Old GS500 vent

[Seagull]

I just needed to vent this somewhere.

It took a long time to get my license because our local DMV equivalent is a bureacratic hell hole, but when I finally got it 3 months after passing my exam, I decided to buy a GS500H (it's just an E but with a different letter) from 2002. I thought that was pretty new but then found out it had 75k km on it. It looked good though and everything important had been replaced. I test rode it and everything worked just fine, so I bought it. Afterwards I found some repair receipts in the owners manual that had numbers higher than 75k followed by later receipts at less, so I'm guessing it ran 175k and boy is it noticeable.

When I first rode it home everything was fine. Untill I got home and turned off the engine. Initially that wasn't a problem, but a few hours later when I tried to ride it again, the choke would stick whenever it was closed. The lever would go back but the choke would stay closed. I initially fixed this by physically pushing on the bar the choke cable pulls on, which worked. Initially. Now some people at the garage got the choke working again but I have to hold the lever or it opens again.

The next problem presented itself immediately afterwards. The idle r would slowly creep up the more I used the bike. I had the idle screw as low as it would go but it would idle at 4000 nonetheless at some point. I had it checked at the garage a few times, first they checked the carburettor, then they replaces the gas cable, and then they checked the carb again. Then the second time they checked the carb it was super dirty. They cleaned it and all of a sudden it ran fine. Yet now it is inconsistent. Sometimes it idles at 3k when warm but the next time I stop it's 1.5k. you'd think that's a nice half of what the 3k was so it might just be a cylinder no longer working, but there was absolutely no change in the sound, it still sounds like a 2 cylinder.

Then one day when I came home, I saw my bike was parked different from how I remembered. So I go up, and I see the handlebar on the right side is bent straight up, the instrument panel was cracked and there is a huge dent in my now empty tank. Some stuff had fallen off and my brake lever was broken. Turns out the wind had gotten hold of the cover and pulled the bike over.

Then there's the electrical problems which are driving me mad. It started out with the bike not starting when I had not ridden it for more than about 2 weeks. I could still push start it, but it wouldn't start on its own. Riding it still charged it but it would jusy drain quickly. Then one day, I stopped the bike for no more than 10 seconds to change my navigation, but I turned off the engine, and it would no longer start on its own, but it would still push start easily. So I figured the battery was bad, so I changed it, which fixed it (or so I thought). The bike would stay charged again and start on its own. But now not only does it only barely start after 5 days of not being used, the blinkers occasionally go into hypermode and blink at twice the normal speed and I have no f%$king clue what is causing it.

I really regret buying this bike. In the past 2 years for which I have had my license, I think I maybe rode around 1k km, and it cost me probably around €800 in repairs.

[Joolstacho]

That's no good is it? What did you pay for it though? Was it a 'bargain?'

[Seagull]

That's no good is it? What did you pay for it though? Was it a 'bargain?'

It was listed for €1500, €1400 after negotiations. Generally GS500s here get listed for around €1000 from what I've seen. I knew of a guy who bought one in perfect condition for €750 so I thought I went for a safer price.

[Sporty]

That's no good is it? What did you pay for it though? Was it a 'bargain?'

It was listed for €1500, €1400 after negotiations. Generally GS500s here get listed for around €1000 from what I've seen. I knew of a guy who bought one in perfect condition for €750 so I thought I went for a safer price.

So you overpaid for a bike with extremely high km’s, paid a whole lot of money for incompetent repairs of minor issues, then (left it on the side stand?) it blew over and suffered quite a bit of damage.

All you can do is learn from the experience and move on....

[Seagull]

That's no good is it? What did you pay for it though? Was it a 'bargain?'

It was listed for €1500, €1400 after negotiations. Generally GS500s here get listed for around €1000 from what I've seen. I knew of a guy who bought one in perfect condition for €750 so I thought I went for a safer price.

So you overpaid for a bike with extremely high km’s, paid a whole lot of money for incompetent repairs of minor issues, then (left it on the side stand?) it blew over and suffered quite a bit of damage.

All you can do is learn from the experience and move on....

Well yeah I did overpay for a high km bike, that's true, but I wouldn't say the right side of your handlebar pointing straight at your face or the bike not starting are minor issues. And I didn't leave it on the side stand, I always put it on the center stand because it takes pretty much the same amount of time anyway.

I'm probably going to do just that, I can get my full license in half a year so I'll probably just buy a new bike then.

[sledge]

Curious to know what the point of this thread actually is?

But I suppose the one positive thing is........you have learned a few lessons on how to buy a used bike 

[Sporty]

For those that can work on their own bikes, bent handle bars, dirty carbs, battery drain are typical common and easy stuff in the older bike world. 

Blowing over in a fierce windstorm isn't the fault of the motorcycle.

If you are not inclined to do your own repairs, you'd be best off to buy new or late model, low mile pristine bikes.

[sledge]

I will give you a quick lesson when it comes to buying used GS5s

DONT pay too much attention to the recorded mileage.

For example........spend £10 and 10 minutes and all of a sudden you have a bike that has ONLY DONE! 6300 miles 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-GS500-E-F-Speedometer-Odometer-Speedo-Clock-2006/154081555463?hash=item23dff9f407:g:014AAOSw-LtfUPsv

[Bluesmudge]

Most people aren't so dishonest as to swap the gauges from a lower mileage bike. That's pretty despicable!

OP, if you want help fixing the issues with your bike let us know! Just post about them one at a time and we can help you troubleshoot.
However, if the bike has really done 175,000 km its probably due for its first (or second) top end rebuild, which can cost as much as you spent on the entire bike. Most GS500s never make it to 75,000 km let alone 175,000.

[sledge]

Most people aren't so dishonest as to swap the gauges from a lower mileage bike. That's pretty despicable!

But it goes on......... and people like us need to know about it and how to stay one step ahead of the dodgy sellers. I knew plenty of people who kept 2 speedos, swapped them every 6 months and when selling would claim the bike had only done 10k when the actual figure was 20K

Low mileage bikes can seem a bargain but you have look beyond the figures. Things like wear on the foot peg rubbers and grips, sloppy switches including the ignition , keys that have lost their edges, date codes on the tyres, saggy seats. They are all good indicators of usage and the dodgy sellers rarely bother going to the trouble and cost of replacing these parts. You need to look at the bike as a whole and build up a picture.


Here in the UK and back in the day before everything went electronic, if you were keen on travelling over to the continent and doing a bit of touring most owners would keep 2 speedos for their bike, an imperial one (miles and MPH) and a metric one (km and km/h). They would take the imperial one off, fit the metric one, shoot off to France or Spain for a week or two, rack up maybe 2000-3000 miles and then put the imperial one back on when they got home..........it was common practice. Do that 2 or 3 times a year over say 3-4 years and that's maybe 30k that isn't going on the odometer.

People say all the dealers are thieves and liars........believe me, quite a few private sellers are too 

[aconti2]

Unfortunately there are so many shady guys selling motorcycles in my area. I really don't get how people live their lives that way. I was told that my wife when I buy my next bike it better be brand new off the show room floor and I miiiight not fight her on that one.