Greetings Gerhard! You will find this spot in cyberspace an oasis of information and assistance for the GS.
Yes, there should be trim around the edges of the tank. It serves no grand functional purpose other than vibration reduction and improving the appearance. I applaud you since you seem to be inclined to work on the GS :thumb:
When you say the forks are damp, do you mean wet, as in water, or soft, as in easy to compress? The GS suspension is notoriously "soft". If this is what you meant, the how-to section of this site has some ideas on improving the front end performance.
I can't speak yet about the side stand issue but have experience with the "clocks" The following assumes the instrument has been removed from the bike. The first method I used invovled grinding away the back edge of the front trim ring with a Moto-tool. Messy. My second technique for access involved building a rotating table to spin the instrument while filing away the back edge of the front trim ring. Others use the "pick, bend, and hammer" method of bending the back edge enough to remove the ring then hammering the edge back down after service. Still others just inject sufficient cleaner fluid into the clock, swish it around, drain and repeat as necessary. The cleaner should be chosen to not react with the plastic of the clock. I think an advantage of permanently removing the ring is easy access the next time. I would use a silicone adhesive (sparingly) to reattach.
The popular response for decal removal is a hot air gun. A very expensive hair dryer may produce enough to do the job.
Congratulations on having a riding partner that has the same bike and likes to hug! :kiss: Once again, welcome!
Hi there Gerhard
It's nice to see a fellow South African on these pages :cheers: , and the fact that you ride a GS500 makes it even cooler.
I live in England and ride a 2003 GS (Blue). It sounds like you have the best of both worlds - a bike and a girlfriend with a bike!
Anyway, just wanted to say hi there. Hope you have fun but take care on those RSA rodes. I'm from Cape Town but despite what most people think about CA, CY or even Gauteng drivers being bad, the fact of the matter is that most drivers have little regard for bikers in RSA :guns: (but then seeing some of the guys on CBR's in Cape Town with little more than plakkies, shorts and T shirts on it's no surprise that we're taken for being lunatics).
Matt
(Formally from Cape Town RSA, now in Warwickshire UK)
Gerhard....allo and welcome..!!! :cheers:
Hello again Gerhard.
Safe riding to you both. :cheers:
Thanks everyone. Concerning those front forks. The make little oil rings on the shafts when you compress and release which usually is a sine of the seals starting to leak. Yesterday I was having some carb problems but I'll make a new message for that maybe someone can help.