Hello GSTWIN!
I wanted to give another quick "reintroduction".
I started my moto adventure back in 2006 with an 04 GS500F and found this website. Learned a lot about the bike and myself and eventually 'grew out' of the bike. Years went by and a handful of other bikes later (05CBR600RR, 01SV650S, 07EX250 and in that order believe it or not) I eventually found myself a 07GS500F a few months ago.
So hello again!
PS. I'm in the Sacramento area in California!
Welcome back!
So, are you happy with the GS after all those other (really different) bikes?
Short answer: Yes
I'll explain in detail once I'm out of work.
Here are my thoughts of the different bikes that I went through and why I ended up back on a GS500F.
But first, I want to talk about the other bikes that I owned.
2005 CBR 600RR: ( owned two years and put around 10-15k miles)
By far the coolest looking bike I own. I love the technology and how it's tune for racing. I love the note of the engine and I love the way it looks. I also liked that fact that it attracted the opposite sex (although I have to admit I attracted WAY more guys than I did girls). This bike is dangerously fast and caught myself speeding down the freeway.
Aside from the fact that super sports are godawful when it comes to comfort, what ultimately made me sell the CBR was the fact a bike like that doesn't belong on the street. They are set up for the track and riding it around town almost seems like a waste. It's meant to go fast and even in the canyons I didn't think allow the bike to show it's true personality. Ultimately, it made me feel like a wanna be poser racer- and also the comfort thing.
2001 SV650S: (Owned it for a yearish, put about less than 10k before I had to sell to help pay for my college tuition)
I completely understand why there's such a cult following for the SV650. The V tiwn engine is great and it's perfect for street use. The note on the SV was surprisingly good as well. I enjoy the deep rumble very much. The riding position was comfortable and sporty enough everybody about it was good and I had no complaints about the bike aside from the look. I personally wasn't a fan of the S look at all. To me the bike looked very ugly. Nonetheless, it was very fun to ride and I had a blast riding that bike. Would not hesitate to buy another SV650 if a good one shows up, but they are far and few in between.
2007EX250: (owned year and a half. Put around 10k )
Very easy to manage, the chances of you crashing/dropping this bike is very low because of how forgiving it is. Perfect starter bike for anyone because you get comfortable on the bike very quickly so you can spend your energy reading the road and become hyper aware when it comes to road hazards and distracted cagers. The engine is very easy to work out and I spent a winter taking everything apart just to learn how the thing worked. The 250 is lots of fun on the canyons but terrible on the freeways. I ended up selling this bike to my friends gf because she was looking for a 250 as her first bike. It worked out for me because I was moving and needed to unload the bike.
2004 GS500F and now 2007 GS500F. The only real difference was the color....
So why I decided to went back to the GS500?
Because it's still the biggest bang for the buck for the casual rider, AKA me.
The bike have ample of power to get around time and on the freeway and not enough power to get you in trouble with the law.
The bike is incredibly easy to wrench on. I love the fact that it has a center stand. it's simple and time tested parallel twin engine with very little electronics means it's easy to learn how to your own repairs and maintenance. I don't need to buy a wheel stand which is one less thing in my already overcrowded garage.
Parts are cheap, tons of resources online and DIYs tutorials. If you really want to mod the bike, you can go all sorts of way with it. Search custom gs500 and you'll find cafe racers to race bikes and everything in between.
I haven't met met a jackass on a GS500 yet. I can't say the same for the other bikes that I owned.
Price: the GS500 in my mind is the BIGGEST bang for the buck. I have seen GS500s for sales cheaper than 250s. With all that money I spend it on gear, suspension upgrades (front fork springs mainly) and most importantly TRACK DAYS! If you don't want to do that you'll just have a lot more cash in your wallet which is great too.
The GS500 is fast enough for our daily needs. Fast enough to beat 600s on track days. It's comfortable enough to go on long rides without killing your back. The engine is easy to work on, it's reliable, it even has a center stand. Parts are affordable and you can do a lot with all that money you saved.
At the end of the day, the GS is a no nonsense classic motorcycle.
Have fun, be safe.
Hiya :cheers: Really enjoyed reading your reviews... thank you for posting this!!!
Thank you!
Be safe out there! :cheers: