So I really want to get into more adventure riding, and I think the gs would be a pretty good bike to do it with.  Just change a few things and it would be perfect.  I would imagine it would cruise like a dr650 on the highway or alittle better and the frame is steel also the engine is really simple, and the bike has been around since 89.  When I had the gs it was rock solid, and was awesome.  THe things I would change would be putting on spoked rims, rm250 forks, I think thats it and some wind protection.  I am talking about using a non faired model or possible a faired model doesnt really matter.  The bike gets great gas mileage and is really tough.  I was thinking of an sv 650 but it hasnt been around as long and it is liquid cooled and I know the gs is tough dont know much about the sv.  But I think the gs would be a good platform for an adventure type bike, it would ride the highways and also get down and dirty and still perform well.  What do yall think about this?  I know people say go buy a v-strom, but I rode one for 10000 miles in 16 days, dont like them, the bike is great in the twisties even with tons of gear on the back (scraped pegs) but its too top heavy and big for offroad.  Any thoughts?

Bad Idea Jeans. 

Owning a GS is an adventure in itself. 

I think it would be great!

the fact that you've rode anything 10000 miles in 16 days makes you way more quailified to answer this question than me

But compaired to other bikes like a DR650, the GS is top heavy and big too...  Depends on how knarly the offroad i guess.

It crossed my mind once.
Since an adventure bike is not a true offroad bike, you don't need it with 12" suspension travel.

Start with a naked, make the usual suspension upgrades and case guards, get some soft terrain supermoto tires.
It wouldn't have to cost too much.

There was an old thread somewhere on offroad tires for the GS.

You could always just use the GS as is...like this guy...

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109220

Found the post with that link in it (searched for volkswagen tire to find it lol) the day I joined 

I remember reading about a SV650 converted for off-road. I believe he ran it in a Dakar type race. Kits were available but it was 5 years when I saw them.

If you do this with a GS, better make sure you protect both side case covers. They will be very vulnerable off-road.

eh spoked wheels are trouble.

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 05:06:33 PM
eh spoked wheels are trouble.

Uhh, care to back that up at all, or is this just you showing your ignorance yet again?

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on January 16, 2007, 06:00:43 PM

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 05:06:33 PM
eh spoked wheels are trouble.

Uhh, care to back that up at all, or is this just you showing your ignorance yet again?

wtf is your problem dude?  first off get a freeken life.


here is the reason behind it. on older spoked wheels the spokes tend to come loose. they require more care and responsability I guess you could say.  Now ofcourse just like everything im sure people have riddin and nothing has happend or gone wrong but it is a problem that has come up in spoke wheels before its not somthing Im maiking up so go back to skimming your computer to find post that you can add to, to get your glorious post number up. Do you get a medal at 10k post?

Just because something requires maintenance doesn't mean that its bad. Thats like saying ooops my engine requires oil changes...its trouble.

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 06:13:52 PM
here is the reason behind it. on older spoked wheels the spokes tend to come loose. they require more care and responsability I guess you could say.  Now ofcourse just like everything im sure people have riddin and nothing has happend or gone wrong but it is a problem that has come up in spoke wheels before its not somthing Im maiking up

So because you need to maintain proper spoke tension, that makes them junk? That's like saying "my tires need to be properly inflated, they must be junk!"

Quote from: Onlypastrana199 on January 16, 2007, 06:27:22 PM
Just because something requires maintenance doesn't mean that its bad. Thats like saying ooops my engine requires oil changes...its trouble.

Well it is a little different. most people when they think of wheels is ...... cleaning them and that is usually to the farthest extent. You gotta check those little spokes from time to time and not everyone is that teadious.. I could care less if you want to have spoke wheels I was just pointing it out.   and you used a bad analogy.


did I say spoke wheels were junk? no so please refrain from your interperatation of my post.  everyone can read for themselves what I wrote. and seriously stop with the personal attacks I had an opinion to share just like everyone else on the board but no matter where I go I get these little  flies following me . its a motorcycle forum not highschool . please get back to the subject of this topic.

do you think you would be comfortable riding the GS on such long ride?   its a comfy bike but my butt gets to hurting after awhile haha. but it would be very cool to take long distance adventures on the gs. Fed Ex Mike and I want to ride to cali one summer on our bikes. maybe not on the gs though . probly gsxr's ... cause if mike buys one I gottta buy one haha thats just how we roll

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 06:35:00 PM
Well it is a little different. most people when they think of wheels is ...... cleaning them and that is usually to the farthest extent. You gotta check those little spokes from time to time and not everyone is that teadious.. I could care less if you want to have spoke wheels I was just pointing it out.   and you used a bad analogy.

How is it different? Spokes require you to keep proper tension in them, which is part of basic maintenance. If you don't do your basic maintenance you end up with problems, meaning her analogy to oil changes is perfectly reasonable.

In fact, spoked wheels are superior to cast wheels in a lot of applications.

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 06:35:00 PM
Well it is a little different. most people when they think of wheels is ...... cleaning them and that is usually to the farthest extent. You gotta check those little spokes from time to time and not everyone is that teadious..

so you're saying... people that don't maintain their equipment, are going to have problems?  Isn't that true across all machines?

I wasn't personally attacking you, I was just pointing out that spokes aren't necessarily bad. They're good for bikes that take alot of abuse because if a spoke bends or something its easy to replace. Plus, they tend to be lighter and cheaper...unless they're Harley rims.

cast or machined wheels are almost mantinance free vs spoke wheels. thats all im saying nothing more nothing less.

alpha explain the superiority because you are the first person to ever say that . that I know of atleast.

and we all know that a lot of people do not properly maintain their vehicles or motorcycles . For the few of us that do take care of them 100% of the time we can not speek for the other 75% of the world that doesnt.  

Quote from: Onlypastrana199 on January 16, 2007, 06:44:48 PM
I wasn't personally attacking you, I was just pointing out that spokes aren't necessarily bad. They're good for bikes that take alot of abuse because if a spoke bends or something its easy to replace. Plus, they tend to be lighter and cheaper...unless they're Harley rims.

I was directing that towards alpha.  the only reason I said the analogy was bad because you have the option of purchasing wheels that do not require such maintainance. we really dont have the option to put a engine that never requires oil lol.  Although Im sure someone will dig up some story on that lol.

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 06:47:59 PM
alpha explain the superiority because you are the first person to ever say that . that I know of atleast.

Spokes have the ability to flex and bend when under stress. This means when a bike comes off of a jump or hits a big boulder the spokes will flex and distribute the force through them rather than being exceptionally rigid causing potential damage to the wheel. Not only that, but spoke wheels are typically lighter than cast wheels, and can be easily switched between bikes, provided you have the proper carriers. Spoked wheels are easier to repair if something does happen, and they are cheaper than cast wheels too.

The main point though, is that they are much better suited for off road terrain and jumps due to their ability to flex.