What to look for when buying a GS500?

[Smbrs50]

I am going to be looking at a pair of early 90's GS500E's later this week and I wanted to know if there are any things that I should be looking for that are specific problem areas for the GS500?
Thank you.
-Steve

[Jace009]

look to see if the engine cases are scratched up....if they are the bike has been down

Reach under the carbs and check to make sure there arn't any leaky seals or if there is so much dirt down there

Make sure you identify PROBLEMS that will keep it from passing inspection [just about guarantee tires will not pass unless the guy says he just bought them]..

Start her up and let it idle...make sure it idles smoothly....give it a little twist up to 4k revs and make sure nothing sputters or pops and check the valves by placing your hand over the exhause tip [@ idle] and there should be a fair amount of air force comming out...if the seals are like new you can actualaty feel the engine's 4-strokes  I would also suggest taking it for a "test" drive to make sure it's not a *shelf* model

Last but not least when you turn it off after the test ride...check the dip stick. If it's low or the oil is sluggy.....go lower on the asking price

that should wean out the "trashed" bikes

[aslam]

See if the owner knows about the GS and has taken care of it reasonably well.

I would consider it a good sign if the previous owner had the carbs rejetted richer (esp if U.S. ver) and made some other minor tweaks that are common knowledge here.

ASLAM.

[alerbaugh]

im surprised no one has said this yet but a clean bike on the outside could show a clean bike on the inside (but not always).  If its clean its has been taken care of well.  ask on background knowledge!

[GRU]

first check for rust inside the gas tank....that's the bigest problem on the GS...then ask if he did any mod's on it and things he replaced....

[Smbrs50]

Thank you for your advice.  I am guessing that since no body mentioned a high mileage mark to aviod, these machines are pretty tough and have a long engine life, provided that they aren't smoking like a two stroke.
Thanks again.
-steve

[The Buddha]

Thank you for your advice.  I am guessing that since no body mentioned a high mileage mark to aviod, these machines are pretty tough and have a long engine life, provided that they aren't smoking like a two stroke.
Thanks again.
-steve

40K IMHO is the high mileage limit. More than that... well rebuilds are in its future. Also rust anywhere is bad. Typical places it rusts are inside the down tubes, under the battery brace, under the engine on the frame tubes, the shock top mounts etc.
Cool.
Srinath.

[shep_bannister]

Here's a link to an extremely comprehensive explanation about what to look for in any used bike.  It's definitely worth skimming through a couple times before looking at one.

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

[juggernaught]

Shep that's a cool site.  One for the 'ol favorites list i'd say.  

[shep_bannister]

Yeah, a friend gave that to me when I was looking for my bike.  The only problem is that it's so long, you have to go through it a bunch of times before you start to actually remember everything.