New guy

[Jeepster]

Well here is one new GS rider. I bought a 2004 GS500F a few months ago with 2235 miles on it. This is my first bike and can't describe how awesome I think it is. I know from lurking on the forum for a little while that there are some fenderless purists out there and as much as I like the naked sportbike/street fighter look, I really like the way the F models look.

Here is some basic bio info on me
male, 25, just out of college so I haven't found a "real" job yet because nobody want to hire someone with no experience. I mountain bike (cross country, urban freestyle, downhill, dirt jumping, basically everything), work on and "off road" my Jeep Grand Cherokee, snowboard, play guitar (not well), kayaking, canoing, hiking, and all that outdoor adrenaline stuff. I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to adrenaline, although I keep it in control on my bike because I may be out for a rush but there is no need to be an idiot about it.

Even though I'm sure all you know what one looks like I want to show off some pics of it anyway.





I'm really glad I've found this forum because all you guys seem very knowledgeable and nice. When I got my Jeep i joined a Jeep forum and learned so much I couldn't even believe it. I'm a bit of a shade tree mechanic and can't wait to start doing some wrenching on my bike. I thought I would last for a while without making any modifications but apparently the want to make modifications is a tough beast to subdue. Here's some pics of my jeep from fun. By the way the jeep is why I have a bike, with a it having a 5.2L V8 at 15 miles per gallon it made a great excuse to get a bike. When gas was 4 dollars a gallon it was almost 100 bucks to fill the thing with 83. Now I'm spending 13 bucks to fill the tank with premium, sweet deal.






Mods:
2 inch budget boost lift, 31 inch mud tires, AEM throttle body spacer, K&N high flow filter, flowmaster 50 series muffler, just to name a few. I also added two more off road lights, two fog lights on the bumper and painted the rack black. This is where I learned all my mechanical skills so far and considering I knew nothing about vehicles when I got it and now know (IMHO) a decent amount about it I'm glad I started working on it and joined a good forum, thats why I'm here now. I want to learn all about the GS and get some help on things if I need it.

The first thing I want to do is get rid of those crappy clown car looking signals. I've been debating flush mount signals and some close hugging "stalk type" signals, like the GSXR type signals, to remain visible (and safe) up front. Also I would like to get a flat bar on there, if anyone knows where to get a good flat bar let me know because I wouldn't mind a more aggressive position on the bike. I've been mountain biking for years so that kind of forward stance on the bike doesn't bother me. I feel more in control of the bike when I'm sitting a little bit more forward because that's what I'm used too on my mountain bike.! Second issue is more power but I'll save that for a later date.

Anyway, can't wait to start making mods on the bike and learning all I can about it. 

[mayhem]

Have fun, ride safe and get a job.  Just kidding.  Nice bike 

[Bluehaze]

Welcome bro..

Enjoy this beautiful bike. Theres lots of things you can do to it to make it your own.  Check out the WIKI for most of question you might have..

[natewesselink]

welcome mate  

[b_long_1]

Welcome.

[Jay_wolf]

Dont worry , about premium Gas , the Bike will run find on Regular, there was a post saying premium is a waste of money

Love the bike tho

[Unknown]

Yeah, youll waste around $1.00 per fill-up if you run her empty 

I'm still amazed how well my bike handles my aggressive riding when trying to keep up w/ my brother -- very nice looking bike btw, mines needs a paint upgrade

[Jeepster]

Dont worry , about premium Gas , the Bike will run find on Regular, there was a post saying premium is a waste of money

Love the bike tho

Yeah I know it runs on regular but its fun to tell people it only costs 13 bucks to fill the tank and then tell them that its with premium, then they really drop their jaw. I kind of like to think that its better for the motor too, and even if its a waste of money I know I've wasted way more money than that in life so its just water under the dam.

I just bought some Weld 5x bulbs for my gauges as the wiki says and can't wait for them to get here. I got them in blue and hopefully they won't be to dark a blue that I can't read the gauge but we'll have to see.

And thanks for all the comments!

[DoD#i]

You can like to think whatever you like, but it's not better for the motor, so you're liking to lie to yourself - I guess you are an excellent product of the current assembly-line of (college educated, yet!) people who believe whatever advertising tells them, and the truth be damned.

[Domindart]

Second issue is more power but I'll save that for a later date.

dont mod it too much, you want to upgrade to a bigger bike later.

[yamahonkawazuki]

OP use the 87, save the extra $ for teh Ohmangottahaveitnow mod ( for the gs)