My time with the GS is drawing to a close

[Gary856]

The GS was my first bike and the best beginner's bike and all, but I don't get why people would ride it for over 6k miles or one year to "learn". It's not a question of outgrowing it, the same way you don't need to outgrow a Honda Civic before buying a BMW 3-series, but the fact that there are so many nicer bikes out there. By nicer I mean more modern design, fuel injection, better brakes (performance and feel), better suspension (performance and feel), better tire selection - the whole package that makes the riding experience much more enjoyable, not necessarily to go faster.

I owned my GS for about 1.5 years, and put about 8k miles on it, by the time I sold it. By then I owned 3 other bikes (YZF600R, SV650, DRZ400sm) plus the GS. Each bike has a unique character and switching between them gave me more experience than I would have gotten from riding just one bike. I was a little sentimental when I sold the GS, but I don't miss it. It was pleasant, but it was certainly not nearly as refined as the newer bikes. Thinking back, I feel that I held on to the GS longer than necessary - should have sold it after about 1 year or 6k miles.  

[madjak30]

One of my better halves has a 675 Daytona and a 250 Ninja (she kept her "starter" Ninjette after pickup up the Daytona).

Sorry man, I just gotta ask...how many better halfs do you have??  I find one wifey quite enough...there is no way I would go through that process more than once thank you very much...

Later.

[XealotX]

One of my better halves has a 675 Daytona and a 250 Ninja (she kept her "starter" Ninjette after pickup up the Daytona).

...I find one wifey quite enough...there is no way I would go through that process more than once thank you very much...

Later.

I doubt most people plan on going through that process more than once.

[tt_four]

but the fact that there are so many nicer bikes out there. By nicer I mean more modern design, fuel injection, better brakes (performance and feel), better suspension (performance and feel), better tire selection - the whole package that makes the riding experience much more enjoyable, not necessarily to go faster.
 

When I got back into riding again after taking a few years off, the first thing I realized when I got on the GS again to take it for a ride it wasn't anything about the power that I noticed, it was the suspension/general sloppy feel of the bike. There's an amazing feeling to a bike that just feels solid.

[madjak30]

One of my better halves has a 675 Daytona and a 250 Ninja (she kept her "starter" Ninjette after pickup up the Daytona).

...I find one wifey quite enough...there is no way I would go through that process more than once thank you very much...

Later.

I doubt most people plan on going through that process more than once.

No.  Probably not, but I told my wife already...if this doesn't work out, that's it, I'm not getting married again...one time thing...

[tt_four]

Definitely don't think it's the kind of thing I'd take a 2nd shot at. You can only promise your life to so many people before it starts to lose it's effect, you know? Not to mention how many more motorcycles you can buy when you're single....

[redhawkdancing]

When I got back into riding again after taking a few years off, the first thing I realized when I got on the GS again to take it for a ride it wasn't anything about the power that I noticed, it was the suspension/general sloppy feel of the bike. There's an amazing feeling to a bike that just feels solid.

Now don't go ruining it for us that have never road anything but a GS. We think that general sloppiness is how all of them ride. Let us be pleasantly surprised when we find out different!   

[madjak30]

Now don't go ruining it for us that have never road anything but a GS. We think that general sloppiness is how all of them ride. Let us be pleasantly surprised when we find out different!   

Did your spill on the ice last week knock some marbles loose?      or were those pics of someone elses bike...and in your avatar?   

Hey man, were sharp like tacks in here...

Later.

[galahs]

This thread made me dust of my GS and take it to the hills.
Had a blast on it!!! The weather was just right, and having to pick the right gear to navigate the road at the right speed was so much more rewarding than my gixxer which you can just basically leave in 3rd.

Don't be scared of upgrading to bigger powerful bikes. Just respect them. Take it easy and gradually get used to using the power, because trust me, they can bite you and bite you quickly if you don't respect them.

All I'm saying is the GS is an awesomely fun bike to ride, "bigger n better" bikes are also fun, but often its a different type of fun.

[tt_four]

Did your spill on the ice last week knock some marbles loose?      or were those pics of someone elses bike...and in your avatar?   

Hey man, were sharp like tacks in here...

Later.

I believe you're thinking of redhenracing. We'll still say you're sharp, but I'm thinking maybe..... slightly used #2 pencil sharp??

[hokierower]

Went out yesterday with the same group of riders as usual on a pretty decent ride. After we got done with one road, the leader of the group pulled up to me and asked if I wanted to switch bikes for the next road, a pretty simple and straight forward ride. I'm on my GS500 and he's on his R1. I ask if he's sure and he says yea, jumps off the bike and just says that since I'm looking to upgrade, I should start to get a feel for what a bike with some real power can do. So I jump on the bike and start it up. Let go of the clutch a little bit and the bike moves forward like it's got a purpose. We take off and I start in the back of the pack, kinda getting used to the controls and the different riding style. Start getting more comfortable and I go to hit the gas...WOW! Now I love my GS but it only gets really responsive >7k rpms and even then you've only got 3k to play with before you hit the rev limiter. Not the case with the R1. I rolled on the throttle at the low end and the damn thing just took off. I was cruising and looked down and the speedometer read 100mph. That's where my begins to top out! I shift up and hit the throttle again and the bike just took off like a bat out of hell. Looked down again and I was at 130 and climbing (this is on straight country roads with no traffic going either way with a clear sight line, no twisties). At that point I back off the throttle and just coast the rest of the way. I pull my helmet off when we stop and I've got this huge shaZam!-eating grin on my face and the guy who owns the bike just starts laughing.

Like I said, I love my GS but the MASSIVE difference between the two bikes is astonishing. There wasn't the constant bouncing/dancing of the front wheel around the corners, the powerband was EVERYWHERE and not just above 6k like I'm used to, the sound was AWESOME and the handling was just smooth. I picked a line and the bike just followed it, no questions asked.

Finished up the ride and came out near the Triumph dealer. Stopped in to get all of my pricing info out of the way so I knew exactly how much to ask the bank for. 5 more payments on the GS, sell it and roll that money into the Triple R. No more 2010s so it'll have to be a 2011 and the dealers won't know until January how many bikes they'll be allotted. CANT FRICKIN WAIT!!!

[Pelikan]

This is semi-off topic, but in an earlier post it was mentioned that the gs is slow off the line/has a hard time keeping us with cars from a red-light.  I'll admit I've only logged a few hundred miles, but it seems to lag in first.  Is there anything (mods/changing driving style) that can rectify this?  I love the bike, and love the acceleration once it's moving, but I do sometimes feel like cars are "waiting" for me to get moving from a stop.

[joshr08]

This is semi-off topic, but in an earlier post it was mentioned that the gs is slow off the line/has a hard time keeping us with cars from a red-light.  I'll admit I've only logged a few hundred miles, but it seems to lag in first.  Is there anything (mods/changing driving style) that can rectify this?  I love the bike, and love the acceleration once it's moving, but I do sometimes feel like cars are "waiting" for me to get moving from a stop.

bigger rear sprocket or smaller front sprocket will both help off the line lagging of the gs motor.

[madjak30]

Did your spill on the ice last week knock some marbles loose?      or were those pics of someone elses bike...and in your avatar?   

Hey man, were sharp like tacks in here...

Later.

I believe you're thinking of redhenracing. We'll still say you're sharp, but I'm thinking maybe..... slightly used #2 pencil sharp??

Doh...and here I thought I was being such a smart ass...apparently with out the smart part...

Sorry redhawk...oops...

See, I'm too cheap to even pay attention...

Later.

[Bluehaze]

hokieowner... when you get your Triumph you wont regret it.  Those machines are incredible.  Proud owner of a Triumph Daytona 675 09.  Came from the GS500 as the first bike. Thank god i rode GS500 first.

I think you should keep riding your GS hard until you get your triple. The nice things about GS is you can have your oh shaZam! moments and survive.  It seems you have a few months to prepare for the new bike. Take your GS to the tracks. Learning how to go fast on a slow bike is way more fun than going slow on a fast bike.  Dont under estimate the GS500 skills.

Here is  a link to  me on the GS 500 on a trackday.  

http://contour.com/stories/gs500f-on-track-day

[tt_four]

  I love the bike, and love the acceleration once it's moving, but I do sometimes feel like cars are "waiting" for me to get moving from a stop.

Most people will recommend an exhaust/filter/jets, but I think with what you're describing I'd say the opposite and keep your bike stock. A change in gearing will help. At one point my bike was -2/+8, which made 1st feel a lot better, but anything over 45mph in 6th got super buzzy. That's obviously a drastic gearing change though. Right now I'm back to -2 in the front and stock on the rear and it seems fine.

As far as why I say to keep the stock exhaust... even with a few extra HP, loud exhausts make a bike seem like it's working so much harder than it is, which makes you want to keep the rpms lower when you're in traffic and around people, which then technically makes the bike slower. If the bike is quieter you'll be much more willing to run through the rpms without feeling like you're trying to race everyone around you. Even on my xb9 it still feels slow sometimes leaving redlights. It's twice as loud at my GS(vance and hines exhaust) and I find myself short shifting because anything more than 3k rpm and it just sounds like I'm intentionally racing away from redlights.

[redhawkdancing]

Went out yesterday with the same group of riders as usual on a pretty decent ride. After we got done with one road, the leader of the group pulled up to me and asked if I wanted to switch bikes for the next road, a pretty simple and straight forward ride. I'm on my GS500 and he's on his R1. I ask if he's sure and he says yea, jumps off the bike and just says that since I'm looking to upgrade, I should start to get a feel for what a bike with some real power can do.

I know someone that switched up from a ninja 500 to a R1. He acts like he misses the ninja sometimes ( ) , but when his R1 was stolen he replaced it with another R1!   

[redhawkdancing]

This is semi-off topic, but in an earlier post it was mentioned that the gs is slow off the line/has a hard time keeping us with cars from a red-light.  I'll admit I've only logged a few hundred miles, but it seems to lag in first.  Is there anything (mods/changing driving style) that can rectify this?  I love the bike, and love the acceleration once it's moving, but I do sometimes feel like cars are "waiting" for me to get moving from a stop.

Personally, I've never had that issue when I actually give a hoot if a car is waiting for me.  All you have to do is turn the throttle with a purpose, and get into third gear ASAP. If your shifting at 7000 RPMs or better, every car should be shaking in your mirror by the time you hit third.  

I do have a SV650 throttle to install in the future. That will take it to full throttle faster.

[redhawkdancing]

Doh...and here I thought I was being such a smart ass...apparently with out the smart part...

Sorry redhawk...oops...

See, I'm too cheap to even pay attention...

Later.

No problems, Mon!

[Pelikan]

Personally, I've never had that issue when I actually give a hoot if a car is waiting for me.  All you have to do is turn the throttle with a purpose, and get into third gear ASAP. If your shifting at 7000 RPMs or better, every car should be shaking in your mirror by the time you hit third.  

I do have a SV650 throttle to install in the future. That will take it to full throttle faster.

I hear ya.  I probably just need more seat time...and at any rate will want to log a few K before I start changing things.  Maybe I just need to be a bit more aggressive.  I've been shifting at about 4500, but maybe I need to wind it out more.  Just seems like in first it's making noise but not really going, but then as soon as I shift to second it immediately begins forward.