Hey guys, I'm new to motorcycling and all, in fact I plan on taking MSF in a couple months and then getting a gs500e from craigslist
I think I'm going to get a '89 model with a lot of miles as those are the cheapest. What do you guys think about that?

What do you guys think about
http://www.dansmc.com/MC_repaircourse.htm

Do the concepts of repair there correspond to the gs500e?

Anybody have any tips for me? I already put a lot of sites into my favorites such as maintenance schedules, pantablo's, the netherland dude's mods and such.

Thanks for all the help guys

I tried to check it out but I got really annoyed by the trasitions. :guns:

A '89 with a lot of miles might be cheap to buy, but it may be expensive to maintain.  Look for anything in your price range & compare condition vs. price.

Not sure what you are asking about the Dan's Repair website.  If you get a GS500, get a Clymer manual for it.  That will have repair & maintenance advise specific to the GS500.

Pablo (user name pantablo) has archived a lot of good GS500-specific information and how-to's.  Check out his site at http://pantablo500.tripod.com/.

My site has a few off-the-wall items that may interest you.  Click on the link below this post.

There are other good GS500 pages out there, but I can't be expected to remember them ALL, can I?  

About repair manuals.  Since you're brand new to motorcycling, I would recommend the Haynes manual before the Clymer.  (To buy either one, click on the Buy a Repair Manual link at the top of this page.)  I happen to own both, and I'm glad I do when it comes to the more involved procedures.  But I'm also glad I got the Haynes first.  To me, it's better-organized, easier to find stuff in, and it has COLOR wiring diagrams.  The Clymer has some neat diagrams that the Haynes doesn't have, but the Haynes has the edge on the photographs.  The Clymer covers everything you could ever want to do to/for your bike, but the Haynes has a nice "Chapter 0" that goes through all of the periodic maintenance tasks, rather than making you guess what they are and look them all up.

Having said all that, I must confess that I don't have the LATEST Clymer manual.  Maybe it's an improvement over the previous edition.  I would guess that the new Clymer is a MUST for those owning 2001+ models.

(Is it just me, or does the Haynes manual now come up as the "main attraction" for anyone else when you click on the Buy a Repair Manual link?)

Quote from: purerealmI'm going to get a '89 model with a lot of miles as those are the cheapest. What do you guys think about that?

Well, any specific 89 may or may not be cheaper to buy than any specific other year...depends on conditions. Generally you'll spend another $300-$600 [guess on my part] for a significantly newer, lower mileage gs. Dont think that jsut because its the oldest model year that it'l be lots cheaper. There are quite a few here that have paid well below market value for their bikes through sheer luck. If you have patience you'll stumble across a good deal. Expect to pay between $1000-$1500 normally for a 89-9x(?)model. Some have paid a fraction of that, you just never know.

I think the idea of buying an older gs500 as your first bike is sound. Of course, the newer the less likely to have 'issues'.