I need to put the breaks on

[Victoria]

I am one of those super impulsive people.  If it wasen't for my countdown I would be riding a 50cc moped right now.  Thats why in my countdown I gave myself a year to learn, try, decide and think.  I also want to have more money saved up so i can get a really good bike (hopefully one with a warrenty still in effect)  Sooooo..I am not allowed to buy until my countdown date on my blog.   
If you are super impulsive you'll know what I mean.  It's going to get really tough after I take my class.  Aggghhh!

[The Buddha]

Oh yea warranty ... very very important that ... other wise what would you wipe your ass with.

Sorry about the graphic description.

Just that I have a SV1K with a warranty - 4 year too mind you that the owner had to call in "stolen" on cos suzuki shafted him on a bad clutch and told him he needs a transmission rebuild (5K worth of work mind you) cos he abused it by riding wheelies. Now that beautiful 07 was gorgeous, not a scratch no nothing on it, and the owner was a newbie ... worse than you I would say, and the bike has 560 or so miles on it. Yea ... bad transmission.

From his description I guessed that he had a bad clutch slave, I got on sv-portal and confirmed that it was a fairly reported problem, and am planning a cable mechanism swap shortly, but werase643 helped out with re assembly and it actually works just fine with the stock clutch slave even.

Sorry my dear, warranty isn't worth the paper its printed on. Especially when they would tag on 100 bucks an hour worth of BS work per 50 buck warranty work cos they get stiffed on the warranty work when the factory pays them. You walk in with a charging issue, they would check and replace your rectifier under warranty, then claim the clutch cable was loose, adjust it and slap you with a $100 bill. I know one of the service writers @ the local all 4 dealer, and its standard practice to slap some wear and tear and non warranty add on's to any warranty work. That way the 1 hr warranty work they do is covered by the factory @ 30 an hr they get your 100 and that is their biggest income.

Cool.
Buddha.

[mister]

So in essence.... you'll do the class in two weeks and then Wait another 7 months before buying? And as the bike you want might not be available right on the 7 month mark it could be another 2 months or whatever before you actually buy... so 9 months away maybe. So when the time actually comes to get the bike you'll have no real experience and the course will be vague. Have you planned to do refresher courses in your half a year + cooling off before you buy period?

Michael

[Victoria]

Thanks Buddah I didn't know their warrenty was so worthless.  And the older the better??  What about icky gas tanks and stuff I need to learn about the insides of these things?  

[NF11624]

Don't be afraid to buy if its a quality bike.  Warranty may be nice, but almost everything that can go wrong on a GS (and similar bikes) can be fixed fairly cheaply - for example $150 estimate to repair the starter clutch cost me $20 dollars in parts and an hour of my time.

Also, now is the time to buy - prices are much much lower in the fall and there is still a good 2 months of riding you can do (even if you're not adventurous enough to ride in the winter) to work on the skills you will learn at the class and that WILL save your life and make riding enjoyable.

[The Buddha]

Yes icky gas tanks - very important, and not covered by warranty either. Negligence, wear and tear as well as "you're getting some shitty gas over there dude" are all common excuses.

Coat it if you start seeing rust. That's about it Buddha do it for 100 bucks or you can do yourself for whaever the da-bling thing costs these days and a weekend of chemical fun.

New or old, the maintenance is nearly the same, you just start by maintaining if its an old bike that's it. Or buy one that someone has properly done. They're not all that much more.

Cool.
Buddha.

[cboling]

Victoria: I am a very impulsive / compulsive buyer. I get something in my head and I blindly buy it thinking it is the best decision ever. Here's my brief background. I was around 12 when I got my first street motorcycle. It was a 250 so power was not outrageous but still fast enough to ride at highway speeds. I rode the snot out of that bike until I was around 15-16. Now I am 38 and I decided to get a bike and I impatiently bought a run down gs500 for less than $500. I wanted to re-build it so no harm there but I have sunk quite a bit of money and time into. (More than I will get back if I decided to sell it.)

All in all, the first suggestion I would make is get what you are comfortable with. If you have never been on a bike at all, the mild power that this bike has could be a little intimidating.
If you do get this bike, be prepared for things that will eventually need some care. The older the bike, the more care and attention it will need.
Getting a newer bike with a warranty is not completely bad but really read the warranty in detail and ask questions about what is and what isn't covered and how they handle the warranty repairs. (Educate yourself because that is the first defense in getting treated poorly.)
Educate yourself on how the repairs and adjustments can be made. If you are going to get any bike, it will prove to be the most important thing you can do. It will help you determine if you are willing to go through some of the troubleshooting steps and  repair processes yourself. If you are not willing to do that, stick with something with a good track record (no repairs for long periods of time.)
There will always be maintenance, so prepare yourself for that, no matter what.

I think those things mentioned, will help you stabilize the voice inside that is screaming "Buy it NOW!" Sometimes, turning away and telling yourself that you don't need it can help that. It does for me..........sometimes.

[gsJack]

................If you are super impulsive you'll know what I mean.  It's going to get really tough after I take my class.................

I walked into a motorcycle dealership at age 52 one saturday morning and bought a new CB400T on the spot never having even sat on a motorcycle before.  I called my son JP who rode and had him ride it home for me.  I practiced on it for an hour in the apartment parking lot and put it away.  Next morning I hit the road alone and never stopped.  Never heard of those classes back then.  That was 25 years, 6 bikes, and 370,000 miles ago.  That's super impulsive, sometimes it works out for the best.

[The Buddha]

Best to not read posts about this topic by GSJack, we'll all be hanging our heads in shame and work ourselves into deep depression.

And definetly GSJack -      ... there is not another like you.

Cool.
Buddha.

[Victoria]

I did the math That's AWESOME!

[gsJack]

 

[Dj Hunny]

I agree, if you're too busy waiting for your bike to fit into your timeline you might pass up a really good deal.

Bikes are priced really great right now, so i don't know if you'd want to wait.
And after my MSF course, I couldn't wait till the next day to start riding, I don't know how you can. 

[tt_four]

Taking your time is definitely a good plan. I've been planning on getting a new bike, but since I don't have the money yet, and don't like buying things I don't have the money for, I decided I'm just going to save up and buy something this next spring. In the 5 months so far I've changed my mind about 5 times as far as what I want, and I'm sure I'll change my mind a couple times again before spring. I keep coming back to the same type of bike, so I'm sure that's what I'll end up with when the time comes, but no need to rush it. I just need to keep remembering that I've got 60 years to go so I don't need a new bike right NOW. The other plus side to being patient is getting a good deal. When you decide what you want, and when you want it, you're going to end up paying whatever someone wants at that point in time, but if you just keep your eye out you can get an amazing deal, but those deals only work out for people who just happen to have the cash hanging around at that time. I passed up a good condition Yamaha yzf750 for $600, can't remember what else but a couple other decent bikes for less than $1000 that all only needed a part or two, and a good cleaning up.


As far as warranties go, I'm not too concerned with them anymore, just but something that's japanese and you'll probably be ok. My last bike was a Triumph. Bought it brand new and shiny, came with a 3 year warranty, but things went wrong with it constantly, mostly due to poor british engineering, and partly due to Triumph and the mechanics at the BMW dealership being too pig-headed to admit that the bike had a design flaw even though I pointed it out to them each of the 10 times I took my bike in to get fixed. They just kept replacing parts and saying "I don't know what the problem is".

Either way, I had to argue with them every single time I wanted something fixed, I wasted HOURS and HOURS in that waiting room waiting for my bike to get fixed. Meanwhile $150 out of my own pocket and I would've fixed it right the first time, but that's what warranties are for...

I did get the entire inside of my engine replaced under warranty too though.

So do what you want, but be patient, and if you see a good deal, don't be afraid to grab it.

By the way, you need to put the brakes on. I'm the one who needs a break! Luckily it's a 3 day weekend because we're still pretending like Columbus was the one who found this country. 

[The Buddha]

OK we are good, we have chased her away. ... 

In a few years Victoria will be at a bar telling stories like this - Yea one more reason to not get a gstwin, the gstwinners are like rabid monkeys, and they're not even hitting on me (you know I'm really good at tackling that) they're basically talking 1000's of lines on and on ... I cant take it any more.

Cool.
Buddha.

[Victoria]

lol.  I'm still here I actually do teach class in between these forum chats.

[tt_four]

Haha, she's only been here 2 days and she's already started 5 different threads! If we're talking too much, she started it!

[The Buddha]

lol.  I'm still here I actually do teach class in between these forum chats.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ..............

Oh Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ..............................

You're doing other things besides talking to us ... Oh noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo .......................

Cool.
Buddha.

[Roadstergal]

Taking time is good - but take the time to learn about bikes from online fora and knowledgable locals.

As Buddha says, a warranty ain't worth shite if it's a simple bike like a GS500.  Mebbe worth it if you have a BMW with servo brakes and a shaft drive and the like, but for this - you're better off getting a gently used one for a decent price.

The GS500 is a great bike for learning to wrench on.  It's easy to maintain, especially the nekkid one, and you won't go nuts trying to keep up with learning to maintain it.  Parts are cheap and easy to find.

This isn't a bad time of year.  Around now, people either pack their bikes away and wait for the summer to sell them for a higher price, or they need to sell them now and the market is slow.  So there are fewer bikes, but better deals sprinkled in there.  You'll find a good deal or two in the spring, as well, as folk decide that they did so well on their GS500s last year that they need to 'upgrade' to a 600cc supersport, and sell their GS right away for the down payment.  So whatever works for your timing and your budget.