New to the board

[sduplant]

Greetings all,

I just picked up my first bike, 2005 GS500F with 5k miles on it. It runs great and I only need to replace the oil and the rear tire.
I'm starting the MSF course tomorrow.
They say they ride rain or shine....and we are gonna catch alot of rain from dolly tomorrow so it should be fun 

[beRto]

Greetings all,

I just picked up my first bike, 2005 GS500F with 5k miles on it. It runs great and I only need to replace the oil and the rear tire.
I'm starting the MSF course tomorrow.
They say they ride rain or shine....and we are gonna catch alot of rain from dolly tomorrow so it should be fun 

Congrats and welcome! 

Don't forget to clean and lube the chain.

Also, if the previous owner hasn't done this already, the bike was due for a valve clearance check at 4000 miles:
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Maintenance/MaintenanceSchedule

[sduplant]

Will do. Thanks for the advice.
I'm going to have to hunt down a repair manual somehow

[fred]

Nice looking bike! If you want the cheap (free) and easy way to get a manual, look around online. I found a PDF version of the factory service manual kicking around and downloaded it. It is not as user friendly as the Clymer or Haynes manuals, but free is a hard price to beat...

[tripleb]

To be honest, I don't think the free service manual is even worth the price.  Get a Haynes manual - they're awesome.

[mayhem]

What kind of pipe is that?  Get rid of all of those unsightly warning stickers.  First thing I did when I got my bike.

[sduplant]

It's a scorpion exhaust.

They cancelled my MSF course this week due to the hurricane 

[frankieG]

welcome

[scottpA_GS]

  friggin hurricanes 

When I lived in SC we used to buy a Keg and have a hurricane party  Stupid college kids 

[Toogoofy317]

After living through four in one month. I don't wanna see another Hurricane well the college football team if they can win this year . I was a volunteer EMT back then and it sucked looking for people who were too stupid to go to a shelter .

I wish the daily rains would go away I wanna ride dammit! Ride with rain gear on and you roast 'till it rains or ride with it off and get caught with no place to change! Oh, well hope you get to your MSF course soon. Things happen for a reason as I look outside at the rain!

Mary S.

[ohgood]

welcome to gsland. have one of those instructors look over your bike if you have 3 minutes to spare. they can spot things you may have missed, and likely have some decent tips.

congrats on your new ride

[VSG]

Welcome!  This place is a great resource with lots of helpful and friendly people.