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Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: gregvhen on January 27, 2010, 10:05:28 PM

Title: What year is my bike?
Post by: gregvhen on January 27, 2010, 10:05:28 PM
on the wiki i noticed it says in 97 they switched the frame color from like silver to charcol gray.  My bike is light silver, but my title says 97, but the manu. date says june 96.  Is my bike the 96 model or 97. i thought that maybe the title said 97 cause even though it was technically made in 96 it was the 97 model, kinda like you were able to buy a 2010 mustang before January 1st.
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: bobthebiker on January 27, 2010, 11:35:31 PM
it is probably a 97.    the way it works is if the manufacture date says like 3/95, your bike would be a 1995,  but if it were 6/96, its a 97.  everything from the 6'th month on in a given year is marked as the next model year's product.      I hope that makes some sense.
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: gregvhen on January 28, 2010, 09:44:57 PM
yea thats what i figured, but then i read on the wiki that the 97s changed from a light silver to a charcol frame, but mines light silver
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: jeremy_nash on January 28, 2010, 09:56:21 PM
it could be that bikes built in 97 have the charcoal frame
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: bobthebiker on January 28, 2010, 11:45:46 PM
it is entirely possible that the color change was a mid year deal.
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: The Buddha on January 29, 2010, 06:44:44 AM
96 is charcoal. I think 97 was sliver.
Cool.
Buddha.
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: jeremy_nash on January 29, 2010, 09:39:19 AM
my 95 frame is silver.  but who knows with the japanese bikes?
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: BaltimoreGS on January 29, 2010, 04:39:22 PM
My '96 frame is charcoal, Kay's '95 was silver.

-Jessie
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: The Buddha on January 29, 2010, 08:18:56 PM
Right my 95 was also silver. I guess 96 only was charcoal, but I seem to have seen a lot of charcoal bikes, maybe cos I bought my first GS an 89 in 95 and a few months later I was all about the GS ... so I saw and absorbed a lot of new bike info on the 96's.
Cool.
Buddha.
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: sledge on January 30, 2010, 06:02:11 AM
Somewhere in the Haynes manual is a table that cross refs frame nos against year of manufacture.
Title: Re: What year is my bike?
Post by: gsJack on January 30, 2010, 06:55:40 AM
Check your VIN number:

http://www.suzukicycles.org/_misc/identification.shtml