GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

hi

I plan on taking the msf class once I have $150, and then working my ass off until I can afford a bike.  I'm looking at the gs500... it's a good looking bike, and isn't too large.  But I get the feeling that it might jsut be too powerful.

so i have a question...

will this bike have a ton of power in the low end? (this is a concern of mine, I don't want to slightly flick my wrist and be hanging on for dear life... I want to be able to get going, and then rocket off, if I so please)

also, any other concerns I should/would have about this bike having only taken an MSF course?

The lion's share of the people on this board did more or less what you describe so you would be in good company getting a GS-500 after the MSF course.

The GS makes anything BUT gobs of power early in the revs. Just about anything on two wheels has the potential to give you that "Oh my gawd....MUST....HANG....ON!!" sort of feeling, but the GS is about as tame as it gets for this phenomenon. Above 6-7K on the other hand, well, thats another story.  :)

Good luck and welcome.

Welcome, get the best training you can and take notice, you'll be OK.

I took the MSF class and two weeks later picked up my GS.  Rode around the block a few times and then went on a 50mile+ ride home on the highway :dunno: . This is only because the bike felt very natural and confidence inspiring. You won't be scared by the bike, I promise! :thumb:

Besides, in your MSF class you will put more then 100miles on the little bikes they will give you :cheers: .
The only other bike like it that I came across was the EX250 (little ninja). Both are great, but the ninja was too buzzy for me.
Cheers
-Denis S.
PS: Welcome to the sport.

The GS has a nice relaxed motor. It's power delivery is almost non-existant, sorta like my old 250...(not a Ninja250).

I honetly don't think anyone can go wrong starting out on a GS500. I've got over 35,000 street bike miles under my belt and countless thousands in the dirt. This is the easiest full size bike to ride I've ever encountered. It's very docile at low to mid RPM with no chance of freaking out due to too much acceleration. However, for a wild time the upper RPMS are waiting for when your skill improves. :thumb:  :)  :thumb:

Quote from: dsmirnov83
Besides, in your MSF class you will put more then 100miles on the little bikes they will give you.

we never left the parking lot.  i'd be suprised if we rode 10 miles.

I made note of the odometer when I took the MSF class.  We rode 21.2 miles in our 2 days on the range.  But they're just about the hardest  20 miles you'll ever do.

The GS is a perfect beginner bike. In fact, lots of places use the GS in the MSF courses.  You can't get better praise than that.

The GS500 is exactly the bike you're asking for.  No low-end power so you can't get in trouble accidentally.  Enough high end power that you won't get disgusted with it after a week and you can get a thrill when you choose to. Handles like a dream.

enough power to get you to trouble. but to get into trouble, you'd have to do something stupid, or be looking for trouble. you cant beat the ol' igsser :thumb:

yea... the ninja 250 is another one i'm considering getting.

both bikes seem well suited for me.. i do like the way the 500 looks though.

it seems that both would be fine for me, however the 500 seems liek somethign i'd be able to keep for a while longer.

I think whAT i might do is shop around and see what kind of price i could get on them... I'll also look at insurance for them.


thank you all for answering my question

Colin,
I am a firm believer that the gs500 is THE best first bike out there. The ex500 and ex250 are also good first bikes but their plastics can be expensive to replace if you ever drop your bike (common newbie mistake). The ex250 also has a very good forum for internet support. You'll tire of the 250 pretty quickly where the 500 will keep you interested for much longer.

I've had mine for 16+ months and put 8600 miles on it...only just now ready for a new bike.

Definitely check insurance and get what will be the cheapest to buy and own because you'll be upgrading in a year or two (not a bad thing).

Make sure to buy good gear and a properly fitting helmet (tighter than you'd think at first). I suggest reading Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist II or Nick Ienatsch's Sport Riding Techniques.

Good luck.

I agree with all the above.  Gee I wonder why?  Maybe because we're ALL happy with our GS?  This is the perfect size/power/riding position for a beginner or experienced rider.  

As said earlier there isn't a ton of low end torque to rip the bike out from under you.  Believe me, a "too powerful" bike really isn't that much fun, too touchy.  You don't want to be lying on the tank all the time AND you don't want the "non-maneuvarability" of a laid back cruiser.  

The GS is perfect for general having fun riding.  I had a GS750 and now I have a GS500.  It says something that I'm completely happy with the 500.  

Give it some gas when you want it to take off and you'll be good to go.  I can do 70mph in second gear and it only takes about 5 seconds to get there.  Plenty fast when you want it.  BUT, it's mellow enough at low throttle to ride like granny until you WANT to get on it.  AND it's so LIGHT and agile that you'll fall in love with the handeling, I have.

Me as well.  The GS was and is the first bike i ever rode.  I'm all of 5'5" 130# and the tameness of the GS put my worries to rest.  Low wnd is not a worry...gotta get up around 5-6K before you really start feeling some power.  I think is's a great first bike and even though i had the opportunity to get a larger bike...i instead modified my GS a bit.  I think i'll keep her for a while... ;)

GS500 is a great first bike, I started on a similar size CB400T about 20 years ago.  And no need to keep updating the bike, just update the rider every year and it will go faster and faster.   :lol:  I'm beginning to think it might be a great last bike too.  Hope they have another naked one in a few years when I wear out the 02.  I'm only 71 and should need at least 1, maybe 2 more to finish up.

HaHA, but I am glad you are concerned. You will be fine. IF my girl can ride this thing, having never have ridden any sort of motorcycle, you can ride this thing. assuming you can ride your huffy fairly well. hehe. good luck.

thanks again for all the responses.  the gs definitely does seem like a good bike, that will keep me interested in it for a while.

is it easy to work on?

it also turns out that progressive will cover me at the minimum for about $324 a year.... that's an 18 year old male who's had 2 wrecks and 1 ticket in the past 2 years....  but one wreck wasn't my fault, and the other... well that guy had no damage but since we didn't call out insurance company first he was able to get a good $1600 out of it. oh also the running a stop sign.

i know it sounds like i'm a horrible driver, but the $1600 one... that guy stopped in the middle of an intersection to turn right, when it was wet out.. and my CRX didn't exactly have antilock brakes.   i really was able to avoid havign any damage done to either car, but he just drove a taurus (jaguar x-type) and wa sa total ass... he even had the nerve to say to me "do you know what kind of car this is?".  and then there's the other one... that totaled my crx.  ignorant lady without a seatbelt on pulling out of a bank (turning right) onto a four lane road. i was in the left lane. she compltely passes up going into the right and lane and i hit her door.

dont' know why i even went into all of that... but i'm jsut surprised that progressive will cover me on a gs for $324 a year.[/b]

My GS is wonderful, and very tame.   I started off with a 50cc moped, then a Honda VTR250 (screw the ninja 250, I think the VTR is a far better starter bike than the Ninja 250)  

I'm a pretty big guy (6'3' `225lbs.)  So the VTR 250 kinda was a bit small for me, but my philosophy is to work your way up.  

I'd had my VTR for 2 seasons, then sold it to get the GS.  The GS is about 30lbs heavier than my 89 VTR was, so it wasn't much of a difference as far as handling the bike.   But man, oh, man......  having twice the engine made a lot of difference.

It was certainly an interesting trade off, since my VTR has way more "off the line" than my GS does.  *HOWEVER*  as everyone else says, sonce you get the bike up a bit into the RPMS it really starts to shine, and it is nice having my GS start to really pick up where my VTR would be straining at.

You won't have to worry about  pulling a wheelie or anything like that with your GS, I'd bet if you had a bad clutch drop, you'd prolly just wind up stalling the bike.

Only gripe I have with my GS versus my VTR 250 is I feel the rear brake is a bit too "grabby"  I've had it looked at by a shop, and there are no problems with the pads, rotor,etc.   I tend to use the back brake a lot on my GS, where as on my moped I used to use the front brake almost exclusively.

Anyway, you should do quite well on a GS,  I'm planning on trying to rustle up another one soon for my wife, and I plan to train her up a bit in our driveway with mine.

Quote from: spdracer75Only gripe I have with my GS versus my VTR 250 is I feel the rear brake is a bit too "grabby"

You might try installing a set of EBC Kevlar ("Organic") brake pads in the back.  For better or for worse, they don't grab as hard as the OEM pads.

EBC (Manufacturer) part # for ALL GS500 models (1989-2004) is FA63.

Chaparral part # is 361-1630.  ($19.99 ... Available after 4/30/2004)

MAW part # is 13892.  ($20.95)

Dennis Kirk part # is 195065.  ($27.99)

Quote from: gsJackGS500 is a great first bike, I started on a similar size CB400T about 20 years ago.  And no need to keep updating the bike, just update the rider every year and it will go faster and faster.   :lol:  I'm beginning to think it might be a great last bike too.  Hope they have another naked one in a few years when I wear out the 02.  I'm only 71 and should need at least 1, maybe 2 more to finish up.

Well I guess that says it all.  Once again the grumpy old man drops a perfect pearl of wisdom. :thumb:

i got a gs500 after my msf class... it was "thrilling" at first cuz you're just on 250cc and 125 cc mc's on the msf class, but you get used to fast...  and with the great gstwin.com website you should be able to do maintaince on your own and fix a lot of issues...just watch for rust in the tank...bad, cuz it will clog carbs...

btw, i rode my buddy's honda hawk nt650...me want a v-twin for next bike.   :mrgreen: hot...talk about a quick throttle response.   next bike will be a sv650 or monster 800  :thumb: