Im trying to decide between a 2001 suzuki gs500 (prolly my favorite bike ever...not sure why it just is) or an old school honda.  There is a 1976 honda CB550 local for sale for 1200 bucks.  I really want a 2001 gs500 but not sure if i have that kinda of money right now.  What do you guys think?

By an 89-00 GS ... or is that something you hate ... I dunno I think its a better shape than 01-02 ...  and far more crash damage resistant ...
Cool.
Srinath.

old school honda's are pretty solid bikes, but three decades of use can add up to a lot little glitches/annoyances that will nickel and dime you to death.

For 1200 you can find a good gs, with fairly low mileage/amount of owners

maybe not an 01, but a lot newer than 76

what commuterguy said. older bike is nice but too many reasons to wrench instead of ride.

Ditto to the previous comments.

A cherry 90 GS from Stow, OH was on ebay, twice, and did not sell at slightly over 1500. It was exceptional with very low miles, helmets (not a real selling point to me), and other trinkets.

The 1200 for the old Honda is very high unless museum quality or owned by a grandmother who used to ride it only on weekends and polished it twice a day. :lol:

I am tracking GS sales on ebay via a spreadsheet and hope to post it as a buyer's guide. Kelly Blue Book is a good online resource for contemporary bikes.

Also check Cycle Trader in your area. Take your time. It took me about 6 months to snag a project bike, but then again I enjoy wreching...alot.  

With spring upon us, having your bike in pieces trying toget it to run is painful.  Buy a mid-90's GS and spend your time riding, not wrenching.  If you want an older bike, buy something much cheaper than that Honda to play with when the weather won't let you take your GS on the road.

I had a 1975 CB550 back in 1984. It only had 6k on it when I bought it. I owned it for 8 years putting 8k miles on it. It was a pretty solid bike. Did not have the power, looks, or handling of my 1996 GS500E. Problems I had with my Honda 550 were: Exhaust pipes rusting out, had to rebuild carbs (quite expensive with 4 carbs), and an irritating electrical problem where the bike would loose all electrical power and die. I would wait a few minutes and it would start back up.