After about 18 months of having my '01 GS sitting in my carport due to a blown engine, I have finally secured a replacement powerplant.  Being mechanically disinclined, however, I am in need of some help from some fellow GS-ers.  Specifically:

1. Iis it hard to swap out the engine on these bikes for someone with very little mechanical experience?  I'd be willing to donate all the old engine parts to whomever was willing to help me with the swap.

-or-

2. Does anyone know of a good bike mechanic who does these projects on the side?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!  I don't really feel like dropping the bike and the new engine off at a dealership and showing up two days later with a bill that exceeds the value of my bike. 

I swapped the engine on my 01 it wasn't that hard I'd be willing to help maybe other  members will come and we can make a gs  day out of it where are you in sd

a gs500 engine with 2 people working should take no more then hmmmm 6 hours to replace with a good tool kit. Hardest part is getting to the actual engine, meaning taking off carbs and tank

yea, the worst part for me was the exhaust bolts

Unfortunately, I am not near SD or I would be glad to help you.   
I rebuilt a HD Shovelhead (big heavy bastard) about 8 years ago, by myself, the key was laying the engine on its side, setting the frame on it, bolting it in, then standing the frame.  I used a furniture dolly to move the whole thing around my garage until I was ready to install the wheels.
Good luck.

(How did I get the engine in and out of my Saturn trunk by myself, you ask....  With a lot of pain.)

I'm willing to lend a hand.  I haven't done it before on a GS specifically, but I've rebuilt vintage Italian bikes before.

I am in the process of droping my motor. Getting off the gas tank was not bad, taking the carb out was a pain, cause I was trying to label all hoses to keep track of what goes where. Now I am trying to take off my header. Tomorrow I am going to spend a good half day on it, so ill post pictures. We can help each other out. Cause I have to do a swap too.

it's not hard just go slow and take your time. the easiest way is to use a notepad write down every step. break it down to the simplest level so if you have to stop it's easy to start back whare you were.
for example I whould start with the seat

removed seat
2 12mm bolts from gas tank
turned tank petcock to off
removed tank
removed battery

break it down that far. there shouldn't be any part laying on the ground that you didn't write down.  if you have the room to lay out all your parts on the floor, or go to home depot and buy one of those cheep plastic shelves to lay out everything on. but keep the parts in the order that you took them off in.  bolts should go into ziplock bags and use masking tape to label them so that you don't get them confused, and label the actual engine bolts and whare they go, they are all different sizes and it's kinda hard to hold up the motor to poke the bolts in.  the best tool i found to remove and install motors is a transmition jack, i bought mine at harbor fright for 49.99, it allows me to maneuver the motor without dropping it or having to fight with it.  a good strong buddie will do the same though.  take pictures atleast every half hour your taking things apart  or your going to forget whare the wires run.  and if you have any questions stop and ask.

I'll help.  I'm in SD, work in Mira Mesa, live in PB and I've got some spare time this week.

PM'ed my cell number to you, give me a call and I'll swing by.

thursday afternoon could be good for me or if you do late after 9 some night

You guys rock.  Anthony, I've got your number and will call you later today.  I'm in the Bay Park/West Clairemont area.

We could definitely do Thursday afternoon/eve.  What special tools/parts do I need?  I think I have a torque wrench around here somewhere.  And the Clymer manual mentioned that the frame bolts can not be re-used.

metric/standard tool kit, jack would be helpful for the engine. but if there is a few of us im sure we could lift it

Guys-
I just got called in to work this Thursday evening, so I'm going to have to do the engine swap next Thursday afternoon/evening instead of this coming Thursday.  If everyone's still around to lend their expertise and a hand I'd really appreciate it!  I will post a follow-up next week just to see who's still around. 

Thanks!

Ok so for sure wednesday I will be posting pics for what all i have done with dropping my motor. Its goign to be cool. I hope i dont run into big problems, I dont have a whole lot of tools. I need to get a breaker bar, im tired of using this big ass pipe lol.

If you're doing it in the afternoon next Wednesday I'd be happy to drop by and lend a hand so that I can see what I'm getting myself into.  I don't have a breaker bar though...

PM me your address if you're in San Diego.

alright so its next thurs not this one right?

Be sure to take pics guys! 

Yep, next Thursday 8/23.

I'll bring a camera.

Ok so I got my head loose. It looks like the head is comes in  two pieces??? I couldnt get it completely off cause there was not enough room and the bolts are to long and could not get off the bolts cause it would keep hitting the frame when i lift up. But here are some pics I took with my phone. Ill try to take more speciffic ones, im still not sure which bolts I need to remove to drop motor completley but ill take pics of the ones I think i need to do and ask to see if there is more.   I took off all the nuts to get the top head loose.