Hi everyone. I'm in the process of buying my first bike. I have looked at several bikes and decided on the gs 500. I found a 96 for a very good price. Hope to have it soon.

Just a simple question. What's the differents between the 96 compare to the earlier years and later models also.

Hope to make some new friends!!  


sp1

89 - Clipon Handle bars

90-2000 all the same

2001+ New seat, new tank (bigger), Different carbs and jetting, Different plastics, and I think thats it.

Oh Forget the year but the engine went from black to silver.

Welcome!    

Thanks guys/girls for the welcome..  

You have made a wise choice....I will tell you to go to Pablo's site before he does :mrgreen: .  Where are you located?

Wayne

Quote from: JasonB89 - Clipon Handle bars

90-2000 all the same

2001+ New seat, new tank (bigger), Different carbs and jetting, Different plastics, and I think thats it.

Oh Forget the year but the engine went from black to silver.

Hold on there sparky...

Somewhere in the run of the '90 model year, the shock linkage went from cast aluminum to a stamped steel part.  If you do a shock swap, you may have to do some grinding on the stamped steel linkage.

The '89 frame did not have an access hole in the frame for the top shock bolt.

Some have noticed that the removable spar on the '89 is slightly different than subsequent model years making engine installation more of a chore.

The '89 starter relay assembly is different than subsequent model years.

The front brake caliper changed in '96. Pre '96 pads will NOT fit. Calipers as a whole can be swapped, tho'.

That's what I can remember right now.

Somewhere 92-93 they changed the sissy bar color to black for all models from the body color.
89 frame where the tail section welds on is different. Its easier to chop off.
Side stand went from silver on 89-90 to black on 91.
96+ bikes had internal changes to the motor making them a bit stronger than older and they also had bumped up gearing on the oil pump.
Cool.
Srinath.

Around '93 something changed at the countershaft so that the front sprockets on later models come with a "spacer".

'96 GS500's have the black engine casing, and the frame is a darker grey than usual.  I think they changed the casing color to silver for '97.