I have a '96 black GS500. It has around 6500 miles on it. It stood new unsold in a Pittsburgh dealership until 2000. I bought it from a guy in 2002 with 4000 miles and I have not riden it a lot since. Last summer it was running great. In November I prepared it for the long winter as suggested here (changing the oil, putting the spoonfull of oil in the cylinders, removing the battery, etc...). My wife and I had a baby in April so my riding had to wait for some months. I tried to start it a couple of weeks ago, but it won't. I also noticed that it is leaking oil from the front seals (I guess it needs new ones). With the new baby I have decided to sell it now, as I really need a bigger car and the GS can be sacrificed as a down payment. I plan on having the bike taken to a shop to get it starting again and change the seals. Other than that the bike is in perfect stock condition. Could you give suggestions regarding appropiate asking price? Anybody interested? I am in the Lafayette/West Lafayette Area (Purdue University).
Thanks in advance. Camilo
Edit: Forgot to add that it has a clean title and "new tires" (less than 500 miles on them). I throw in a copy of the Clymer Manual, bike covers and a Battery Tender.
2nd Edit: Update on the mileage: I was short on my estimate. It is 7200 miles. The new tires are Maxxis Promaxx and I got the bike started. It was a battery issue so it now has a new EverStart battery too. I'll take pictures today and post later. I'm hearing offers...
If you get it running I would try for $1500 :thumb:
If you get it back to perfect condition (fork seals and running properly), You could probably be greedy and ask more than 1500 on craigslist or cycletrader, given that is it is still prime selling season. I'd check on those websites and see if there are any other GS's on there and what people are asking for them in your area.
Thanks for the input. I tried Craiglist here in my area, but i couldn't find any GS. I'll expand the search a little and see what I can find. Right now my main problem is how to take the bike to the shop (2 miles away). The guys at the shop say they wont do it (btw the only shop in town where they repair foreign motorcycles). I know somebody with a pickup, but I dont have a ramp or anything to lift the bike up to the bed. Any ideas?
Find a ditch or hill to back the pickup tailgate up to, then roll the bike on. Or you could lift the bike up there with 2-3 guys
or a 2x12 or 2x10 or if youre really good a 2/4 or 6
OK, as promised, here is a link where you can find some pics of the bike:
http://www.pbase.com/camilocano/gs500
Summary: '96 GS500E with 7174 miles in Lafayette, IN.
New battery. "New" Maxxis Promaxx tires (approx 500 miles on them). Small cosmetic defects from a drop by a previous owner (check pictures). Needs fork seals replacement.
I'm receiving offers.
Finally sold my '96 GS for $1500. Somewhat sad about it, but it was time to move on. Thanks to everybody in the forum for their help. Although I didn't post often, I did lurk a lot and learned inmensely from everybody here. Great place. I hope it doesn't change. Perhaps I will come back sometime if I decide to get another GS500... or just to visit.