Other 500's??

[Jace009]

Does anyone else have experience w/ other 500cc bikes that could compare them to the GS? [specificaly the Ninja 500r/EX500]..I ride my bike so much that I have seen performance decrease because of engine tempeature. I love my gs but just wanted to see how other competitors stack up....

[JamesG]

Oh like you are reaallyyyy going to get an unbaised answer here.  

Right now there are a few bikes in the GS's niche;

The Kawasaki EX 250, can be had new for cheap, are fun little bikes, but are little, both in size and power.  Nice to have as a pet, but not as a serious motorcycle.
The EX500 has a better motor, liquid cooled 4 valver that makes a few more HP than the GS stock, and can be built considerably more. But the EX has a truely aweful frame and its forks and rear suspension are worse than the GS (hard to imagine) when pushed hard.  It does come with most of a fairing, which can be a good and bad thing.
The Suzuki SV650 perhaps, but the only ones you will find in its price range will be salvage titled 99~00s.
Suzuki Bandit 400s if you can find one. They look awesome, but parts can be very hard to find.
Honda Hawk, unmolested ones are hard to find as most seem to have been track/race bikes at one point in their lives. Performance is half way between a EX and an SV.
Ducati Monster 610/620. Nice, but even used, are really out of the price range of even a new GS.

[Maniac]

Bandit 400 hard to get parts for?

Tell me about it!  :lol:

Still, very sweet bike. 4-valves/cylinder, liquid cooled, inline 4. Shares a lot of chassis parts with the Bandit 600, thankfully.

[raven]

Kwaka also do the ER500 which is their naked GS look-alike. Again, it's liquid-cooled, but still a twin-engine. Hideously incomfortable seat and position, IMHO, even if the engine is a little more powerful.

GS really is the pick of the crop of 500cc bikes as far as I've been able to find.

R.

[yamahonkawazuki]

plus they're semi-painless to work on.... :dunno: , also ask yourself this..., who else or for that matter  which other bike has such a great website specifically dedicated to it? :mrgreen:    

[Frost]

i used to own a EX500 (Ninja500)...but never really liked the feel of the engine and handling...the GS is a better bike for handling IMO...but provides less hp...

and looks better too IMO :mrgreen:

[conradvr]

In the near 1/2 litre capacity the one bike I like is Honda's baby v4 - the VFR400 or RVF400, looks good, goes fast and handles great.  Here in Oz we get them as grey bikes.


http://www.racersden.com/images/honda/honda-rvf400-2.jpg


Cheers
Conrad

[Adam R]

In the near 1/2 litre capacity the one bike I like is Honda's baby v4 - the VFR400 or RVF400, looks good, goes fast and handles great.  Here in Oz we get them as grey bikes.

Bastards. I had the chance to ride a NSR 250 on Saturday and had a lot of fun even if it was just around the neighborhood. I definitely plan on getting a 400cc or 250cc two-smoke at some point within the next year.

Adam

[werase643]

how about a nice...
GSXR400
ZXR400
HAWK GT
FZR400RRSP...
RG500??SWEET!!!!!
RZ500????also SWEET!!!!!

[The Buddha]

OK then here is the other 1/2... Cruisers available in USA.
Virago 535 - Nice and torquey, and very very very very easy to work on. Everything is external, valves, jets, float level, needles all of it is external.
Vulcan 500/ 454 LTD - Love that belt, water cooled, sweet.
Savage 650 - Yea not a 500 but weighs less than one, and is easy to work on as well but  of course keeping oil in it is a different matter altogether. Dont worry about the leaking head and ride. It dont hurt it.
600  shadow OK fine 500 shadow. Hydraulic valves and torquey. 500 is heavy and 600 is usually pricey.
Ascot 500 Same as shadow 500 but the air cooled single had off road potential. The water cooled 500 is a bit more entertaining than the shadow.
450 rebel. Yes no redeeming quality what so ever. OK its low and light and chicks pay big $$$ for it.
Cool.
Srinath.