should i buy this bike?

[blackcow0212]

Hi everyone! I've been browsing this forum for almost 2 years, and now that I've finally decided to buy a GS500F as my first bike, I'm hoping to get some buying tips from you guys! 

The bike I found near my area is a 2009 GS500F with only 2748 miles (negotiated the price to $2500). The bike looks pretty clean in the pictures, but I'm just worry that with so little miles on this bike, it might have just been sitting around for too long causing damage to the internals. Can you guys give me some pointers as to what I should be asking the seller before I go see the bike, or what I should be looking for when I actually see it in person?

Also, I noticed the chain looks kinda rusty, is that going to be a big problem? How much do you think it will cost to have a bike shop/mechanic do a full tune up of the bike? (I'm in SF bayarea)

Let me know what you guys think about this bike, and if it seems like a good deal.

Thanks all !

[blackcow0212]

I can't upload pictures
"The upload folder is full. Please try a smaller file and/or contact an administrator." my picture is 75KB JPEG

[Big Rich]

Have you tried Photobucket? Or maybe you need more than 5 posts..... I dunno.

But yeah, that low mileage isn't always a good thing. Chances are, the carbs will need cleaned out. The brake lines should really be changed too (I prefer braided stainless), along with the tires (they will have a "born on" date on them - 5 years old is generally the limit). A rusted chain isn't TOO bad, just check if it is surface rust, or if there is a rusted kink in it.

[the_63]

Hey, welcome to the boards.

Maybe Delboy's Garage can help

Chris

[ShowBizWolf]

Hi blackcow and welcome to the forum. Yes the uploader has been full for a long time... you'll have to host your pictures on photobucket or facebook or elsewhere online and then link them here using the little picture button up where the text editor buttons are (above this text block when typing a reply).

Good luck with the purchase and keep us posted!

[Endopotential]

Hey Black Cow,

Welcome to the group!

Lots of info if you do a generic search on how to buy a used bike
https://rideapart.com/articles/tips-buying-used-motorcycle-kind

I'm in Pacifica, so PM me if you want a second set of eyes to check out the bike.
Or share the ad of the bike you're interested in?

One particular thing from the 2007 I bought - the plastic on the sight "glass" of the front brake reservoir is really fragile, especially if it gets old and degraded.  I poked a hole in it with just my fingernail and leaked brake fluid all over the place.  Thankfully at the end of my first ride home, and not along the 280...

[Endopotential]

Nevermind... is this the one you're looking at?  http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/5971077539.html

It looks pretty clean, and $2800 is reasonable if it's in really good mechanical shape.   Though labor rates in SF are crazy expensive, as is everything else here.
Best is to learn how to do all the work yourself - this is a huge part of the satisfaction of riding a machine you worked on yourself.
I was a relative mechanical newbie, and learned tons tinkering on my own bike.  Great folks here on the forum to guide you along.

[mr72]

FWIW I passed on a relatively clean but obviously "been laid down" 2007 GS-F with under 3K miles for $700... Mostly because the PO could not make it run reliably.

7 years is a long time to go by and only cover 2800 miles, but not exactly horrible. That's 400 miles a year. I might not put more than that on my own GS. But it is going to require some work no matter what unless it has been recently done: carb cleaning, drain/change the gas, maintenance stuff, etc., so just be aware of that for the first couple of hundred miles you ride it. Should be good. Sounds like a halfway decent deal.

[SirHansford]

If you aren't an experienced rider and feel reluctant to test ride it for fear of dropping it or something,  get an experienced friend to go with ya and test ride it for ya (a lot of sellers require cash in hand for a test ride though).  A lot can be gleaned from an actual test ride that can not be noticed by just watching it sit and running at idle.  Also, you can generally pay a shop 70-100 bucks to do a full mechanical inspection of it if you don't have a mechanic that can help you check it out.  That mechanical inspection fee seems like a lot when you're making a purchase for just 2-2.5k,  but in a lot of cases, it's worth it to know where ya stand. Or you could just go off the test ride and visual inspection yourself and then possibly learn how to wrench it yourself (which is never a bad thing) if a problem arises. Do a google search of "used motorcycle buying checklist" and you can find some really good info on what to look for when inspecting a used bike.  Just a couple of ideas I thought you might find useful.  Good luck man,  I'm sure you'll love life on 2 wheels : )   Let us know how things work out.

[SirHansford]

 Something else to bare in mind, since the bike is a 2009, making it 8 years old now,  and having such low miles on it,  i'd about bet that those are the original tires on it.  You should check the manufacture date on them to be sure.  Most pros suggest that tires should be replaced no later than 5 years even if the tread looks good due to the aging of the rubber.  This can cause them to harden among other things and can affect the handling, and can be a safety risk.  Others say they arn't scared of running on 10 year old tires but my thoughts on it,  ya only got 2 of them holding ya to the ground, and they're much thinner than car tires.  Best to be safe than sorry so I go by the 5 year rule to ensure they're still getting sticky and soft when they need to and aren't over hardened due to age.  New tires can be a pretty big expense when you've just made a purchase for 2.5ish k. Depending on the tires you want they can run from 250 to 500ish.  This can also give you a little more negotiating power when making the deal if you show that they're older than recommended for safety,  if indeed they do turn out to be the originals. 

[richamor]

I don't know if blackcow decided to buy or not but I just bought a 2008 GS500F with 4678 miles on the clock. Been sitting in a controlled environment for a loooong time. Carbs full of green gassy stinky stuff and too far gone to rebuild. Tank had been drained for the internal fuel filter literally fell apart when I took it out. That's OK though since I will replace it with an inline filter anyway. Chain has some surface rust but it also has a coating of waxy grease. I think a good cleaning and lube will be enough for a while. Most of the rubber lines look good but I have found a couple that will need replacement right now. Brake fluid looks new and will stay for the time being.

My goal is to get it running and rideable again. Put a few easy miles on it and replace tires, brakes lines, chain, hoses, etc as necessary.

I paid 2000 for the bike from the original owner. I figure I will have about 3000 in it once it's all sorted which is not to bad imo.

[mr72]

I paid 2000 for the bike from the original owner. I figure I will have about 3000 in it once it's all sorted which is not to bad imo.

yeah but that's getting pretty close to the price of a NEW CB300F. Not that I'd want a single. A YZF-R3 is only a little bit more and a whole lot more bike than a decade old GS500F. I would think a used R3 with the same mileage but only two years old could be had for $3Kish and need absolutely nothing.

That said, I wouldn't part with my own GS500E for less than $2500 right now and I'm sure I could get that for it if I really wanted to... and it's got 21K miles on it. So there's something magic about GS500E prices, at least around here. I was interested in a GS500 only at the $1500 and under price point. Over $2K and used fuel-injected bikes like SV650s and ER6ns start to pop up.

[richamor]

Lets see:

Bike = $2000
Replacement carbs = $170
Gasket kit = $70
Tires = $350
oil change = $40
SS brake lines = $100
chain = $100
battery = 70
--------------------------------
total = $2900

BUT.......this should make the bike ready to go for at least 8-10,000 miles before needing anything but regular maintenance. Ant that's on a bike I really like the looks of and is somewhat unique. You don't see one on every block. I'm pretty sure I could make money on it if I were to sell it. Maybe not much but I think a few hundred would be realistic.

The thing is, on a bike like this with very low miles that has sat for a long time, you have to be able to do the work yourself. If you can't, and have to pay to have everything done as well as buy parts, you may as well buy new.

[Big Rich]

Welcome to the site Rich!

The motorcycle market varies by country (big time), but also from region to region. For example, the same bike that would sell for $1200 near Pittsburgh could easily go for $2500 in San Francisco. So don't worry too much about what you paid - if you're happy with the deal, that's all that matters.

As far as the list of parts goes, be sure to ask here on the forum where the good deals are. I see that some of the stuff you listed seems a little higher priced than I think they should be....

[mr72]

BUT.......this should make the bike ready to go for at least 8-10,000 miles before needing anything but regular maintenance. Ant that's on a bike I really like the looks of and is somewhat unique. You don't see one on every block. I'm pretty sure I could make money on it if I were to sell it. Maybe not much but I think a few hundred would be realistic.

I absolutely agree with your whole post I didn't intend to criticize your choice. I mean, I am a pretty competent home mechanic and after I had spent two months tinkering with my GS500 and I took it to a shop and then paid a repair bill approximately equal to the price I paid for the bike, my wife was about ready to trade me in along with my project bike. But I wound up in the same position as you, a somewhat unique motorcycle that suits me well and I really enjoy, one that's simple enough for me to work on and actually enjoy it and cheap enough that if I screw something up it won't put me in a lasting depression. Oh, and one that's well sorted and should run for 10K miles with minimal care and feeding.

I was just pointing out for the newcomer who hasn't yet bought a GS500, planning to spend upwards of $3K on a 10+ year old motorcycle including the sales price and the immediate repair needs might be enough to warrant considering the alternative of a much newer motorcycle for only a little more money.

Had I known I was going to end up spending $2K total on my GS500 I might have opted for something else instead ... oh, nevermind. I am actually glad I did it the way I did and I'm happy with the outcome and feel it's time and money well spent.

[qcbaker]

...
So don't worry too much about what you paid - if you're happy with the deal, that's all that matters.

Amen. I'd rather pay $500 more than I "should" for a bike I'm in love with than get a killer deal on a bike I'm not super psyched on.

[richamor]

No offense taken Mr.72

My figures were all just high guestimates and if I come in under 3000 so much the better. Maybe a little left for some farkle. I did find a few injected bikes for the same or less money including a Ninja 500 for 1600. But I just preferred the Suzuki. I'm kinda old school and the carbs suit me a little. That may change but it can't be colder hearted than my 96 Ford 7.3 powerstroke.

And to keep yall informed, the ebay carbs showed up today with the choke cable bracket broken. I think/hope it will be ok. The seller refunded me 25% and the carbs are in good shape otherwise. New gaskets and screws on the way and everything else has been cleaned. Not planning on new jets unless yall think it's necessary. these look pretty good.

[mr72]

And to keep yall informed, the ebay carbs showed up today with the choke cable bracket broken. I think/hope it will be ok. The seller refunded me 25% and the carbs are in good shape otherwise. New gaskets and screws on the way and everything else has been cleaned. Not planning on new jets unless yall think it's necessary. these look pretty good.

That's a lot to pay for a pair of imperfect carbs. I got a set (from a fellow GSTwinner) for $40 that mounted up and the bike started, although they did need new o-rings.

I would replace the jets. Put a 1 size bigger pilot jet in at least (40 ... if it's a GS500E). 1) they are easily clogged and hard to clean and 2) the stock pilot jet winds up making the bike run lean on pilot and it's routine to upsize it. Of course if it were me I'd also run a wire (guitar string...) through the orifices in the carb and do a pretty thorough cleaning myself, replace all the o-rings, etc., but that's because I've had to do it several times and paid the price for skipping any steps.

I think you might come to regret not getting a fuel-injected motorcycle. I know I have. Carbs are not simpler, not by a long shot. They are not only very, very complicated but they are also extremely finicky even if you do have them totally sorted. Man, I've been through the ringer on mine and even last night I was riding home after a 1.5-hour ride with my dad and the thing wanted to idle at 1600 rpm, still not dialed. It's like there's a magic combination of microscopic adjustments of the two idle mix screws, the balance screw and the idle speed screw that will work right once you get the jetting and everything else perfectly sorted and that magic combination only really works right at a one very specific elevation, ambient temperature, humidity, phase of the moon, astrological sign... who knows. But modern FI (made in the past ~20 years) will run pretty much perfectly as it's supposed to if everything is in good shape with the engine stone cold or after 8 straight hours of twisty roads, if it's 10 deg. F outside or 110 deg. F, from Death Valley CA to Rocky Mountain National Park, even if you start the bike at 3 in the afternoon at 110 deg. in September in Death Valley and ride straight to Rocky Mountain National Park to get there at 6 am when it's 30 deg. You can't even jet a set of carbs to make that trip... you'd have to stop in Nevada and tear the carbs down or at least make a big idle mixture adjustment.

[richamor]

meh....you may be right. My last foray into the world of carburetors was many moons ago. This one has been thoroughly cleaned and poked. Waiting on parts now.

This foray into yesteryear may be short. But in reality the GS was only bought for errands and for me to ride solo. Long trips with the wife will be on the Harley with it's reliable fuel injection.

I remember when I bought my '04 HD LowRider. A friend came over on his carbed 87 SofTail. We chatted a bit and fired up to head out for a ride. I jumped on fired the LR up and pulled off. I waited at the end of the drive for him. When he pulled up next to me he said "man....I can't get over how you just fired that thing up and rolled off."

Time will tell as to the Suzuki's future here. I've been known to to do stupid shaZam! before and this may be no exception.

Anybody ever put an after market FI system on a GS?