Couple of Questions About Parts

[murf425]

1) The 'Suzuki' logo badge is missing from the right side of my engine.  Where would I go about finding one (the cheaper the better)?  What's it actually called...knowing that would help in searching the 'net, I'm sure.
2) The previous owner removed the center stand.   Are all years interchangeable?  I found an '06 with all the mounting hardware; safe purchase for my '07?
3) In the last two days, I've had to get on the horn after two drivers almost came into my lane.  Unfortunately, neither of them even seemed to hear the anemic sissy horn on this bike.  Anyone know of a good LOUD horn that will easily mount on a stock GS?

(I know some of these questions are rather newbie...but I've never really done much wrench-turning on any of my previous bikes.)

[tt_four]

Dont' worry about newbie questions. The GS is usually considered to be a beginner bike, aside from some people on this site who swear by them, but there's a lot of people here who are still learning.

That badge on your motor is known for going missing. Check out bike bandit, ebay, or a dealership. You can also pick up any random piece of metal to put on there. Just put some JB weld on the back and stick it over the hole.

Any center stand should fit fine. You're more likely to run into issues with an aftermarket exhaust. Sometimes the new exhaust doesn't have the centerstand stop built in, but I just fixed mine by ziptying some rubber hose to the back of the centerstand.

As far as the airhorn. I've seen a few people mount them. Just google 'motorcycle airhorn' and pick any, as long as it's 12volt it should work fine. Unfortunately car drivers don't care much about horns and eventually you just learn to not let yourself ride in any position in traffic where you might need it. An airhorn would be fun though.

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Driver's cannot be relied on to hear your horn, your engine, or feel it when they hit you.  You could toss a stun grenade into their back seat and you still might not get a response from some.  

If you're travelling in a lane adjacent to another car you are essentially invisible, try to drop back or pass them before this becomes an issue.  If you have to travel in another vehicle's blind spot, move over to the other side of the lane to give yourself a buffer, and have an escape plan.  

By all means upgrade the stock horn on your GS, cos it is a pretty crap horn, but don't assume anyone's going to hear it because there are driver's out there who wouldn't notice if you set their firstborn on fire in front of them.

I've got a Suzuki badge that, er, fell off my clutch cover (ok I dropped a bike on it), JB weld seems to be the forum's advice, although I have no idea if I can get that in Australia.  The back of it feels tacky with this clear glue, looks like the double sided tape that body shops use for attaching badges.