Centrestand Question - 1991 GS500E

[david_m213]

Hello everyone,

I have recently gotten an old ropey gs 500 back on the road. I noticed that the centrestand rests directly on the rear shock linkage. This is a problem as the centrestand bounces up and down hitting my heel while riding.

This may be caused by an aftermarket shock being fitted.

I was wondering if anyone had any pictures of the centrestand bump stop for a similar age gs500 as it's something I would like to refit and fix this problem of the centrestand resting on the rear shock linkage.

I'm hoping it's not something that has gotten the grinder treatment.

Thank you for your help. 🙂

[Bluesmudge]

Does it have an aftermarket exhaust? The Suzuki exhaust has a rubber stopper to prevent the center stand from rising up too far. Most aftermarket exhausts designed for the GS500 will have something similar. Although on some, like the Vance and Hines, it was an extra piece that is easy to miss during installation.
Any aftermarket exhaust that wasn't specifically designed for the GS500 will be missing that stopper, so you will have to fabricate one or remove the center stand.

If you have the OEM Suzuki exhaust, its possible you are just missing the little rubber bung part but still have the metal bracket it fits into. So you can just zip tie a piece of rubber there or buy that little rubber part from Suzuki.

[ShowBizWolf]

I have both an aftermarket shock (which raised the rear of the bike) as well as aftermarket exhaust. The exhaust came with a center stand bumper/rest that worked with the stock shock but when I installed the taller shock, I had to modify the bumper to push the stand down farther away from the linkage.

Pictures and more info can be found in this wiki link here (SV650 section) as well as in my project thread.
https://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.RearShock

[david_m213]

Does it have an aftermarket exhaust? The Suzuki exhaust has a rubber stopper to prevent the center stand from rising up too far. Most aftermarket exhausts designed for the GS500 will have something similar. Although on some, like the Vance and Hines, it was an extra piece that is easy to miss during installation.
Any aftermarket exhaust that wasn't specifically designed for the GS500 will be missing that stopper, so you will have to fabricate one or remove the center stand.

If you have the OEM Suzuki exhaust, its possible you are just missing the little rubber bung part but still have the metal bracket it fits into. So you can just zip tie a piece of rubber there or buy that little rubber part from Suzuki.

Thanks Bluesmudge, you have solved the mystery
You're right that it has an aftermarket exhaust, but the exhaust on there (along with other mystery parts including the rear shock) may not actually be for a GS500 as there has been some welding involved.
I have considered your advice and decided the easiest option for me is just to remove the stand. I'll get it removed and stick with using my paddock stands.
Thank you!

[david_m213]

I have both an aftermarket shock (which raised the rear of the bike) as well as aftermarket exhaust. The exhaust came with a center stand bumper/rest that worked with the stock shock but when I installed the taller shock, I had to modify the bumper to push the stand down farther away from the linkage.

Pictures and more info can be found in this wiki link here (SV650 section) as well as in my project thread.
https://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.RearShock

Thank you showbizwolf. The bike seems to have similar modifications as yours (aftermarket rear shock which has affected the rear stand). The exhaust system doesn't have a stopper there anymore so it's possible the previous owner has removed it with a grinder.
The link is really helpful as I'm considering going to an original shock or fitting an upgraded unit (although the shock on there is aftermarket, I think it's pretty worn and tired).
Thanks again!