my nominations for the worst designed features on a GS500E:
-fuel tap screw with hose routed right in front it
-sealed instrument faces making it hard (to say the least) to clean the bezels
-white wheels on early GS's, whose idea was this?
other models:
-any bike that has a seat that requires the use of tools to remove, so that you can get to the tool kit.
now excuse me while I go out to the garage to clean my white wheels.
narrow wheels
poor brakes
shitty suspension
crappy seat
needs to be fuel injected for crying out loud what year is it?
edited-beer made me spell wrong
Fuel petcock----->fuel line----->carb----->breather hose(s).......ARGHHHHHH :mad: What a pain to remove the tank and disconnect/re-connect ALL these lines! When I started riding in the '60s, I could pull a tank on my Honda or Triumph in about 60 seconds and reinstall it and reconnect the fuel lines almost blindfolded! I realize some of this plumbing is there to meet regulations, but there's gotta be an easier way.
Things I really like about my '89 GS.......the WHITE wheels :o and the clip-ons.
Quote from: lumpoffire on May 28, 2006, 12:36:36 PM
my nominations for the worst designed features on a GS500E:
-sealed instrument faces making it hard (to say the least) to clean the bezels
Well wouldn't there be even bigger problems if they weren't sealed. :laugh:
Quote
-white wheels on early GS's, whose idea was this?
It was the 80s dood - era of big hair, bad shoes and white wheels.
My pet peeve is the frickin' petcock. Impossible to reach as it's behind my leg and bike always starts its low fuel stutter at the wrong time.
C. <-- happened to me this a.m.
Quote
My pet peeve is the frickin' petcock. Impossible to reach as it's behind my leg and bike always starts its low fuel stutter at the wrong time.
C. <-- happened to me this a.m.
Quote
Good point. I guess there wasn't enough room for one petcock with the twin spar frame and tank design; maybe they should have used one of those big old petcock dials on the side of the tank, like the old (80s)Honda Interceptors had. And I still haven't read a definitive explanation for the intermittent fuel starvation issue.
yeah the suspension sucks, but it's marketed as a "beginner bike" right? the fuel starvation isssue is annoying, but w/ practice switching on the reserve, or to prime has gotten almost reflexive. I think my biggest gripe would have to be the oil drain screw. It's just so damn easy to over tighten it. I haven't yet, but after reading the horror stories from eveyone else everytime I change the oil I'm scared of over-doing it.
Quote from: chrisalberts on May 28, 2006, 01:42:57 PM
My pet peeve is the frickin' petcock. Impossible to reach as it's behind my leg and bike always starts its low fuel stutter at the wrong time.
C. <-- happened to me this a.m.
The petcock isn't hard to reach. Practice it at home with the bike off so that when you're needing to flip it at 70 MPH, you're able to.
Dave :cheers:
Mine is the supersoft front suspension.
the infamous squeeling back brake no one can ever seem to truely fix :mad:
PETCOCK!!!!!!!!!!!! IT SUCKS.
Sorry bout that.... but it does.
almost forgot: the tank petcock that has the outlet tubes so close together, it's nigh impossible to reattach both of the spring clips or zip ties, at least with decent aftermarket fuel line (like the 5/16ID Motion Pro lines, soft and supple compared to the hard and brittle stock ones).
And motorcycles should have sightglasses, not dipsticks.
my gripe is that the exhaust pipe is 45mm instead of everyother motorbike 50mm. it just makes it triky to get a slip on or bloody expensive
Quote from: mike_mike on May 28, 2006, 09:32:55 PM
the infamous squeeling back brake no one can ever seem to truely fix :mad:
Awe, MAN... I got some new brake pads thinking that might solve the problem... Looks like I'm just going to have to deal, huh? That freakin squealing is as embarrasing as the backfiring (but at least I'll be able to fix the backfiring...)
Quote from: Queso on May 28, 2006, 11:26:57 PM
Quote from: mike_mike on May 28, 2006, 09:32:55 PM
the infamous squeeling back brake no one can ever seem to truely fix :mad:
Awe, MAN... I got some new brake pads thinking that might solve the problem... Looks like I'm just going to have to deal, huh? That freakin squealing is as embarrasing as the backfiring (but at least I'll be able to fix the backfiring...)
Back brakes squeel because they are not used enough. Thus not using them because they squeel, makes the situation even worse. To stop squeeling (not talking about worn-out pads) try stopping from 60 mph only with back brake in neutral (just dont skid). After couple of such hard usages of rear brake it should stop squeeling (if the squeeling is caused by reduced brake usage) .
Quote from: Queso on May 28, 2006, 11:26:57 PM
Quote from: mike_mike on May 28, 2006, 09:32:55 PM
the infamous squeeling back brake no one can ever seem to truely fix :mad:
Awe, MAN... I got some new brake pads thinking that might solve the problem... Looks like I'm just going to have to deal, huh? That freakin squealing is as embarrasing as the backfiring (but at least I'll be able to fix the backfiring...)
Have you tried a bit of lubricant behind the pads (not on the pad surface, of course)? IIRC, this was mentioned as a solution in MotorCyclist or Cycle World.
Luckily I haven't had to fool witht he petcock much, but my limited interaction with it has been alright. I think the worse designed feature is the seat. I've sat on park benches that are more comfortable than my '04.
I find the 04-06 seat comfortable.
obviously you haven't compared it to a long stint on a CBR250RR
Quote from: Phaedrus on May 29, 2006, 06:59:04 AM
Luckily I haven't had to fool witht he petcock much, but my limited interaction with it has been alright. I think the worse designed feature is the seat. I've sat on park benches that are more comfortable than my '04.
I think the seat is very comfortable! Try sitting on a newer gixxer 1K or a Ducati 749 ;) ...I like it cause its both confortable when your upright or crouched.
Try riding pillion on a ducati Monster. I did that for FOUR minutes yesterday and I STILL HURT LIKE HELL. (little GS ran out of gas.)
No one has mentioned the carburation yet. It definately sucks. And it is not just a one time bolt on fix. Take'em off, put 'em on, take 'em off, put 'em on, take 'em off.......over and over, the weather changes, the carburation changes. Touchiest carburettors I've ever had the displeasure of working with. My old Bultaco Astro with the Bing carburettor was more consistent than this.
thats carbs in general though, but i wont mention your laws that let them come out proberly tuned :cookoo:
Am I the only one that actually LIKES the white wheels? I think they look great.
I think the '04 seat is fairly comfy, too.
My biggest for design features:
The damn tank lines and petcock
The tank not having a pivot (have to take it off, rather than being able to rotate it)
Touchiest carbs on the planet
The suspension is understandable, as it's a budget bike. The skinny wheels and tires are understandable too. Budget bike needs budget tires that can do a lot of miles.
Quote from: galahs on May 29, 2006, 08:17:41 AMobviously you haven't compared it to a long stint on a CBR250RR
I'd love to ride one of those! Can't get 'em here. :mad:
Worst design feature? How about that big carbide lamp up front? :laugh:
I love the white wheels... Except when I have to clean them (all the time) But I have a white jacket so Phhbbbt...
Well, the white wheels are nice, except for when they need cleaning. Which is a little to often imo.
Hmm, the seat thing? I heard alot of talk about that, also when i took my license, I personally dislike the seats on the new GS'. But that changes from person to person it seems.
Petcock problems I haven't had yet.
Haven't really had my bike for long enough to figure out what I think is the worst designed features yet.
need for a petcock on the 05's....
to remove the tank without losing 10ltrs for premium fuel is a pain in the a$$.....
and the el cheapo fuel lines used tank to frame mounted petcock... cheap and nasty - mine had cracks in it after 4000kms!..
Quote from: domas on May 28, 2006, 11:53:15 PM
Back brakes squeel because they are not used enough. Thus not using them because they squeel, makes the situation even worse.
Agreed. When I got my '01 (in '03) it had a squeal. After a few weeks of just using the rear regularly under normal conditions it went away. You gotta use it to keep it clean.
Oh no ... GS isn't even close to the looooong list ...
Here is is just in the order of the worst features on bikes that I have seen ... not all inclusive by any means ...
1. Vulcan 750 - alternator that needs engine pulled... and a regulator that sat under the battery and shorted oout often so you'd eat alternators often ... Bad and happens often ...
2. Shadow 600 seat ... I cannot count how many bolts I have lost tyring to secure it. Sold it just to get rid of that ...
3. Vulcan/EX500 ... valve cover removal needs radiator moved forward and out of the way ... and of course the system needs to be drained ... since water hoses are in the way of the valve cover too ... - applies to eli/concourse/old ninja as well.
4. Virago 1100 carbs (I have heard vulcan carbs are also a nightmare but fortunately I haven't felt it myself) Touch wood ...
GS and the KZ series kawi's and XJ yamaha's seem to have the least of these "features". Honda CB series is a distant fourth - its problem is starter clutch ... you lose it, toss the bike, its in the middle on the bottom requiring cases split.
There is prolly many more ... just dont remember them all now.
Cool.
Srinath.
Honda CBX (inline 6-cyl bike) - Needs the engine dropped to get to the carbs. All 6 of them. To do that you need to take off the full front fairing and headlight assembly, the seat, side covers, tank, airbox, then drop the engine to get to the carbs.
But the CBX sounds so cooooooollllll.
Quote from: corndog67 on May 30, 2006, 07:00:04 PM
But the CBX sounds so cooooooollllll.
Oh jeeze, no freakin' joke. My father put some Kerker pipes on there and it sounds soooo sweeeeeet. It's a shame he's gonna sell it though, it's really nice looking with the custom tape.
In fact, when he first got it:
(http://web.austin.utexas.edu/harefamily/mc/full_lfb.jpg)
(http://web.austin.utexas.edu/harefamily/mc/eng_rf.jpg)
6 carburetors? How do you balance 6 carburetors? I don't think I'd have a bike for very long.
Quote from: Egaeus on May 30, 2006, 08:16:42 PM
6 carburetors? How do you balance 6 carburetors? I don't think I'd have a bike for very long.
Balance 6 to 5 to 4, then 1 to 2 to 3 to 4.
Wow, that is one clean CBX. Now that Suzuki has an inline-6, maybe the old Hondas will experience a renaissance.
Quote from: lumpoffire on May 30, 2006, 10:13:49 PM
Wow, that is one clean CBX. Now that Suzuki has an inline-6, maybe the old Hondas will experience a renaissance.
I'll send my father your compliments. The bike has custom pinstriping (the gold tape instead of the stock blue and white tape), the fork lowers removed, and the crash bars removed.
For reference, a stock '82:
(http://www.jwoodandcompany.com/2003/daytona2003/1982%20CBX1.jpg)
Bikes which are designed in such a way that your forced to take it into a garage to do any just-more-than-minor-maintenance work. E.g BMW touring bikes. You either spend mucho £'s on all the special tools required to do a minor job such as bleeding the brakes, or you take it into a garage and get ripped off. Its a pain in the arse, for example to bleed the brakes you need a special tool which will work around all the techno-gear they put on the servo assisted brakes just to get to the bleed valve. And there are 5 bleed valves on the brakes servo motor alone. Surely they could design this differently. Also to get the panels off the side you need a special tool to do it easily, or you can faf around with a long socket wth extension to reach the bolt to undo it.
I have a complaint....the 01 GS seat that I spent all weekend on sucks! My gs's seat is waaaaay better and its still stock.
i think the gs is perfect and beautiful :)