WHO are you and where are you from?

[JLKasper]

I'm a 47 year old male, from Evansville in Southwest Indiana.  I used to not consider myself as middle-aged, but these days I'm not so sure.  My recent purchase of a '96 GS (Antares Red)  could be explained by a shrink as an attempt to recapture my youth.  There's an element of truth in that, but I've been on two-wheelers in one form or another all my life, and this is merely an extension.

After a six year hiatus on motorcycles (I rode bicycles instead), I bought an '82 Honda CM250 just to see if I still wanted to invest my time and money in them.  4000 miles later, I passed the test and the search was on.  My preference would be for a new Triumph Bonneville, but my financial status tells me that is a few years off.  The GS, with its simplicity, reliability, and plenty of real world performance suits the bill.

The highlight of the bikes I've owned would be my 1978 GS400 that was my only new bike purchase.  It had an overly soft fork and was extremely cold natured (some things never change), but was plenty of fun nonetheless.  It was replaced by "bigger and better" and regretfully went to seed.

Other bikes I've owned, from first to last:

1975 Yamaha DT175:  A good starter bike      
1978 Suzuki GS400C:  First "real" motorcycle        
1981 Kawasaki KZ550A:  with Vetter Quicksilver fairing.  A good sports-tourer.      
197X Triumph 500:  A $100 basket case that never ran, sold in a different basket for $50.  I  wish I had it back, too (Wait a minute, I take that back; I have a sporty 500).  They are pretty to look at, though.  :dunno:
1983 Honda GL650 Interstate:  A real pig, but the fairing and saddlebags made it a perfect commuter    
1984 Yamaha XT250:  fun, but a Buddha Loves You to start.  Was stolen, and unfortunately got it back, beaten to Hell.  No more thumpers for me!    
1971 Honda SL175:  Bought at rummage sale w/o title; ran like crap, didn't want to mess with the tiny carbs; sold at a rummage sale.    
1991 Suzuki VX800: Ugly and heavy but torquey and comfortable.  Suffered a low speed crash when sideswiped by a kid on a f%$*ing scooter.  No more motorcycles for me--  or so I thought...    
1982 Honda CM250C:  Rebelesque, but fun because it has to be thrashed to keep up with traffic.  Horrible handling.  Time to move on!    
1996 Suzuki GS500E:  Antares Red, with quarter "cafe" fairing, F1 can.   Progressive springs, #40 pilot jets, and #4 washers await installation after finals this semester.        

Sorry if I've bored you.  Let me close by saying I think this forum is a great resource for prospective and current GS owners.  A donation will follow and keep up the great work!  

[pantablo]

quite a CV you've got there JLkasper. Welcome back to runnign bikes! LOL. Hope you enjoy the comedy hour here at gstwin.com as much as I do. Lots to learn here too.

welcome.

welcome all.

[Puunjob]

Adam McWethy  born and raised outside of D.C. moved to minnesota under duress about 5 years ago recently got married and graduated from college with a BA in psychology.  Started riding this year after a a couple of friends turned me onto it.  Took the MSF course and have been hooked ever since.  I have a four year old who thinks daddy's bike is really cool.

[mwdbruno]

I'm Lane H and I'm a returnee to the motorcycle world.  I stopped riding about 5 years ago when my first bike, a 1983 Honda Sabre 750 (nice 1st bike huh?), quit running and I had neither the money nor the know-how to fix it.  I decided to get back into riding a year ago and have been looking for the "right" deal since then.  About a month or so ago I picked up a good condition 92 GS and have fallen in love with it.  I've turned it into my new hobby and plan on redoing the bike (mods/updates/general improvements) as much as possible.  Eventually I want to teach my girlfriend to ride, give her the GS and pick up a newer bike for myself.
I'm 29 and a USAF Military Police K9 Trainer/Patrolman.  (I can feel the leering eyes of the cop haters already...)  I am due to seperate form the military in July and am working my way to civilian/federal police work.  If anyone has legitimate questions on law or police procedure, espically how it pertains to our sport, I'll be glad to help.  If anyone of you despise cops, I respect your opinion and will not banter on the good vs. bad cops...but you can guess where my heart is.  I'm from Illinois originally, but thanks to Uncle Sugar live in the SF Bay area now (after living all over the world).  I plan on making CA a home once I get out of the USAF.
This site has been a great source of info and hope to see it stay alive for years to come.

[SVbadguy]

My name is Travis, I'm 25 and I live in VA.  My motorcycling history and experience is all over my website
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme3/svbadguy if you care to know. I figured I'd give some personal info for those who may buy my GS parts so they feel more secure in doing business with me.    
I've been lurking here for awhile and now I'm trying to get rid off my GS since it's just taking us space, I have 3 other bikes and I want to get another. Up until recently I had ridden my GS more than any of my other bikes, I haven't ridden it more than 100 miles in the last 2 years.

[gisluis]

I am a 31 yr old who was dared to get on a motorcycle. I took the MSF training course, bought a used gs500 and here I am; been riding for about 2 months now.

My other hobbies include hiking, geocaching, and my vw Rabbit GTI.

I live in SoCal - San Gabriel Valley.

I am a geographer by trade, which means I make maps for a living.

check out my webspace

www.gisluis.com

thanks

gisluis

[pantablo]

Cool. Another local.

In what way are you 'getting to know Downtown L.A.'?
GIS, Architecturally, bars?

Welcome-glad you bought the bike you posted about. Its a nice looker.

[TransientDemon]

Well...Im a 29 year old female Brit living in SE Holland, Im an artist/illustrator. I have a '92' black slingshot (unrestricted) with no modifications due to lack of money, lack of time (Im a mum also) or knowledge. Ive had my licence nearly 8 years and had a couple of nasty moped's 50cc  :dunno: (honda, vespa...dont ask me which ones...who cares!),
I had a very strange bike that I have never seen since a Peugeot XP50 (I think) its an ugly thing which is a moped diguised as a dirtbike!
2xHonda MT50's which are fun but pretty useless for getting anywhere in a less than a day :lol: ,
a Honda 250XL   and  Honda NX250       (great bike that handles like a toy) , I always had dirt bikes as they were more useful for where I was living at the time (in Greece). Its taken me a while to get used to the different riding position of the GS but I really like it now....Im kind of in love and I think I will be keeping it a while!:thumb:         My partner loves it too and is dying to get a licence but now winter is setting in he will be leaving it till spring.
Well...Im glad everyone here seems a cool bunch, if there are anything you could advice to juice up performance then please mail me. Ive been looking for  belly pan (air scoop, onder kuip....whatever you might call it) simply for cosmetics...does anyone know where I can pick one up in Europe? Some double headlights would be cool too!  
Look forward to more posts....good riding!!!
Gina X :kiss:      
Heres my motor!

[Frost]

Hi, I'm 19 from Toronto, Ontario
Just bought my 03 GS500 last week and i just can't wait till spring is here.

I used to own a EX500...but I didn't like the feel of the engine at all...I rode my friend's GS and loved it...so here I am with my new GS...

I'll post some pics as soon as riding season starts...now the bike is stored for Canadian winter... ...wish that I was in CA now...

well...awesome site you guys have here...you'll be hearing a lot from me...

[twisted_wrist500]

My name is Jeremy Metcalf.  I am in Largo, FL.  I am 17 years old and have been a motorcycle enthusiast for 10 years of my life.  I soon plan to become a mechanic, then hopefully you guys will see my name up on the ama supersport podium    :guns:  :nana:  

[alerbaugh]

Good to see you twisted_wrist500; we need more teens in this adult business.  Ride whenever you can and don't do stupid shizz.  Don't give teens a worse reputation!

[Drunken Master]

Hi, my name is Andreas and i am 22 Years old !
I come from  germany and i ride a gs 500 from 1996 !
You can see my modifications on www.geonosis.de , but i am still working on it !
Just found this page and it is really cool !
Check out the german gs500 page : www.gs-500.de

[Jenerator]

Hi, I'm Jen and I'm in Toronto, Canada.  I started out on a Honda CM250 in 1995 after taking the beginner's course at a local college, and got my RZ350 in 1997.

Well, I recently sold the RZ after it being in storage for 3 years and I'm seriously getting the itch to ride again.  I think the GS500 will be the perfect bike for me (the RZ was too fast) so I'll be looking in the spring for a nice black one.

I was excited about the 2004 fully-faired ones, but the way the fairing goes in toward the tank in that table-top fashion turned me right off...they could've spent 5 more minutes on the design of that area and made it a lot less crappy...but anyway, lol, I've decided to get a GS that maybe a couple of years old.  I can't wait!!  

I've already learned a whole bunch from browsing this site...keep up the great work!!

[mo]

Hi.

I'm Maureen (let's just say age is in the mid 30's) , and I live in the Boston area (Cambridge). I have a 95 GS500 with about 10k miles on it, and have been riding it since summer 2000.
Modifications--replaced stock tires with BT45s this summer--a positive change in the handling and feel.
Future mods: small flyscreen, cushier grips, better shocks, possibly a gel seat.  

I've been lurking at this site for a while, getting lots of great information on the GS, especially modifications to make the ride more enjoyable.

I was hoping to ride all winter--the bike is covered in the driveway--but so far I haven't been out since November due to the snow. I'm planning to get out soon, even if only for a short, cold ride around the block.

Thanks for all the great info here.

[robert]

have 23 years, I live in polsce , it works.

I invite on my stronke with descriptions of motorcycles all the gstwin

http://www.motocykle.xx.pl

I greet Robert   POLAND

[pantablo]

Robert, Mo, Jen, DrunkenMaster, Twisted, Frost, Transient,

Welcome to this site! one of the most active, helpful and informative sites on the web (relative to the GS anyway). Take a moment to check out the home page here for some useful modification/maintenance links as well as my site for lots os useful info I've collected...

Enjoy!

[pantablo]

).  Ive been looking for  belly pan simply for cosmetics...does anyone know where I can pick one up in Europe?

try www.whaccessories.com for gs related bodywork.

[TransientDemon]

Thankyou for the link Pantablo , Ive looked there before and I like alot of the stuff there. The stupid thing is its shipped from Germany to the US and if I were to order anything I would have to pay for the shipping back to the Netherlands, this seems  bit pointless if you consider that I live only 15 minutes from the German border :dunno: . It would be good if there are any German GSers out there that can recommend a link with similar parts as on www.whaccessories.com or maybe a shop near the Dutch/German border. Thanx in advance!!

[Shadowhawk]

31 Living in Charleston, SC
             

[RandiBBB]

Hello, all.  Randi here, just turned 35-year-old black female (Daddy' s from Pineville, Louisiana, where no one is truly all of any race).  

Got married in July 03 to the man of my dreams,  :kiss: and all of a sudden I am reviving my biker fantasies.  Around 12 years ago I bought myself a Kawi 440 LTD and the beau at the time taught me to ride.  While my tailpipe burns have faded, the memories remain ... can you say sticking to the sheets?!  Aloe-WHO?!

Took possession of my 89 GS500 on Monday, January 5, 2004, a birthday/Christmas present from my beloved.  He followed me all the way home from the shop and I only stalled out once!!!  

Took the MSF course in October 2003 (doin it right this time!) and my girl who will be my riding buddy had a GS as her first bike totally recommended my ride, so here I am.  (She is now on a Honda 919)

Still figuring out this picture posting thing so y'all stay tuned ...