New Guy! With questions?

[robfriedenberger]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new here I just picked up a 04' GS500f today, and love it! I went from having a 74' yamaha TX500 that I brought back from the grave to this new machine. I've been rideing it all day today  its so fun. So Ill start with some questions!

1. What are the major issues with these bikes, after Google searched I came up with nothing, if any how to prevent these issues?
2. What are some of the best mods?
3. What should I start with replaceing obviously the oil and filter, but any thing else i should look at its has 8,xxx on the clock right now.


Thanks in advanced

Rob

[RossLH]

2. Upgraded fork springs.

[slipperymongoose]

No big issues really look after it and it'll look after you. Check the oil regularly they are known to use it. Other than that its a solid choice of a bike

[Suzuki Stevo]

Add fuel, twist grip! 

[ron freeman]

Upgrade to a 17 tooth front sprocket. Your gas mileage will increase and it will ride with much less vibration.

[Janx101]

....  ... Lol ... Ron!! .... You KNOW what that's gonna cause!, ... Ah well .. Least the thread will get bigger! 

And Rob ... You obviously familiar with riding ... But even then ... Spend some time riding the bike and be totally used to its particular quirks .. Identify the issues you don't like and go from there...

... Warning ... Mentioning sprockets, oil, fuel and to a lesser extent tyres ... Are going to start a 'situation' ... By all means ask away!!! ... Just FYI 

[Twisted]

Do the oil and filter change you mentioned. When doing the filter cover up do not over torque the bolts. They will snap. Just snick them. Also check the valve clearances for piece of mind. It is pretty straight forward with a few You Tube tutorials available. You will only have issues with a GS if you run it low on oil. Always keep an eye on it. Best mod you can do for the GS is removing the biro springs Suzuki uses on the front and upgrading to some Sonic springs sprung to your weight.

[sledge]

Potential issues?, don't be fooled, there are plenty 

Charging problems, usually the reg/rect.
Cylinder base gaskets can weep if the head nuts didnt get re-torqued on the 1k shakedown service.
Splines wear on the gearbox output shaft but this only really effects the earlier models without the `bossed` sprocket
Petcocks can develop issues leading to fuel starvation at high speed, again only the earlier models
Carbs and jets prone to clogging if left unused for long periods.
Swing arm rusts in the `crotch`
Forks tubes are weak and prone to bending even in light crashes
Camshaft knock issues on early models, up to engine no 114497
Choke cable collects water and seizes if unused
Header bolts prone to seizing in the head making removal difficult.
Engine is a dated design and evaporates oil at high and prolonged engine speeds
Late model (low emission) carbs are complicated and tricky to set up and troubleshoot.
OEM fork springs weak.
Oil filter cover studs prone to stripping and snapping....but only IF you believe the torque figures Suzuki quote 
Below average quality paint finish, particularly the frame
No greasing points in the rear suspension linkage.
Speedo can be changed in minutes making it easy to `clock` the mileage figure.

[ndlsjk]

Potential issues?, don't be fooled, there are plenty 

Charging problems, usually the reg/rect.
Cylinder base gaskets can weep if the head nuts didnt get re-torqued on the 1k shakedown service.
Splines wear on the gearbox output shaft but this only really effects the earlier models without the `bossed` sprocket
Petcocks can develop issues leading to fuel starvation at high speed, again only the earlier models
Carbs and jets prone to clogging if left unused for long periods.
Swing arm rusts in the `crotch`
Forks tubes are weak and prone to bending even in light crashes
Camshaft knock issues on early models, up to engine no 114497
Choke cable collects water and seizes if unused
Header bolts prone to seizing in the head making removal difficult.
Engine is a dated design and evaporates oil at high and prolonged engine speeds
Late model (low emission) carbs are complicated and tricky to set up and troubleshoot.
OEM fork springs weak.
Oil filter cover studs prone to stripping and snapping....but only IF you believe the torque figures Suzuki quote 
Below average quality paint finish, particularly the frame
No greasing points in the rear suspension linkage.
Speedo can be changed in minutes making it easy to `clock` the mileage figure.

Jeez oh man, who would ever want one of these things 

[Paulcet]

Jeez oh man, who would ever want one of these things 

Yeah, Rob, you made a terrible mistake!  Let me take that off your hands. 

[Dr.McNinja]

Carbs and jets prone to clogging if left unused for long periods.
Forks tubes are weak and prone to bending even in light crashes
Engine is a dated design and evaporates oil at high and prolonged engine speeds
Late model (low emission) carbs are complicated and tricky to set up and troubleshoot.
OEM fork springs weak.
Oil filter cover studs prone to stripping and snapping....but only IF you believe the torque figures Suzuki quote 

These are the ones I've seen so far.

Guy I know laid down his GS pretty gently in a turn and bent the ever-loving shaZam! out of his forks.

Engine is dated. Makes changing the oil (who the hell uses spring-held oil filters anymore) a pain in the ass.

Every bolt on the engine is made of cheese. Sometimes 1/4 past hand tight is pushing it.

Stock fork springs are absolute garbage and so is the stock oil they put in it. But this is true for the SV650s and nearly anything short of a race bike. Once you get on a 600 and feel the suspension you'll never want your bad GS forks again.

Carbs getting clogged if not used is a problem for all carbed bikes and not just the GSes. I hate carbs (but I'd imagine cleaning/replacing clogged fuel injectors is just as bad).

[robfriedenberger]

Thanks guys for all the info, I'm sure I'll be picking your guys brains soon! So far i rode over 150 miles in a weekend with out going any where and loved every second of it!

From what you guys said I'm not scared of any thing lol, I had a hard learning experience with my TX500, the bolts on that may of been made of crackers =) so bolts make of cheese will be a snap. I can not stand the sound or lack of sound with the factory exhaust so that will be changing soon as the weather turns nasty lol. I plan on riding it every day until then.

After searching Google for about an hour or two i gave up on trying to find a good free service manual lol, so I'm going to bite the bullet and buy one before i need one, whats the best one for the best price. i know factory might be the best but usually the most costly? Also whats a good service intervals,

x,xxx oil change?
x,xxx plugs ?
x,xxx valve clearances

Also I don't think ill need to do this for a long time but the guys who have tore into the head, what is the worst part?
On my TX500 you had to cut the cam chain, search the webs for parts and hope to god the used part you did find were better than what you were replacing.


Thanks guys! 

[gsJack]

Also whats a good service intervals,

x,xxx oil change?
x,xxx plugs ?
x,xxx valve clearances

Thanks guys! 

Hate to even mention oil change here again but I've changed oil every 2k miles approx. and filter every other change using Rotella T 15W-40 all the way on my 02 GS.  Suzuki specs oil and filter every 3-4k miles I think.

Suzuki specs 8k miles approx. on plugs but I had one start cutting out at 7k on my 97 GS so I've changed them 6k since for all of my 175k GS miles.

I started checking valves every 8k miles when that was twice a year and every 10k miles when that became once a year, here's my complete record of valve checks, brakes and chains, and tires I've used:

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GSvalvelogs.jpg

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GSbrakechainlog.jpg

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GS500tirelogs.jpg

[robfriedenberger]

Nice Thanks for the info, the bike came with out a book, so I've been searching for every thing that is covered in the owners manual......Need less to say going from a bike that 40 years old to a bike that is 10 years old it a huge leap. Plugs on my old bike were to be changed ever 2,xxx, oil as well, valve clearances every 1,xxx haha ....last question and i'll stop for today. How long will these motors run before developing major issues roughly i know it comes down to how you treat it also.

[gsJack]

I ran my 97 up to 80k miles with no issues and son JP took it for a commuter and ran it to 88k miles.  At that mileage it still ran fine but it's pushing a lot of oil at freeway commuting speeds so he put a new low mileage engine in it.

Bought my 02 with about 4k on it and at about 20k it broke an exhaust valve while cranking one freezing cold morning and I had to pull head and repair.  Must have come from the factory with that tight bucket and probably would have never broken if I didn't ride all winter.  Bucket frees almost immediately after engine starts and begins to warm.  Have put almost 80k more trouble free miles on it since, odo will turn over this month and it will be new again.   

As with all GSs oil consumption goes up with high mileage.  Best as I can remember it began using a bit of oil after 1.5 k miles after change and was down to add mark at next change up to about 30k on the clock.  By 50k miles it needed a pint or 2 between changes.  Somewhere between 50 and 100k miles it self converts from a 500cc engine into a 500cc oil pump but continues to tick right along if you keep oil in it.

[sledge]

Yamaha TX500??? I don't remember them but I do know them. It was doing what the GS500 does but 15 years earlier. Very very similar specs, apart from the extra valves and 1 less gear. Never really caught on over here, the XS650 was far more popular. Nice to look at and there are one or two on the show circuit but I doubt it will ever be considered a real classic. It would be nice to have one in the garage though.

Click here for a good story  http://www.realclassic.co.uk/yamahatx500.html

[robfriedenberger]

SAY WHAT    THATS CRAZY 

MY GOD I was thinking I was only going to get another 30,xxx out of this motor and look at replacing...........
The TX500 is only for looks every other time I rode it there was some thing wrong with it, motors usually need replaced after 30,xxx, heads are known to crack from normal use, you cant order parts for them, if you can they have %200-%300 markup on them.......It was great to learn on not too much power to screw me up, weighted good, and simple enough to figure out things on my own but defendant not a reliable bike for every day commute

[Dr.McNinja]

SAY WHAT    THATS CRAZY 

MY GOD I was thinking I was only going to get another 30,xxx out of this motor and look at replacing...........
The TX500 is only for looks every other time I rode it there was some thing wrong with it, motors usually need replaced after 30,xxx, heads are known to crack from normal use, you cant order parts for them, if you can they have %200-%300 markup on them.......It was great to learn on not too much power to screw me up, weighted good, and simple enough to figure out things on my own but defendant not a reliable bike for every day commute

Unless you really like wrenching on a GS what I would do if you blew the motor is part out the bike and keep the the motor to practice around. Once you're done with it sell it to a scrap yard for a couple hundred bucks. Around these parts you can get GS500s up to 2007 for around $2400 which is really cheap. Parting out a GS will get you well over half of that back. A new motor will cost you half the bike at best.

The nice thing is the GS500 engine is it's extremely rugged and will take bad maintenance in stride. As long as you remember to change the oil every 4k miles the thing will last forever. That's why these (and other 500s) are great starter bikes. More expensive bikes are much more finicky about their maintenance schedules.

Worst part about the GS500 is that at least around here parts aren't available as easily as any 600 (or even the SV650). Luckily you have this forum and many members have buckets and buckets of parts but if you're trying to replacing something rare you still have to endure the 200-300% markup of a Suzuki dealer. That's true for any bike though.

[TonyKZ1]

Thanks for starting this topic and sharing your questions and answers as I've had some of the same questions on this bike.
Tony

[robfriedenberger]

I'm usually a pretty light rider....I can't say I have been this week these bikes are fun!  But usually I am and I'm kinda anal about maintenance so that wont be a problem either. Now what i got to find for cheap is a complete seat lock with key......I know this i going to be a tough one