My time with the GS is drawing to a close

[hokierower]

Bought my GS for my birthday back in July.  It's an 07 and when I bought it there were 2100 miles on it.  At around 3300 miles I had to get a new set of tires to replace the old ones which were starting to show signs of dryrot and had a couple of nails in them.  I learned how to ride on it and I can honestly say that it has made me a much better rider than if I had gone straight to a 600cc+ sportbike.  Not having the same speed available to me forced me to ride more aggressively to stick with my fellow SB riders.  Last week at 6800 miles I had to replace my rear tire (a Shinko SR741) which had served me well.

I will get to experience the fun for another 2.5 months until I pay it off in February.  I will then sell it in order to give myself the money to purchase a Triumph Street Triple R.  I look forward to the transition and hopefully at some point in the future I will be able to get a GS again and turn it into a track bike.

The GS is a great "learner bike" and I could not have asked for a better first bike.

[mister]

You've ridden a measly 4,700 miles and you think it has taught you how to ride? Nah, it has taught you the basics of control, how to ride takes much more seat time than you've put in. I'd bet GSjack is still learning how to ride and his two GSs have like 100,000 on them each!

I'd do that distance in a tad over three months. If I was new to riding there ain't no way three months of riding is enough to claim to know enough to Upgrade to a Street Triple.

And you're replacing a tire at only 3,500 miles on it - WTF? What do you do, ride on a cheese grater?

I've put almost 35,000km on my GS and the only thing it lacks with the larger SBs is the acceleration Between corners. But that's only applicable if you Accelerate / Brake / Lean on your twisty runs. If you Pace Ride than that doesn't matter.

But what do I know? Maybe you've done numerous advanced riding courses and been taught by pros at track days. In which case I'll shut the hell up. Good luck with your St3 - just make sure it's an 08 or 09 you get cause the 2010 model has the odd air thing for Emissions and actually puts some of the exhaust out the front (so the tested exhaust out the back shows low emissions) and you'll finish the day smelling like exhaust.

Michael

[the mole]

Er, hope you have fun on the Trumpy hokierower!

[tt_four]

But what do I know? Maybe you've done numerous advanced riding courses and been taught by pros at track days.

Maybe he just rides on different roads than you prefer? The GS is perfectly fine if you're doing nothing but taking tight turn after tight turn, but some people spend a lot of time in traffic, on the highway, and on roads that are only semi-twisty with some straightaways, and the GS isn't really ideal for any of those unless you like revving a bike to 3-4k just to leave a redlight and be able to just barely keep up with cars, or cruise for an hour at rpms that are just way too high for highway riding, especially if you like to be able to pass other cars.

The GS is a great bike, and it's great for learning and tight back roads, but it leaves a bit to be desired in other areas of riding, considering some people do get some enjoyment out of acceleration, myself included. Plus, even if it leans over just as well, if not better than bigger bikes, one thing it won't do is lift the front wheel when you go over the crest of a sharp hill between turns, which is by far one of the best feelings you can get on a motorcycle.

As far as the tire, it was already 2/3rds the way through before he got it, who knows what the previous owner did to it. I'm gonna guess burnouts?  

Regardless, have fun on the Triumph Hokie. I had a Triumph Speed Four from 2003-2006ish. It was a seriously fun bike and I'm sure the Street Triple will only be better. Just be careful on it because Triumph naked 600s are nothing like the Japanese naked 600s. A lot of naked 600s are more of budget/commuters, but Triumphs tend to be nothing less than naked sportbikes with an actual midrange and it'll keep up with any other 600 sportbike until you hit 130mph or so. I could feel my front wheel just barely skimming the ground when I would twist the throttle in first, and that was back when it was only 600cc and I was leaning forward with clipons. I'm sure the extra 75cc and the upright handlebars will make it impossible to keep the front end down when you really get on the gas. All that being said, before I picked mine up I had done about 15k miles on some 250/550cc beginner bikes, and the first time I pulled out of the parking lot on the triumph and accelerated up to 4k rpm, not even into the serious power yet, it still scared the hell out of me, and I thought I was gonna fall off the back of the bike. You get used to it pretty quick, but I'm not gonna act like I wasn't lucky I didn't die anywhere in the 22k miles I put on it. I've slowed down quite a bit since I had that bike, which is a good thing.

[The Buddha]

A lot of people who start on GS'es "move on" only to regret it, or atleast rethink about the GS in certain situations and slowly meander back to it and buy an older GS.
Its just that sorta bike, nothing too much, nothing too little, no big glaring mistakes, does everything fairly well, very little goes wrong and very easy to fix.
Cool.
Buddha.

[hokierower]

Mister: First, off, thanks for the personal attack.  Secondly, the 4700 that I've done in 5 months has been done purely on the weekends.  Rode my bike to work the first couple of weeks but after picking up 3 different nails in my back tire (work commercial construction) I decided to take the car from then on.  So my riding has been purely weekends or for errands that don't require carrying anything. No commuting, barely any steady riding, most of that has been full out, balls to the wall riding.  I apologize for not being able to live up to your lofty standards.  Thirdly, where did you get 3 months from?  If I sell/buy in February that will give me 8 months.  Maybe that's not the 10 years of apprentice-like training you require but it's better than starting off on a 600 supersport right out of the gate.

TT_four: The bike was an 07 with 2100 miles on it.  It had been repo'd in Louisiana then bought by the dealer I bought it from.  It had plenty of tread left, but I'm guessing that the the 3-4 years with lots of sitting didn't help.  Like I said, the GS was a GREAT bike for learning how to ride.  I never said I was done learning, but I'd prefer a slightly larger bike in order to be able to keep up with my fellow riders and continue to hone my skills.  Thanks for the advice on the Triumph.  I've heard rave reviews about it and it will take some getting used to, but from what I've heard it's a bike second to none (except that new BMW RR).

Buddha: Like I mentioned, I'd love to get a GS in a few more years as a track bike.  The finances just aren't there at the moment.  I'm sure I'll go back to the GS at some point.

[madjak30]

You have to remember this is a GSTwin forum...and some of the guys are kinda protective of their luvved bikes...saying you are straying with "only" a few months and a few thousand miles under you belt doesn't sit well with some of them...some don't live in North America and maybe don't understand what kind of roads we have...there aren't any twisty country roads anywhere near where I live, I have to ride for over an hour to get to some twisty bits...all the roads are on the grid system because of the farm land here in the prairies...I feel the same way about the GS...it is an awesome bike to learn on, and I would be okay with keeping it...but it is physically small for me...I know there are taller guys riding them (Mister), but the bend of the knee is a little tight...if I hook my heel on the peg it is okay, but I like the more secure feeling of the ball of my foot on the peg and that is only comfortable for about 30mins then my knees start aching...I may end up keeping mine for one more season, or atleast into the summer before I "upgrade"...I put on over 9100kms (5690 miles) this season and it would have been more if it had rained less...

Just remember, you made the right choice with starting with a sensible bike and not following the herd to the supersports and possibly becoming a smear on the road...you fought the peer pressure and you now feel comfortable enough to try something bigger...just treat it like you are a new rider (because you are new to the bike), don't just jump on and expect that you can do full throttle launches like you can on your GS (very different results, especially with the Triumph Tripple...huge torque compared to the inline fours from Japan)

Anyway, good luck with the new toy in the spring...just use some caution...

Later.

[tt_four]

I had the benefit of riding by myself for pretty much the entire first 15k(2.5 years or so) miles I rode. I didn't really bother finding other people to ride with until I got the Triumph. That let me completely skip that problem you have of feeling like your GS is too slow because I didn't have to try to keep up with any 170mph sportbikes. I'm sure I would've grown tired of the bike pretty fast if I had tried.

I've also had guys with their first 'big bike' come out and push their limits trying to keep up only to have their bike slam into a guard rail 1 mile into the fun roads, so you've just gotta be careful.

A lot of people here tend to think motorcycles are good for absolutely nothing riding twisty roads. That's my favorite part of riding, but I also enjoy plenty of other things you just can't do on the GS that some people probably take for granted if the only bike they've really been on is the GS. I still have the GS along with my Buell and I'll admit that the GS is definitely fun to take out sometimes, but 95% of the time I take out the XB without giving it a second thought so moving on to another bike isn't all regrets and dissapointment as some people on this forum would have you believe.

Just like Madjack said, I know a few great roads by where I live, but I spend 15 minutes on boring roads for every 2 minutes on the good roads. If I could pull out of a driveway and not leave a twisty road until I get where I'm going it might be a different story but I live in the city so I've got a few miles of redlight to redlight, cross a bridge, possibly jump on the highway for a few miles, and then make my way through some shopping districts, residential areas and general traffic before I can get to the roads that the GS is best on. I'd much rather enjoy the ENTIRE ride, and not just the 10% that's my actual destination and be bored for the 45% there and 45% home.

[gsJack]

.....................The GS is a great "learner bike" and I could not have asked for a better first bike.......................

The GS500 is not only a good first bike but it's an even better last bike.    I had about a quarter million miles of practice on 4 Hondas before I moved up to a GS500. 

[The Buddha]

He he, GSJack - and a GS also makes a great #5 through #42 bike ... I've owned 17 of them and didn't buy my first GS till I had owned a ninja600, a nighthawk, a kat 6, and a virago 535 in that order.

Cool.
Buddha.

[gsJack]

...I know there are taller guys riding them (Mister), but the bend of the knee is a little tight...if I hook my heel on the peg it is okay, but I like the more secure feeling of the ball of my foot on the peg and that is only comfortable for about 30mins then my knees start aching...Later.

I was 6'2.5" tall and about 240-250# when I got my first GS and it was a very comfortable fit for me.  Now almost 12 years later and down to 5'11.5" tall and 210# it's an even a better fit.  Just hang onto that GS, it will be a better fit in a few decades.  

Probably you have longer legs, at 6'2" my inseam was only 30" and it's dropping past 29" now.  But my legs were still bent quite a lot back then on my first GS.  This pic of me and my bent legs on my GS back in 02 when I was only about 70 yo and we did 400 mile first and last days on those trips to the Smoky Mtns:

[scratch]

To each his own.  I find that if I'm not redlining in every gear, all the time, in every corner, then I'm not ready for a new bike.  I'm thinking that I'll be owning this GS for a lot longer than the 14 years that I had my SRX250.  But, I do live half an hour from twisty roads.

[tt_four]

To each his own.  I find that if I'm not redlining in every gear, all the time, in every corner, then I'm not ready for a new bike.  

I don't even wanna know what shape your underwear has to be in before you decide its qualified to be replaced!

[The Buddha]

I dont even wash my underwear unless its got a more skid marks than the local drag strip.
Cool.
Buddha.

[gsJack]

My wife washes mine.   

[Suzuki Stevo]

After 25 bikes..the GS500F is where I ended up! 

[hokierower]

I don't doubt that in the future a GS won't end up back in my garage.  I feel that it's a great bike and maybe I sabotaged myself by riding with people on larger bikes than mine.  I will be taking it slowly on the new triple when I upgrade.

I'm not bashing the GS and saying that it isn't a great bike, it's just that I've got the upgrade itch and I really want to scratch it.  I'm sorry 

[madjak30]

...I know there are taller guys riding them (Mister), but the bend of the knee is a little tight...if I hook my heel on the peg it is okay, but I like the more secure feeling of the ball of my foot on the peg and that is only comfortable for about 30mins then my knees start aching...Later.

I was 6'2.5" tall and about 240-250# when I got my first GS and it was a very comfortable fit for me.  Now almost 12 years later and down to 5'11.5" tall and 210# it's an even a better fit.  Just hang onto that GS, it will be a better fit in a few decades.  

Probably you have longer legs, at 6'2" my inseam was only 30" and it's dropping past 29" now.  But my legs were still bent quite a lot back then on my first GS.  

Yup, the inseam is my issue...I'm 5'11 w/ 33" inseam...the other problem is @ 275lbs, my GS is a lowrider... ...poor little guy....



Later.

[redhenracing2]

I'm 6'3" and 270.

I moved on, and I regret it. As soon as finances are available to buy a new engine for it, I'll buy my Gs back.

[tykho]

I'll be sure not to make a "Goodbye GS" thread when I size up, lol.

Really the only reason I'd want to size up is to get a better bike to stunt with, that's what I'm really getting into these days. Been riding a friends 03 GSXR600 to learn, it's amazingly addictive. Overall the GS is a great bike, I still have a ton of fun riding her, I can get on it around corners like no other, but it doesn't really have that rush for me after trying out a supersport. Best of luck with the new bike bro, but keep your GS if you can afford it!