Hey everyone,
I'm new to street bikes, i have beein around trail/dirt bikes for a while now and i am looking into the 2006 GS500F, i know that i should be looking at used first, but i am getting a very good deal on the 06.
Does anyone have any objections to the GS500 as a starter bike, any alternate options???

The F isn't a great starter bike...no way around it.  If you have a little experience it's an alright one, but with no street experience you're likely to wreck it and farings are expensive to replace.  No matter how good of a deal you're getting on a new F, you can find an older E for 1/3 the cost in good running condition.  that's where I'd suggest looking.

Ditto

+1

THe GS is definitely a great starter bike. (or life partner as in my case- I just bought another one)

I've dropped my baby three times the first year. she hasn't touched the ground in two yrs now.
even if you don't think you will drop her, the fact is that you might.

you want advice get an older GS for 1/3 the price and put your money in your pocket.

you might get a steal for the 06' but you lay her down once and it could end up costing $500+ for just the fairings.

good luck

Or you could do what AlphaFire did and take off the fairings for learning purposes.

Let me knock on wood before I even begin this (knock knock).

I got my 05 with 3 miles on it from the dealer last may, and it was my first bike. I suppose I'm the exception to the rule, but I haven't laid mine down or had any accidents on her yet.

I'm just saying that if you're careful you may be ok. But I guess you could be careful and still have an accident...shaZam!, get a used one; you'll get less flack from people here 

Quote from: 2005-GS500-PDX on February 27, 2006, 09:26:40 AM
Let me knock on wood before I even begin this (knock knock).

I got my 05 with 3 miles on it from the dealer last may, and it was my first bike. I suppose I'm the exception to the rule, but I haven't laid mine down or had any accidents on her yet.

I'm just saying that if you're careful you may be ok. But I guess you could be careful and still have an accident...shaZam!, get a used one; you'll get less flack from people here 

You're not the only one 2005-GS500-PDX

I purchased my 04f last Fall with LOW miles.  I haven't dropped or had an accident yet either.

Of course, it depends on what your plans are. I bought mine new with the intention of keeping it forever, making myself the sole owner. And 8 months ago, I couldn't even imagine wanting a bigger bike...

Well, now I can. I want to step up to a 600 this year, and to do so I'm gonna need to sell the gs. I wish I could keep it and get another bike on top, but money isn't exactly in abundance with me.

So now that I'm thinking of selling it, I'm aware that I will lose some money on it. If I could do it again I would probably save a couple grand and get a used 04 rather than a new 05. However, I still don't regret getting the bike how I did. I'll miss it when it's gone. I've become a spokesperson for the gs and have been selling everyone from my friends to strangers in the msf class on how great it is for a starter bike. No matter what you choose, you'll be happy.

Dave

Welcome!

Since you have been riding in the dirt for a while, it'll be good to note that there is a huge amount of traction available on the street, with street tires, versus the dirt.  When was the last time you rode dirt?  If it's been a while you might want to get a good refresher, to/and familiarize yourself.  Also, alot of your skills will apply at low speeds and in emergency/low traction situations, but at higher speeds you'll need a new skillset, like hanging off.  You already know how to countersteer, right?

I think its been prety well covered but i am going to throw in my .02.  I have an 05 F, got it new and had very little experience on motocycles.  I have dropped mine twice, and recently someone other than myself tipped her over.  So far i have only a scuff on the right ferring and a bent set of handlebars.  The GS would be a great starter and as long as you stick to the opps drops i think that the stock barends protect the fairings rather well.  I would recomend an older E model because then you wouldn't have to worry about the fairings.  Or do as Alpha and convert the faired model into an unferred model cause those opps drops will happen eventually. 

So to sum it up the GS is a great, easy to maintain beginner bike with just enough power to do everything you might want it to without having to much power that has a tendancy to turn those correctible mistakes into painful and costly accidents.  So shop smart and enjoy with whatever you decide to go with.

I was far from a beginner when I got my first GS an 89 in 95. And I crashed it plenty ... Oddly I crashed my first bike a ninja 600 once, my second was a nighthawk 650 that i never crashed, third was a Virago 535 I didn't crash and my 4th was a Kat 600 that also I never crashed. The 5th was the GS, and I rode it harder and more agressively than any of the ones before it, cos I had learnt and was ready to throw caution to the winds ... and hence I crashed it like 13 times, and 2 times I had a car help me, and OK the crashes were spread over 2-3 GS'es but that 89 took the brunt of it. I have subsequently not crashed anything else, and I pretty much now believe its impossible to crash a cruiser without automotive help ... whihc I got and crashed the 1100 virago last year. Anyway, you may not crash as a beginner, you may crash as a seasoned and agressive rider.
Cool.
Srinath.

great point!!

Quote from: annguyen1981 on February 27, 2006, 09:20:18 AM
Or you could do what AlphaFire did and take off the fairings for learning purposes.

and...

Quote from: natedawg120 on February 27, 2006, 10:16:41 AM
Or do as Alpha and convert the faired model into an unferred model cause those opps drops will happen eventually. 

Just to clarify, I didn't take my fairings off for "learning purposes"  . I took them off because I didn't like how they looked and I wanted wind flow to keep me cool in the Texas heat. Plus, naked bikes are just downright sexy.

 

Your right they are sexy....  I'll show you mine, you show me yours

Quote from: makenzie71 on February 26, 2006, 10:39:54 PM
The F isn't a great starter bike...no way around it. .

I disagree.
All the gs500's are good first bikes. The F isnt as good as a used naked bike because of the statistical parobability of a new rider dropping the bike (at a standstill, or rolling the bike around the garage usually-not talking about crashing). The fairings will be expensive to replace but if you can live with them scraped up (in teh event you do drop it) they're no worse a first bike than a naked gs500.

You may never drop your bike, or you may inadvertently drop it several times...either way its a great platform for learning to ride...dirt experience or not.

I agree with my man Pablo.

I have never driopped my bike. 

Disclaimer: Jake D is incredibly strong and can catch his motorcycle a mere inches from the ground with one hand if need be.

I was just reading over this again and wondering why some people are dropping their bikes like their hot and some haven't even had a close call. How tall are the ones who have dropped? I'm sitting here thinking why I haven't dropped, and I'm thinking height may be one reason. I can very comfortably stand flat-footed on the gs, so maybe I'm not having the stability issues some other are (knock on wodd again) due to being 6'2".

So if you're over 6', get the F. If you're shorter, get the E. 

I'm 5'10 and I dropped my old GS a lot. A good four or five times at least.

I'm 5'4" (and a 1/4!!) and pretty darned weak, I guess.   

The GS was the perfect starter bike for me....tough! 

I dropped my GS once...

If you can afford to fix the plastic and/or don't care if you screw it up...  Get it...

If you're really concerned about it, either: 

A) take the plastic off

or

2) Don't get a plastic covered GS (get a pre-03)[/list]