Why did you choose gs over ninja500?

[dublinjail]

Which is the better all around bike? Yea the ninja has a few more ponies in the engine, but the gs feels better to me when I sit on it. Obviously were all gs owners and somewhat biased but why did we choose the gs?

[smoker]

Ninjas are ghey.  But if you're into that whole racer-boy metro look...

[dsmirnov83]

$$$$$$$$
Both the bike and parts for it are much cheaper. As a student this means I get to eat as well as ride . (Both are too important to pass up! :lol:   )
Cheers
-Denis S.

[scratch]

Lighter, better handling, naked and I can use my 18 year old NationalCycle windshield on it.

[b1k3r 3li+3]

the ninja is a wannebe bike, wants to be a  super sport bike. but the gs 500 is a good ole naked bike that can carve up the twisties with the best of them.

[zoltan]

i like the ex500. it's has a decent water cooled engine and produces decent power for it's displacement. i also really like the half faired look it has, and that fairing probably gives decent wind protection.

[Jace009]

Well I had my heart set on a ninja 500R. However I was looking and looking for one to buy....Never have found one near by to this day...But I did run by the GS500 I got now and the guy wanted 1,500 and I said i'll take it     Now that I look back the only thing I have to complain about is that the my gs gets way to darn hot for it's own good and I would have loved a water cooled engine for the miles I ride...and that fairing would have been nice going down the highway....But what I lost on the gs I got back in handeling.  I didn't know squat about the GS untill I got my bike and stumbled across this site....IMHO It's a 50/50 selection between the two bikes.

[Nomak]

$$$$$$$$
Both the bike and parts for it are much cheaper. As a student this means I get to eat as well as ride . (Both are too important to pass up! :lol:   )
Cheers
-Denis S.

Being a student the GS was just overall cheaper than the EX500 + I personally like the naked look and I love round headlights ... And there are no expensive plastics on the GS that I would have to worry bout replacing if the bike were to fall. + good resale value.

[b1k3r 3li+3]

To put in a easy, the gs is the litte bike that could, the ninja is the little bike that tried.  :mrgreen:

[The Buddha]

Nothning about a Ninja 500 feels and works right... it does have more power but is grossly let down by handling, it has water cooling but the motor just vibrates wrong, it has a fairing but that fairing is just for looks and increasing the damage and insurance premiums, and just plain negatives its more complicated, more expensive and ugly to boot. In the ninja motored bikes, the vulcan 500 and the earlier 454 were great.
Cool.
Srinath.

[scratch]

For a liquid-cooled bike you have to drain the coolant to do a valve adjustment, and on the 454Ltd (same motor as the EX) you always have to remove the two verticle coolant tubes on both sides of the valve cover. Just a plain pain in the ass...and I used to be a mechanic! The only good thing is you don't have to buy any shims (if you need any) to do a valve adjustment, but you do have to replace the coolant; still cost$. If you don't ride year-round those verticle coolant tubes have a tendency to rust away, and I do mean away! If you dump the EX and you rupture the radiator, how are you going to get home, without overheating the motor and ruining the waterpump?

[stephan]

Honestly - price.

I was looking at the Ninja just because it was a bit more sportbike-ish.  However I ended up with a GS500 with a cafe fairing and it works and looks great!  I'm very happy.  However if I would've found a Ninja for the same price I might be driving that . . .

But I'm glad with how things worked out!  

[bigdaub]

the little ninja looks like $hit.

[GRU]

i don't like the 500 R because it just doesn't look right...it's somewhat of a sportbike but the fairing and the whole design isn't right

[Pam G]

I didn't even consider the Ninja 500 when I bought my GS500.  Actually the other bike I was considering was a Seca II.  I was looking through a couple of Cycle Traders back in 2000 & found a 1999 GS in yellow for around the same price as some older Seca's, so I got the GS.