I know that it's common knowledge but I want to say, the GS500 is bulletproof. I am after doing more than 31k miles on it in almost a year, crossed Europe 4 times, went down to the Sahara and Sahel Region, did hundreds of miles off road, in sand, rocky tracks, hit potholes at 150kph, ran the bike on some rough 4x4 oil when I couldn't find anything else. It didn't even cough or splatter when I gave it some dodgy petrol for a few thousand miles in Africa. I dropped it several times and crashed twice. A week ago I had to pick it out of a river in France, and it started straight up. I did more than 1300 miles in two days, half of that at full throttle... and the engine is still sound.
Problems:
- I had electrical faults due to a damage to the right hand side engine cover and water getting in there... fixed that by gluing a piece of a beer can to it.
- The fuel petcock has to be on PRI all the time now to avoid fuel starvation.... not a big deal.
- The rear rim had to be bent back to shape after hitting that massive pothole... steel rims, so it could be done in the middle of nowhere... literally.
- I noticed that I am loosing some oil at the o-rings on the valve rocker cover when I over-tighten the screws... I am more careful and put a tiny bit of instant gasket when I am assembling it.
- The thread on the sump plug bolt is almost completely stripped because I trusted a mechanic in Mali with the oil change... it was tempting, he did the whole thing for 2 euros... never again.
Good tips I can offer:
- Seal the ignition wiring and other electrical connections that are prone to get wet with silica gel... water and dust can't get in there.
- Check your oil level, battery fluid levels and petrol hoses after a crash.
- I found the Michelin Sirac rear tyre to offer good traction off road, but the Bridgestone BT45's did well too until I hit sand on them. My front BT45 is still in good nick after 16k miles, I wouldn't use anything else.
- Carry lots of ductape with you, it can fix anything. I managed to make my snapped front brake lever usable with two sticks and ductape. Better even carrying a spare :)
- Use braided a brake hose and HH pads on the front, it makes a massive difference when that car or sheep or camel pulls out in front of you.
- Fit a DID x-ring chain, one size tougher than what is required for the GS's horsepower, mine was rated for 70bhp. I didn't lubricate it at all in the Sahara for about 9k miles as it was just catching sand and it didn't even need adjustment until recently... a very good investment on the long run.
- Don't go over 5k revs and your engine will last forever.
Now, anyone knows how could I make the front forks a little bit longer? Putting a spacer in is great but I wouldn't mind a bit more suspension travel. I am thinking about getting an sv650 rear shock as well, does it have more travel than the GS's or is it just longer?
Quote from: randomway on April 02, 2011, 10:49:12 AM
I know that it's common knowledge but I want to say, the GS500 is bulletproof. I am after doing more than 31k miles on it in almost a year, crossed Europe 4 times, went down to the Sahara and Sahel Region, did hundreds of miles off road, in sand, rocky tracks, hit potholes at 150kph, ran the bike on some rough 4x4 oil when I couldn't find anything else. It didn't even cough or splatter when I gave it some dodgy petrol for a few thousand miles in Africa. I dropped it several times and crashed twice. A week ago I had to pick it out of a river in France, and it started straight up. I did more than 1300 miles in two days, half of that at full throttle... and the engine is still sound.
Problems:
- I had electrical faults due to a damage to the right hand side engine cover and water getting in there... fixed that by gluing a piece of a beer can to it.
- The fuel petcock has to be on PRI all the time now to avoid fuel starvation.... not a big deal.
- The rear rim had to be bent back to shape after hitting that massive pothole... steel rims, so it could be done in the middle of nowhere... literally.
- I noticed that I am loosing some oil at the o-rings on the valve rocker cover when I over-tighten the screws... I am more careful and put a tiny bit of instant gasket when I am assembling it.
- The thread on the sump plug bolt is almost completely stripped because I trusted a mechanic in Mali with the oil change... it was tempting, he did the whole thing for 2 euros... never again.
Good tips I can offer:
- Seal the ignition wiring and other electrical connections that are prone to get wet with silica gel... water and dust can't get in there.
- Check your oil level, battery fluid levels and petrol hoses after a crash.
- I found the Michelin Sirac rear tyre to offer good traction off road, but the Bridgestone BT45's did well too until I hit sand on them. My front BT45 is still in good nick after 16k miles, I wouldn't use anything else.
- Carry lots of ductape with you, it can fix anything. I managed to make my snapped front brake lever usable with two sticks and ductape. Better even carrying a spare :)
- Use braided a brake hose and HH pads on the front, it makes a massive difference when that car or sheep or camel pulls out in front of you.
- Fit a DID x-ring chain, one size tougher than what is required for the GS's horsepower, mine was rated for 70bhp. I didn't lubricate it at all in the Sahara for about 9k miles as it was just catching sand and it didn't even need adjustment until recently... a very good investment on the long run.
- Don't go over 5k revs and your engine will last forever.
Now, anyone knows how could I make the front forks a little bit longer? Putting a spacer in is great but I wouldn't mind a bit more suspension travel. I am thinking about getting an sv650 rear shock as well, does it have more travel than the GS's or is it just longer?
"I know that it's common knowledge but I want to say, the GS500 is bulletproof." :bs: :icon_mrgreen:
Respect,did you wear gel pants? I`d like to see someone do a GS5 in a flat tracker style,sounds like this would work for you.
dont ever go over 5k and you dont go much of anywhere. If my bike never saw more than 5k rpms, I would have been run over multiple times coming off of red lights.
What an adventure!
Did you post a ride report over on Advrider.com?
good tip on othe braided line and brake pads. I have huge problems with camels walking out infront of me :icon_mrgreen:
Quote from: jeffdodge on April 03, 2011, 05:32:07 PM
dont ever go over 5k and you dont go much of anywhere. If my bike never saw more than 5k rpms, I would have been run over multiple times coming off of red lights.
Not saying ever. I don't really keep myself to that rule and my bike has suffered a lot. When I see twisties I forget all about engine longevity :) Carbs must be out of synch now ... still, there was no sign of wear or damage when I checked the valve clearances and looked at the top of the engine. On long days I am trying to keep the revs at 4-5k, it's comfortable, I am not in a hurry anyways and fuel consumption is the best at those revs.
I didn't post on advrider but I have a blog, barothi.com if you are interested. I am just uploading some videos to youtube. Here's a sample :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KH4DEKQq-g&hd=1
A flat tracker/scrambler kinda thing is what I am after but two of the exhaust header bolts have snapped and I don't know what to do about that..
So any suggestions on how could I make the front suspension longer?
Wow! Amazing adventure and blog! Ride safe!
I agree about keeping the revs down to 4-5K, -if possible-. The savings in fuel and safety, alone, are worth it. I can do this (in the boonies), but I understand, that for some, it is not an option (freeways).
dont go over 5k rpm lol.... highways here are 110k/ph to do that you have to go over 5.
going over 5k wont hurt the motor, going over 11k will.