Very high mileage GS 500s.

[ojstinson]

Has there ever been a discussion on very high milage GS 500s, I just bought a new 2008, and am wondering how long these things last with proper care. If anyone has a very high milage ( 80 to 100 thousand ) GS, I'd like to hear about maint., oil changes, and such.


      Rick.

[werase643]

ask GSjack

he's on his 2nd high mileage GS
i think he still has the first one also

[bill14224]

Hi, Rick:

Welcome to the forum!  You bought a bike that we love but most people spit on because it can't turn you inside-out!  Yeah, GS Jack has hit 80k and 100k I believe with two GS's.  Clean or change your air filter regularly, change your oil ON TIME, don't beat the hell out of it, (although revving it to 9000 won't hurt it at all, as long as it's warmed-up) and it will serve you well and last and last.  You bought one of the most reliable motorcycles ever made.  The engine has a reputation for being almost indestructible, but some still manage.  You'll  meet them here!

Have fun! 

[ojstinson]

Thanks for the welcome and info. Bill, That's good to know. I never have been one to thrash bikes, my 100 thousand mile Yamaha V-Max was wasted on me ----used to get 10 thousand on a rear tire---that should be considered a misdemeanor  on a bike like that.




          Rick.

[ohgood]

Has there ever been a discussion on very high milage GS 500s, I just bought a new 2008, and am wondering how long these things last with proper care. If anyone has a very high milage ( 80 to 100 thousand ) GS, I'd like to hear about maint., oil changes, and such.


      Rick.

welcome to gstwins

mine's a low milage bike. usually the pilot errs before the bike self destructs. just how it goes. your 08 will last lonnnnnng past when you stop caring about the paint/fairings/looks of it.

ride on

[fred]

Has there ever been a discussion on very high milage GS 500s, I just bought a new 2008, and am wondering how long these things last with proper care. If anyone has a very high milage ( 80 to 100 thousand ) GS, I'd like to hear about maint., oil changes, and such.


      Rick.

Welcome Rick!

My 1994 GS is about to hit 88K in a week or two on its original engine... As far as I know, it has always been stored outside with no cover. No major problems thus far. If my junkyard front caliper hadn't blown a seal on me (I scraped the original myself with stupidity during a brake line change, it didn't wear out) I'd be riding it home right now. I've only had the bike for a year, but the previous owner is a good friend of mine, so I know the history of the bike for the last 20,000 miles or so... Regular oil changes, valve clearance checks and all that seem to be doing the trick. Regular chain adjustment and lubrication are also good things. Not running it into stuff is probably also a good thing, although my GS has been dropped and crashed into things. The steering stop is gone from what looks like an accident (so the bars hit the tank and the steering lock doesn't work, but I can park more easily) and the right side of the engine has a couple of broken fins. The tank has a pretty epic crotch dent that must have left some poor guy singing soprano. There has been rust, but it has been taken care of with rust converter, some of which has been painted over, some hasn't. Overall, the bike is holding up very well. After this long, I do run into occasional strange problems, but nothing serious. When I went to change the front brake line, the banjo bolt at the master cylinder was completely seized in place. It took a huge amount of penetrating oil, a dremel and lots of pounding with a hammer to get it out, but the master cylinder itself was completely fine and I just bought a new bolt. The front brake light switch fell apart on me one day on my way to work. The plastic had become so brittle it just disintegrated. I had to replace the bushings that hold the bodywork in place because the half that remained (don't know what happened to the others that were supposed to be there) became ineffective.

Overall, this bike seems to be pretty bulletproof. There are a few things you can do to kill it, but they are all pretty well defined: running it out of oil, floating the valves all the time, riding off cliffs... At this time I don't see any reason why my GS won't eventually roll the odometer right back to 0 and keep on going.

[werase643]

Thanks for the welcome and info. Bill, That's good to know. I never have been one to thrash bikes, my 100 thousand mile Yamaha V-Max was wasted on me ----used to get 10 thousand on a rear tire---that should be considered a misdemeanor  on a bike like that.




          Rick.

you might be disappointed with a GS.....a hand full of throttle yields........nothing    

[The Buddha]

Mine was running @48K when I sold it.
Cool.
Buddha.

[fred]

Thanks for the welcome and info. Bill, That's good to know. I never have been one to thrash bikes, my 100 thousand mile Yamaha V-Max was wasted on me ----used to get 10 thousand on a rear tire---that should be considered a misdemeanor  on a bike like that.




          Rick.

you might be disappointed with a GS.....a hand full of throttle yields........nothing    

Aww, it isn't that bad. It is still faster than most every car on the road and going through twisties is s blast. Also, if you keep it well maintained, you can be pretty confident that every time you hop on it will start up and run same as always and not leave you stranded at the side of the road. My GS has never had a problem so catastrophic it couldn't be limped home and fixed with basic hand tools and even then, problems that couldn't wait 'till I have time on the weekend are very few and far between.

[5thAve]

About the only bikes I can think of that are as long-living as these GS twins are... the GS four cylinders! They're really similar in design but most have roller bearings on the crankshaft mains.

[ojstinson]

Not at all werase643, I 'm ready for something tame and dependable, I have had all the excitement I can stand in my 27 years as a Dade county (Miami ) cop. I pick the new bike up on thursday and I'm certain that I will enjoy it no end.
Many thanks to all you guys for the warn friendly welcome and reassurance of the GS's reliability.



          Rick.

[DoD#i]

Unless it has a title error, mine has 121K on it and still works. Given the age, the milage is believable; I've only had it since last year, though.

While there are those who fuss, it's fairly undemanding and low-fuss. Cheap 10-W40 that's not marked "energy conserving" (that marking is bad for wet clutches) - you don't need "motorcycle oil" or synthetic, etc...

Clean, lube and adjust the chain every 600 or as needed - mostly that's clean and verify that it doesn't need to be adjusted. I like to add "use the carb drains" to the 600 mile chain service to keep gunk from collecting in the bottom of the carb bowls and save a world of trouble.

Drain the carbs if you are going to store it. Either add staibilizer to the tank and top it up, or drain the tank.

Go out and ride. Best thing for it.

Flush out brake fluid with fresh every 2 years - replace hoses every 4.

[dadsafrantic]

welcome to the forum.  i have 3 years and 37k on my bike.  have moved up to a 20k per year commute and will do it all on this bike.  no problem.

[qwertydude]

Another bike that I know that has a pretty much indestructible engine is a Honda Rebel, sure it's only 233cc but for an engine that almost continuously sees itself at 3/4 of it's redline they can give the GS's reliability a run for it's money. Plenty of cases of honda rebels going the big 100k, I used to have one and apart from it running out of breath on fast freeways and having an uncomfortable seat I probably would have kept it. Those were the deal breakers for me since I spend most of my time on freeways and long rides to and from work and school.

[ojstinson]

Another bike that I know that has a pretty much indestructible engine is a Honda Rebel, sure it's only 233cc but for an engine that almost continuously sees itself at 3/4 of it's redline they can give the GS's reliability a run for it's money. Plenty of cases of honda rebels going the big 100k, I used to have one and apart from it running out of breath on fast freeways and having an uncomfortable seat I probably would have kept it. Those were the deal breakers for me since I spend most of my time on freeways and long rides to and from work and school.

You're right about that qwertydude, I have an old Nighthawk CB250( that has the same engine ) just for kicking around and short hops. Short of running out of oil, they go on forever. The Nighthawk is pretty much standard for motorcycle training classes, and those things really get abused.