Hello everyone,
I bought a 2004 GS500F last week, and decided to take it for a ride down the quiet, peaceful street of my subdivision over the weekend.  
The ride was beautiful and I didn't make any major mistakes while the bike was moving.  

My question is this:
I lightly dropped the bike while practice slow speed U-turns (kept dabbing my foot down...), and even though there is no damage to the fairing or engine other than a minor scratch, I want to know if there is something in particular that I should look for?
All of the metal parts of the main body of the bike, not just the engine and the exhaust, were hot after my 30 minute ride...is this a normal thing?

I'm a new rider, so any and all information would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

welcome to the wonderful world of owning a 500F

i just got mine 2 months ago and i dropped it the first day too!

don't worry
you're a lucky one if there wasn't any scracthes or dents or anything

you must have dropped it the same way as me
sort of like holding on really tightly to the handlebars as it falls to lighten the fall

it's what i did
and i noticed i had a tough time starting the engine after

that's because all of the fuel is flooding the carbs after the tipover
which is supposed to happen (regardless of which way you drop it)

don't do what i did and try to start it right away

instead, just leave the bike alone for a bit
and it'll start after about a 5 minute 'resting period', persay

in terms of your bike being hot,
it actually should remain hot for a few hours after the last time you used it

that's very normal

drops like this is the reason experienced riders suggest starting on a used bike instead of a new bike, and why nakeds are better than fairings too.

But, I'm sure you're enjoying the F very much and its a great bike to start on-congratulations on both starting to ride and on a wise choice for a first bike.

the bike getting hot is normal, especially considering you were riding it around at very low speed for a while. When moving the air will cool the bike somewhat.

If you dropped the bike at slow speed and it starts back up fine (after a short time if necessary) then unlikely anything is hurt, and consider yourself lucky you didnt damage the fairing or tail bodywork more...

Good luck and welcome to a great site.

Dolepineapple, pantablo:

Thanks for the warm welcome and for the tips.
Lol, I couldn't wait the few minutes for the bike to start after picking it back up...I gently rolled on the throttle with the gear in neutral and that did the trick.
 
I did actually buy the 04 used...the original purchase was in August, the guy put 3000 miles on it, and I got it from a Suzuki dealer for $4100.  Too good of a deal to pass up!  My MSF class is this weekend, but for better or worse, I just had to take the bike out for a ride yesterday!

Thanks again and I look forward to being part of this vibrant GS500 community!

If the end of the handlebars hit the ground, then you might check the handlebars for bends or cracks.  Also, check the brake and clutch levers, to see if they got bent.  If any of those parts get a hairline crack, then they can fail later at an inopportune time.

The course will help out a lot with learning how to prevent that kind of fall.  New-to-bikes tenativeness in low-speed manuvers isn't good for fairings, but on the plus side, at that low speed, you usually don't damage anything important.  

Welcome!

I am very pleased to hear that you were practicing u-turns (yep, don't put your foot down...)! Start with bigger u-turns and turn your head around to look where you want to go, and soon you will find yourself turning tighter and tighter!

YAY! Glad you & the bike are ok! Also, VERY glad to hear you are taking the MSF class. You won't regret it.  

Welcome!  :mrgreen: