My brother just bought a fully restored '78 KZ1000. Really nice scooter. One of my sisters commented how "J" was sensible and didn't go out and get a "crotch rocket" like my Bebe got me. The whole family is now concerned that I have surely gone "batty" by allowing Bebe to get me such a fast dangerous machine. When I tried to tell them that "J"'s KZ could suck the baby G's headlight off, swish it around in it's jugs and spit it right back at me from it's exhaust they just rolled their eyes...oh yeah "C", we can see the GS has a redline that is 3000 RPM higher, so don't try to ice this over, Bebe should have gotten you a sensible bike like "J"'s KZ1000. OOOH, now i'm riding the big bad GS500 :lol: . Aw, you just gotta love that little thing and the forum dedicated to it don't you?
C.......
Try the simple approach. Look at numbers. 500cc 1000cc. Twice as much motor = twice as fast.
I had a KZ1 way back when. I was doing about 80 on I-70 when I saw LEO going the other way. He had me on radar. I raised my hand to flip him off and the wind nearly took me off the bike. Lesson learned. No I didn't get the ticket. The KZ was great for tuck-n-shoot.
that is hillarious! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Just goes to show how far a little plastic will go toward getting you and your bike stereotyped as unsafe... makes you wish people would do a little research before opening their mouths sometimes, no? :x
Charley, with my family there is no simple approach. That would be like telling them a Ford F-250 with a 460 will outrun a Corvette because it has a 350. No, not simple with my family...they're just a funny bunch and I love every single one of 'em...just like that little scooter and the forum.
C.......
When people see that I'm wearing a textile jacket and have a full face helmet in my hands they immediately assume that I ride a crotch rocket.
Then I get to TRY to explain the GS to them. It's well, kind of an unfaired sportbike with more upright seating position but no fairing and not as fast or dangerous as a 600 but still gets up and moves and it's a great beginner bike but will grow with you as you grow as a rider . . . and so on. Of course with yours it has a fairing so it makes it that much harder!
Once their glazed over eyes refocus they say, "Oh, yeah, so it's a crotch rocket right?"
Ummmmm, yeah sure . . . :roll:
Mine has a fairing? No no, Nyctea Scandiaca was born with no fairing...poor baby G, a face only a mother could love :( sob! But hey :) I do love the little thing, I love this forum and I love all you guys...even though we all ride the deadly tire shredding GS500.
C.......
i always struggle describing the bike.
"it's actually called a standard, cause it's not a big heavy harley-like bike, and it's not one of those fast bikes with all the plastic" is what i say usually - verbatim.
Quote from: cernunosMine has a fairing? No no, Nyctea Scandiaca was born with no fairing...poor baby G, a face only a mother could love :( sob! But hey :) I do love the little thing, I love this forum and I love all you guys...even though we all ride the deadly tire shredding GS500.
C.......
Ooops! :oops:
My fault, I thought you had a GS500F!
Look out you KZ varmints, you better start ashakin' when you hear my valves aquakin'...oh I forgot, you can't even hear mine comin' unless you listen for the top-end noise. But don't you just love the little forgivin' thing and this forum too?
C.......
Yeh i've got one of the '89 models in white with the clip-ons makes you look liker yer humpin' it while yer ridin' :) ...but ya gotta love it...yeh the forum too.
C.......
Quote from: cernunosand I love all you guys...even though we all ride the deadly tire shredding GS500.
:lol:
I usually just tell people, "It's a bike that fits me," and they say OK. Although - when I showed dad my F650, he asked about my gear and driving habits, doing the fatherly duty. No comment on the bike. When I showed him a picture of my GS500, he sent back, "Wow, you're going to have to teach me how to ride it!" :)
I think if the GS had a personality it would be a cat...sometimes loves to play, sometimes stand-offish, sometimes you wake up and it's on your chest :lol: But ya just gotta love the thing...and this message posting thing too.
C.......
My mother and father are both motorcycle enthusiasts so when I told my mom I finally bought a street bike, she wanted to see pics. I took a few pics of the GS along side of the reservoir and emailed them to her.
The first words out of her mouth were "you bought a CROTCH ROCKET?!" :roll: :lol:
My friend just bought an '81 KZ1000 as his first bike. I'll have to tell him that my GS500 is faster cause "it's a crotch rocket" and see what he thinks. :roll: He'd probably just laugh at me because he knows his way around machines. Oh well, hopefully he respects the beast
I once had someone tell me, "Your crotch-rocked sure isn't very 'crotchy'"... It took me a couple seconds to figure out how to reply to that ;)
Quote from: proudlomI once had someone tell me, "Your crotch-rocked sure isn't very 'crotchy'"... It took me a couple seconds to figure out how to reply to that ;)
At least it's rockety :dunno:
Quote from: proudlomI once had someone tell me, "Your crotch-rocked sure isn't very 'crotchy'"... It took me a couple seconds to figure out how to reply to that ;)
I got that one from a friend of a co-worker a while back.
I told her "It's not very rockety, either."
She gave me the puppy-dog-cocked-head look.
:dunno:
:lol:
Don't really have that problem over here... Then again one of my friends was astonished that I had a 500 - he seemed to thing that was an enormous engine :D
The GS is best described as a "commuter" which roughly correlates to what bike couriers ride....
And the lack of fairing on mine makes people less inclined to think its a crotch rocket ;)
Another friend was confused as to why my 03 model was "a sports bike at the back but a harley at the front"
Some people! :dunno:
Yeah, I get the same remarks after showing off my fully faired F. Just goes to show how little most people really know about machines. Not to get off topic, but it's the same response to "assault weapons". Take little Billy's Ruger 10/22 wood stocked chipmunk rifle, deck it out in an aftermarket black polymer pistol gripped stock, add a bad assed looking flash hider on the muzzle and its now "capable" of blowing through tanks and the weapon of choice for drug lords. Oh yeah, and its now banned in a buncha jurisdictions 'cause of that....sigh. :bs:
Since I'm riding the equivalent of a Japanese Zero now maybe I should paint "KAMIKAZE" in bold letters on my helmet :lol: I just love the little booger and fawn over this forum too.
C.......
People don't realize that any size bike is dangerous if you don't give it the respect it disserves. Heck, someone had a post recently about a kid who died from riding one of those mini-bikes (40cc?).
I always get asked: "What kind of bike do you ride?" or "how fast does it go?" After I tell them it is a 500cc & its fast enough to kill me they proceed to tell me how I should get a Harley (yuk :nono: ), or how their first bike was a 1-liter Gixxer (big deal :P ), or how I'm crazy for riding it everyday (especially in bad weather :nana: ).
I don't ride to win a popularity contests. The reason I ride is because I enjoy it and I like the freedom it offers. What is best about riding is you can out accelerate & out maneuver most cars in general on the open road, even on a "beginner bike" like the GS500.
So, in retrospect, the GS500 gets no respect. People who are ignorant will say it is a "beginner bike" or a "crotch rocket" or a "death trap". It can be whatever you want to make it. Its all based on your agressive/passive riding style, your attitude towards cagers, and your ability to ride within your limits. Heck, my Dad has been riding motorcycles all his life, even before he could drive a car, & even he wasn't real crazy about me having my own bike, let alone commuting everyday on it. However, he has come to accept the fact that it brings me joy just like it did for him when he had his first bike. That must be tough for those of you who do not have family or friends who share the same love for motorcycles. They cannot understand why it is we love/need to ride. Its kinda hard to explain. Not everyone has it in them to ride motorcycles. IMO, Its something your born with.
Ride safe :thumb:
I get a lot of "Hey thats a nice looking bike!"...then I reply- "not bad for a 91 ;) " They are then amazed and I go into work. :lol:
As much as I would love another bike I have a feeling it will be very hard to part with my GS.
Quote from: snapper
As much as I would love another bike I have a feeling it will be very hard to part with my GS.
I was thinking the same thing until I stopped in the shop to buy some MX gloves today and decided to sit on a leftover '04 SV650 :mrgreen: ;)
Quote from: ghettoriggedI was thinking the same thing until I stopped in the shop to buy some MX gloves today and decided to sit on a leftover '04 SV650 :mrgreen: ;)
I sat on a SV650, too, but the GS fits me better...
And the cost of ownership sure fits me better than anything else I've owned. :)