GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

I am considering the purchase of a very nicely re-done 93 GS.  It is located in Iowa(great state BTW), and I live in Richmond, VA.  I haven't ridden in almost 20 years, but raced and rode quite a bit when younger.  Got a wife and got rid of the bikes.
Any way, I was going to have my brother ship the bike out here, but now thinking that would be a great way to get familiar with riding again.  And the cost probably won't be much more to take a bus out and ride back.  But I am 37 now, and my back and knees aren't what they used to be.  So would a 1000 mile road trip be too much?

1000miles with lots of stops will take you more than a day...

I just did a 1000km run this saturday and we stopped for breakfast, lunch, dinner and breaks in between...we left at 8am and came back at 12midnight...and we weren't exactly going slow either...

1000 straight? yeah that would be too much I think!

I've done 500+ miles in a weekend and was fine. I was 24 (25 now) and in good health, and I am not that big of a guy so the GS's ergonomics suit me perfectly...one of the main reasons I bought it.

So I think if you took a leisurely ride back home, you could definitely do this. I would want to stop and get some sleep atleast once somewhere along the way, tiwce if I could afford it. And drink a lot of water; dehydration can make you sleepy. And personally, I am not too keen on riding much at night, but thats just me.

Is this do-able? Damn right, but only with the proper planning. And make sure the bike is in really good mechanical shape and up to date on it's maintenance so you don't have any issues along the way. And bring enough gear so you are always prepared in case it rains, get cold, etc.

:thumb:

Head out on the Friday and make a weekend trip of it.
Take someone in a car with you on the way out to run as support vehicle for the return trip.  Could be fun.

If you have not ridden for a while, everthing will ache get cramp and sore, palms of your hands, neck, back all of it.

Take a couple of days, relax, plents of stops and enjoy it, look at it like a holiday, not the chore of shifting the bike and it will be fine.

I was just thinking of getting my wife and daughter to go, but I don't think my daughter can get off work.  Wife has MS, so she can't really drive much anymore.  But if I could get my daughter out of work, would take that route.  Also would take at least 2 days to get back, I drive straight through with the cars.  But nice adjustable seat, AC, cruise, etc. don't mind driving then.

I bribed David.  :P  But I would do the ride myself if I had the time.   :(

Unless you want a newly rediscovered hatred of riding, make a three-day weekend of it - at least.  Four would be better.  Iron butts are doable, but you don't want to make it your re-introduction ride.

No. But I would walk 500 miles. And I would walk 500 more. Just to be that man, who walked those 1,000 miles to fall down at your door. Da da daaaaa. Da da daaaa. Da da dum dum dum da da dum da da dum.

Dave  :cheers:

:lol: Mabe some of the forums with more young-uns are good, none of them would have remembered that , that song died for a reason    LOL

Young-uns? Slow down, cowboy; I'm only 25. Granted, I was old enough to be listening to popular radio when that came out, but I'm still relatively young. Right??? Anyone.... :dunno:  :oops:

When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.

Jesus, I remember that whole song. But of course, it always falls right between Paula Abdul and Milli Vanilli on my Pop Classics mixes.  ;)

Dave  :cheers:

That's a youngun song.  :)

That came out when I was in high school, 85 or 86.  Paula Abdul and the fakers were after I got married.  But I must be going through mid-life a little early, can't get the vette though.  Insurance is 2k every six months while my daughter is living at home.

I had my quarter-life crisis in January, and I went for the trifecta: Got a nose ring, a motorcycle, but never did a third extreme thing. I guess these don't seem so extreme unless you know that I'm a white, straight, accountant. You don't see too many of them with a nose ring.

As for the Vette, I bought one when I graduated from college in 2003, so I got that out of the way; I'll plan on the young girlfriend for the mid-life crisis.

OK, if we're gonna get on with talk of late-80s/early-90s, please tell me how sweet these haircuts are. My sister is a hair stylist and my buddy and I secretly planned on getting them done at the coast last weekend:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/all_out_of_gum/Rockaway%20August%202005/IMG_0459.jpg)[/img]

I've got 3 on each side and he has one on each side with 2 on the top. By the way, I got tackled; we're not doing anything creepy.

Dave  :cheers:

:?

:P

:lol:

personally....on a bike that I don't know much about....I wouldn't do that much initially.....I wouldn't want to get stranded in some backwater place....I'd say trailer or ship the bike.....

I'm torn.

A 1,000 mile road trip sounds very tempting to me, but that could just be because I haven't done a LONG ride for 2 years now.  :(

You said that the bike is

Quote from: jimbo1a very nicely re-done 93 GS

so I will assume that you feel it is in good mechanical shape.  (Including good brakes, chain and new-ish tires.) If that's the case, then the bike should make the trip no problem, which leaves YOU as the major unknown.

Only you will be able to venture educated guesses about your

* Stamina
* Pain (OK, call it "discomfort") threshold
* Tolerance to boredom (do you plan to ride the "superslab" the whole way?)
* Mental / muscular preparation for potential hazards (traffic, road conditions, rain, etc)[/list:u]If I were in your position, I would consider the following options (in this order)
1) Look for a nice bike closer to home
2) If the seller will hold the bike for you, take the MSF course or find another way to get some riding experience before the trip
3) If you think all (of

your) systems are GO and you don't have the luxury of time ... Go for it! :) [/list:u]BTW, are you getting a killer deal, or is there another "1,000 mile factor" involved here?

PS - In answer to the original "Would you ride 1,000 miles?" question, see the TRIPS links on my webpage (link in my signature below). :roll:

Quote from: KerryBTW, are you getting a killer deal, or is there another "1,000 mile factor" involved here?

I've never had a way with women,
but the hills of Iowa make me wish that I could
And I've never found a way to say "I love you",
but if the chance came by, oh, I, I would
But way back where I come from, we never mean to bother,
we don't like to make our passions other people's concern
And we walk in the world of safe people,
and at night we walk into our houses and burn.

Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, ooohoh, Iowa.

How I long to fall just a little bit,
to dance out of the lines and stray from the light
But I fear that to fall in love with you
is to fall from a great and gruesome height
So I asked a friend about it, on a bad day,
her husband had just left her, she sat down on the chair he'd left behind
She said, "What is love? Where did it get me?
Whoever thought of love is no friend of mine."

Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, ooohoh, Iowa.

Once I had everything, I gave it up
for the shoulder of your driveway and the words I've never felt
And so for you, I came this far across the tracks,
ten miles above the limit and with no seatbelt (and I'd do it again)
For tonight I went running through the screen doors of discretion,
for I woke up from a nightmare that I could not stand to see:
You were a-wandering out on the hills of Iowa
and you were not thinking of me.

Just to put it out there, those are pink silk shorts with a black lace trim and chain suspenders.

Just to it out there.  Or pink pants and a wallet chain (hoping for the latter).

Haven't ridden in 20 years...  Bike you've never seen...  Presumably good (although totally unknown) mechanical condition...  Unknown ergonomics...

I'd say you'd have to be a little crazy to do it.  How much would it be to drive out there, rent a trailer, and drive it back? :dunno:

Now, I'm not recommending this, but my girlfriend got a KILLER deal on an SV650.  It was in Arizona.  We are in Oakland.  She rode, after having about 100 miles under her belt in her lifetime of motorcycling.  Again, I was not wild about this at all.  But she did it in three days.  She avoided major highways, took lots of breaks and did her best to be intelligent about her limits.  She now has a few thousand miles on the bike and rides from Oakland to LA in a day (400+ miles) down route 1.  We also rode a 1983 Sabre 750 from Oakland to Portland Oregon in a day.  That was about 600, but 2 riders switching off.  Just be smart, prepared to stop and rest.  See if you can do a route that has some scenic reasons to stop and check stuff out.  Good luck!!!

-John

Quote from: Jake DJust to put it out there, those are pink silk shorts with a black lace trim and chain suspenders.

Just to it out there.  Or pink pants and a wallet chain (hoping for the latter).

Pink nylon and tie-dyed shorts with wallet chain. Better seen here:



He's a farking riot. He can look, sing and dance like Axl, although some people don't think that Axl was even good. I am a fan.

Dave  :cheers:

Well, just got back from DMV.  Riding is out, can't ride on interstates.  Haven't taken the newer courses, took one course when in high school, but have no idea what it was.  Planning on taking the course I keep reading about on here, can't be TOO prepared.

I found the bike for sale on this forum, and could search and find most of the work thats been done to it.   Price is higher than some I've seen, but I would rather pay more and not have to mess with it.  I have WAY too many projects now.  More into the 4 wheeled toys, 64 Impala, 81 z-28, 77 F100, and 74 F100.  Now I need another garage to keep everthing.

But I did promise to sell the 74 F100 to buy the bike, but wife thought I was selling the truck first.

Dave, why is it that you get tackled, but beer is still upright?

Roadstergal, I grew up in Iowa and NEVER heard that.

plane tickets and gas and I'll ride it there.

Quote from: jimbo1Dave, why is it that you get tackled, but beer is still upright?

Roadstergal, I grew up in Iowa and NEVER heard that.

A real man never lets his Busch touch another man's soil  ;)

It was an interesting move on my part, I managed to somehow keep it upright even though my arm got grabbed and twisted. I think I took it around the world in a 360 degree spin and saved all but a drop of two. Trust me, there was a lot of jumping and high-fiving when I got up and the beer was still almost full.

Another funny one was when Matt (top guy) threw me a pass when I was standing in the shallow ocean. I was standing with a smoke in my mouth, and I had to jump up and back to go for the pass. I bumped it and almost had it, but ended up going underwater. I came up with the cigarette still in my mouth, although it was totally soaked. I have a good sense of what's REALLY important  :lol:

Dave  :cheers:

Dar Williams rocks.

(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002ZCC.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)

LOL,,, love it.  They changed the rules in the softball leagues here for that.  I used to stand in the outfield with a cigarette, then if something was hit my way would have to drop it and run, but the smoke signals always led me back.  I am in process of quitting now though, and it's nice to sleep without waking up hacking.  

Oh, and I'm not getting any of the cuts in my hair though.  Was in the Army when that started, they would have freaked over that.  Bad enough when I forgot and left an earring in once.  But even that is gone now; I have a teenage daughter.  Everything I do now is responsible.

Roadstergal, believe I've heard of Dar Williams, but don't remember, LOL.

You live in Seattle?  One of my wife's friends lives out there, went out there for school and loved it.  Just couldn't afford any of the houses.  The house and land I got in VA for 170k would be 700k or more out there.

Quote from: jimbo1LOL,,, love it.  They changed the rules in the softball leagues here for that.  I used to stand in the outfield with a cigarette, then if something was hit my way would have to drop it and run, but the smoke signals always lead me back.  I am in process of quiting now though, and its nice to sleep with out waking up hacking.  

Oh, and I not getting any of the cuts in my hair though.  Was in the Army when that started, they would have freaked over that.  Bad enough when I forgot and left an earing in once.  But even that is gone now, I have a teen-age daughter.  Everything I do now is responsible.

The beauty of being 25 and single (my ex and I still hang out; she's the one up there on the right leading Ben to the car) is that I can do all the stupid shiat I want and not get in trouble. My job is ultra-chill (I am an accountant at a speaker company and can wear what I want; right now it's sweats and a white T with the lines in the hair) and I love the freedom. But someday, I'll be in your boat. Not the military part, but the kids and all that.

Dave  :cheers:

Quote from: jimbo1You live in Seatle?  One of my wife's friends lives out there, went out there for a school and loved it.  Just couldn't afford any of the houses.  The house and land I got in VA for 170k would be 700k or more out there.

It's settled down a bit since the dot-bombs, although housing prices are still ludicrous.  I rent.

I'm not in the military anymore, been out for 13 years now.  Did 8 years and got out, another enlistment would have been over 10 and would have been obligated to retire.  I now do electronics, computer and telephone systems.

Quote from: RoadstergalIt's settled down a bit since the dot-bombs, although housing prices are still ludicrous.  I rent.

You have all your house $ tied up in GS's (oh...and other bikes)!  :lol:

Quote from: jimbo164 Impala

:o

I'd ride that bike 1,000 miles for one of those!

OOopps, typo    its a 63.  Its a four door, but has factory air, tilt, and electric windows, with the "claimed" 340 hp 327.   It is down to the frame now, just finished painting the frame and suspension.  Semi gloss black zero-rust.

Quote from: jimbo1OOopps, typo    its a 63.

Even better...

So...  When you have it running, feel free to give it to me.   :mrgreen:

I would be in serious trouble for that one, so far its been 8,000 in parts without machine work on the motor.

It's ok...  I won't tell.   ;)

I would let you work on it for free though.  And would let you run my new sandblaster on the other truck I got.  I haven't even used it yet.

"tap" "tap" is this thing on???

If we're still on the subject of doing a 1000 miles over three days or so, I'd recommend getting an Air Hawk seat pad (http://www.cyclestuffusa.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=13636).  Pricey but well worth it, I understand.

I have a sheepskin, and don't think it's up to more than 300 miles a day.

Quote from: jimbo1I would let you work on it for free though.

Too bad you're so far...  I might just take you up on that.  I love old Impalas.

Can we get back on topic? You know, about if I should buy that Yosh can for $90? And if it'll be hard to get it to fit. Wait, that was my thread. The one titled "Interesting..." I'm sorry; I confused them. Well, no need for anyone to answer that or look at my thread; Unless you're feeling like helping a brother out.

Dave  :cheers:

My bro bought my gs ('96) for me in San Francisco, then rode it up to me in Bellingham, WA (Which is pretty much at the Canadian border).
It was a little over 1000 miles and he took 2 days.
The bike was in really good shape... but he rode it around in San Fran for a few weeks to make sure he could trust it for such a long ride. I don't know if I'd take a bike for that long of a trip not knowing if it's reliable.
BTW, my bro said he'd never do anything like that again. I don't think he enjoyed the last half of his trip at all...

It has already been answered for me, VA won't let me ride on interstates until I take the tests.  I only have a learners permit.  But thanks to all of you who gave ideas, alot of things I hadn't thought of.  

I haven't decided what I'll do yet, may take the company van up and pick it up, but with fuel prices that would cost $400.  My brother was until about 6 months ago a bike mechanic, so he can get a bike crate and ship it down.


Dave get the can, that way if it doesn't work, you can let everyone else know so they don't do the same thing.

Oh, I really want to. I'm just worried that mating the Gixxer and GS5 exhaust pipes will be tough. But for $90, with part of the GSXR pipe, seems good.

Hey, good luck with getting a bike. You'll love it when you do. I know I do  :thumb:

Dave  :cheers:

Anything can be welded together, as long as they are the same type of metal.  I've never done it with bike exhaust, but had to get different sized adapters at Advance Auto to fit the collectors on one of my trucks.   If that helps any.


Meaning some exhaust is mild steel, some is stainless.  Don't know of any other.  Mild steel has to be coated or it will rust quickly, stainless doesn't rust, just pits sort of like aluminum.  IIRC.

That's what I'm worried about. I read somewhere that they're not. One is aluminum and one is steel, or something like that. But I think that may have been about welding just the Yosh to the GS5 exhaust pipe. My case is welding the part of the GSXR pipe that's still attached to the muffler to the part of the GS5 pipe along side the bike after the headers.

Plausible? I hope so.

D  :cheers:

.
I did 1000 in 24 hours on my GS500 with stock seat to qualify for my Saddle Sore 1000.  Details here:
http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19525&highlight=

When all was said and done I was a bit saddle sore, but not too bad.  A gel seat or airhawk or something would have been nice, but not neccessary.

Hey jimbo1 ... You're going to let a little thing like "No riding on freeways" keep you from riding your bike home from Iowa?  ;)

In my 3-day, 2000-mile ride from Utah to Alabama (not documented on my home page ... I didn't bring a camera!) I stayed off the freeway as much as possible.  I hit about 15 miles of I-15 getting out of town ('cause I got a late start), about 25 miles of I-70 in Southern Utah ('cause there is no other road in the area) and then I rode about 180 miles on I-30 / I-40 / I-55 / I-240 from SW of Little Rock to the E side of Memphis ('cause I didn't want to spend another night in a motel).

As you can see from the other trips on my homepage, I tend to avoid freeways in general.  There are some disadvantages though, like "having to" slow down for every town and such.

I was in even more of a hurry on my way back to UT, so I chopped it down to 1800 miles in 2.5 days.  I did around 340 miles on I-40 from NW of Little Rock to W of Oklahoma City, and caught I-70 for about 27 miles between Glenwood Springs and Rifle, CO.

Total distance: 3,800 miles
Total travel time: 5 days, 15 hours
Total distance on freeways: ~590 miles
Average distance per 24-hour day: ~675 miles[/list:u]Just some extra thoughts for ya....

One of these days I'll have to go for that Saddle Sore 1000 I guess. :thumb:

Ohh yes, tempt me more.  Get new bike, ride 500 miles, get thrown in jail in West Virgina somewhere.  Boy, you ain't from around here are ya?  We don't take kindly to you city folk coming through our town with no licence to drive that thing.  


Disclaimer, this is not a knock on southerners, my neck has gotten quite red over the last 19 years.

Quote from: jimbo1My job is ultra-chill (I am an accountant at a speaker company and can wear what I want; right now it's sweats and a white T with the lines in the hair)
Dave  :cheers:

Man, I need an accountant job like that!  Although I guess I shouldn't complain that much... only a tie needed half the time... but still shirt and pants....  :dunno:

Quote from: jimbo1my neck has gotten quite red over the last 19 years.

Well with a name like Jimbo, it better be red. Or atleast a purrrty shade of pink ;)  :lol:

Kind of an update.  My youngest brother is going to meet with the seller on Sunday, to buy the bike.  Then if everything works out, and he doesn't spend the money I sent for him to buy the bike :guns:  :guns:   He is going to ride it down here and hang out for a couple days.  I can probably get my 77 truck running while he is here.

Bought  a "new" 1992 bike sight unseen and drove it back over the Rockies taking it easy, 1200 over 2 days. Hadn't ridden much and have aching knees, but the motel had a hot-tub.
Not exactly an adventure, but I had a big smile most of the way, except when the hail was pelletting me near Banff and I did hobble for a day or so back home.
You've probably collected the bike now anyway?

I did about 1200KM in 16 hrs, which included more than a few stops and gas.... I wasnt going legal speed, but its ok tho cause it was fun  8)

All I got to say is DO IT! ... juss stop to sleep at a hotel once your too tired to ride.

QuoteYou've probably collected the bike now anyway?

No, should have it down here Tuesday.  My youngest brother is driving it and buying it.  I sent the money to him the other day.