hello all...

im relatively new to motorcycles in general, took the MSF course a year and a half ago and that was my first experience riding a bike besides dirtbikes and that was only a few times.

it was an awesome experience and i have started looking for a new bike for about a month and with the help of suzuki-bikes.com and this website i have settled in on a GS500F. 

only problem i am having is that findind a used one for a good price around here isnt easy to come by.  ive seen a couple for around 3K-3.5K so almost up there to a new one.  the local bike shop has a 2005 in stock with only 489 miles for $4300 and he said it was negotiable...not too much im sure since its a dealer but we'll see.

just asking to see if that is a good price or should i keep looking around.  id love to get it now and make payments on it till this summer when i can pay the rest of it off and start riding it up here.  other problem is that i live in an apartment and i dont really trust the area, car has been broken into once about 6mos ago and really dont want my bike to disappear.

i have thought about bringing it into my house and keeping it in my dining room since i dont have a table in there and its just empty space, i figure that would be a good place for it.  is that weird or does anyone else keep it in there house for the same reasons or no?? just curious.

but you guys seem to know a lot about motos and hope to learn a lot on here, also please dont mind my stupid questions if i do ask any.  for example:  why is it that its recommended to park perpendicular to the curb instead or parallel and if i park my car in a space can i leave the bike in front of the car parallel to the curb...just wondering

Welcome!

I can't exactly help you in the purchasing area, because as a former m/c salesman, I would say you could get that GS for $4100 OTD.

There are many stories of people keeping their m/c's in their house, and while it is weird, it is understandable.

Parking perpendicular might have it's reasons in either space or visibility reasons, but check your local laws; even if you park your car in the same space (which also may be illegal, as it is in San Francisco).

Quote from: afplayboy18 on January 19, 2006, 12:07:13 PM
i have thought about bringing it into my house and keeping it in my dining room since i dont have a table in there and its just empty space, i figure that would be a good place for it.  is that weird or does anyone else keep it in there house for the same reasons or no?? just curious.

Nah...wierd is keeping it in the house and decorating it like a christmas tree.

 

Yeah... I'd say decorating it...  or sleeping with it would be weird.

Lots of folks keep their bikes indoors...I used to before I cleaned my garage out good enough to accomidate.

First thing I would suggest is NOT getting an F.  In fact, avoid anything and everything with fairings.  Your first bike is likely the one you'll see on it's side most often and fairings are very high on the "expensive to replace" list.  If you're set on the GS500, I suggest looking back a few years and finding a good E.  There's actually a really nice E for sale on this forum for only $1200.  You can find good condition older bikes for just a few hundred if you look.  This will save you a lot of money to invest in propper gear and modifications when that bug bites you...nothing like having an older bike you can mod the crap out of, as opposed to a newer one you can't afford to put fuel in.

that christmas GS tree is awesome 

is there a way to take the fairings off and ride it like that for a while so in case i drop it it'll be ok and put the fairings back on after 6+ months of riding??

that could be an option yea?

You can take the fairing off...  But, the headlight becomes an issue...

AlphafireX5 did a conversion from GS500F to GS500...  He actually replaced the headlight with an older style (non-faring) one...

If you do what he did, you'll need a headlight, mount, and some mirrors.

You can, infact alphafire here has done it.  Mostly you'll be looking for a headlight assembly.

In my opinion, it's not worth it, though.  You can buy a decent GSE and sell it in 6~12 months for what you bought it for.

I'm all about the older, used GS...  Then if you really screw it up you won't be out as much.

A cracked fairing is expensive, but it isn't the worst thing that can happen...  You should see what a GS looks like after t-boning a car that pulls right in front of you.

maybe its because i grew up watching motogp racing but i love the way a bike looks with full fairing...any bike with no fairing doesnt appeal to me.

that includes pretty much all cruisers and the Suzuki SV type where you can see the motor and all that is just unappealing.

BTW im 23...does that help in understanding where i come from 

Quote from: afplayboy18 on January 19, 2006, 05:13:41 PM
BTW im 23...does that help in understanding where i come from 

Not in anyway we'd care to discuss.

Trust us, a fully faired bike would serve best as a second bike, not a first.  The E and the F models are almost identicle in everything except the fairings...if you're willing to go throught the labor to buy an f and strip it down for a while, there's no reason to not buy an older e and just sell and buy an f later after you've got the basics down and left that "most likely to die" time frame.

Quote from: makenzie71 on January 19, 2006, 05:17:44 PM
Trust us, a fully faired bike would serve best as a second bike, not a first. 

you know i gotta look as pretty as i can while riding...i mean, isnt that the most important part...



JK by the way...not trying to cause any ways or stir up anything...just cant wait to ride and its killing me that when i can finally get a bike its winter and cant ride now...oh well when its time its time.

ok, ok heres the fairing advocate here. I love the faired look of the GS500F. Like I have said before, many here are lovers of the naked style gs'. And I can see they they have good arguments. Here is my story I wrote back a couple weeks ago.

Quote

"I bought my GS500F brand new with 2 miles on it. And I am enjoying every mile on it. Though it feels good to have a brand spanking new bike, if I were to do it all over again I would buy used F. F that is not E. For the simple reason that there are MANY used bikes with low mileage, You just have to search.

And yeah, I have droped it 4 times. Though not severe.

The first time I droped it was in my driveway, I guess I didn't have the kickstand fully engaged and down she went. The ball end piece of the clutch handle snapped off but it still works perfectly. Nothing happened to the farings, just a tiny scratch less than an inch big on the engine case.

The next two times was when I was taking her off the centerstand in the garage and she just leaned a little too far for me and I let her down gently. Again no damage to the farrings. Just a little embarassment.

The 4th time I was doing a u-turn in a culdesac and going less than 5 mph. I pressed the back brake in a patch of sand and down she went. A lot of embarassment there. But only got a tiny 1 cm scratch on the bottom of the farring and on the engine case. You can even tell, unless you really inspect it.

I really don't like the look of the E bikes because of their nakedness. Many here on the boards swear by nakedness and some do look nice. But me personally, I like the full faring look."

Quote

and I agree with the SV ugly naked look. I like what someone said a while ago, Something that it looks like the bike is throwing up the engine.

talked to my fiancee about it today and if everything goes good this weekend i should be going home with one in the back of my Titan.

*fingers crossed*   

Must...resist...stating...that...Ninja 250's are fully-faired beginner bikes.

Quote from: scratch on January 19, 2006, 08:29:23 PM
Must...resist...stating...that...Ninja 250's are fully-faired beginner bikes.

Good job resisting! 

i have looked into a ninja 250 but i believe that i will get bored of that way before i get bored of my gs500.

i have a friend that got a 250 last year and after riding it for about 4-5 months he was saying that it just wasnt as fun to ride anymore...now he wants to move up.  i dont want to spend a couple grand and only ride it for half a season or so.

Hi all,
Hey Budrick320, you mentioned that the ball end broke off your clutch lever after it fell over but that the lever still "works perfectly."
I might suggest replacing that lever immediately and here's why -- the ball end isn't for decoration -- it's there to keep the lever from piercing your skin if it would hit you in an accident. A pointy, broken off end is unsafe when you are riding.
It's worth the $20-30 to buy a new lever.
Stay safe,
Yours,
Todd

Quote from: Trwhouse on January 20, 2006, 09:03:45 AM
Hi all,Hey Budrick320, you mentioned that the ball end broke off your clutch lever after it fell over but that the lever still "works perfectly."
I might suggest replacing that lever immediately and here's why -- the ball end isn't for decoration -- it's there to keep the lever from piercing your skin if it would hit you in an accident. A pointy, broken off end is unsafe when you are riding.
It's worth the $20-30 to buy a new lever.Stay safe,Yours,Todd

Hmmm....I didn't know this. My ball-end on my brake lever is broken off on my SV650S, and Suzuki wants close to $60 for a new one (I think NOT). My bf ground the sharp edges down so that it's smooth. Perhaps if I put one of those little Jack in the Box heads on it, it would be safer again? 

If you want to add a little bit of safety lovin to your apartment parking situation, you should consider boxing the bike in with your car.   Most bikes (at least many of them) get stolen by hoodlums in a van that lift the bike up and take it into the van.  I think if you have the bike covered and boxed in, then  it will be much less noticeable/takeable.   At least at night you should do this.