Okay, forgive my ignorance, but... am I paying too much?

I'm getting insurance for my motorcycle from the same dealer I buy my car and renters insurance, and I told them I had a Suzuki GS500. I brought in the manual and showed him that the cc's were below 500, but the agent kept saying that the name is GS500, so that is the size of the engine. I showed him the manual and he still disagreed with me. I figured he knew what he was doing since this was his job, and I really don't know anything about engines or mechanics so I didn't argue with him. Then on one of the recent threads somebody wrote that since the GS500 is under 500, the insurance rates are better.

Have I been wasting money on my insurance?

gs is what 489cc? dont think even if you get a brak, that 11 cc is going to account for much., could always tell em, fine, i bore it out to a true 500cc,or put a 555 kit in and let him arque the point then

depends on how they do clasing on bikes, by CC or by style or a mix? Also where is the cutoff for the next level up? If its say 0-124cc and 125-499cc and 500-749cc etc etc and he has you in the 500-749cc instead of 125-499cc then yes your insurance will be higher than it should be. How much are you paying for insurance and for what coverage?

Just wondering. I don't know that much about insurance either, except that it's good to have it. A school nearby put in a new performance hall recently, and they put in one seat less than a round number, (don't remember what the capacity was) and got a very large tax break, due to fire codes, or something. I thought maybe it was the same way with motorcycles. I guess I should just check with the agent to see what he says the rates are for a 489, and see if it is worth arguing about.

The actual displacement is 487cc.

You should do a search in the archives for insurance and look at what other GS owners pay.  I am 22m and pay $80 a year for minimal liability through Pacific Specialty.  

Progressive quoted me at $280 ....

Best thing to do is to look around.

Your agent is a dumbass and you should tell him/her that.  As said above, the displacement is 487cc.  Their computer will tell them that.  I am 32 years old and pay $220 a year for full coverage including road-side assistance through Progressive.  If they can't come close to that, keep shopping.

Look at the front of the engine, below the exhaust pipes. the engine block is stamped with the engine cc size. As above, if your insurance goes by size alone then 500 may or may not be the cut off. It is for mine (AAA) and being under 500cc helped me but dont know how much really. I saw it when I was changing my oil once.

In CA, 35yo married, multiple car and additional discounts, garaged, low mileage (hehehe) and I pay $320/yr full coverage (replacment value, not blue book).

I'm 28 and in East TN. The insurance company I've had since I was 16 wanted about $600 a year for liability... said it was because I hadn't had my motorcycle license for at least two years (I just took the MSF course in July). I switched to State Farm and am paying $42 a year for liability with increased coverage ($100k/$300k). They didn't have a problem when I told them it was 487cc. However, that rate is based on a multicar discount (I have a truck, a car,  the motorcycle, and homeowner's with them).

My insurance company won't apply multi-line discount for me having a motorcycle and a car
Yes, State Farm does take care of me in the car sense in case I have trouble, but they want $300 for a decent amount of liability only on the GS.  Oh, and the car insurance is beastly too, for having a perfect driving record Too bad it's all like that if you want decent service from an insurance company.

My truck insurance is with State Farm and they told me that motorcycles don't count when figuring a multi-vehicle discount.

$80 a year!!!!!!
I could only dream...
I pay over $1000 a year for basic liability!
damn,

Quote from: hotbunz4$80 a year!!!!!!
I could only dream...
I pay over $1000 a year for basic liability!
damn,

$1000 CAN is like $80 US tho.

Most insurers calculate their premiums based on the 'class of the bike'.  The GS obviously has a lot of class but thats not the class Im talking about  
Suzuki put the bike in the 500 class and thats the way the insurer sees it.
Notwithstanding what I just said... insurance companies have near unfettered discretion to do whatever they hell they want to do and at whatever price.  They are expressly allowed to discriminate, rob, steal etc and there's not a damned thing we can do.
The best advice is to tell your present insurer that they are a bunch of nobbers and shop around.