stock bike vs moded bike

[jordan]

hi all,

so i was wondering, is it really worth it modding up the gs 500? i mean air filter, exhaust and jetting? really what do you really get?

3-4hp? and allot of noise
OK, the noise is sweet  , but in performance terms, and not to talk about lower mpg.

so i would like to hear your opinions about this question

thanks guys 

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

Wish I could help you with this one one. But my bike was molested when I got it. Interested to see what others say.

[4strings]

I'm with GI_JO_NATHAN, except the opposite.  I'm too poor to do performance mods.

[Suzuki Stevo]

Dollar for dollar for what you get in return, buying a bike with more HP is the best path for performance. IMHO

[adidasguy]

Worth? My bikes are my friends and I do whatever I want to enjoy them to the fullest.

If it is worth it to you - then do it.

If you're looking at it to increase the value - that probably won't happen. Say you put on a $400 exhaust. The value will not go up by $400. Why? It already had an exhaust, so any increase in value will only be about the difference in value from what was there to what you put on. and any increase in value will only be what a buyer thinks it is worth.

Junior has a V&H exhaust because the PO drilled holes in the exhaust to make it louder and painted it black. So Junior needed a new exhaust.

Trey's was also fuggled up. So I bought a Sito for $99 which is comparable to the stock exhaust. Cut off the old one and bolted it on. Sounds the same but looks great.

I've added muffler guards, crash guards, fog lights, changed colors, tanks, chrome steel bar ends, OEM clip-on bars, shark fins and a whole lot more. Did it all because to me it was worth it. I'll never get back the money I put into my bikes if I were to sell one. I don't care. I do things for them because I enjoy them.

Your bike is your baby - do whatever it wants to keep it happy. Bikes appreciate attention and a new bobble now and then. Enjoy your bike. Don't look at your bike as an investment to make you money.

If you want to re-jet, then do it. To me, meh. Lunchbox air filter? meh. To others, those are important. I prefer to spend time and money on what I can see.

NOTE: I now make and sell my own SS chain guards. Nicer than this old photo. See it here: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=58237.0

Things like all this shiny silver stuff:


And turning this:


into this: (yes - that black bike IS this red one! I don't think I ever posted the before and after photos before.) Suzi is my 2009 blue one in the background.


Now with fog lights, 2009 forks, 2009 brake calipers, stick-on fork reflectors and SS brake line (Trey, on the left, now blue, was purple and yellow before that if you see photos in old postings)


Did I mention that I feel appearance is more important? You can't see a re-jetting, can you?

[justinmc84]

I'm at the same point.  I'm determining whether I want to change my bike up and spend some cash (new handlebars, bar end mirrors, grips, reupholster the seat, etc) that at this point its probably better to pass the baby on to someone else and move up.

The mods won't add that much value, but you should definitely make the bike yours.

[Dr.McNinja]

The thing is, whats your goal? If you're looking for a more powerful ride the quickest way is to buy a 600 or something. I personally like working on bikes and every bike I own gets modded because I love my motorcycles. I like a better running bike, I got my 2006 GS500F for 1800, Im spending 600 on mods, total net investment is 2400. Well under the local asking price. Am I expecting to make more money than I invested? Well, Im definitely selling it for more than I bought it for, and I think 2200-2400 is a fair asking price for a well maintained 5-8 year old motorcycle anyway. If I added anything else I probably wouldnt sell it for any more.


My motto is if you cant justify spending money on your gs to make it better you wont spend money on your new bike either. No matter what your bike is modifications make it only slightly better than stock unless you really dump money into it, which you wont do because you cant justify it. Your bike is whag you make of if. I treat my bike better than I treat people sometimes, its all up to you.

[SAFE-T]

is it really worth it modding up the gs 500? i mean air filter, exhaust and jetting? really what do you really get?

I think you will get a lot more out of changing some suspension bits like the front springs and rear shock first. Cheaper, too.

[Big Rich]

As far as jetting goes, the stock carbs were designed to work EVERYWHERE. But nobody drives thru every climate and altitude. It's easy to do, can cost as little as $10, and can help your engine run better.

[adidasguy]

While I found the rear OK, the front springs are bad. See other topics on it. While newer bikes do have better front springs than older ones, they are still bad. Probably the best thing you can do for under $100 is change the front springs to something better. That one thing will greatly improve your ride.

[burning1]

Handling and basic braking modifications are worth doing. HP modifications really aren't worth it unless you're trying to build a race bike, and even then, it may only be worth it if you are running your GS in a class it's competitive in. Cheapest way to gobs more power is to buy another bike, but the GS can be made to handle very well.

[Mauricio]

Handling and basic braking modifications are worth doing. HP modifications really aren't worth it unless you're trying to build a race bike, and even then, it may only be worth it if you are running your GS in a class it's competitive in. Cheapest way to gobs more power is to buy another bike, but the GS can be made to handle very well.

There are good reasons to get an exhaust and do the mods that go along with it. It isn't the 0.9 additional HP in and of itself, but those mods will yield a properly jetted bike that doesn't have to run on full choke for 15 minutes if the temperature drops below 45 ºF. The bike will run crisper and with better throttle response at all RPMs. That is good enough reason for me.

I realize I am alone in this crusade. But FFS, what was Suzuki thinking when they slapped that pig iron piece of bent pipe they like to call the OEM exhaust to that poor bike? The quality is atrocious. Poorly made of crappy materials, heavy and a rust magnet. Not that the rest of the bike doesn't rust, having been sprayed with paint one molecule thick. But the exhaust in particular is horrid. That is another good reason to go with an aftermarket exhaust.

[jordan]

hi guys, thanks all for the replay 

i think some may had got wrong the question, or maybe i just wrote it the wrong way, but in the end my question was answer,
i was just questioning was it worth it en terms of HP performance, and not of the value of the bike because i know its not worth much

OK i also like the idea of getting the bike to look better, and thats what I'm trying to do with time,

i really think this could be a handy, economical and good looking bike in any way,
i got pods, exhaust and rejetted to 40/145 but I'm really thinking of getting it back to stock because i don't really feel noting in HP terms, and don't like that extra sound from the intake, for example I'm in 6th or 5th gear and wont to overtake someone in that gear, i give it gas and the bike makes a hell of noise but not really moving that fast.

I'm going to stick with the performance exhaust, and airbox is going in again, and going to change the style, or give it more of the bike this winter

thanks to ya all

[fraze11]

I think the reality is, as almost everyone else has mentioned...the cost to benefit ratio just isn't there.  So unless you have deep pockets and for whatever reason want to upgrade "performance" stuff, the impact will be very very minimal and almost imaginary in my opinion.   It is funny tho, I swore up and down I would NEVER do a damn thing to my GS..and here I am 2 years later and I've done front springs, air filter, jets, pipe, signals, pegs, rim stripes?!  But to be completely honest I did NONE of that stuff for a performance gain, I simply did it to make the bike mine.  I think thats the fun of owning a motorcycle (or any vehicle really) ... making it unique to you.  At the end of the day if you want to do stuff...do it regardless of what anyone tells you.  In the case of the GS though, don't do it and expect amazing performance results it just isnt there.   Look for good used parts tho to save some $$$.  For example; I got my Yoshi used and saved almost 50% vs new.

However, if I had to put my finger on the single best upgrade I did, that returned the most of the investment, it would have to be my front springs.  That was a DAY and NIGHT modification for me.  The jet kit did smooth things out a bit and in fact I would have jetted my bike even if I didn't pipe/filter it.  The rest is just for looks   and fun 

[twocool]

I think the reality is, as almost everyone else has mentioned...the cost to benefit ratio just isn't there.  So unless you have deep pockets and for whatever reason want to upgrade "performance" stuff, the impact will be very very minimal and almost imaginary in my opinion.   It is funny tho, I swore up and down I would NEVER do a damn thing to my GS..and here I am 2 years later and I've done front springs, air filter, jets, pipe, signals, pegs, rim stripes?!  But to be completely honest I did NONE of that stuff for a performance gain, I simply did it to make the bike mine.  I think thats the fun of owning a motorcycle (or any vehicle really) ... making it unique to you.  At the end of the day if you want to do stuff...do it regardless of what anyone tells you.  In the case of the GS though, don't do it and expect amazing performance results it just isnt there.   Look for good used parts tho to save some $$$.  For example; I got my Yoshi used and saved almost 50% vs new.

However, if I had to put my finger on the single best upgrade I did, that returned the most of the investment, it would have to be my front springs.  That was a DAY and NIGHT modification for me.  The jet kit did smooth things out a bit and in fact I would have jetted my bike even if I didn't pipe/filter it.  The rest is just for looks   and fun 

You hit the nail on the head...people do things because they WANT to.........Once you come to grips with the facts that you don't have to rationalize it.......You don't have to justify it.....You don't have to create some cost/benefit chart.........then you can do things for the pure fun of doing.....

People just plain "like" working on their bikes and cars.......there is a mutli million dollar industry based on this fact..........

Cookie

[angelocardoc]

Hey adidasguy





That seat, on your 94' looks awesome!!!


Where did you get it from?

[adidasguy]

Hey adidasguy
That seat, on your 94' looks awesome!!!
Where did you get it from?

Well, which bike? You see, you can't tell the year by looking at them since I've replaced tanks and other things. Junior, the red one, is a 1992 with a brand new 1994 tank (found new old stock!). That seat is by Gimbel from Germany. Comes unpainted. I painted it and added decals from the tail of something like a 2006 "F" model. The blue one, with I think a 1999 tank, is a 1994. That seat is a custom one also made in Germany. They take a stock seat and recover it with new padding and material.

Each seat was about $250 plus shipping. If interested, and want to spend that much, we can find more details for you to order them.

There are past threads listing a couple companies in Europe that do custom seats. I think there is a USA company (Corbin?) that does custom seats. I'm personally not fond of them. I think they look too country western and are shaped like a horse saddle, though others like them.

[kidsixteen]

Each seat was about $250 plus shipping. If interested, and want to spend that much, we can find more details for you to order them.

The Gimbel was only $250 + shipping? From where? I thought they were gonna be about twice that.

[adidasguy]

I guess a little more right now. Ordered direct from them when they were selling on ebay last year. They don't seem to be there now. They had all their stuff for sale with buy now or best offer. I bought with offer so price was pretty good - less than their list price. I haven't seen them on ebay for a while.

Wild Hare used to sell that seat. I don't see it listed anymore. Maybe Gimbel was fire-saleing the seat to clear out inventory? It is still on their site, so maybe Wild Hare just doesn't carry it any longer. I remember it was pretty expensive from Wild Hare and was much cheaper to order direct even with shipping. Wild Hare does have 2 other Gimbel seats.

Price varies as the dollar value changes to the euro.

http://gimbel-suzuki.de/umbau/umbau.html
Select GS500E from the listbox on the upper left of their web page

[kidsixteen]

I'm actually leaning toward a different route at this point anyway... but that price on the Gimbel could have swayed me.