Hello,

I am soon to take my Motorcycle Riding Safety course (Nov 5th) after years of wanting to to.  I got tons of friends with exp from 2yrs to 20+ years with one pro who just sold his Ducati 749 for a MV Agusta.

Anyways, I have enough influence from them on what they seem to be good for me but i want to do it right and start with something that i can learn on.

I have looked and searched and found that a Ninja 250R is too small and a 500R is something i may find to work for me.  I have researched on their end and got their opnions.

Now i am here asking you about my other choice a Gs500E, without fairings or a Gs500F with.

Please, i want honest opinions if possible about what is good about this bike, or suggestions.

Also, do you know if i can put the fairing of the F onto the E if i decide to buy the naked older model.  I may not be able to offord a new bike.

Also, if you live in Sothern California and have one of the above mentioned bikes for sale, let me know i may be in the market real soon.

Quote from: BudgetBaller

Also, if you live in Sothern California and have one of the above mentioned bikes for sale, let me know i may be in the market real soon.

[edit:Pkaaso, a member here who lives in Lake Forest, north san diego county, has several he's putting back together to sell. Not sure where he is in the process though. He's an exceptional mechanic and a great guy to boot. he's wanting to get them ready to sell to new riders, just like you, who can appreciate them for what they are-great learning tools.]


Welcome.
The ninja 500 (ex500) and the gs500 are very comparable. I'll go into more detail when I have a moment to expound on them. The gs is air cooled and much simpler maintenance-wise than the water cooled kawasaki.

For now, let me just say you should consider buying a used naked gs500 and not bother with the fairing. Ride it for a year (spending only maintenance and gas money on it-'budget' thinking). Then in a year of riding you should be ready for a bigger bike and you can sell the used gs for what you paid for it (or nearly). It'll be like riding a bike for a year for free.

BudgetBaller-

Where are you located?  Do you have a brother in Visalia?  I was at the local cruise night last Friday with my GS and a guy asked me if it was for sale, wanted to know for his brother...I referred him to this site, so just thought it might have been anti-coincidental.

:dunno:

Good luck finding a GS locally, most are LA and south or north of San Jose...Not much in the Valley.  There is a guy who parks next to me when I'm at work, he's got a Kawi 500 that looks pretty clean, can't remember the miles on it, but I could put a note on it asking if it's for sale if you'd like...

Quote from: BudgetBallerPlease, i want honest opinions if possible about what is good about this bike, or suggestions.

Well, it being a budget bike it really needs a few things to make it a good everyday canyon ride, but city riding is fine as is. That would be true for either the ex500 or the gs500.

What's good about the gs? Great gas mileage (55+mpg when hitting the canyons really hard). Super easy and cheap maintenance. The few upgrades most find necessary (suspension upgrades and carb rejetting) are inexpensive and transform the bike into another animal altogether. Bike is light and easy to ride.

Best forum on the internet. Huge wealth of knowledge on this bike here. Cheap. Dont have to worry about busting a radiator if you drop it or crash, so you can ride it home.

Yes i know from first hand that it can take a beating.  My rider friend just got a bike for the first time and hs is riding a Gs500E.

I had to already jump of of bed with my woman and hurry to a ditch off of Old Topenga Road to help him and his bike out.  Fun!

The bike rode home well enough, he even had me behind him driving to block his path just in case.

I like something that can take a hit but get you home safely.

BTW, I am out of Los Angeles.  So the local sale would have to be within 40 miles. I am also not looking to buy till after Nov 5th once i take the Safety Class.

Thanks for the remarks so far.

Pkaaso is still a viable option...trust me on that one. Otherwise you'll have to keep an eye on Craigslist.org and cycletrader.com for a local sale.

Hope your friend is alright. I'm in santa monica and ride locally lots.

My friend is ok, just had me worried the punk.  He and another group of friends ride together all the time.  Him and another guy in a new Ducati monster are new riders and have both gone down recently.  Good to know that they will be able to teach me what NOT to do.

I am messaging Pkaaso and see what he has in store for me, maybe it may be too good to pass up.

Hopefully my other friends who ride an R6 and F4i dont make fun of me on a bike without full fairings.

Hey,

I'm a new rider in the Bay Area, and I just bought a '92 GS500E a few weeks ago.  The reason I chose it was for its low price, ease of maintenance, and forgiving nature.  I'm in college and have had a bunch of friends who start on R6's, F4i's, and the like.  They end up dropping their bike at least once and scratch their fairings, which is so expensive to repair that they usually leave it all scratched up.  In comparision, my GS has quite a few scratches on the engine casing from previous owners and myself but if I cared to repair it the cost would be (relatively) low.  It's a great first bike - forgiving enough that when I make little mistakes I can recover well but fast enough that I can go for canyon rides and have fun.  

I got mine off Craigslist and spent quite a few weeks looking for good deals.  But if I'd known how cool the guys on this forum were, I would definitely have checked here first.  I also looked at the EX500 and it just turned out that the GS I got was a good deal.  Looking back I'm glad I got it because I like the look of a naked bike and the GS is way cheaper to maintain.  I would still be wary of a faired first bike because of the high chance you'll scratch it up somehow.

Hope this helps

-Sanjay

Every comment helps, thanks.


What would be the advantage over an air colled bike compared to a water cooled bike?

Does an air cooled get really hot if left at idle for long periods of time?

If you are worried about your friends making fun of you, then you're already in trouble.  You won't be able to keep up with them on either the Kawa or GS.  If you bought a faster bike, you'd be likely to crash it sooner.

You've got to ride your own pace and not theirs.  Buy the unfaired GS and sell it in a year.  Get some miles under your belt and then you might be ready to move up.

I am worried about my firends making fun of me but only in the sense that i need people to ride with and show me the ropes.  If they clown me to much and dont stay with me then i will have a hard time trying to restrain myself and learn properly.

I was going to start with a 250cc bike but being a 5'11" 250lbs i dont think that bike would get me around at a pace i would like to go at.

I need something that would be plenty enough power for me and also something that i can easily learn on.

I am under full understanding that this is not something to fool around with.  My cousin rode and does not have a belly button anymore from low siding and his mom rode with a gang that rode with the Hells Angels.

So experience is all around me i just got to take advantge of it.

Bikenut is right.  If they make fun of you and make you ride over your limit they are not really your friends.     But you have a way around that with the GS.  Take a look around at the pics in the gallery.  Folks have put some sweet 1/4 fairings on their bikes for small cash and it makes a difference.  

Other notes:  The GS is really hard to kill.  It does burn oil but thats about it.  Rejet get some new springs for the front...some also need to upgrade the rear shock- me at 100 lbs... well I don't have that worry.  Its a great bike and  a lot of fun to ride.  I have had a lot of folks who ride "spiffy" bikes tell me how cool they think my bike is.  So thats kewl.  I am more than ready to move up to a bigger bike...but I am reluctant to get rid of my GS.

Respect the power of this bike and any other bike you may ride.  The day you lose respect is the day you'll go down.  Always ride with a sense that something could happen not with the feeling that it won't happen to you.

Yeah i have been reading as much as i can on this board and have found out a lot and still learning.

I know about the fairing kits from the 1/4 to the buell one; i like that one, sort of a old school racer.

Tons of advice and knowledge to look through, busy busy busy :mrgreen:

I don't mean to be critical of you or your friends, please don't take it that way.  I've tried to keep up with friends who are more skilled than I and sooner or later, you go down.

Take the MSF course and keep practicing.  Your friends will understand that you are still learning.  If necessary, ride alone.  I like to find a road that is challenging and keep repeating the same stretch while gradually increasing my speed.  You build up confidence and learn how far you can go a little at a time.  The faster you can go safely, the more confidence you get in yourself and your machine.  Then you can move up to a more powerful bike and you'll be ready to ride with your friends.

The GS 500 is a great beginner's bike and will go fast enough.  It'll take you to triple digits and will out accelerate any cage.  I keep thinking that I want a bigger bike, but the GS is just so competent, economical, fun, and I think the 04 is as good looking as any bike out there,

Ride your own ride, no matter what.  

Sometimes its good to be stretched a little at a time by more experienced riders, but not by riders who are willing to risk more because they have a bigger bike rather than more experience. They're the type of riders that will ride for a few years like crazy, go down big, & never ride the same again, if at all.

Personally, I want to ride my whole life, rather than racing around like a squid for a few months/years and nearly killing myself.

If you feel pressure, ride on your own.

Thanks guys

Every comment matters.  I intend to take it slow and learn on this bike (assuming this is the one i end up with for sure.) or any bike i buy so i dont end up giving up the riding too soon.