Hi folks,
Got a GS500 about 3 months ago, it's my first bike and I'm loving her. I've done some maintenance work, installed new adjustable levers and new Michelin Pilot Street Radial tires in stock sizes.
She's a 2003 naked model.
Now, what's been bothering me is the rear height. At first i thought it was just the buggered back tire, but even after the tire change she looks too low.
The previous owner was a short guy, so he might have lowered it and forgot to tell me. I have lost his contact unfortunately, so I can't ask him.
Could anyone give me measurements for the stock rear shock linkages (dog bones)?
The bike has a little over 16k miles, the shock looks brand new as does the rest of the bike, and I've already bumped preload all the way to the max (I'm 6'1" and a little under 190 pounds).
Thank you all and sorry for any bad English.
Welcome to the site Esguelha and congrats on your first bike!!!
Here is a thread going on currently that should help you out with the measurements.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=70217.0
And as I say all the time, we love pics so don't hesitate to share your GS :cheers:
I'm about the same height and weight as you, I installed the rear shock from an SV650 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/161986315325?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmtid%253D1588%2526kwid%253D1%2526crlp%253D53601919689_324272%2526itemid%253D161986315325%2526targetid%253D173540267769%2526rpc%253D0.14%2526rpc_upld_id%253D66438%2526device%253Dm%2526mpre%253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com%25252Fulk%25252Fitm%25252Flike%25252F161986315325%25253Flpid%25253D82%252526chn%25253Dps%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9031179%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D239125209%2526adgroupid%253D14978428809%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-173540267769%2526gclid%253DCj0KEQjw2sO3BRD49-zdzfb8iLwBEiQAFZgZfEd7GRJEAY6eZ4LaSXEpBkg_MCK6NcSmy_MZ4XpuwycaAlff8P8HAQ%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D1001892525363&ul_noapp=true) and it raised the height of the rear about 1.25 inches.
I also slid the front forks down until the tops were level with the top triple and that raised the front up a tiny bit.
Now the bike is a better fit for me. I can still stand straight up at lights with both feet flat on the ground. Which is kind of nice.
Thanks for the answers, I found that other thread just after posting mine. My search skills must be rather bad :technical:
Moving on, I just came back from the garage. I measured it with the links installed, from bolt center to bolt center, and it came out to 7 1/2". According to the info found on the other thread, that would imply that I have a 2 inch lowering kit installed. I'm going to try and get some original stock height ones, or maybe even a lift kit. Does anyone have experience with them?
I also took some pictures, I'll post them up in a bit.
Thanks for the help.
So, here's the pics. I actually was wrong on the year in the first post, it's a 2001 model. She's in pretty good nick.
(http://i.imgur.com/qLCUgyw.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/9nHJp0N.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/jOVzquP.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/MCLiLDS.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/MJjq3Sz.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WRBR8wy.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/V9ycGyV.jpg)
Now, I was thinking about something that might work, but I couldn't find anyone that did it. Basically, I can get an SV650 shock for a reasonable price, but I really don't like how tall the bike looks with it installed. Would installing the SV650 shock while maintaining the lowering links work? Would it be at about stock ride height?