So... I bought her for 1100. She's a 90, with just over 11000 miles. When I got her, she had 9000 miles on her. she needed brakes, tires, and a general maintenance overhaul. 1200 miles later I did all that... so I'm about 2400 bucks into her now... unfortunately 845 miles after all that... What I thought was a screaming cam, turns out to be coming from the bottom end, most likely crank or piston bearings...

I feel that I would be throwing money away if I parted her out, or sold her... I'm not really interested in getting anything bigger, as I'd probably kill myself, so...

should I rebuild or replace the engine? thoughts comments and concerns appreciated.

Does Suzuki sell these engines still? would a newer model 500F work? Please Help!!!

If your in the western NY area and just so happen to have an extra engine lying around, please email me greg@seattlemetal.com

From what I understand, any GS500 engine will fit into any other GS500 frame...  There are a couple things to deal with though.

The GS500F has an oil cooler, which would need to be mounted to the frame somehow... 
And I'm pretty sure the F Tach isn't cable driven like the older ones.  (No more tach cable leaks!)

I see them occasionally on ebay going for a few hundred dollars.  Don't give up yet.  Think of it as a chance to rebuild an engine.

do you think there are any other engines that wouldn't be 2 hard to fab onto that frame? I can weld, and am not opposed to some modifications...

Other engines have been discussed before, I can remember them all, but a Yamaha SRX600/XT600 motor comes to mind.  The Suzuki GR650 Tempter motor will fit, too; I don't know if exhaust routing is a prob on that one; it definitely is a problem with the older GS450 heads.

Well, before you buy yourself a new engine, can you describe the noise in more detail?  (or better yet, record it).  About a year ago I had what sounded like a bad rod bearing, even to the people at the shop who then proceeded to quote me at over $800 to "fix it".  In the end it turned out to be a broken magnet in the alternator rotor (which I discovered halfway through tearing down my engine  ) - about, oh, $80 for the new rotor.   

Having said that, if it did turn out to be a rod bearing you could always (mostly) do the repairs yourself if you're so inclined and have the time.  The knowledge that you'll gain in the process is worth it, imo.

You could probably rebuild the motor for less than purchasing a used one. You are still taking a risk that the purchased used motor is in good enough condition. The GS450 shares most of the internal parts like the crank and rods. For some reason the older GS450 cranks are in better condition than the newer GS cranks I have seen. The crank & rods in my 97 are from a GS450, they looked almost brand new.

In 04 the electrics changed in the GS. The signal generator changed to 1 pick-up. Swapping back to the 2 pick-ups should not be a problem.

The availability of the GR650 motor is a lot less than a GS motor. It was only available in the US in '83. The GR650 motor will fit, BUT it is about 3/4" taller and you will not be able to remove the valve cover to adjust the valves without dropping the motor. The GR head has angle exhaust ports and from what I can tell the exhaust will hit the GS frame. The GS head looks like it will bolt on, I have not tried to fit one yet. They do share the same valve cover. Also, the signal generators are different but that is an easy fix.

It will not be too long before I tear into the GR motors for my next project. I have only done some preliminary fitting.