My neighbor asked me to make an offer on her 83 GS500e and I was hoping to get feedback on what I should be expecting to pay?  Info. on this particular yr./make/model bike is pretty scarce and that makes me wonder if parts are going to be scarce too.

Bad:
not been run since 2001
bike not running - presumed a carb problem as PO said she just quit riding it, too tall for her.
ding in tank - not too deep but bigger than a DingKing can handle I'd guess
seals/rubber/gasket conditions unknown

Good:
~2500 mi.
stored inside/basement
covered with a sheet
tires look good  but am not sure about rot
bike appears to be in pristine condition - other than tank mentioned above

The idea is if there's not too much work to be done, I'd like to fix it up, sell it, make a couple bucks and provide someone a great bike. That all assumes I don't like it so much I keep it to myself!  Any opinions on what I should look for and what it's worth would be greatly appreciated.

Another bad ... there was no GS500E in US in 83.
Is it 2 cyl or 4. If 4 its nothing like ours. OK similar ...
Cool.
Srinath.

It's either not an '83 or not a GS500e.  '89 was the inaugeral year.  See if you can get a picture and we can help you more.

could be a gs450 or a gs550, not a gs500e.

84 gs550 ?  i think



this one is labeled  83' GS 500                     heres the link (bigger pic) --> http://bikepics.com/pictures/006308/

 


so was this one:  83' GS 500E                     heres the link (bigger pic) --> http://bikepics.com/pictures/299960/

That silver one is a 4 cylinder (pretty sure I see 4 exhaust pipes coming out of there)... Probably a 550..

I dunno.  I am just confused now.

Daddy Pablo???.....where do GS's come from?
Daddy Srinath??..  do you know?



NGFL.......who's your daddy? 

Quote from: 3imo on November 27, 2006, 11:24:21 AM


this one is labeled  83' GS 500                     heres the link (bigger pic) --> http://bikepics.com/pictures/006308/

 

Looks very much like this one, same color. Didn't look anything like the other two pics.  So did she tell me wrong you think or is this a real bike?  I don't see her very often, but next time I do, I'll ask her if I can spend a little more time looking at the bike. Getting a pic might be difficult but I'll try.

Any idea what it's worth?

Like I said, can you say .. euro trash ...
Anyway might be a canadian or euro ...
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: 3imo on November 27, 2006, 11:39:04 AM
I dunno.  I am just confused now.

Daddy Pablo???.....where do GS's come from?
Daddy Srinath??..  do you know?



NGFL.......who's your daddy? 

that last guard rail, evidently...

1983 GS 550E

http://www.thegsresources.com/_scripts/gallerydispwnd.php?RegID=183

here is another  except it is a GS500ES


http://www.thegsresources.com/_scripts/gallerydispwnd.php?RegID=222

If she is correct about the year the bike in question is the original GS500E. It was around in the early eighties, had a 4 cylinder engine and bears no resseamblence to the GS500E/F of today. Here is a pic, note it doesnt have reflecters on the side so I suspect its not a USA spec bike.

http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/GS/GS500E/1980_GS500E_blue_800.jpg

Its typical of the sort of bikes I buy as I like modern classics and if it was local to me I would be very interested but in general bikes of this age have very little appeal to most people and as such have little value. I have some trade books that quote secondhand values but this bike is so old its not listed. bear in mind a well used`89 GS500E in poor condition is worth only about £125 trade price here in the UK and as the bike in question is a non-runner it would be classed as poor condition, dont let shiny paint fool you. You have to ask yourself how much it would cost and what you are prepared to spend to bring the bike up to a reasonable standard and then what sort of price you could expect for it in that condition. Restoration is a labour of love and its very hard to turn a profit on older mainstream bikes. My guess is new parts would be a problem owing to its age and lack of popularity, best thing to do is check with a Suzuki dealer and see whats left. Some parts /switches/lenzes/cables/ignition parts etc will probably be common to other models and might still be available. Secondhand parts will be around in breakers etc but you will have to search hard for them. Never assume the seller is telling the truth, the engine could have a serious underlying problem particularly if its sold as a non runner. If it was me I would offer £100 and say I am doing you a favour, if she says no go to £150 and if it does turn out to be a lemon you will get your money back by parting the bike out. I think anything more than that is a risk for someone with no experience of older bikes. You could easily spend hundreds on it and never recover the cost when selling, particularly if you have to pay someone else to do some of the work. No one will pay big bucks for what was an unpopular bike this old unless it is immaculate. However if you want something thats a bit different and you are prepared to accept that you might loose money on it its a good project bike, particularly as it has low miles and is in original condition.

what I don't get is why different models with the same name?  

The GS 550L for 1983 looked like this :

http://www.thegsresources.com/_scripts/gallerydispwnd.php?RegID=112

Quote from: sledge on November 27, 2006, 12:11:37 PM
If she is correct about the year the bike in question is the original GS500E. It was around in the early eighties, had a 4 cylinder engine and bears no resseamblence to the GS500E/F of today. Here is a pic, note it doesnt have reflecters on the side so I suspect its not a USA spec bike.

http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/GS/GS500E/1980_GS500E_blue_800.jpg

Its typical of the sort of bikes I buy as I like modern classics and if it was local to me I would be very interested but in general bikes of this age have very little appeal to most people and as such have little value. I have some trade books that quote secondhand values but this bike is so old its not listed. bear in mind a well used`89 GS500E in poor condition is worth only about £125 trade price here in the UK and as the bike in question is a non-runner it would be classed as poor condition, dont let shiny paint fool you. You have to ask yourself how much it would cost and what you are prepared to spend to bring the bike up to a reasonable standard and then what sort of price you could expect for it in that condition. Restoration is a labour of love and its very hard to turn a profit on older mainstream bikes. My guess is new parts would be a problem owing to its age and lack of popularity, best thing to do is check with a Suzuki dealer and see whats left. Some parts /switches/lenzes/cables/ignition parts etc will probably be common to other models and might still be available. Secondhand parts will be around in breakers etc but you will have to search hard for them. Never assume the seller is telling the truth, the engine could have a serious underlying problem particularly if its sold as a non runner. If it was me I would offer £100 and say I am doing you a favour, if she says no go to £150 and if it does turn out to be a lemon you will get your money back by parting the bike out. I think anything more than that is a risk for someone with no experience of older bikes. You could easily spend hundreds on it and never recover the cost when selling, particularly if you have to pay someone else to do some of the work. No one will pay big bucks for what was an unpopular bike this old unless it is immaculate. However if you want something thats a bit different and you are prepared to accept that you might loose money on it its a good project bike, particularly as it has low miles and is in original condition.

The link didn't work but it took me the suzuki history pages I've spent alot of time on. I've looked at so many photo's I'm not sure what I saw yesterday in the basement.  I'm restoring my '78 gs750 now and have been having a good time doing it. The bike has need just about all major components reworked, replaced, re-lubed and I'm not really looking to get into that on a bike that is really too small for  my big frame however, I have become somewhat familiar with carb cleaning.   Again, I would like to get it running and sell her off on craigslist. There's always someone looking for a smaller bike there.  I'll do some more ground work and get the year/model thing straightened out first.
I appreciate all the comments.