Friend is looking for a bike. Convince him for (or against) the GS!

[mysterious_rider]

I loved my gs but in all fairness I wouldnt touch them again. Unreliable to hell. Within 7 months I had replaced the chain/sprockets, clutch, stator plate,  and various small electrical problems. And the engine was a bit noisy. brakes were really crap. Etc etc.

They are okay for the money though I guess. Good starter bikes.

[Formori]

The Blast is a bust. The GS500 is a light and competent overall bike. Tell your friend to keep in mind that it's his first bike, not his last. Even the slowest bikes are still faster than the average car. For your first bike you need something that won't overwhelm you in terms of physical size, weight and power. A lot of litre bikes are faster than even the most expensive supercars ~ it takes a great deal of self-discipline and skill not to put yourself in a dangerous situation.

I agree with the speed part, since the GS isn't the most powerful vehicle I've ever owned by far (I think the coupe I had as a teenager had 180hp and weighed only 2000lbs) but it's definitely the fastest accelerating. For fun you can outpace most small sports cars fairly easily when some idiot wants to race you on a light, and then brake and slow up faster so he gets the tickets!

(Not that I would ever do that or condone doing that  )

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

I loved my gs but in all fairness I wouldnt touch them again. Unreliable to hell. Within 7 months I had replaced the chain/sprockets, clutch, stator plate,  and various small electrical problems. And the engine was a bit noisy. brakes were really crap. Etc etc.

They are okay for the money though I guess. Good starter bikes.

I have to say that as much as I hate to hear about your bad experience, it's not at all typical.
I bought my 04 with 19k miles on the clock, from a friend that had never even heard the word "maintenance," and he had lowsided it several times. I've since put another 24k miles on it, with only minor maintenance done, and no failures. It has for sure been the perfect beginner bike for me. So much so, that now my wife is learning to ride on it.

I'm acctually having a tough time deciding on my next bike. Like many I figure maybe it's time to upgrade to a 650, and have always liked the SV's. But I'm having a hard time justifying the extra cost. Since none of them fit my needs exactly. I may end up with another GS, even though I've always been kind of averse to owning two of the same thing.  The only thing I know I would really like to have, is FI.

[Bluesmudge]

I loved my gs but in all fairness I wouldnt touch them again. Unreliable to hell. Within 7 months I had replaced the chain/sprockets, clutch, stator plate,  and various small electrical problems. And the engine was a bit noisy. brakes were really crap. Etc etc.

They are okay for the money though I guess. Good starter bikes.

But you can replace/upgrade all of those things for the price of an oil change on a BMW!

Ok, maybe not -- but almost. Sound like you got a lemon. Was that a new bike you had problems with or some beat to shaZam! bike you bought for $900?

[Phil B]

The only thing I know I would really like to have, is FI.

WHy??

I hear people say this. I can maybe understand if they're in nebraska or something... but you're in FLORIDA?
I'm in california. Both nice and warm places.
My bike starts up in about 1 second, every time.
I just ride it, leaving the choke on for about 1 minute or under, as I ride it. I take it off when I get to the first major crossroads. No problems.
Why would you want FI so bad?

[SAFE-T]

Here is the deal with beginner bikes ~ you want something light, without a lot of power, and preferably not a lot of expensive bodywork. A Motard would actually be better than a lot of other bikes including 250's that have full fairings.

In my experience working with new riders for 14+ yrs, there are two newbie mistakes that cause all the trouble, and they're both related to braking.

The first is the braking-and-turning at low speed, often followed by a loss of traction at the front because you either never learned or forgot how to use your brakes at low speed.

The second is not braking enough/too late/too much when you are going faster than you are comfortable.

Both of these situations can be overcome with experience, practice and/or more advanced training. These take time, which is the main reason why you should start off small(er) and slow(er) until your experience and confidence on motorcycles increases.

Lastly, riding a motorcycle is like flying an airplane ~ you wouldn't do it if it was made by Harley, and you don't start off in a 757.   

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

The only thing I know I would really like to have, is FI.

WHy??

I hear people say this. I can maybe understand if they're in nebraska or something... but you're in FLORIDA?
I'm in california. Both nice and warm places.
My bike starts up in about 1 second, every time.
I just ride it, leaving the choke on for about 1 minute or under, as I ride it. I take it off when I get to the first major crossroads. No problems.
Why would you want FI so bad?

Well, I'm actually in Up State South Carolina right now, and even on a hot day, my bike doesn't work quite that easily. I get jealous of my buddies just starting up and pulling out. And FI just has less maintenance than Carbs. I don't ride my bikes for several months in the winter. We get a fair amount of rough weather here.

[Bluesmudge]

GI_JO_NATHAN, when was the last time you checked your valve clearances? Set your exhaust valves looser (around .11mm) and you will have no more problems with startup. +1 on jetting also helps. I bet adidasguy's new spark plugs also help.

Yes, carbs take more work, but when you have the system working correctly it shouldn't be any trouble above 40 degrees F.

[applecrew]

Best bang for the buck for a beginner! Easy to ride & maintain - I've had 57,000 miles of reliable service out my '07 so far. Have I wanted more at times? Certainly. Do I get bored some times? Yes... Have I out-grown it? Not too sure. I'm sure she can still teach me a thing or two. Would I get rid of her before her time because of that? Hell no. Perfect bike for my commuting, and I go year round. To be fair, you have to be determined to ride when it's sub-freezing - but if you're not into that, and most are not, then there is little to hate here. You can scare yourself on it, you can break the speed limit faster than many cars can.

Pretty damn good little machine in my book. It's not a bike that will get you excited, but it does most everything pretty well!

[iclrag]

ICLRAG: is a shaft driven sport bike much different than a cruiser? I had an 07 Suzuki S83 and I can't say there was anything special about the shaft drive in it.

In general, a shaft driven bike tends to be much less forgiving, there is no give luke your chain has, some shaft driven bikes arent like this but the XS1100 is, definately not a forgiving bike by any stretch of the imagination! Now this was an old bike, most likely a new suzuki is much better than that old bike, but it sure was fun.

[SAFE-T]

The only shaft drive sportbikes you are going to find are either 20+ yrs old, or 1200-1400cc Sport Touring bikes like the FJR1300. Neither are really comparable to the GS, nor what your friend should be looking for at this point.

[mab32]

I think a stock 500 is a great bike to learn on.
I've got a 100, a 250, the 500, an 1100, and a 1300.
Out of all of them I'd say the 100 thru 500 would be fine to learn on but I'd lean towards the 500 because as others have said, you won't grow tired of it as quickly as the smaller cc bikes.

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

GI_JO_NATHAN, when was the last time you checked your valve clearances? Set your exhaust valves looser (around .11mm) and you will have no more problems with startup. +1 on jetting also helps. I bet adidasguy's new spark plugs also help.

Yes, carbs take more work, but when you have the system working correctly it shouldn't be any trouble above 40 degrees F.

To be honest it's been a while. But when I did check them, they were dead on. And it had the same issue. Carbs were set up by the man himself Buddha, and I'm thinking about Adidas plugs.

[mctwisty]

I agree with above posts. I'm a big guy 6'3 90kg (200pounds) and my first/current bike is a 07 gs500. Plenty of grunt and for a newbie super forgiving, so many times I've gone from 1st missed 2nd and landed in neutral revved the guts out before slamming it in 2nd. (embarrassing) .... but try that with a super bike and your in all kinds of trouble. Us newbies will make mistakes that's just how it is.  Honestly he won't get bored of it anytime soon if that's his worry
My friend got himself a z1000, yea sure sexy and he smokes me on the straits but he's no chance of keeping up with me on the twistys and lets face it for me at least that's the best part of riding.    manic grin that just won't leave my face

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

I agree with above posts. I'm a big guy 6'3 90kg (200pounds) and my first/current bike is a 07 gs500. Plenty of grunt and for a newbie super forgiving, so many times I've gone from 1st missed 2nd and landed in neutral revved the guts out before slamming it in 2nd. (embarrassing) .... but try that with a super bike and your in all kinds of trouble. Us newbies will make mistakes that's just how it is.  Honestly he won't get bored of it anytime soon if that's his worry
My friend got himself a z1000, yea sure sexy and he smokes me on the straits but he's no chance of keeping up with me on the twistys and lets face it for me at least that's the best part of riding.    manic grin that just won't leave my face

I'd rather ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow.

[SAFE-T]

There's no real difference in missing a shift on a 'Superbike' vs a GS500. Except maybe the cost of repair.