Back in April I bought my 05 GS500E, being honest I wasn't too keen on it at first but that changed shortly after I arrived to pick her up. The 70 mile ride back was an event, she had been sat for a few weeks and she felt a little loose, needed to stop and adjust the clutch properly and all that. This is her when we got back after a good wash!
(https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/1488747_239887002883822_6222794277446256732_n.jpg?oh=4f21596987c920bcdfa38b4d0533f146&oe=54D738F9)
The months rolled by with me making little alterations here and there, nice wide bars, bar end mirrors, removing the stickers, even made a custom fork brace! :)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10365802_250525308486658_7141936528639298184_n.jpg?oh=771a78a0203aa862dabb6a06fbccd552&oe=551D3421&__gda__=1423311895_8d37075688aefb0e0ce32d465ce472cc)
Then me and my good friend decided to go over to the Isle of man late September, what an experience! She done everything the bigger boys did (minus the speed) and didn't miss a beat at all!
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10703935_293487487523773_7331023085086803084_n.jpg?oh=4fddb8f3bc0906a777246a27dff3bc7e&oe=551E30D7&__gda__=1427857457_682bda1a1a4b1c04678eb3ed7ca97804)
And now we are here hitting winter and I'm falling ever more in love with her! Such an underrated bike, I've done just under 10,000 miles in 6 months and it's been perfect. So what do you all think of my darling machine! :)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10492164_294127164126472_2572985320765922900_n.jpg?oh=bac2a95883dc030b04a5ac583563cdbb&oe=54D8896B&__gda__=1423863763_107e0e0afb8e74d6ea192090e8a8c661)
Just awesome! Couldn't agree more that it is an under-rated bike, often overlooked and underestimated. There is good reason it had such a long production run (89-09 only missing 03 in a few markets).
10k in 6 months is great saddle time. I did 6.5k in 4 months this summer - so roughly the same average, though shorter time period - had mine for several riding seasons now, and I'm still impressed by it in the same way.
I talk with fellow riders saying things like 'My next upgrade will be fuel injected, 650-900cc range, etc...' maybe spout a couple models that are appealing to me... but that line is always followed by my last comment on the subject - I am honestly not sure I see when that will happen (or if it will happen), I love my bike! LOL
:cheers:
- Bboy
Great story, I to am new to the GS500, over the past ten years I have had two CBR600' s. I have been off the road since 2012 and wanted to buy the newest bike I could for the small amount of cash I had, I was seeing CB500s 16 years old and they wanted thousands of pounds ER5 were no better priced and most of them looked like scrap, so I started looking at the GS500, most were for sale at a good price, so I picked up a GS500F on a 56 plate for a song, I have enough money left over to do all the jobs on the bike to make it my own, must say I am very pleased with it as my old dad would say it goes like a sawing machine.
:)
Cheap to buy and cheap to own. Very few problems, almost bullet proof. Whats not to like. I've got less than $1,000 invested in my 02 so I just keep liability insurance on it ($75/year). 50 + miles per gallon and really has plenty of power without getting you in trouble.
Don't spread this information around to much or the prices will go up. ;0)
Yea I bought my 89 GS in august and love it.
August 1995 LOL.
Cool.
Buddha.
Well I just got mine early October. Luckily, I had a great October (weather wise) to get some riding in. I just passed the 1000 mile mark after about 6 weeks. I've ridden a couple of other bikes while I was shopping, and since I got my GS. There is just a nice balance to this bike. I have thoroughly enjoyed making my improvements to it, too.
I may be getting another bike next year....but I'm pretty sure that I'm keeping this one.
Roaring via Tapatalk.
I picked mine up in September and after only a few weeks I ended up bouncing off the back end of a Jeep Patriot.
Before
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/dL8ZpSCs6TfVlzUs_HjUVWjpKpiPB9EYyZ6XedkLtfA=w342-h257-no)
After
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/C_dR4CUY2NdllWgv1J3-y3SQsP9tEautEUssBovJtzI=w342-h456-no)
now
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oMePjKCnjjE/VFOoglkSI9I/AAAAAAAAAqs/eOpbG1GIrMA/w342-h257-no/20141031_095111.jpg)
I really like this thread!! I have a habit of falling in love with non-sporty, reliable, easy to work on, inexpensive to fix, bullet-proof vehicles and I am sick of the people that roll their eyes at me and insisting that the newest, sportiest vehicles are the only way to go.
With that being said, that is one of the reasons I love this forum... the GS is just awesome and I am glad to see so many people recognizing it. :laugh:
A handful of years ago one day at my Dad's garage, a friend of our family stopped in and showed off a 1998 GS500E that he had just bought for his daughter. I took one look at the bike and I remember thinking, "If I ever get a motorcycle, THAT is the kind I want." Well little did I know that a couple years later, she would want to sell it for a bigger cruiser style bike, right at the same time I had been studying PA's Motorcycle Operator Manual and was gonna try for my permit.
I passed my permit test in January of 2012 and that wonderful friend of my family offered to let me borrow the bike and learn on it (since I had expressed a LOT of interest in buying it and it was already pretty banged up.) I bought a helmet, threw on a heavy jacket and gloves I had, and in the middle of January taught myself how to ride. I had never been on anything but a bicycle at that time and the GS was very easy to learn.
Almost three years later I have no visions of ever getting rid of this bike. I have fixed things, replaced things, and I continue to give it lots of TLC. I love my GS and am really happy that so many other people love them too :-D
-Brittney
I've had my 06 GS500F for about 4 weeks now and love it. Despite the fact that in those 4 weeks I have been to the DMV 4 times and still don't have my title, had to replace the rear tire, took apart the carbs (twice!) for cleaning and leaks, had to adjust the valves, had to replace the fuel lines, had to replace a couple of gaskets causing an oil leak, had to install new signal indicators and mirrors (none on the bike when I bought it), and still have to replace a throttle cable, brake cables, replace brake pads (and possibly a rotor), replace the swingarm, replace a couple of bulbs in the instrument cluster and figure out why my brakes are dragging (likely the caliper pistons are gunked up a bit). All of this and it's my first street bike. All I ever had to do on my dirtbikes cars/trucks was regular maintenance. So this is a fun and infuriating new experience. Aside from the brakes dragging a tiny bit, the bike now runs perfectly!
In that time, I have experienced 2 flat tires (rear), hanging idle, starting issues, fuel leaks, oil leaks, engine knocks, backfiring, about 15 stalls (caused by valve clearance), running out of fuel in the middle of a turn (at night, on a busy backroad with only 18" of gravel on the side of the road before a deep drainage swale), bloody knuckles, stripped and cross-threaded screws/bolts, and countless SMH moments when I realize something dumb the previous owner did (like welding the adjuster to the swingarm :cookoo: ).
I've spent at least 30 hours working on the bike and probably less than 3 actually riding it... I still feel like it's the best decision I've made all year :icon_mrgreen: . What little time I have spent on it has left me feeling completely at peace and in control of everything. It's awesome! Oddly enough, I've always been a huge fan of supersports like the gsxr and zx. I even called multiple KTM dealers to see if the RC390 would be released in the US (about 6 months ago), they all told me it wouldn't and I was pretty sad about that. But even now that I hear the RC390 will come here, I can't imagine getting rid of my GS500 for it. I might eventually get another bike (especially if Mission Motors reaches their goal of getting a high performance, long range electric supersport for under $15k) but I don't know that I will ever get rid of the GS500. It's a bike that I can see teaching my wife to ride and letting friends borrow it to learn on. It's functional, customizable, stylish, well built, fun, and easy to personalize. It's safe to say that the bike is now mine. She's home.
Not exactly a GS, but my GR is a keeper. Years ago I was diagnosed with a skin disease that makes me photosensitive (more specifically - UV light). At the time, I spent ALL my time outside: playing golf, fishing from a boat, going hunting, etc.. So to hear that I can't be exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods really stunk. My drive to work is less than 5 minutes, but a guy down the street had this old red Suzuki sitting outside for weeks.... I mentioned to my wife about buying it if the price was right. I finally stopped one day and started chatting about the bike and he was asking $600 for it - mechanically it was in pretty good shape but it was neglected cosmetically. After a friend of mine test rode it (I didn't have my permit or anything at the time) the bike was mine. Works out really well for me: during riding season I'm outside but with full gear on, and in the winter I'm tinkering away in the garage.
I kept it pretty much stock for the first couple years as my "reliable runner". Different mufflers since the originals rotted out, a small windscreen attached to the headlight, some universal saddlebags, etc but nothing really crazy.
Back in 2010 I had a traumatic event happen and I needed something to occupy my mind. I already knew the GR inside and out, so I started customizing it. Here's what happened (the stock GR on the right is what mine started out as):
(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt70/rmyers104/Suzuki%20GR650%20rebuild/Sidebyside_zpsnlkt9wdh.jpg) (http://s598.photobucket.com/user/rmyers104/media/Suzuki%20GR650%20rebuild/Sidebyside_zpsnlkt9wdh.jpg.html)
And it still continues to this day. I'll never not own this bike given the option. Now the GS450 has taken over the responsibility of being the reliable daily rider. But once my son gets older and wants to go on trips.....the GS450 might get traded for a Bandit 1200 or something similar.
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on November 21, 2014, 08:40:20 AM
I really like this thread!! I have a habit of falling in love with non-sporty, reliable, easy to work on, inexpensive to fix, bullet-proof vehicles and I am sick of the people that roll their eyes at me and insisting that the newest, sportiest vehicles are the only way to go.
I own 9 motorcycles. Got back into bikes after almost 40 years not riding and went a little crazy.
The people who roll there eyes at your GS500, don't understand what riding a motorcycle is all about. The GS is a fun bike, light and easily maneuverable with enough power to run at highway speed without buzzing your brains out, reliable and gets decent MPG. It's not the fastest or the latest greatest but a dang good bike for the money.
I have faster bikes. They have their place. Not to prove who is faster, but a bit more power is fun at times.
I bought my 09 GS500F in like new condition to learn to ride again. I wanted a lighter easier bike to ride to get back into motorcycles and feel comfortable. I was just going to ride it for a while and then sell it but it is such a nice bike I decided to keep it. Doesn't bother me a bit that people roll their eyes. I just smile and keep going. :D