ohgood]

- Putting about 40-50lbs of saddlebags on the tail really evens out the rear suspension. I feel like she compresses softer through the corners and is less squirrely. I did about 200 miles of country roads through Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, and all of the twists and turns felt absolutely brilliant. There were some crazy tight corners that had me down to about 20mph (of course, well within my comfort zone). 

- The buzzing drives me insane! Need to get some handlebar weights, because I swear the buzzing killed my wrists

- *Love* detachable soft bags. So easy to take on and take off, and they go on secure and easily. Four clicks later, my GS is ready to go. 

- While I'm thinking about bags: Need a tank bag ASAP. Had to try and memorize the next few directions, execute them, and then pull over for a shot of espresso to read the other ones. 

- Speaking of coffee, a cup goes for about $1 throughout virginia, and definitely powered my entire journey. To drink a cup is long enough to read some directions, think about life, and warm up. (And wait for wrists to stop vibrating).

- Parking  sooooo easy. I managed parking at an unnamed University in DC near the front in a motorcycle slot. Didn't get a parking slip, didn't get a ticket. Dodged the gates when I was ready to leave, and was off.

Epic journey. Loads of fun and adventure. Riding the GS was a necessity to get me from Providence to Morgantown and back, and the stops made along the way were fun. The GS was really reliable--no issues at all (minus one bit of overheating in the Bronx ... bad route choice  never use cross b. expressway). I'm hooked. 

Soft bags rock  !

Yep, packing the bars with lead shot helps.

I need a tank bag too, let me know if you find a non ugly one.

Glad you enjoyed the journey. PLEASE write up your next ride, and include some pictures ! I think I could get along with you just fine.

Thanks for sharing the short summary with us !  

[qwertydude]

You must be a lightweight like me. My rear suspension is set to 2 and it's still a little stiff, some extra weight does keep it planted better especially around bumpy corners where the rear wants to step out on you a little.

I remember my Iron Butt to Vegas and back, about 630 miles in a day. The vibration was bad but not unbearable, to help keep it down just loosen your grip on the handle bars a little, a white knuckle grip will make your hands go numb really quick. I also mostly ride in my own little tuck where my left elbow is on gas tank, it helps to keep you in a comfortable tuck out of the wind and also helps remove some weight off your butt to delay the onset of monkey-butt almost indefinitely. Also I noticed if you loosen the bar end weights just slightly, they help dampen vibrations better.

[yamahonkawazuki]

anti monkeybutt powder FTW

[beRto]

Sounds like a blast! I'm glad your GS held up well!

[bval]

Sounds like you had a nice trip!  You are reaffirming my belief that the GS500 can be a great road touring bike for 1-2 week bike trips. Here are some things I've found that help make it better.

Buzz busters:

• lead shot in handlebars (a must! - you won't believe the difference)
• 17 tooth front sprocket (again, you won't believe the difference for touring)
• lighten your grip
• gel palm gloves and/or handgrips (mine are heated grips, so it has to be gloves only)
• I worry about losing a bar end weight, so I'm reluctant to loosen them, but it may help a bit

Do these things, then sit back and enjoy the ride!

I'm readying myself for a 6-day trip in June and the 17 tooth sprocket was a dead simple upgrade and an excellent conversion for touring. You lose a little HP for that quick-off-the-line street riding, but I'm not a speed demon anyway so it suits my long daily commutes (1 hour each way) and my touring needs much better. I won't be going back to a 16. The one I bought was a Sunstar, but Renthal makes them too.

I also put GEL insoles in my boots to help with the "foot freeze" from that vibration.

A nice fitting magnetic tank bag for not too much dinero . . . Rapid Transit Recon 19. I don't like expandable mega-bags in front of me, so I went for a low profile bag and its, sporty, streamlined shape looks really great on the bike instead of looking like a travel trunk strapped to your tank. I don't even notice it's there until I need it. Lots of room, integrated rain cover, fairly good quaility, won't interfere with handlebar movement.
http://www.newenoughhp.com/luggage/tank_bags/rapid_transit/recon_19_magnetic_motorcycle_tank_bag.html

Might be switching to Avon Azzaro tires too . . . haven't decided yet. Heard they are a nice touring tire for the GS500F, but the OEM Bridgestones are nice too and get rated quite well in comparison reviews.

I might add some comfort foam to the top of the seat cushion just to help with pressure points, but being able to change riding positions slightly on a long run is an important key to saving your butt.  It's called the L A P T e c h n i q u e. LAP stands for Long-distance Alternation of Position. This riding technique involves periodically changing position by moving from front to back on the seat, allowing the driver to rotate the pelvis, change the pressure points and stretch the arms and legs.   Check out this info page: http://www.sargentcycle.com/csroadcom.htm#LAP You'll see on this page that the GS500 actually has one of the more suitable riding positions for touring and using the LAP technique.


The GS500F's seat is actually pretty good except for the pressure points. Here's an interesting, low cost option: (scroll about half way down web page to "Modify your stock seat" section)
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Seats.html
I've also heard that just adding a 1/2" layer of firm comfort foam to the top of the existing foam works really well. (under the cover of course) I'm also considering an upgrade to Corbin or something, but that's a lot of dinero $$!

Chain oiler - I'm using a Loobman, but any decent chain oiler will lengthen the life of your chain, reduces chain cleaning frequency and makes chain maintenance on a trip so simple it's rediculous.

Tour On!

[Toogoofy317]

+1 on the rapid transit bag. I love mine! For help with vibration due to gripping throttle too much I use a cramp buster cost about ten bucks and less tan a minute to install!

I was thinking about inserting a gel pad into the seat. There is a guy here in the Orlando area will do it for about 75 bucks.

I wanna do a long trip and enjoy my gs500f! Got pics?

Mary S.

[surf.seppo]

The Transit bag looks sweet, and thanks for the idea about the shot in the bars. I may go for gel grips (especially since I'm switching bars soon). Adding gel to the seat sounds like a great idea. I did notice the seat was a bit wide after a few hours.

Unfortunately, I didn't get too many pictures (read: about 5) from my trip. Need to dust out the digital camera for the next tour. (I'll put up whatever I did take once I plug in my camera).

So: the rear shock thing. I'm a bit of a lightweight (about 150lbs). I see lots of people mentioning on this board that their suspension is set to some number or another number. What do these numbers mean, and how do I change mine? (or should I change mine? I like it for touring, and occasionally I ride 2up).

I gotta say, the Bridgestones are *great* for touring. They work excellent in the dry, and are surprisingly grippy in the wet. Of course, the tires I had on before my stockies were a bit old and hard, so it might just be new rubber.