Hey there!
I am a Russian guy who moved to Rio-de-Janeiro 6 months ago. After I went to India a couple years ago I had a dream to live by the ocean and have an ability to drive a bike (here they call it "moto") all-year-round. So, step-by-step this dream came true! I moved here, got my bike driver's license and bought a bike!
This is a 2001 blue GS500. I bought it for R$ 9500 (4,750 USD) with a mileage of 64k km. Yeah, pricing here is pretty steep, but this is the way things are done in Brazil (crazy import taxes).
A 20-year-old student sold this bike, because he had no place to keep it after he moved to another apartment. He told me the bike had been completely revised including new pistons installed, accompanied by fixing the cylinders. After the first 100kms of highway riding I found oil on my left shoe and feet. Later I found out that it was oil from under the front sprocket cover (stuck oil lube) and from under the cylinder block gaskets. The first problem was fixed by myself (thanks to this board) :thumb: , but the second one required a mechanic to help me. So I took it to the guy why who had made the piston/cylinder work to fix it, and I gonna take by bike back tomorrow. I really hope he has fixed the problem (people here speak very bad English, and my knowledge of Portuguese leaves a lot to be desired).
One of the primary reasons to buy a bike here was travelling. So now I think of buying a trunk with a correct mounting, but I can't figure out the best solution. I hope you guys can help me with this.
And, this is the pic of the bike, my wife and me.
(http://i.imgur.com/2hG9V.jpg)
wow....wish i could travel like that!