I know its probably been asked a million times but...

I was just curious as to which modifications I should do first to my 2000 GS500?

All suggestions are welcome!!!

GOOD RIDING GEAR.  Protect your self first, please.  Then  anaylize what your bike is lacking in the most.


Suspension is always the best place to start.  Then I would suggest working with Bob Broussard and get a ignition advancer.  Then depending on your mechanical skills, got for the jets in the carbs. Deciede if you want to get a K&N pod filter and pipe first then jet for them.

Check out the "mods pager" here and Pablo's site for some good tips and how to's.

Be safe and spend your money on good riding gear first.  Then, to quote a line from Jurassic Park.... "Must Go Faster."

Paul

Oops, almost forgot...

Welcome to the board.

Yeah gear is important... if you have a limited amound of cash (I think that is all of us here!) then spend it on gear 1st, then Mods.  There are a few mods that are free.  Fenderectomy, shortening the signal stocks and such.  The front suspension is a must.  I think the springs were finally located for about $50.  Do a seach on pregessive springs for the link.

Everything else is just frosting!
Have fun!
And Welcome aboard!

after good gear, front suspension, then good tires, then rear shock (IF necessary). This really should be first steps.

Then rejet carbs for stock setup/exhaust (they come lean from factory). If you don't do this yourself it will be costly. I assume you have stock air filter and exhaust though.

Then Ignition advancer is good (and free from Bob Broussard here, only cost is shipping).

The rest is cosmetic and to your taste. do the fender though...don't embarass the rest of us. LOL..

welcome to the site! Make sure to check out the home page here for useful links and my page as well...

I haven't done any mods on my GS500, what would an ignition advancer do for my bike?

An ignition advancer will advance your ignition's timing. This burns the sparkplugs hotter and a bunch of milarky. WHALLA! more low end umf.

Before that, I would go for a jet kit, air filter and pipe. Thats the best way to improve HP. Totaly destroys the warm up time too. Start and go. I have never touched my choke ever since I had this done. An ignition advancer can cause your engine to burn oil too.

 -Anti

Mechanically challanged girl smiles and nods  
Although I do understand more low end umf...

Well, the ignition advancer from Bob Brousard, accually makes the bike run much smoother.  I found that my bike was sorta sluggish from a start in first but the advancer made this much smoother.  It also added some HP to the mid to top end of the RPM range and over all, makes the bike run more like it should.

California bikes came stock with a 5 degree BTC advancer, the other 49 states came with a 12 degree BTC advancer.  The aftermarket one is 17 degree BTC.  These are no longer available from any manufacturer.

If you contact Bob Brousard from the board here, he may make you a deal you can't refuse.  

Other here should be able to shed some brighter light on this subject - Pablo, Srinath, John.... Any thoughts?

Paul

is burning oil the only downside of the ignition advancer??

Quote from: Birdis burning oil the only downside of the ignition advancer??

If that! There is no reason not to do this (except that V&H doesn't make one anymore). Thanks to Bob B. we can all have one-what generosity!

Amen to the good riding gear, especially brain bucket.  IMHO the next things to do, in order are: good tyres (especially if you are still on stock ones), Progressive springs and heavier oil in the front, braided brake lines (front only if cash is tight as the rear doesn't really need it), rear shock.  After you've done these, then think about the engine mods.  The ignition advancer is good as it makes the bike pull better at lower revs without sacrificing the top end.  With filters, jets, pipes, etc you can reach diminishing returns fairly quickly- decide what you want out of your bike (armripping acceleration, fuel economy, tractability?) and tune accordingly.

well, i've done my first mods to my bike.

i replaced the rear signals with ones form a Buell, the front ones are on order - hope they'll be in soon.

and i cut my fender!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank Goodness!

Now you're stylin'