For those of you who have lost track of my repairs after so many posts. Here they are in order. I purchased an 06' GS500F on June 20th.
Date In "Repair" Performed Approx. Mileage Repair time and Date back
1. June 21st "loose bolt or nut on oil line" 11 3 Days June 23rd
2. July 1st "Blown Head Gasket" 230 19 Days July 22nd
3. July 24th "2nd Blown Head Gasket" 400 4 Days July 26th
4. July 27th "Replacing Head In Engine" 500 To Be Determined
I am now awaiting a response from the attorney about taking my case. Lets hope all goes well and I get my refund. Then I get to decide which bike to replace the old one with....another gs500f,ninja 500, or harley sportster. Probably another GS500F (Really like the bike but reliability is becoming worrysome on the 06's it seems).
that's insane! good luck with your claims.
wow....are there other reports of 06s with these problems? Maybe something got screwed up with the manufactering process....
well I know you are questioning the reliability of the gs500 but I can, and so can many others, tell you the thing is a beast and can take tons of abuse. There are plenty of 89s out there that are still running strong, mine included :icon_mrgreen:
get the ninja 650. 2006 is the last year for the 500 ninja
Quote from: tussey on July 29, 2006, 11:47:52 AM
wow....are there other reports of 06s with these problems? Maybe something got screwed up with the manufactering process....
Well, I have the same exact problem. Bought the bike on June 27th, took it in July 11th with 269 miles on it. They still have it as of today, July 29th. In fact, I called on the 25th and they told me the parts weren't even in yet. We'll see.
what are you people doing to your bikes?
Mine, also an 06 has something like, 5k on the clock so far, and not a thing wrong yet..... not even a fuel starvation issue.
*knock on wood*
Mine's an '04, no problems (mechanically anyway)
Quote from: TragicImage on July 29, 2006, 04:06:05 PM
what are you people doing to your bikes?
Mine, also an 06 has something like, 5k on the clock so far, and not a thing wrong yet..... not even a fuel starvation issue.
*knock on wood*
I don't know. I never had my bike above 5k rpm's. Just started leaking oil all over my right boot and the right side of the bike all of a sudden. Pretty crappy way to start your motorcycling life, eh? :laugh:
Quote from: rangerbrown on July 29, 2006, 01:20:52 PM
get the ninja 650. 2006 is the last year for the 500 ninja
Sorry for going off topic. Is the 650r the replacement for the ninja 500? Or are they going to bring out a new 500cc bike?
Dude, don't let that specific lemon sour you on the GS500 breed, I love GS almost as much as my woman. As for your other two choices the one will be too noisy and the other has that strange mid-section missing from its' fairing.
I got an 05 and no problems with the thing yet, I routinly (sp?) open the throttle till 10K and have not had a problem. Your bike is probally just a lemon and the mech's that are working in that dealer don't know what they are doing.
Ninja 650r if you go that route head to canada they have a beautiful champange (sp?) color :bowdown:
Quote from: bbq on July 29, 2006, 06:20:25 PM
Quote from: rangerbrown on July 29, 2006, 01:20:52 PM
get the ninja 650. 2006 is the last year for the 500 ninja
Sorry for going off topic. Is the 650r the replacement for the ninja 500? Or are they going to bring out a new 500cc bike?
the 650 is the replacemnet.
its far better in many areas, its EFI, more power but not like a 4 cly 600cc. i hope to get on one soon.
the 650r was actually the first bike I was thinking about....
What is this :o people talking up kwakas over our beloved GS's you are all traitors to the cause the lot of you ohh the shame :cry:
I spoke to a couier who owns one and he said the performance was great but didn't have much else good to say about it he especially mentioned the suspension front and rear was very vague which sounds like the GS but having said that for the money saved over the kawka you could put good suspension on a GS and probably out handle the Kwaka having said that you could spend even more on the Kwaka and blow the GS into the weeds but I'll stick with the GS :thumb: :cheers:
Quote from: 06GSowner on July 29, 2006, 10:19:58 AM
....I am now awaiting a response from the attorney about taking my case. Lets hope all goes well and I get my refund. Then I get to decide which bike to replace the old one with....another gs500f,ninja 500, or harley sportster. Probably another GS500F (Really like the bike but reliability is becoming worrysome on the 06's it seems).
What state are you in? The Lemon Law does vary among states.
In SC, it requires 3 documented repairs of the same item and all within 1 year. I had a car that qualified but I did not know this until after the fact.
Quote from: 06GSowner on July 29, 2006, 10:19:58 AM
For those of you who have lost track of my repairs after so many posts. Here they are in order. I purchased an 06' GS500F on June 20th.
Date In "Repair" Performed Approx. Mileage Repair time and Date back
1. June 21st "loose bolt or nut on oil line" 11 3 Days June 23rd
2. July 1st "Blown Head Gasket" 230 19 Days July 22nd
3. July 24th "2nd Blown Head Gasket" 400 4 Days July 26th
4. July 27th "Replacing Head In Engine" 500 To Be Determined
I am now awaiting a response from the attorney about taking my case. Lets hope all goes well and I get my refund. Then I get to decide which bike to replace the old one with....another gs500f,ninja 500, or harley sportster. Probably another GS500F (Really like the bike but reliability is becoming worrysome on the 06's it seems).
Any updates on this? I'm at 21 days in the shop as of today. When I called on the 25th, they told me no parts yet and that they would call when the parts came in. At this point, I'm assuming they still don't even have the parts to fix the bike from Suzuki. So, 9 more days and I'll be testing the California Lemon Law. Just to cover my behind, I sent Suzuki a letter telling them everything that has happened up to this point and letting them know I'll be wanting a new bike or full cash refund if I don't have my bike back in the next 9 days.
Anyway, I'm interested to know how this is going for you 06GSOwner.
My attorney is filing a lawsuit against suzuki on 3 different accounts. 1st is breach of contract. Can't recall the other 2 right at the moment. My lawsuit will be filed as soon as I pay the state filing fee and send in the paperwork. We shall see if Suzuki wants to settle or go to court. And yes my bike is still in service. I've been working 14 hour days for a week, haven't had time to work out alll the details yet. I will keep you guys posted.
Quote from: 06GSowner on August 02, 2006, 01:27:55 PM
My attorney is filing a lawsuit against suzuki on 3 different accounts. 1st is breach of contract. Can't recall the other 2 right at the moment. My lawsuit will be filed as soon as I pay the state filing fee and send in the paperwork. We shall see if Suzuki wants to settle or go to court. And yes my bike is still in service. I've been working 14 hour days for a week, haven't had time to work out alll the details yet. I will keep you guys posted.
Wow. I can't believe it's gone this far. I would think Suzuki would just recognize that they screwed something up and try to make it right for the customer. I hope it doesn't come to that for me. I don't have the time or resources to go through a lawsuit. I'll probably just sell the bike when I get it back and buy something else. I did mention in my letter that I had heard of others having the same problem with the '06 GS. Maybe they'll look into it.
Yeah dude that totally sucks that the dealershiped f***ed you over...but going to court with them will suck
THEM=Millions of $
You= hundreds of $
it sucks how money rules this country justice system...but I say...fight the power
I havent filed the lawsuit yet. Not until I send in the fee. I don't know much about law and think everything should go ok but i'm still worried I could get screwed somehow in a lawsuit. Suzuki is a big company and I'm sure they know every way to get out of things and also if I ever want to buy another Suzuki I better pray I don't have problems because I'm sure they will remember the lawsuit in the future. I think I may give Suzuki one last call and just say "I'm done dealing with this bike, I pay the payments and insurance to leave it in repair for 90% of my ownership of it,I don't wanna take legal action and don't even know if I have a case but if I can't get a new bike and you guys can't do the right thing for my situation then I'm going to have to find an alternative way to resolve the situation." Any opinions on what I should do or any other advice?
sue them. it will be the only way to get them to settle the matter to your satisfaction. they probably wont want it to go further than filing the lawsuit.
+1 file the lawsuit and they'll settle in a heartbeat, and you'll probably never have to step foot in a court room. Having worked around corporate legal teams I can tell you they're legal department has a lot better things to do with their time then to deal with some chump and his tiny ass lawsuit. I bet you your claim is less than their insurance deductable and is just pocket change compaired to what they often have to deal with.
If you have an attorney this should be a fairly painless process. He should do all the leg work for you and all you'll have to do is say Ok and sign on the dotted lines. It really is the best option, and isn't as scary as it sounds.
Quote from: dgyver on July 31, 2006, 12:41:32 PM
Quote from: 06GSowner on July 29, 2006, 10:19:58 AM
....I am now awaiting a response from the attorney about taking my case. Lets hope all goes well and I get my refund. Then I get to decide which bike to replace the old one with....another gs500f,ninja 500, or harley sportster. Probably another GS500F (Really like the bike but reliability is becoming worrysome on the 06's it seems).
What state are you in? The Lemon Law does vary among states.
In SC, it requires 3 documented repairs of the same item and all within 1 year. I had a car that qualified but I did not know this until after the fact.
That sounds a lot like the lemon law here in VA. 3 repairs for the same part. Not sure if the time span is a year though, something in my brain makes me thing it is a smaller timeframe in VA.
Quote from: pantablo on August 02, 2006, 10:32:44 PM
sue them. it will be the only way to get them to settle the matter to your satisfaction. they probably wont want it to go further than filing the lawsuit.
I agree with this. I have been studying this a lot and you are not only covered by the Lemon Law in your state, but also by the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. this covers anything that costs over $25 and has a warranty. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, you are entitled to recover your attorney fee's as well as any monetary judgment you might get from the manufacturer, so really you have nothing to lose. I'll be doing the same thing if my bike is not back in the next 7 days.
Good luck and keep us posted. :thumb:
I would also sue... the way that you could in theory get screwed is that if you go to trial and lose, you can be ordered to pay the other side's court costs and attorney fees. But I agree with what everyone else has said, this will never to court, they'll settle with you. They've got insurance for this kind of thing, it will be routine for them and not a big deal.
Thanks for the advice guys. I will be sending in my filing fee of $225 and signing the dotted line tonight to go ahead and file the lawsuit. Here's hoping for a quick settlement. :cheers:
Quote from: 06GSowner on August 03, 2006, 03:12:34 PM
Thanks for the advice guys. I will be sending in my filing fee of $225 and signing the dotted line tonight to go ahead and file the lawsuit. Here's hoping for a quick settlement. :cheers:
^ bump
Any updates on the situation? Thursday the 10th my bike will be in the shop 30 days.
http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.htm
Quote from: Egaeus on August 08, 2006, 08:53:19 PM
http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.htm
Oh, I'm well versed in the California Lemon Law, trust me. Suzuki has been notified of the problem and I will be sending them a certified letter on Thursday requesting a refund of my money, if the bike is not back yet. But I appreciate the link anyway! :thumb:
Thanks for keeping up posted and keep letting us know how it's turning out. It's a shame that it had to come to this for Suzuki to own up.
I'm on my second GS.
#1 was a 97 GS500e (made in Japan) and I did 65000 km over 6.5 years and the bike was in really tidy condition at the end of that time.
#2 is a 2005 GS500F and after 12 months (and 11000km) I'm considering what to do about the heavily rusted headers. It's been into the shop twice for other rust issues. My present GS is made in Spain and it seems that Suzuki have cut corners in the European market.
Love the GS ... but quality has dropped....sigh...
Sorry to jump the thread but I gotta ask, foogle, how do you store your bike, I've got a GS500F '05 and have had no problems beyond a squeaky rear brake. Lotta salt on the roads or what?
if you don't have a garage or dry place a little rust is usual. My headers are not looking to great but i am going to take them off, sand and repaint them with grill paint to make them last a little longer. Other than that i havn't had any probs out of my bike at all.
Edit: let us know how it comes out too, i am interested to see the result of this claim.