New GSer

[tod]

Hey guys.  I first saw a GS close to a year ago while I worked at a gas station and one pulled in. It blew my mind somebody actually made a simple, sleek street bike still, without radiators and full fearings and whatnot.  Very excited I hopped online and found that Suzuki took it and added a damn fairing...why!?  Well I have a chance to snag myself a 92 with 12,000 and I'm gonna tyr my damndest.  But first, a few questions for everybody.

Do you HAVE to have front turn signals in California?

What exactly are the motorcycle insurance laws in California?

Does anybody make a good fender elimination kit for the GS500?

Does anybody make a performance exhaust that would go where the fender DID go?  I've seen lots of Gixxers CBRs Ninjas R6s and whatever else with them there, but never a GS...

[tod]

Oh yeah and how do often do you actually have to adjust the valves?  And you seriously have to take the head covers and carbs off to do it?  Wow...

[pantablo]

Welcome to the best forum for the GS (and in general actually-great group of people here).

Yes, CA requires front and rear turn signals. They must also be 9" (or was it 12"?) apart, and DOT approved. Most aftermarket are not legal and thats why they're usually marketed as "marker lights". My solution was to install Buell turn signals (OEM on Buells, they gotta be legal). See my site for lots of useful information on this and many other mods.

Liability and uninsured motorist is all that is legally required if I recall correctly. Check the dmv site at www.dmv.ca.gov I think.

No fender eliminators made. Not much of anything made, there's not much aftermarket for the gs (see thread on gs owners as cheap s.o.b's). One person has made their own and it looked pretty damn good. He recently posted pics of it. Otherwise most everyone (except couple of freaks) has trimmed their rear fenders. Mine is also on my site under "License plate relocation" and is about as far as you can remove the fender.

One company still makes a full system-Vance & Hines and I think they run about $300-$350 for the full system. One company makes a slip on (requires cutting of stock) but this is no performance increase. Several companies DID make full systems and can be found on ebay and here variously but will take patience. I found a yosh system for $150, others have done better than that! Yosh is the system of choice since it gives the most hp (the racers choice). There are NO underseat systems.

Clymers manual says valves checked every 4k miles of 12 months. Buy a Clymers manual through the link at top of page so this site gets a buck. Helps pay for bandwidth. dont know about how involved it is as I trust this to a mechanic.

Enjoy the site!

[Adam R]

Tod -

Welcome to the site and congratulations on the purchase of your GS.  

As for turn signals, you probably don't need them to get the bike registered at DMV.  They certainly don't test to see if they actually work.

Insurance is required, I use liabilty only from Pacific Speciality ($80/year)

Fender eliminator is possible, there is a guy in GA on the forum who did a nice one.  Much easier though is a "fenderectomy" where you just trim the fender off at the height of the license plate.  

Pantablo, who is the big poster on this site, has a good website with detailed instructions for the "fenderectomy."

[tod]

Hey guys thanks,  I feel the love

I saw that fenderoctomey (spelling?) on the main page right after I posted that so I get it now, that's super easy so I plan on doing it, looks really good; that adn the shorter tail light distance thing...also I saw somebody in the wall of fame had the two circular brake lights, that was super cool if you are on this forum.

Pablo, out of curiosity how much does a valve job run ya?  I did mine on my VW in just a few minutes, but they were super easy to get to, just had a little dirt cover to keep them clean adn a fiber gasket that came off with a screw driver...grrr

And Adam, I'm still HOPING to purchase one...It's down in Santa Cruz, and that's about four hours away but I really like these bikes so I'm trying for it...

[Kerry]

Oh yeah and how do often do you actually have to adjust the valves?  And you seriously have to take the head covers and carbs off to do it?  Wow...

You don't have to take the carbs off to do it - only the fuel tank and the H-shaped valve cover.  (How else would you do it?)  To finagle the valve cover out you usually need to disconnect the choke and throttle cables, but if you've "wrenched" at all they're no big deal to reconnect.

As for how often, that seems to vary by bike.  The manual calls for a valve clearance check every 4,000 miles.  I've checked mine twice in almost 30,000 miles and have only recently decided that I need to swap out a shim or two....

[The Buddha]

The Valves on a GS are easier than a VW bug... yes there is more to remove... seat, tank and loosen side covers... then take off valve covers and spark plugs... but then its easier... 2 cyls and you see the cams and turn the rear wheel in 6th gear to position cams away from the valve faces... You need a special tool to press down on the bucket and a tweezer to remove the shims... and you need the right sized shims to put in... but its easy. Anyway These valves are tight... they are tighter than anything I have ever seen. 1 to 3 thou of a inch... they dont even make feeler guages to 1 thou. 1.5 is the thinnest.
Cool.
Srinath.

[The Buddha]

And on pipes... dont listen to these guys... slip on and full system are really really close in performance... If you start building the motor, flowing the heads etc... then a full system will be better... the stock motor has so poor flow due to small exhaust ports etc... a full system makes no diff... the slip on's are fine. Now Cobra slip on's are sorta cheapo quality compared to Yosh... IMHO Yosh is the best, V&H is a close second... of course micron, others are good quality as well... just they dont have the numbers they sold in the past. I just buy a can of ebay that has a clamp on fitting... not flange type and fit it on the GS with a flared muffler pipe. Never had a issue with low flow on those. Some people have fitted stock GSXR cans and it makes a difference... in the GS the flow resistance is in the can... most bigger bikes have headers that choke off flow, and the cans are wider open. Anyway Katana cans make good donors if you are looking at ebay as does most old school suzuki sport bikes.
Cool.
Srinath.

[tod]

Cool, thanks for all the info, this sick rocks my socks off, I really hope I can pick up that GS in Santa Cruz.

But one last final question (sorry) what kinda Yosh pipe would I get?  Dennis Kirk doesn't list any mufflers for the GS...

[JohNLA]

But one last final question (sorry) what kinda Yosh pipe would I get?  Dennis Kirk doesn't list any mufflers for the GS...

Yosh no longer produces there full system for the GS so you have to find them used. Vance & Hines is supposed to be a close second and is still available new.

[jake42]

the vance and hines rumbles nicely.  The cobra slip ons run about 150-160.  I got my full system from my local guy for 275.

jake