Hello all! First post on this forum!
Finally getting my motorcycle license as my girlfriend has a bike (had it before I met her) and I've always wanted one. Now I have an excuse to get one.
I am 25 years old (almost 25), and have constantly worked on cars all my life, so I am not new to wrenching at all. My dad and I completely redid a Ford Pinto in 2010, and every year we do some mods to it. Last year was a new transmission, put in a 5-speed and 3.55's in the back, but I digress.
My first bike I got from my uncle. He sold me one of his bikes, a 2000 GS500E with right around 2k miles on it. Hardly broken in. The bike itself is mint except for the handlebars. My aunt learned to ride on the bike, and she dropped it when learning, so the handlebars are a little bent and it needs new bar-ends. The bike is still completely ride-able, the bars are not too bent, it just looks a little funny. I had plans to put on new bars, grips and bar-ends, then ride the crap out of the bike.
Just to give a little info about my build, I am 5'-7" and roughly 140 pounds, so not a big guy.
Anyways, my reason for posting was to ask a few general questions. Is there anything I should keep an eye on when riding / maintaining this bike? Also, I have read that this bike should be a great bike to learn on. Can anybody give me a couple pointers / tips?
Unfortunately, I have not been able to pick up the bike from my uncle yet due to weather, so all I have are a couple crappy cell phone pics my uncle sent me. I'll be sure to post pics when I get the bike, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Thanks so much!
EDIT: Forgot to add that I do know how to drive cars with a stick, so I know the general principals with clutch and shifting, though bikes are slightly different from what I understand.
I would highly recommend a rider safety course (MSF) to learn. The key of learning to ride a bike, is learning the life-saving techniques taught in those courses from the ground up as you learn to put the bike in motion.
A lot of people new to the GS500 have trouble with the take-offs because of rpms - To explain further, many bikes don't need much throttle at all to get going... in fact you can get moving around a parking lot messing with friction zone alone on most bikes, some bikes you can even get into higher gears and go 25mph+ on just playing with the friction zone... though it CAN be done with the GS500, these bikes really need about 3k rpm to go anywhere - so keep that in mind while learning, but still be mindful to obey the throttle.
Maintenance - well, I'd recommend doing all the things you should do to a bike that has been sitting - oil change, new plugs, bleed the brakes, clean the air filter, fresh gas, good soft rubber tires, load test the battery, and inspect everything.
Things specific to the GS500 - check the oil often. Though, a low mileage bike should not go through oil - it is still an air cooled engine. Particularly with the GS500, it is very sensitive to low lubrication situations like low oil, and can suffer bearing damage (catastrophic for a bottom end) as a result. Not to scare you into thinking your GS500 isn't a tank.... because it is! Just to scare you into checking your oil, regardless of mileage/age because there are too many threads here on that particular problem - and for something so easy to avoid!
Edit: Forgot to mention another maintenance specific for GS500 - Valve adjustments - The valve adjustment interval on a GS500 after the first initial maintenance is every 4k miles. This is a much shorter interval than most other bikes, but it isn't something to look over. Exhaust valves set at the largest end of the Suzuki spec has seemed to lower this interval and is recommended by many members here.
You are very close to my size (you are maybe a half inch taller, and half inch thinner on the waste LOL), so the bike should fit you well. I have a 29'' inseam and so I did lower my bike originally so I could have both feet on the ground when learning (seat height is about 30.5-31''). But I have since returned it to stock height and just tilt the bike on one foot at stops - The clearance is much more desirable at stock height.
- Bboy