New Member - BassCliff is in the house!

[BassCliff]

Hello GS brothers and sisters,

I'm a stark raving noob here and hope to learn a few things from you all.   

I've been riding a "classic" GS850G for a couple of years now and fell in love with the GS series.  Now I'm realizing that I'm putting  a LOT of miles on my "Jessie" and I'm thinking about picking up another bike to share the load.  My 1980 GS850G is a survivor in pretty good shape and I'd like to keep her that way.  Not to make her a garage queen or anything, but another bike to ride, especially a newer GS,  will lessen the wear and tear on "Jessie".   Click the link in my sig to see a picture.

There have been many GS500 bikes for sale around here lately and I think it would make a nice commuter bike for me.  I curious as to how long the engines last before a top end refresh is necessary, following all of the necessary maintenance procedures, of course.  For example, if I bought a GS500 with 20,000 miles, could I expect the motor to last another 50,000 miles or so?

Do you guys like the F series or do you prefer the E series without the extra plastic?  I'm more of a standard naked bike kind of guy myself, but I think the F series looks great.  Are they comfortable enough for a 2 hour ride? 

Thank you for your time.  Please feel free to visit my BikeCliff website to see all of the (larger) GS lovin' I've created and accumulated.  I also hang out at http://www.thegsresources.com forum and have learned a few things about the GS series, but not about the GS500 in particular. 

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[The Buddha]

Wowee ... that is so cool. How did you accumulate that many manuals ?
Anyway, 50K is fair for the life of a commuter. I had one that would have run past the 50K mark, but it was begning to lose power and it was using a lot of oil.
GSJack here has put more than that but I suspect he's a more steady rider than I was from my 25th to 35th year when I ran that GS to 48K.
A commute bike is subjected to the whims of everyone and everything on the road.
Cool.
Buddha.

[beRto]

Welcome! 

My preference is for the naked "E" model, but I can see the appeal in the fairings.

I've taken the GS on many rides longer than 2 hours and it has always been very comfortable!

[gsJack]

I expect at least 80k miles from a mid size air cooled twin and the GS500 delivers.     Put 80k miles on my 97 GS500E and parked it when I picked up a slightly used 02 GS500 in 03 which is the last naked one sold in the US.  I have 67k miles on the 02 GS now.  Expect 90-100k miles out of it.

After the 97 GS sat unused for a couple years my son JP took it for a commuter bike and ran it up to 88k miles on the original engine and then put a low milage used engine in it when oil consumption became too much for freeway commuting.   The chassis has over 100k miles on it now.  JP hangs out at GS Resources too.

I've put in quite a few 400-500 mile days going to the Aderondak (sp?) and Smoky Mtns from NE Ohio to play.  Did my last 400 mile freeway day in 04 at age 72.  Still riding 10k miles a year aroung NE OH and NW PA on my 02 GS.

[The Buddha]

I told ya, about the GSJack he's crazy  .

Now at 80K GSJack - did that motor use oil or did it go from none at 80K to a lot at 88 ? Mine was pretty bad @48K. 1qt in 300 miles or less.

Cool.
Buddha.

[BassCliff]

Thank you gents!   

Mr. Buddha, Mr. gsJack, Mr. beRto, I appreciate you sharing your experiences. 

I'm 6 feet tall and 200lbs.  Will this bike get me up to 70mph on the freeway pretty quickly?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Here's my "Jessie".

[oramac]

Well, I weigh 175, and my bike has no problem getting up to, and maintaining comfortable highway speeds.  I've taken mine to the GSR Brown County rally twice, and to last years southeast rally, and I had no problem hangin' with (and passing) the bigger GS bikes in the twisties.  I would think being 6' tall might make the bike feel a little cramped though. 




btw, my bike is for sale... 

[Bluesmudge]

I'm 6' tall and 175lbs, the bike isn't too cramped. Switching out the foot-pegs to some minimalist after market aluminum GSXR pegs gives an extra inch of leg room and makes all the difference.
The bike makes it up to 85/90mph no problem and you probably won't even need to go that fast.

[makenzie71]

basscliff...what happened to GSR?!  I've been trying to get on for quite a while and haven't had any luck.  My poor 750 needs the resources!

[fred]

I'm 6 feet tall and 200lbs.  Will this bike get me up to 70mph on the freeway pretty quickly?

Welcome! I'm 6'1" and 210 and the bike gets me up to 70 no problem on the freeway every day on my way to work...

[ohgood]

Thank you gents!   

Mr. Buddha, Mr. gsJack, Mr. beRto, I appreciate you sharing your experiences. 

I'm 6 feet tall and 200lbs.  Will this bike get me up to 70mph on the freeway pretty quickly?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Here's my "Jessie".

that thar bike is swell. swimingly swell. rock on.


as far as up to 80 with your frame on it, sure. i'm 6'4" and around (getting more round) 220. me + the wife means the gs needs a little more rev, but it's fine. cruising at 80mph isn't an issue. i've had the wife up to 100, but only for a brief moment. she wasn't impressed

thanks for the info !

[gsJack]

Thank you gents!   

Mr. Buddha, Mr. gsJack, Mr. beRto, I appreciate you sharing your experiences. 

I'm 6 feet tall and 200lbs.  Will this bike get me up to 70mph on the freeway pretty quickly?

I was around 6'2" and 240# when I got my 1st GS back in 99, I'm a bit shorter and rounder now.  A set of case guards with forward pegs can be helpful in stretching a leg or two on the longer days.  I had no problem with the performance on the freeways or in the mountains.  Had it up to 110 mph indicated (speedo 10% optimistic) on a straight away up in the mountains once with 240# me and a big Plexi 2 shield aboard but I suspect I was on a slight downgrade which is hard to tell in the mountains.  I use to run in 5th gear on the freeways when riding with big twin friends to match their rollons.  GS500 redlines at 106 mph in 4th gear.





On my first trip to the Smokies in 02 I was following a 82 GS1100E and he is riding a 97 GS500 now.  As always, it's more the rider than the bike.   

[gsJack]

I told ya, about the GSJack he's crazy  .

Now at 80K GSJack - did that motor use oil or did it go from none at 80K to a lot at 88 ? Mine was pretty bad @48K. 1qt in 300 miles or less.

Cool.
Buddha.

When both my 97 and 02 GS500s were new or almost new they required no oil added but were getting down to the add mark at 2-3k mile oil change time.  Both began needing oil added at around 40k miles or so.  I'm using 15W-40 heavy duty (Delvac or Rotella) oil now and buy one gallon per oil change.  My 02 with 67k miles on it now needs a pint added at about 1500 miles after the change and another pint before a 2500 approx change.  My 97 got a little worse than that before 80k miles but never close to your usage.

[BassCliff]

basscliff...what happened to GSR?!  I've been trying to get on for quite a while and haven't had any luck.  My poor 750 needs the resources!

Hi Mr. makenzie71,

GSR is back up now.  There was a DNS issue for a few days.  It's been fixed now.  If you'd like more info I can point you to couple of threads that explain what happened.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff