Buying a gs500

[milt94]

Hi all newby here.

I really want a gs500 and have looked at 2 already and looking at another tomorrow.

Just wondering if there is anything particular to look out for, both that should set off alarm bells and also those that can lower the price.

Cheers

[Watcher]

These motorcycles are fairly simple, just look at all the usual stuff like chain condition, any wet spots on the engine, leaking fork seals, body damage.  Pop the seat off and have a look at the battery and electrics, make sure the frame isn't rusting.  Look inside the fuel tank...

Test ride if possible.

Make sure it cold starts with you there.  If you are there and the bike is hot don't buy it.  If the seller is upset maybe come back in an hour or so when it cools off if it's worth your time.

[The Buddha]

I'd be asking the seller if and when they did a valve adjustment.
If they did one recently (in the last 3-4 yrs) I'd count on having to pull all 4 shims after the test ride and swapping them for known non chinese shims. If they didn't in the last few yrs, I'd really question what their other maintenance procedures were.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Suzuki Stevo]

Check for welded on countershaft sprockets.

[sledge]

Yep, always the first thing I look for 

.....and charging systems that don't.

[fetor56]

If someone has pride in their bike,hence mechanically inclined to maintain it,the cosmetic condition will reflect that.
Even if u have to put down a large security deposit........NO RIDE,NO BUY. 

[The Buddha]

If someone has pride in their bike,hence mechanically inclined to maintain it,the cosmetic condition will reflect that.
Even if u have to put down a large security deposit........NO RIDE,NO BUY. 

Oh come on, I pride in riding a Fugly POS.

Also it should actively be a theft deterrent. Not only does it need to keep itself from getting stolen, it also needs to protect the house.

Missing parts are par for the course, whole rear brake apparatus doesn't exist, headlight, not for the last 2 weeks, and it should look like a crappy stock bike, even though its got several 1000's in mods.

Kat FE, B4 rear wheel, yosh tri oval Ti, billet ignition coil cover a fork brace should all look like they came that way and the owner wont be bothered to clean them. Touch it naaaayyyy get within 10ft of it, and you may get a disease.

Cool.
Buddha.

[philward]

Won't repeat things that others have said but here are some additional things that I look at:

• tyre date codes - they're easy to look for on the sidewall and will tell you directly how old they are.  I've bought bikes where people hand over all sort of receipts only to find that the tyres have not been changed and the receipt is for another bike.  If the bike has sat for a while it may have lots of tread but old tyres perish and that extra tread won't count for anything if the rubber needs replacing.  It can also be a good negotiation point if they're old and you can prove it.  If you catch a seller in a lie over it then that can also be a good gauge of trust that you should have over everything else they tell you.  also look for cracks in the sidewall.
• suspension seals (front and back) - visually inspect and run your finger over them if you need to.  My old GS had a leaky rear shock and it wasn't very old at all.
• disks - run your finger over them and feel for corrugations or a lip.  I've looked at bikes where the owner has clearly run the pad all the way down and into the disk.
• brake feel - feel for spongeyness, length of pull, look for leakage around the rubber boot of the master cylinder.  Go for a test ride and very lightly put on each brake in turn - pulsing indicates a warped disk.
• run your finger around engine seals to confirm there are no leaks.
• tool kit - it's a pain not to have the shock adjuster and people do lose them/leave them in the shed.
• chain condition - not rusty and no fused links (runs straight and doesn't have kinks in it)
• exhaust - see that holes haven't been drilled in it to make a homemade sports exhaust.

[fetor56]

If someone has pride in their bike,hence mechanically inclined to maintain it,the cosmetic condition will reflect that.
Even if u have to put down a large security deposit........NO RIDE,NO BUY. 

Oh come on, I pride in riding a Fugly POS.

Also it should actively be a theft deterrent. Not only does it need to keep itself from getting stolen, it also needs to protect the house.

Missing parts are par for the course, whole rear brake apparatus doesn't exist, headlight, not for the last 2 weeks, and it should look like a crappy stock bike, even though its got several 1000's in mods.

Kat FE, B4 rear wheel, yosh tri oval Ti, billet ignition coil cover a fork brace should all look like they came that way and the owner wont be bothered to clean them. Touch it naaaayyyy get within 10ft of it, and you may get a disease.

Cool.
Buddha.

If something looks like a "Fugly POS" it generally is....if something seems too good to be true it generally is.

[lucas]

hey Buddha, don't let them get you down for every style there is there is someone else who will say it is a POS.  What is a Kat FE?

[gsJack]

front end

[The Buddha]

hey Buddha, don't let them get you down for every style there is there is someone else who will say it is a POS.  What is a Kat FE?

There are kat FE's and there are Kat FE's.
Any way, it has to look stock and work like stock, and most katana FE swaps do not.

But at first glance it is a POS.
Second glance, sorry, still a POS.

However you cant see what aint there.

No rust, inside or out, tank is coated inside but looks like a wore out white 89 tank on the outside cos it came off my very first GS I bought in 95, frame is powdercoated black after all the gaping weld joints were welded up and sanded smooth, better handling due to kat FE especially under braking, properly fitted gauges (and headlight after this weekend hopefully), properly fitted and working lock that doesn't have to be sunk 3/4" into the hole, a properly fitted rear hanging brake caliper and everything correctly working ... like a stock bike. People notice the pipe, then the billet cover ... and never notice anything else, in the case of non GS'ers, they dont even notice the FE after I point it out, and they don't believe the rear wheel wasn't 4" and had top fit caliper originally.

Years of work to build it, and even many more years to make it look like it was never modded or maintained. Which BTW brings me to my next pet peeve. Those Chinese shims - are they out of circulation yet, this has a couple valves making too much noise. I'm thinking they could use a swap.

Cool.
Buddha.