I am looking for a new bike, been without a bike for the past 8 years or so.
For the money the GS500E looks pretty good, but am a little concerned about the size/power of the bike.
I am about 6'-6'1"-ish, about 230lbs. Does the GS500E have enough power to carry someone my size at highway speeds???
Yes, Im 6'2" 230lbs. and it is fine. This is me.
(http://www.gstwin.com/albums/member_bikes/acf.jpg)
me too im about 6'3" and im fine on one
Oh I forgot to mention, I am only doing about 80mph in that picture and its nowhere near the redline!!!! :bs:
See how awesome GS's are? You can do 80mph on the centrestand!
:thumb:
John
WOW!
I had no idea the bike could do that!
C V Man
JeffD, Seriously, how well does it perform with someone of our size???
Dekan,
A GS500 has plenty of power to carry you on the highway.
My younger brother learned how to ride on my GS, and he's 6'7" 230 lbs.
He only complained a little about "I think I might be too tall for that bike".
(but he IS 6'7"):)
I'm 6' tall 195 pounds and it's plenty powerful for riding, and can carry a passenger at a good clip. Just ask my girlfriend. :)
It's by no means a racing bike, but I think it would give my '95 Corvette a good run.
My only complaint would be low-end torque.
(of course, I'm speaking from a "bone stock" standpoint)
But that could be due to my other bike's stump pulling torque.:)
(Vulcan 1500)
To be honest with you, I don't see how you could do better than a GS500 for value and quality.
The other manufacturers don't seem to care as much about anything under 750ccs and it shows in thier skimpy offerings.
(just look at a Kawasaki Ninja 500)
(hard for me to take it seriously)
If you get one, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
C V Man
I'm a good 6'4" and 180lbs. It fits me fine too, although I might raise the seat a little for more comfort.
Seriously it runs fine. the bike sits at 6,000rpm at 70mph which is just starting into the powerband. If I need to pass a semi I just drop to 5th which jumps up to 7,000rpm then wack it open. You get up to 90mph pretty quick (5-10seconds) and then shift and I could keep going. I always stop at 90mph but its still pulling so I know I can go faster. The only problem is the wind. Being so big it pulls on your arms a bit, but any type of windscreen solves that problem. You cant go wrong with this for a first bike. :thumb: I have heard of people our size riding the NInja250 with no problems, so the most important thing is something you can safely learn on and something that is comfortable.
Im 5'11 ish, when i got my gs i was tipping scales at 289 at my heaviest point, the bike still performed great. now down to 266 in 11 weeks (atkins)
i havent driven the bike for about 4 weeks now do to broken sproket cover(i got it welded finnaly) i will be riding this weekend. i imagine it will perform better will me weighing less. its just hard to crouch down when cornering, i act as a parachute heheh
I don't need to be a speed demon by any means, just want to make sure it won't be underpowered for the limited amount of highway use I might have.
I used to have a Honda CX650(water cooled, shaft drive, nice bike) many years ago, but had to give it up when we got a boat. Now we are selling the boat, so I am getting another bike if we ever find a buyer for the boat.
I would like something more along the lines of a Nighthawk 750, but can't afford that. I can only afford to put about $2000 to $2500 into it, so the GS500 is looking like the next best choice for that price point.
Sounds like it will carry me with enough power to keep me out of trouble(or get me in trouble, depending on how you look at it).
Thanks for all the info!!!!!
The only other thing that has me a little leery of the GS500E, at least compared to like a Honda Nighthawk is the nighthawk has maintenance free chain, sounds like from others here that the chain on the GS500 needs frequent maintenance. That doesn't give me a warm fuzzy, I hate lubing and cleaning up the chain, Yuck......
Quote from: DekanThe only other thing that has me a little leery of the GS500E, at least compared to like a Honda Nighthawk is the nighthawk has maintenance free chain, sounds like from others here that the chain on the GS500 needs frequent maintenance. That doesn't give me a warm fuzzy, I hate lubing and cleaning up the chain, Yuck......
Any chain requires a little maintenance every 600 miles or so, not just the GS. id you're concerned about it stick with shafties or look to H-D for belt drive...
as for highway drives, i've just taken 4 ~280 mile trips on the highway recently. me being 6'3'' 220-230 or so, it's fine. i'm pretty sure the whole trip from my hometown to minneapolis i was never passed by anyone, and i was doing all the passing. :thumb: there's no power in upper sixth on the highway, but that's 6th. if you need to accelerate you can always pop it down to 5th gear, or depending on your speed, even 4th if you need to. those two gears pick up pretty well. 2nd and 3rd are decent gears also for comign down enterence ramps, you'll accelerate up to speed in no time. i'm a fairly agressive driver on the highway (not stupid, just agressive), and i like to pass and switch lanes a lot. other than keeping other cars aware that i'm around by moving a lot, 280 miles straight gets kind dull if you just sit at a set speed in 6th gear, so i'm always down shifting to pass then shifting back up, ducking behind my screen and getting it to around 100mph indicated (whatever that means with my 140/80 rear), then slowing back down. you have a lot of freedom on the highway with the gs500, it's a great bike. it's been my first, and i love it. good luck. :cheers:
Sounds like it has more than enough power to keep me happy.
:thumb: Just hope I sell the boat quickly so I can go shopping. :thumb:
Let us know where your located and we will let you know if anyone sees anything close to you!! :thumb:
Quote from: JeffDLet us know where your located and we will let you know if anyone sees anything close to you!! :thumb:
Central Ohio, out East of Columbus.
I just bought a 02 in Columbus......took it right out of your backyard....sy.
im 5'11" and about 220. i think that it has enough power, passing cars on streets or crusing on the highway, you'll enjoy it, and you'll love owning one without a payment every month. my 93 was $1700, and i'm starting to think i paid a little to much, but for 9,000 miles it's cool.
Nitehawks are great but those 650's (the newer 750's are chain drive) are prone to eating their cam chain tensioner, #4 crank bearing if you dont use the centerstand much and if the strater clutch ever goes ...the motor is toast cos it has to come out and split and entirely taken apart to get it. Plus the bike also is heavy, not that quick, has rather poor handling and is entirely devoid of personality. The good thing is that it has hydraulic valves so no valve adjustments needed...Still I'd take the GS over the nitehawk. The newer 750's are the same in all respects except they dont have shaft...they are chain.
Cool.
Srinath.