Best year? Differences between?????

[Missile]

Hello. I am new to the forum. I currently own 7 motorcycles and am in the process of consolidation all (but one) of them to buy a new Triumph Thruxton and an older GS500 for my general 'around town' bike.
What are the best years?
Why did power go down after 1996?
I am looking for a daily-grind rider, to use in all types of weather. I have a friend back home that rode a GS500 for 9 years and just shy of 80,000 miles before it finally grenaded.
Any sites dedicated to these bikes? Any good literature on them?
Thanks in advance-
Fissel the Missile

[ecpreston]

no site is more dedicated to them than this one!

check the wiki for more info  (wiki.gstwins.com)

This should answer your '96 question (there's no difference until '01):

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=50014.0
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=40179.0

[The Buddha]

Generally in US, 89 is considered the best year (of the 89-00's atleast). It had a alloy shock linkage and a set of clip on's stock.
The 2 disadvantages of an 89-91 or 92 was it, were that the frame section where its removable by the engine, it had a longer fitting on the frame, and hence harder to get the motor out.
The second thing is, the rear shock to get a socket on the top bolt, you didn't have a hole in the frame on the left side.

I dunno, that looks nicer to me.
I also like the way the tail section was on the 89, without a gusset on the top rail.
The rest are too close to call, but 96 on there were some internals down graded, like the gear position capstan, some other stuff.

Cool.
Buddha.

[gsJack]

The 01-02 were the best ever made, see ecpreston's links above.

[Roadstergal]

The best year is the one that you can find in good condition for a good price.

[The Buddha]

The 01-02 were the best ever made, see ecpreston's links above.

...
Respectfully ... I dont agree.

I find the 01/02 carbs have some intermediate between the 89-00 and the 04+ carbs. Hence, much harder to get parts for on the used market.
Also I dont like that the tail section hits the ground when you drop it and so does the tank.
They also had that screwball ignition advancer with 4-5 prongs which no one knows what it did ...

I really prefer the older style carbs and body - so I am biased.

Cool.
Buddha.

[Missile]

Thanks to all for the input. What is the deal with the 2001-2003 not having jet kits listed? Does anyone make jet kits for these years? If I were to buy one I wouldn't be doing anything radical, but stock jetting on any carbureted bike after 1975 tends to be rather lean, almost in need of fatter jets right out of the box. Since I will be riding in all weather I need a bike that isn't too cold blooded.
Would I be able to (easily) purchase a set of carbs of, for instance, from a 2006 and put a stage one jet kit on those?
Any help is much appreciated-
Fissel the Missile

[gsJack]

Missile, I never rejetted my 97 GS that I put 80k miles on since I had an old CM400A that I used for a winter bike here in NE Ohio at that time.  My son JP took it for a commuter and did rejet it after that.  It really did need rejetting for winter use.

I've been using my 02 GS year around riding in temps down into the 20F's and don't feel it needs rejetting for my useage.  It has 75k miles on it now and remains stock as did my 97 while I had it.  A friend of mine who also had a 02 GS that he used for a winter bike only had it rejetted with jets the Suzi mechanic found.  He rode Beemers in the summer.

Buddha, my 02 GS has hit the ground 3 times that I can recall without ever touching the bodywork since I have a small inexpensive Givi trunk on the rear.  When my 97 was hit in the rear by a kid in a S-10 it was totalled because the gas tank and rear bodywork were all damaged.

[The Buddha]

The 01/02 jets are available ... just not from the stores. The buddha makes them ... like hammering metals and melting and pressing it into the form of a jet. Takes all day ...  ...

The 89-09 all years I got jet packs for. They all need rejet IMHO. If you were lucky and never touched anything in the air flow/motor area maybe you can get by without it. Else, I'd think its possibly somehting you can work around, but eventually have to get to.

The 89-00 ones have floats that tend to wear high. If you had a bike that was slightly high from wear and you didn't bend the tang ever .. .it can be just about OK. Typically the stock ones are slightly lean.

On the 89-00 the turn signals in the rear catch the ground. if you hahve swapped it for the smaller ones, then the body typically hits the gorund only under hard impacts. The foot pegs, the muffler and the handlebars leave it higher.

01+'s have that extra bulky tail, all else being equal they would make contact before the 89-00 ones do.

Cool.
Buddha.

[Missile]

Thanks for the help. I'll be going to look at a both a 1989 &  2001 this weekend. Is there anything specifically I should look for?

[The Buddha]

89 clip on's trumps almost everything else. So does its white and to a lesser extent black with stripes if that is intact and tank dont have rust.

01 is old enough to be subject to everyhting that happens to these, plus it got some odd ball carbs I dunno what you do to get cheap parts for. Of course 89-00 carbs fit it and work as do 04+ ... so just swap carbs if you need slides or diaphragms.

Either or dude, depends of if you like the 01 body more than the 89 really too. If you like that more, clip on's are 100 bucks easier to swap for that than fit a 01 body on 89. presumably 01 body bits could get less $$$ as the years roll, cos the 04+ has the same tail bits.

Cool.
Buddha.