GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

Recently, a guy that I know decided to take up riding. He had looked at bikes for a while and decided since he is a big fella and he wanted to ride two up, that he wanted to buy a yamaha FZ1. Now this would not only be his first motorcycle, but his first riding experience ever. Now we all know how this was going to turn out. I helped him to pick up the bike from the seller and rode it out to his house for him since he had no gear at all. well, I never heard from him after that, so I pretty much knew what the outcome was already. well, sure enough, I found out the other day that about 15 minutes after I left he dumped the bike doing roughly "20mph" or so which caused nearly $1000.00 bucks in damage to the bike. gee who would of thought that a 1000cc bike wouldn't be adequate for a newbie. I am almost positive that the bike will be down again soon, my fear is that next time it won't be a "20mph" slide, but a 75mph two up disaster. Oh well. live and let die I suppose.
peace ya'll

I know that frustration..

I went down to the local "pack and mail" as I often do and there was a beautiful GSXR 600 sitting outside. I went inside and asked about it.. It belonged to the 18 year old kid behind the counter..

I asked how long he has been riding and his response was "I rode it home from the dealer and I rode it here today".. That was the extent of his riding experience.. :?

I handed him my business card and told him to call me.. I explained to him that he kinda stacked the deck against himself.. :cheers:

Not only did he not call, he did not return to work for a month.. :?
Police say he was 3 blocks from his house and they estimate his speed as being somewhere around 80..  :o

He believes the back tire broke loose when he shifted..  :o
As hard as he must habve been shifting to have made 80 in three blocks, I believe him..

Bike is totaled..
He is scarred for life..
He now hates motorcycles..

Oh.. One more thing..

The Suzuki GZ 250 is the greatest beginner bike ever..

Thank you..

Quote from: FaxxxyOh.. One more thing..

The Suzuki GZ 250 is the greatest beginner bike ever..

Thank you..

if you wanna grow up to be a hog rider.... :roll:

Yeah... a friend of mine has a son who is taking the MSF then hopping right on a brand new gsxr750.  His dad and I are trying to talk him out of it... we will see.

Quote from: JetSwing

Quote from: FaxxxyOh.. One more thing..

The Suzuki GZ 250 is the greatest beginner bike ever..

Thank you..

if you wanna grow up to be a hog rider.... :roll:

Shorten that to just
"If you wanna grow up."

I'm not saying sport bike riders are not grown up..
I am saying that you cut your teeth on small and low power so you don't die when you're handed a bike with balls..

I rode a gz 250 at the msf, I hated the forward controls.  The rebel 250 was pretty nice, though.

Best beginner bike IMHO ... Virago 535 87-90. No gas tank in front ... under seat, and all cosmetics is removeable ... oddly that bike got no forward controls and doesn't feel like a  cruiser ... Fit Dirt bike bars and pretty much all traces of cruiserhood are removed in feel ... Looks yea like sheite though.
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: seshadri_srinathBest beginner bike IMHO ... Virago 535 87-90. No gas tank in front ... under seat, and all cosmetics is removeable ... oddly that bike got no forward controls and doesn't feel like a  cruiser ... Fit Dirt bike bars and pretty much all traces of cruiserhood are removed in feel ... Looks yea like sheite though.
Cool.
Srinath.

Well, in the UK, you're generally limited to 125 and 250cc machines for the first two years of your riding career. Its a bit more complicated than that (there are ways around the restrictions, and ways to test out of the learner license), but thats the basic gist of it. THeres also, I think, a 33bhp limit imposed for learners.

Of course, they have some awesome smaller bikes over there that I'd honestly have preferred to ride over the GS. CBR250RR..... Mito 125, etc.

And in india, well, they dont have many bikes over 500cc.

Either way, I think the GS was the perfect bike to start with, given what was available. :-)

All of my friends told me to at least start out on a 600 or 750.  A guy at the dealership told me to start out on a 95-99 Katana 600/750.  

I wish I would have at least got the sv650.....

Now I'll just wait and look for an older sv and keep the gs, or get a WARRIOR (http://www.yamaha-motor.com/star/products/modelimage/60/1/0/image.aspx)

:thumb:

All those leet dewds told me to start on a 750 or at LEAST a 600. I came here and got good advice. The guy at the dealer said the GS500 was a good starter bike and that he wouldn't really recommend starting on a 600 or 750 (although he wouldn't have tried to talk me out of buying one :P)

I really considered getting a Katana 600, which I don't really believe would have been bad at all, but I didn't like those buggy turn signals and how heavy it was. So I'm happy with my GS. Just need to get it running better.

I just finished painting it too, I think I'm going to go down to the beach and ride along the seawall before I pick my g/f up from work.  :thumb:

I'll have to post some pics later. Painted it Metallic Black, and painted the rims a pewter color.

A Warrior passed me the other day while I was driving my car.  I couldn't even here its exhaust as it passed right by my drivers door.  Strangly quiet.  But Pretty.

I think a good starter bike would be a Hawk GT.  WOOOOO!  Love that bike!

the flat out best beginner bikes are dual sports... cheap, small, easy to handle and there really isnt much to break if you drop them. (plus you can still hit the trails with em :D )

Quote from: linuxman2003the flat out best beginner bikes are dual sports... cheap, small, easy to handle and there really isnt much to break if you drop them. (plus you can still hit the trails with em :D )

I stand corrected..  :)

But honestly, how do you look cool in a pack of cruisers when you're on a dual sport?

no one has mentioned the ninja 250.  ya its a kawi but its a sportbike style for those who dont like the gz250 or the rebel.  i convinced my friend to get a ninja 250 as apposed to anything bigger and im glad i did so.  he's dumped it 4x while riding and dropped it 3 or more times.

Quote from: weaselnozei convinced my friend to get a ninja 250 as apposed to anything bigger and im glad i did so.  he's dumped it 4x while riding and dropped it 3 or more times.

He wouldn't have dumped the GZ..  :nana:
Some friend you are..  ;)

Quote from: EisenfaustWell, in the UK, you're generally limited to 125 and 250cc machines for the first two years of your riding career. Its a bit more complicated than that (there are ways around the restrictions, and ways to test out of the learner license), but thats the basic gist of it. THeres also, I think, a 33bhp limit imposed for learners.

Of course, they have some awesome smaller bikes over there that I'd honestly have preferred to ride over the GS. CBR250RR..... Mito 125, etc.

And in india, well, they dont have many bikes over 500cc.

Either way, I think the GS was the perfect bike to start with, given what was available. :-)

spot on, restriction kits are normally fitted to the bigger cc bikes so to keep within the law, suppose its a good thing in a way, as they can get some sort of a feel for the bigger bike, without too much power to kill themselves, as we all know there are plenty of dead heros. Most of the inexperienced tend to lose it on a bend, little or no experience at taking a bend at speed, they either panic and brake, or take their eye off the bend for a seccond and head for the verge, or brick wall in a few cases

heh, i went to the dealer and said i want a ninja 500 and a thumper (savage). he told me to get the gs500 :)

I'm thankful every time I ride that I bought the GS500.  :mrgreen:

It's got enough go to get a serious speeding ticket on any road, and corners with little effort.  Every time I accidentally let the clutch out too fast or gear down too early I wonder what might have happened had I been riding a GSXR... yikes!  

Plus, every time I see an 18 year old newbie on a GSXR or R6, I wonder what lottery they won to cover the cost of the insurance.

Gotta love the baby GS.

Quote from: daneilah
Plus, every time I see an 18 year old newbie on a GSXR or R6, I wonder what lottery they won to cover the cost of the insurance.
Gotta love the baby GS.

Its called living at home without any bills to pay, like me.   :cheers:

My buddy wants to get a Katana 750 now.  He's never riden b4, except auto dirt bikes, and i tried to talk him out of it, but what can i do!  Also, after sitting on the Katana 750, I want one!  They are so comfortable!  I've had my Gs for just over a month, and its my first bike.  Now I am deciding whether or not to keep it for the rest of the season.  I love the GS but I love speed too, and I'm not sure if its got enough for me. :dunno:

Speed + Lots of Experience == Fast Rider.

Speed + Not much Experience == Mangled Rider.

Make your friend watch lots of crash videos and read about people that ride big bikes with little experience.

You can ride a bike for most of the rest of your life...  Why would you want to take the chance of making your life REALLY short?  Why would you want to take the chance of crashing and being too freaked out to ride?

I figure find a sweet deal on a fairly new GS.  There's lots out there.  Learn to ride on this forgiving and most excellent machine.  Whether you trade up after two months or two years, you'll lose very little.  

.... and you might even decide to keep it  :cheers:

I was lurking on the predecessor to this board and quite liking the camaraderie while looking for my first bike in years.
My office bud told me that he had just seen "a great bike for you and well-priced"; coincidence........it happened to be a GS500.
I had it a couple of years and would recommend it to anybody for a starter, a commutor, a workhorse, but not for two people for any real distances.

Hey all, I thought everyone would get a kick outta that little tale. I find it amazing how some newbies always seem to think that they're going to be the excpetion to the rule. somehow all the other people who managed to kill themselves the first day on a motorcycle that they were not capable of handling were nothing like them. they always think that even though they have never so much as twisted a throttle, that they are going to just hop right on and ride off into the sunset. Anyway, thanks for raising the insurance rates for us all you f'in knotheads. I guess I stopped feeling sorry for these a$$hats a long time ago.
peace ya'll

Scuse my ignorance. I'm from the UK.  As a weekend job I get to teach non-riders to ride bikes. Mainly 16 year-olds. Our law is as follows.
At 16+ years of age we may ride a motorised bike providing we have completed a compulsory basic training course (CBT) and been issued with a certificate. This certificate lasts for 2 years. If we wish to continue riding after 2 years, and have not passed a motorcycle test, then we must complete another CBT course. Whilst having a valid CBT certificate we are allowed to ride a 50cc moped/scooter/motorcycle until we are 17 Years of age. At age 17 we can ride up to a 125cc Bike. Until we pass our motorcycle test we have to display Learner Plates. We can't carry passengers and we can't ride on motorways. (Fast (ha ha) roads). At age 17 to 21 we are also eligible to take a motorcycle test on a bike no bigger than 125cc or 14.6bhp. If we pass this test, we are then allowed to ride any bike not exceeding 33bhp for 2 years, we can carry pillion passengers, and ride on any road.  After 2 years we may ride a motorcycle of any size.
If we are 21 Years of age or older, we are eligible to take the motorcycle test on a motorcycle of more than 44bhp. If we pass we can ride whatever sized bike we want.
This may seem restrictive, but hopefully it makes for safer motorcycling for all of us, and less fatalities in inexperienced riders.
What's the law regarding riding a motorcycle in the USA? Would be interested to find out.

Quote from: mwmarcusWhat's the law regarding riding a motorcycle in the USA? Would be interested to find out.

In most states you are allowed to obtain a driving learners permit to learn to driva an automobile at 15 1/2 and take a road test at 16.  There is a written test required to get the learners permit and an actual driving test required to get an operators license.   In most states the motorcycle "endorsement" is obtained by passing another written test to get a learners permit which is followed up by a "road test" (which might consist of a few figure eights and weaving around some pylons in a parking lot) to get an actual license.  The licesne may be restricted to a certain cc size bike - depends on how big a bike you ride for the road test

Quote from: mjm

Quote from: mwmarcusWhat's the law regarding riding a motorcycle in the USA? Would be interested to find out.

In most states you are allowed to obtain a driving learners permit to learn to driva an automobile at 15 1/2 and take a road test at 16.  There is a written test required to get the learners permit and an actual driving test required to get an operators license.   In most states the motorcycle "endorsement" is obtained by passing another written test to get a learners permit which is followed up by a "road test" (which might consist of a few figure eights and weaving around some pylons in a parking lot) to get an actual license.  The licesne may be restricted to a certain cc size bike - depends on how big a bike you ride for the road test

Once you've done the above can you carry passengers?

Yep. Not with the learners permit but with a license, yes.

3 day MSF course = full fledged permit for riding...

Speaking of n00bs

I work at the local Barneys MC shop and some kid had just purchased a Ninja ZX-6RR 600cc race ready supersport

His experience was obvious when he wanted to drive it home and he could not figure out how to turn it on. It took three salesmen to convince him to let us deliver it to his home free of charge...

Quote from: '04gs500f3 day MSF course = full fledged permit for riding...

Assuming you pass... Which isn't hard really.  ;)

In Washington state, there's no size limit.  Anyone can ride ANY size bike with a motorcycle endorcement OR permit.

No insurance requirement either...   :thumb:

Lucky for me I have friends that ride and I don't have much money...  I may have ended up with a busa to learn on.   :o