OK  So I just got the may issue of MOTOR CYCLIST magazine and on page 27 in the BACKFIRES section a rider JEN writes in [ I am a female beginner rider looking for some suggestions. I want a sport bike , but I am not sure to buy new or used. I can spend around $5000.00 . I am looking at the SUZUKI GS 500 and wonder if is a good bike or not for a first time rider. I am short so any sport bike I buy will have to be lowered. ]   The  EDITOR then throws 4 cruisers at her or gives the option to [ get a used SUZUKI SV 650 has what you need ]   This person has obvious mental problems . You can answer this slander at  [  mcmail@primedia.com ]

Email sent! 

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In response to your article in MOTOR CYCLIST magazine on page 27, where you suggested a new lady rider NOT get a GS500 as a first bike, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!!!

I have only started to ride bikes since January this year, and yes, I ride a GS500F. Not only is it a great learners bike (easy to steer, progressive throttle, good stability), but it also has enough power for highway cruising and is very flickable in the twisties. Plus did I mention the engine is indestructible!

I've never had so much fun on the road. And I have the GS500 to thank!

Don't dis the GS500 mate, or you'll have the whole community of GS500 fans at www.gstwins.com calling for your blood.

Keep upright!

Galahs

Like it or not, there ARE better machines out there than the GS500. It is becoming a dinosaur. You cant hide the fact that its coming up to its 18th year in production with no major modifications other than to the paint and bodywork. More recently designed bikes DO offer far more in the way of performance, style, rideability, handling etc. The editor has been asked to give his opinion and he has done based on what he knows so leave it at that. What you dont realise is that he will have forgotten more about bikes and motorcyling in general than you will ever know and will have ridden countless machines in many conditions. He will read the e-mail and say to himself " Riding a GS5 for  less than 6 months, who the  F*%@  does he think he is?" and fall off his chair laughing......I certainly would.
There is no substitute for experience in the world of motorcycling my friend and you need to get some before expecting your comments to be taken seriously.

Read the reply a little closer.

The editor addressed two letters with one reply. The cruisers were pointed to the previous-to-the-GS letter.

The editor points Jen to a used SV650.

My real point of contention with the reply is that the SV is way taller than the GS.

I'd say Jen would be better off finding a used GS for 1k to 3K that is a good runner.

Our beloved Roadstergal was vertically challenged and had the seat cut lower on her late model GS to help with stop light physics.


Edit:  I have to side with sledge on the dated aspects of the GS design, but also must point out that the control electronics was updated in the 03-04 series. The ECU (engine control unit) is more state-of-the-art with a CPU and software. The carb position sensor now feeds into the ECU also. Correspondingly the crank position sensor, formally the Signal Generator, was changed also.

Votes for the best GS upgrades Suzuki could do?

1 - Go Fuel Injected
2 - upgrade the swing arm and rear shock
3 - upgrade the front suspension (ala the new Honda Hornet)

I'd pay another 1.5k over the price of a new bike for those features and it would still be less than the Hornet.

You have to remember that the motorcycle world is goo-goo-ga-ga over cruiser bikes  .....like we don't have enough cruiser bikes to choose from.

I can't wait for this 'fad' to end and dual sports to come into vogue (you heard it here first).

Then maybe Honda will bring in the Transalp or the Africa Twin 

Quote from: starwalt on April 22, 2006, 06:25:38 AM

I'd pay another 1.5k over the price of a new bike for those features and it would still be less than the Hornet.

If you're going to pay 1.5k more, why not get the SV?  The GS is $5149 right now.  The SVS is $6449, and you can get it naked for $5949.

Quote from: Egaeus on April 22, 2006, 06:44:55 AM

Quote from: starwalt on April 22, 2006, 06:25:38 AM

I'd pay another 1.5k over the price of a new bike for those features and it would still be less than the Hornet.

If you're going to pay 1.5k more, why not get the SV?  The GS is $5149 right now.  The SVS is $6449, and you can get it naked for $5949.

True dat. I would put the extra 1500 buck towards an SV.

Quote from: sledge on April 22, 2006, 06:22:53 AM
He will read the e-mail and say to himself " Riding a GS5 for  less than 6 months, who the  F*%@  does he think he is?" and fall off his chair laughing......I certainly would.
There is no substitute for experience in the world of motorcycling my friend and you need to get some before expecting your comments to be taken seriously.

We are talking about the GS500 being a good motorcycle for a beginer, which I am.

And as far as I'm concerned its a GREAT beginners bike!

dual sports are the wave of the future...motorcycles in general...prices of motorcycles will go up, just like you've seen that of cars, due to rising gas prices...

Newsflash: Motorcycle Magazines LOVE flash. BOOM! ZAP! BAM!! WAH! Reading most motorcycle mags is like an old re-run from the Batman tv series.  They are not going to give props to the GS. The GS is "the girl next door". How often does the girl next door appear as the star of an ad, a movie, a music video? Never. SV's are sexier, more powerful, more modern. Bigger, better, faster, more. That is what sells. Magazines are there to sell, not give practical advice.

If she would have asked me, I would have told her to look at the Ninja 250/500 or the GS500. She specifically mentioned she wants a SPORT BIKE and that she is SHORT. An SV isn't good for short people, and cruisers aren't what she was looking for.

The problem is when you ask for someone's opinion, you often get it 

i like whats fixing to happen . theres a company or two out there that are taking the sports bikes and building chopper frames around the motor talk about sick   they have one in the street bike mag i picked up a month or two ago i'd but it .. if it was not 75k ..... but could you image .. doing 200+ miles on a chopper ! (it was a CBR 954RR)

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Uh... well, not to be contentious, but I knew for sure that the SV didn't FEEL "way taller", so I looked up the published specs.

Seat height GS:  31.1"
Seat height SV:  31.5"

So, four-tenths of an inch. Could probably get that out of the shock adjustment.

Just to be thorough, the subframe was lowered by 40mm on the SV's in 2004.  Earlier models (i.e. used machines available for less than 5k) would be a little taller than the newer ones.

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Well, you have to consider more than just seat height. There is also seat width. I've enver sat on an SV, so I have no idea how wide it is. But one of the bikes I considered when I was bike shopping was a Katana 600. I dunno if it was the seat difference or what, but I was able to rest my feet more easily on the ground with the GS than on the Katana (I am not a tall guy). I looked up the specs on the Suzuki website, and the Katana actually has a lower seat height than the GS! However, the seat must be fatter and wider so your feet are further apart. Like riding a fat horse..haha. I am not sure if the SV seat is like that? Just because it is lower to the ground, doesn't mean it is better for a shorter person unless the seat width is also narrower 

Quote from: gsmetal on April 22, 2006, 06:39:18 AM
Then maybe Honda will bring in the Transalp or the Africa Twin 

Hate to break it to  you but Honda did bring the Transalp to America  for about two years(89-90?). But do to our obsession with gotta go faster and dumber, it didn't sell well . Sometimes you may find one on craigslist or ebay selling for about 3500 or more. I do agree with you on the idea of dualsports being the way to go. Currently drooling over the Vstrom and DZ from Suzuki.

you also have to consider the shock compressing more on the gs than the sv..making it effectively lower. regardless, theres no reason the magazine couldnt have reinforced the gs as a good first bike.

Ok I can flat foot my '01 GS with my knee bent quite a bit.  When Pastrami was here and we went to look at bike I got to sit on an SV........ on the SV I was on the balls of my feet.  Hope that answers your question.

BTW- I am 5'7

AJ - Do you think that was due to shock compression or the width of the seat?