Why Did You Buy That GS500?

[vinny]

Why did i buy it?

The GS500 is well known for being a "learner bike", in the UK, they were used to teach people how to ride and pass the 'big' bike test. I figured if they can handle learners riding them day in day out, then it can handle whatever i throw at it.

Also, Everything i read said the GS500 is a relatively reliable, cheap to fix bike, and has a decent range fuel wise.

It was also one of the lightest bikes i looked at (GS500, ER5, Virago 535, CB500...) And, for the weight it has plenty of power for me, even WITH a passenger.

Oh, and its PURPLE! 

[jmelchio]

I use my bike almost exclusively for commuting so I just wanted something that was easy to handle in city traffic, good on gas and cheap to buy and insure. On top of that the bike is very easy to maintain with its air-cooling and carburetors. Because it hasn't changed much over the many years it's been around it's very easy and cheap to get parts for it.

As an added bonus it can still be used to take out on the highway when the opportunity presents itself.

I think the bike looks nice too but that is of course a matter of taste. I think it handles nice too but the only thing I have to compare it to is a Kawasaki 650 LTD that I rode in my twenties. I prefer the GS over that one even though the Kawi had more power.

[The Buddha]

It looks very cool, sporty without a ton of plastic, practical and UJM and retro wihtout being boring or old.
Seriously the 89-00 body style if you ask me was the sexiest body ever made
Cool.
Buddha.

[madjak30]

Why did you sell your GS? rather than why did you buy it.

I see so many stories about "used to own" a GS.
So, why do you HAVE to sell the GS before your allowed to buy another bike?
And why do you HAVE to buy a "bigger" bike? (I myself was toying with the idea of selling my GS500 for a KLX250, but decided the GS is a keeper).
Just an oxi-topic thought, 
-Ej-

I sold the bike for two reasons...I wanted more power (not needed, but I wanted it), and more leg room would also be nice...

I didn't sell the GS before buying the new bike...I owned both for a month before finding a new "home" for the little guy...



And I didn't HAVE to buy a bigger bike, I just wanted one...more torque so that wind and hills didn't make me have to gear down two gears to keep up with traffic...the GS would do it, but I was pushing it sometimes to keep up...now I have no issues with shortage of power...but it wasn't needed and I sometimes miss the "Little Guy"...

I loved my little GS...



Later.

[ghostrider_23]

I sold my Harley in 1999 and really did not miss riding until about a year ago. I started looking around and thought WOW, I really like the sports bike look. So I went to a dealer and jumped on a few and like the way it felt and as I walked about I almost fell over as I looked at the price tag of these newer bikes $9-$12K. SO two months went by and I thought I should really go talk to someone to find out the In's & outs of purchasing a new bike. This time when I walked in I saw the GSF500 which looks like a sports bike, cool I like it. Then the price, 2009 Brand New 0 miles for excuse me $3100.00 at 1.9% WTF??

Yes, so long story short, it's mine. I love riding it more than I ever liked riding the Harley and it has enough power to do what I want it to and I like the sports bike look. Made some mods and love read threads on this forum.

[lidskid]

Got a great deal on it and a unforseen perk, my wife thinks I'm more sexy for some reason !! Maybe I should buy another 1 

[XLAR8]

here in Australia this bike goes for a premium.... there is a waiting list for second hand models and they sell for $6000 to $7000

ive been told by the bike shop last week that they would sell my bike for $7000... thats how much i paid for it brand new (not many bikes can be sold what you bought it for year later). i went brand new as it was the same price and i figured id rather new over second hand.

iam at the point that i want to do some touring and i have a big trip planned for next year so a big sports tourer is on the cards, the problem is the GS500F is a great little commuter and id love to keep it for a work bike but i dont think i want the hassle of owning 2 bikes at this point in time.

oh what to do, what to do....

[adidasguy]

but i dont think i want the hassle of owning 2 bikes at this point in time.

[mister]

the GS500F is a great little commuter and id love to keep it for a work bike but i dont think i want the hassle of owning 2 bikes at this point in time.

oh what to do, what to do....

Solution = keep the GS and get your Other Bike as well. Ride the GS to work and keep the Other Bike for the weekend. 

I do this and the plus side is, it reduces the load you put on your GS, so the clicks rack up slower and thus you can keep it for longer 

Quick side question: When you say BIG Sport Tourer are you referring to the FJR or another Suzuki, the Bandit 1250s say? Here's an article from the Australian Road Rider. Best selling Sport Tourers for 2009 - GS500F, GSX650F, Hayabusa (Don't know why the Busa is in that list over the Bandit, but hey...

Michael

[Shaddow]

Back to the reason of why you bought it.

I bought mine for a couple of reasons. It had a really good reputation as powerful enough to be exciting while being a new rider, but gentle enough for a new rider, with excellent all round behaviors. It had the seating position I liked, felt good. It was the class of bike I was looking at, at the time.
The next reason was time and place. Went to look at a GS500E 08 model and there was a GS500F 07 model sitting in the driveway next to it. A repairable write off. Good price. Road well, nothing bent but the bars and some panel scratches. Went home with it.
The last reason it looks like a decent bike. Nothing flash but nothing sad.

Couple of years later I still have it.

[mimikeni]

Great thread.  My '96 GS500E is my first bike.  I began looking for a cheap ($500-$1000) older bike I could ride and work on.  I came close to buying an '83 Kawasaki KZ1000.  It was temperamental for the owner to start and really loud. I thought I wanted something in the 500cc to 750cc range.  I stumbled across the Suzuki on Craigslist.  It was a little more than I initially planned to spend but it looked great and had only 2700 miles on it. I think it may be one of the best purchases I ever made.  It has been easy to work on and super reliable.  I agree the seat could be more comfortable for longer rides, but it has plenty of get up and go for this novice.  And...it fits perfectly in my garage with my '74 Mini Cooper. Gotta admit, there's a little voice in the back of my head saying the next bike should be a Honda VTX1300 for cruising. Probably should test drive a cruiser before I make an impulse buy. 

[omio]

I bought mine because I was in the market for a standard naked bike, the GS was the best bang for your buck, got my '01 3 years ago for $1995 with 6K on the clock, now has close to 10K. 

I have since bought a stable mate in an older Kawasaki ZX6 to fullfill the need for speed, but still ride the GS regularly due it is fun factor.

[mrwirey]

I have been riding for 45+ years so I didn't buy this as a beginner's bike...far from it. I didn't buy it for its practicality either. I bought my 2000 GS500E in SEP 2011 from a co-worker. He was the second owner and had put only 700 miles on it in 7 years. I bought it as a fun project. You guys here on GSTwin have pretty much identified all the issues and how to correct them as well as some cool performance mods. I have done a significant number of upgrades to date and I am happy with the bike and the improvements. I was going to sell it and still might as I am going to purchase a new Ducati Streetfighter in the coming months, but as long as I am having fun with it and as long as it stays in the 'rotation' rather than sit on the bench it will have a place in my garage.
Very respectfully, Tim

[Porkchop]

From reading some of the other threads around here, as an example: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=57852.msg656780#msg656780
The question should be. . .

Why did you sell your GS? rather than why did you buy it.

I see so many stories about "used to own" a GS.
So, why do you HAVE to sell the GS before your allowed to buy another bike?
And why do you HAVE to buy a "bigger" bike? (I myself was toying with the idea of selling my GS500 for a KLX250, but decided the GS is a keeper).
Just an oxi-topic thought, 
-Ej-

I bought the GS because when I did my homework I found out all the great things already mentioned in this post.  I sold it because of three reasons: 1 - the wife wanted something more comfortable for two up riding; 2 - the wife gave me a gift card for the local HD dealer; 3 - there was enough room for two bikes in the garage.

If I had the room, I would have kept the GS.  I still miss riding it.

- Porkchop

[pertt-UP-]

After I turned eighteen, I had to sell my 125cc bike to afford a car. Since then I had a massive motorcycle fever, but not enough money. I was looking for 600cc sportbikes, mainly old CBR:s, but prices were too high. One night I was once again looking for bikes from the internet and i found the Gs500e. The price was so tempting, that I had to give it a call.

It didn't have the looks or power of a sportbike, but it had two wheels and a engine. Later on I've noticed the benefits of a naked bike. It's fun to take on gravel or even offroad sometimes and it isn't that expensive to repair after little drop. It uses less fuel and is way more realible than my ex Aprilia...

[Electrojake]

  "TwinRat"
That's a cool handle.
I wish I thought of it! 

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

I wanted something that wasn't too heavy, was easy to ride, cheap to buy, easy to work on, had a bit more torque than a 250 and most importantly could be ridden on a learner or provisional license in Australia.  I like naked bikes, I like things which pull pretty much from idle and I love the sound of a twin.  Given the choice I probably would have started on an SV650, but Suzuki have only recently started making a learner legal version, so I wasn't going to pick one of those up cheap.  If you want a 500cc ish japanese twin cylinder learner bike in Sydney, you get a GS or an ER5, and it's quite tricky to find an ER5 on the second hand market, they're just a bit rare.  The CB500 would probably have been perfect, but they were only available here as a personal import, so even rarer than the Kawasaki.  So GS500 it was.

I've put nearly 20,000 on my old beater GS this year, and I'm finding I love it for commuting, and enjoy playing in the twisties whenever I can as well.  My next bike will have to handle well, go reasonably hard, but also be tolerable on a daily basis.

I'll have an open motorcycle license on the 26th of February.  I don't know whether I'll keep the GS after that, but I definitely want another naked bike, preferably a twin, built after 1995.  My most likely are looking like the SV650, SV1000, and TRX850.

If I'm in a position to buy new next year, most of the naked bikes on the market at the moment are 4cyl, so while I'm turned on by twins I'd be stupid not to at at least test ride bikes like the ER6, FZ6, FZ8.  I might even investigate some 3 pot lunacy from Triumph, although I will never like the Striple's dentist's drill induction noise.

In the Twin cylider naked bike category I have also researched the TL1000 (may kill me) Honda VTR1000 Firestorm (sadly let down by it's fuel range on my favourite runs), and of course the Ducati Monster, which would probably be perfect if it weren't for it's rep as a money pit.  I'm absolutely in love with the Aprillia Shiver at the moment, but since my toys have to earn their keep I should probably shy away from anything Italian.

[joker79507]

It was my first bike and I didnt want to kill myself on a cbr or gsxr. Looking back i should have got a used GS500 though.  If i could fix up a nice fairing for it (the stock is way to wide and boxie IMO) I would keep this bike forever. As it stands now I will ride till I save up to get a CBR600RR.  I dont really care about the power, just like the look of a true sport bike.  My GS aka Susie Q will always have a special place in my heart though. 

[scratch]

Y'know, after riding 25 years, I've realized I don't need that much horsepower.  I've rode my girlfriend's R6, and while it handles like a scalpel, I don't need 110hp, when 40 will do.

[mister]

In the Twin cylider naked bike category I have also researched the TL1000 (may kill me) Honda VTR1000 Firestorm (sadly let down by it's fuel range on my favourite runs), and of course the Ducati Monster, which would probably be perfect if it weren't for it's rep as a money pit.

I think Twisted might have something to say about that. Reputation is not always Reality.

Michael