Picked up a new GS500...

[loudog]

Hi,

I picked a '94 GS500 the other day and shortly after came upon this forum.

The bike has 12K on it and is in great condition. I think I porbably overpaid a little bit ($1600), but the bike was in such good condition I couldn't let it go. Not a scratch on it. I haven't registered it yet, but I rode it around my block the other day and was really impressed. It's so light and nimble and has descent pop. Plus, you can't beat the simplicity. I love that.

Me and a fellow researcher are conducting a research project analyzing motorcylists' reponse to hazards and this is the bike we're using. The only real mods I need to do involve crash protection and some instrumentation wiring. I was thinking about putting an outrigger on it, but I think that may be too difficult, and might not be worth it in the end.

I look foward to being a part of your forum.



Lou

[TonyKZ1]

Looks good and welcome to the site.
Tony

[natedawg120]

Is that a steering dampener on the front?, don't see to many GSs with those.  And Nice bike

[cafeboy]

Congrats on the bike, looks great.
Welcome

[beRto]

Very nice. Welcome! 

[fred]

Welcome. I'd be interested to hear more about your study.

[loudog]

Thanks for the hearty welcome.

Yeah, that's a steering dampener. The guy who I bought it from was a mechanic and a bit anal with the bike. So, he threw a few extras on it and kept it real clean. He said he waxed it and cleaned/oiled the chain everytime he rode it  . But just who I'm looking to buy a bike from. The paint didn't get waxed off or anything.

If you're interested in the study please continue, if not, it'll prolly bore you to sleep. (I posted this on another forum I'm an active member of a little while back trying to get some local motorcyclists involved with the study):

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For those who may not know, I'm an automotive/motorcycle accident reconstructionist with a local company ( www.sdlyons.com ). If you're wondering what an accident reconstructionist is, we try to determine what happened leading up to, and just after a collision (speeds of involved vehicles, direction of travel, driver response, etc.)

In the field, we use studies that have analyzed the response times of drivers in various situations very frequently. It helps us determine if the driver was attentive, perceived something as a hazard, could have avoided the collision, etc. There are a bunch of studies analyzing this "perception-response" time relative to cars, but there are many different factors affecting motorcyclists and only 2 studies (that are not very realistic) have been performed relative to motorcyclists. This leaves a big research gap and often leaves questions lingering when reconstructing motorcycle accidents.

A month or so ago, I proposed the idea of conducting a motorcycle perception-response study to a researcher who is very highly respected in, not only accident reconstruction, but specifically perception-response research. I really was honored to have him accept. His name is Jeff Muttart, he is a researcher currently at UMASS and owns a reconstruction business.

Anyway, you're probably wondering what this has to do with you.

We're going to be conducting the research with reconstructionists from all over the country and I've managed to talk them into coming to the CT area for the testing in hopes that we can get some BoRn riders out there to participate. Basically, we'll have a motorcycle equipped with all sorts of sensors that the rider will navigate through a controlled course at which point "hazards" will be introduced and the reaction of the rider will be documented (how long it took to respond, front brake applied?, rear brake applied?, etc.). The hazards will never enter your path, and we will tell you this before the test. This takes away some of the "realness" but we feel it is necessary to ensure the safety of all participants, plus there are known methods to compensate for the knowledge that the hazard won't actually harm the rider.

After the testing is completed, the results of the study will be submitted for publication in the Accident Reconstruction Journal produced by the society of automotive engineers (SAE).

[natedawg120]

[drincruz]

wow! sounds awesome! g'luck with all of that.

and welcome!

stay safe.

[fred]

That sounds like a great study. I wish you luck.

[Paulcet]

That sounds like a great study. I wish you luck.

^^^^^Yeah, what he said.   

Looks like a number plate bracket on the headlight???  And the steering damper??? maybe the bike was raced a little bit?  Speaking of racing, what is that SCCA car back there in the picture?

[fred]

Hmm, does your bike need that toprack for the study? They're awfully hard to find for pre 2001 bikes and I've been looking for one for my '94 for quite a while now...

[loudog]

That sounds like a great study. I wish you luck.

^^^^^Yeah, what he said.   

Looks like a number plate bracket on the headlight???  And the steering damper??? maybe the bike was raced a little bit?  Speaking of racing, what is that SCCA car back there in the picture?

The brackets on the headlight were for a Shoei fairing he had on there. I took it off immediately. I like it naked a lot better. The fairing is currently painted to match the bike. It's for sale if anyone wants it.

The guy I bought it from is 58 and had a few race bikes, but he never raced this one. I don't know anything about the car in the background, I took the pic at the dudes house. He mentioned something about it but I was too involved with the bike to listen.

Fred, is the top rack the luggage rack thing? If so, I'm not sure if I'm going to use it yet. I might put some of the instruments on it. But, if I don't you'll be the first to know.