WHO are you and where are you from?

[GynZi]

Hey all, Pete from Finland. Another crazy finn who rides his bike from january to december in ice and snow 

My '98 GS500E is my second bike, the previous one was a 250cc ninja that i had from 2003 to 2006.

[TobiGS]

Welcome to the forum...not to worry about the technical skills, they come with experience...get yourself a manual for the bike, the GS500 is one of the easiest bikes to work on so it will be a great learning tool for you...

Thanks!
Well, the oil change (with filter of course) went quite smooth, last week - no broken bolts, no leaks... so there's hope!
Will definitely consider getting a manual....

Best

[davejp84]

I'm dave,   27 yr old male from England.

I have a 2003 K2 GS500 which is my second bike (the first being my learner bike, AJS 125-E)

Been riding since january 2010 and loving every minute of it!!

[madjak30]

I'm dave,   27 yr old male from England.

I have a 2003 K2 GS500 which is my second bike (the first being my learner bike, AJS 125-E)

Been riding since january 2010 and loving every minute of it!!

Nice choice for your first "big" bike...I wish we had graduated licensing over here...I could have bought a Hyabusa as my first bike, probably would have scared the crap out of myself...but I didn't...the GS500 is an excellent bike to learn you skills on without scaring yourself...

Welcome to the forum...

Later.

[Lundix]

Hans from Sweden, 42 years old. I just bough my GS E 500 -95, and had it for a spring ride today. Works like a charm. Looking forward to many great trips 

[Falcon01]

Hi everyone.  My name is John from Northern Cal (Bay area).  I rode dirt bikes growing up and a GS650 in college, but hadn't ridden for 15 years when I bought my 09 GS500F in February of this year.  Thought it would be a good bike to "re-learn" my riding skills.  It hasn't disappointed me.  I've done about 1500 miles in 2 1/2 months, generally on weekends.  Farkles so far include Cortech bags, Laminar Lip and bar risers.  Yes I know risers are heresy to most riders, but I'm getting old and I find the upright position much more comfortable on my wrists.  I plan to install progressive springs next,  and probably some better grips. 

This forum has been very helpful to me and I'm proud to be a GS owner.

[justinity]

Hello, My name is Justin and I am from Philadelphia.

[Fausty0]

Josh Faust fly for the air force and just separated and I am now attending St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN for a major in International Relations.

[cbrfxr67]

Jason from Houston.  My first bike was a honda sabre 700.  I've liked bikes all my life but could never afford a new one so i decided to learn how to build one, which became two, and three and four,...now five.  I think I have a problem!  It's just so much fun to take something that doesn't work and make it run, or take a whole lot of parts and put them all together and shazam! you got a bike!  Oh and GStwins is the best forum I've come across yet!

[giz666]

giz from scotland
had my gs500ex now for 5 years
i've decided now i'm gonna change a few things on it now
only done 6678mls from new lol didnt get much time on it for the last two years
and it still started without a problem

[User1234]

Hello fellow GS owners, I'm Brad from Minnesota and picked up a GS500F last Friday.  Mine's a used 08 that I got from a local dealer.  My previous previous and first bike was a GZ250 and I really like the improved performance over my old one, highway ridding isn't as scary now that I can keep up with traffic. 

Had to drain some oil because the dealer put in too much, it was about 3/4 in. above the F.  Now it's about right where the dipstick starts to go round, it's hard to tell since the oil is new and transparent.  I'll probably have to siphon some more out, but I stopped after I tipped over my bike taking it off the center stand.  Pushed the right blinker in and cracked the fairing, now it matches the other side that already had a crack in it.  Otherwise just some scratches and a very sad me.  Not a big deal though since I plan to keep it for a very long time, possibly till it dies.  Now to decide on what luggage to add and to fix my vibrating windscreen, which gets very loud and buzzy @6k rpms.

This site is a great resource and it's one of the reasons I purchased the GS.

[Squidz]

Hey folks, I'm a 31 year old male from Adelaide Australia, I like long walks on the beach and ... wait, wrong forum ... where was I ...

right right, ya'll can refer to me as squidz or whatever you feel like calling me at the time, I picked up a 2000 GS500e (blue) about 3 weeks ago after surprising myself and passing the learners test, i'll get into that later, but first, more about the bike ...

completely stock engine, grandpa windshield, givi top box (has the framework for the side paneer's, but they didn't come with the bike, it also has a lambs wool seat cover and cruize control ... i found out later that this setup was because the previous owner drove it across most of this country (thanks to the service history being complete) ... it had 33000km's and around half of that would have been going from state to state just to get the darn thing serviced ...

ok, what i've done so far, too the givi box & framework off (i didn't like the gs having bracers) ... took off the seat cover ... cleaned around the chain guard ...

plans for the not too distant future:
- k&n drop in air filter has arrive, just waiting on the fuel tank to be empty before i install it
- front springs, i need to buy them, but i'm around 85kg's so i'm thinking 0.90 with 15w oil
- re-jet (with one of buddha's kits most likely)

I have a KTM suzuki dealership right near my house, which has proven to be completely useless so far, for example:

two weeks ago, I walk in and ask for a K&N air filter, the guy says "yes, i've got the exact one that you need", then comes out and says "oh, we dont have it, but the B&G brand is just as good" i didn't say a word and walked away ...

today, i walk in and ask about re-jetting and he tells me that "the american specs are completely different to the australian specs so a rejet isn't goign to help and that i should get a dyno done", i know know about the US, but it's around 1000$ to get a dyno tuning for a car in Australia, so i'm not even going to bother with teh bike, let alone the fact that (as someone on here mentioned) the US model is released lean, so you dont get power band until around 7000rpm, which is pretty much how mine is performing, so the rejet is a safe bet (well, worth the cost, and i like to tinker with stuff anyways 

well, i do tend to ramble on, so i'll leave it at that for now.

Cheers lads (and ladies)

[Zorkus]

Hey folks,

I'm a grad student at Florida State, I just picked up a beat up 99 gs500 to save money on gas.  It's my first bike and I'm absolutely hooked.  The previous owner hadn't ridden it in over a year but with a new battery she started up and ran like new.  She's not pretty, been down a couple times and has lots of scrapes and scratches, but I got it for just 700 clams and the guy threw in 2 helmets and a padded jacket, so I feel pretty good about the purchase.  I've only been riding it for about 2 weeks at this point, but I'll be logging lots of miles on it this summer on those open coastal roads along the panhandle.  Can't wait!

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

I stopped after I tipped over my bike taking it off the center stand.  Pushed the right blinker in and cracked the fairing, now it matches the other side that already had a crack in it. 

I did the same thing the first time I put my bike up on the centre stand, it just wants to get away from you when you take it off again.  My bike's unfaired, so I all I did was bend the brake lever, and I was still able to ride it to the wreckers to get another one.  Now I always sit on it when I take it off the centrestand, so I just rock it off and catch it with a foot on each side.

[89500inPA]

Hello all,

My name is Nick, I live near Philadelphia Pennsylvania. I bought my 1989 GS 4 years ago as a "starter bike" but have not yet felt the need to trade up. The bike was in pretty sorry shape when I bought her, but with a lot of tinkering and patience, she runs like a champ now.

[madjak30]

Wow...four years and you are just joining up now... 

Welcome to the group...and post some pics...we like pics... 

Later.

[toravir]

am a long distance runner/bicyclist turned to motorcycling as a way to stay away from car and still keep the love of two wheels Originally from South India, been here in Nor. Calif. for the past 10+ yrs.

[pandy]

SF bay area, toravir, or another part of N. Cali?

[danny1121]

Hello everybody. 20 year old from palm springs. Got a used 06 gs500f with 1.7k miles on it as an introduction to motorcycling, as well as working on bikes. So far I am loving it, although I'm only riding around my apartment complex until I get more comfortable with riding.

[joelmath]

Hello all,
I'm a 31yo male from Seattle, WA.
I just joined the forum today, although I have referenced it and the wiki page from time to time.
I picked up a 2006 GS500F about a year ago which I have since un-effed. So far it's got the Dominator dual headlight with LED turn signals, fenderectamy, Clear Alternatives LED tail light with smoked lens and integrated turn signals, aluminum pegs front and rear (thanks to the wiki for that great idea!), Dan Moto "digital dash" (real small, looks great), Bikemaster "superbike" handlebars with new gel grips, and bar end mirrors. I'm currently working on a custom belly pan. Basically I cut off the bottom of the fairings and am making some other modifications. It's coming along nicely and I'll be sure to update. I think I'm about to pull the trigger on the Vance and Hines full system, jets, and K&N lunch box. Hope to get some pics up soon!