Touring upgrades?...

[chrishiggs]

Hi folks,

Hoping to take my gs through europe and over to Morroco hopefully this year, maybe next and would like to know if anyone can recommend possible upgrades and spares that should be taken with me. I'm not really looking for advice on luggage options just making the bike ultra reliable. I will fit new chain and sprockets before I go as well as servcing the bike and changing oil/filter etc on the road. I'll definitely take spare clutch, choke cables, levers, plugs, puncture repair kit, tools etc. Having browsed the forum it seems the fuel petcock could be cause for concern. Should I be replacing it or maybe carrying a spare. Any other possible "weak links" in the GS500 chain?! (Carb parts??) Thanks in advance.

PS How often do you guys check valves and cylinder head bolt torques? Suzuki specify every 4k miles. Seems excessive. How often do they actually need adjusting in reality? Every 8k seems more realistic to me...Cheers.

[Majorhavoc]

If you bike doesn't already have one, install a fuel filter.  That will help keep a load of crap out of your carbs, which should be thoroughly cleaned and adjusted prior to your departure.

[gsJack]

I started out doing valve checks every 8k miles or twice a year when I was riding 15-20k miles per year and now that I am riding only about 10k miles per year once a year is enough.  I never have checked cyl head bolt torque unless I was pulling a head in 370k miles on 6 bikes the last of which were 140k plus miles on 2 GSs.

A set of control cables, spark plugs, and an oil filter if you're going over 4k miles or so are a good idea as well as tire plugs and an air pump.  I've never had a problem with a fuel chicken on any bike including 80k miles on a 97 GS and 66k so far on my 02 GS.  Depending on your usage some spare brake pads might be handy if your going over 10k miles, I've worn out rear pads quicker than that in the mountains.  If you'll be running hard in the mountains a change to HH brake pads might be good, I turned my front rotor blue twice and faded out the front brake once in the mountains.

Have fun!

[sector9]

A spare headlight bulb would be a good idea as well. Losing your primary light source somewhere in the countryside could be trouble.

Some heated grips might make morning/evening rides a little more comfortable, and you might be able to leave a pair of insulated gloves at home.