Hello from a beginner (looking for a good place to buy parts)

[rutabaga]

Greetings,

My name is Joe and I live in Tampa. I finished the MSF a while back and I bought a used 2006 GS500F. It has 15k miles and runs great! I love the bike, and it's suiting me just fine as a beginner slowly honing my skills.

The bike needs a little TLC here and there, but I got a good deal on it. I want to learn how to maintain and fix it up cosmetically. The previous owner bought a manual, so I inherited it. So far I've changed the oil, cleaned and lubed the chain, and I'm looking to start replacing a few parts. The metal bracket and plastic cover that house the tachometer and speedometer are damaged, and some of the handlebar mounting bolts are starting to rust.

Anyway, I've found places online that sell OEM Suzuki parts, but they vary in price a little and I don't know generally the best/trustworthy place to buy that stuff. Where do you all prefer? Also, it seems like some bolts and things could be found at a hardware store as they just appear to be metric sized hex bolts.

I'm sure as I travel down this road I'll be back with more questions! Thanks for reading.

Best,
Joe

[zirconx]

Welcome Joe.  Sounds like you are well on your way, good for you to take the MSF course.  BikeBandit.com is a popular place to buy parts online. You could also look in the for sale forum of this site, there are some bikes being parted out there. Ebay works, too.

The hardware store bolts usually work fine, they never match the other bolts exactly the same though. When my chain guard came off I just replaced all the bolts on it with ones from the hardware store so it matched.

[burning1]

If you're going to buy bolts from the hardware store, the first tool in your box should be a thread gauge. Seen too many fasteners buggered up because someone used the wrong bolt in the wrong place. Keep in mind that there are a number of places that the OEM bolts may have a neck, or some form of collar. In those places, OEM bolts usually work best.

IMO, your best bet is to buy directly from a dealer. Build a good relationship and you'll be rewarded when it's time to get help. Many of the shops I frequent regularly are willing to offer some kind of discount as well.

[ragecage23]

Welcome to the forums!

Personally I use cheapcycleparts.com I haven't had a problem with them at all.

[utgunslinger13]

I use Bikebandit.com for almost everything I order that doesn't come from the Suzuki Dealership.  Some people have trouble getting parts in a timely fashion (they ALWAYS come, just sometimes they end up waiting 2+ weeks) but I've never had any issues.

[The Buddha]

Well for bolts - makes sense for me cos I have 4-5 taken apart GS'es and 5-6 more bikes all metric and in fact I have a ton of stuff that uses metric like old amps etc, and the carbs I work on, jet packs I sell etc etc, that I buy bolts in the common sizes by the box. Like the 5mm in 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24 lengths - I swear I am 50% down the box on all of em, and that 24mm I am out of. 6mm is even more well used, 8 too, in fact recently I used up ~25 2.5mm X 5mm bolts and 3mm X 6mm bolts and ended up ordering boxes of 100 each. Anyway, stainless hardware from dedicated hardware suppliers like Fastenal or Mcmaster Carr or several other places is worth the effort and $ IMHO.

Maybe I should put a GS bolt kit together. However I hate the idea of people replacing bolts just for the heck of it so I didn't. The bike I split apart to the frame is a good example to do that though.

Cool.
Buddha.

[cjones1344]

I've been looking to replace the black gauge cover on my bike too, that thing is like $45 new, I'd recommend checking ebay or asking around here for one.