Hi,

Well, I am a proud owner of a 2001 GS. It's bone stock with 3400 miles on it. I am already loving it. The first thing I did was change the engine oil and filter. The old oil was really dirty - glad that I did it. I just read the instructions in the howto section on this site!

Went on a 60 mile ride yesterday on some nice Texas ranch roads. Bike behaves so very predictably. Very light and flickable.

The next thing I wanna do is install progressive springs. The stock ones are too soft - bike dips a lot on braking and decelarating. Will be looking up all the info u guys have posted on this site!

Well - here's some info on me. I a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas (go Horns!). I am originally from India - came here to pursue my higher education. I used to ride back home in India (100cc - 250cc bikes) and have been wanting to scratch the biking itch ever since I came here.

Keep riding.

-Kid

Congratulations -- and welcome to GStwin!

Quote from: kidproquoHi,

Well, I am a proud owner of a 2001 GS.  I used to ride back home in India (100cc - 250cc bikes) and have been wanting to scratch the biking itch ever since I came here.

Keep riding.

-Kid

Srinath Sashadri is gonna love you  You Indians are bikers down to the core, I wish cycling was 1/2 as popular here.

Welcome

Quote from: kidproquoHi,

Well, I am a proud owner of a 2001 GS. It's bone stock with 3400 miles on it. I am already loving it. The first thing I did was change the engine oil and filter. The old oil was really dirty - glad that I did it. -Kid

Hey, welcome to the site!  I have an '01 as well.  You probably know, the GS changed a bit in '01 after many years of the same exact design.  That was probably the original oil if it was so dirty after 3400 miles...good thinking to change it.  I agree about the fork springs.  Best improvement for the effort and expense.

I'm sure you're eager to RIDE and to do some upgrades.  One suggestion.  If you decide to rejet the carbs, be SURE to get a formula (or kit) specific to the '01, as it is DIFFERENT from previous years.

Well, again good luck & welcome.

welcome fellow 01 owner! <cough> fenderectomy <cough>

Please check my site for goodies and congratulations!

QuoteYou Indians are bikers down to the core, I wish cycling was 1/2 as popular here.

Thought I would share some info on that. So here goes....

Actually, for the common Indian, bikes/scooters are much more affordable than cars (cheapest  car is  around 6 times the average bike/scooter price). As it's a very cost conscious market, most of the manufacturers have come out only with the small capacity bikes and scooters (50cc to 250cc producing 3hp to 12hp). So, that's one major gripe for us bike lovers - not much power! The big bike there with Harleyesque following is the British Royal Enfield Bullet (350cc to 500cc) - actually it's now made only in India and exported to European markets.

-Kid

How are those Bullets to shift?  It looks like they have left hand shift like a Bajaj scooter? My S.O. thinks they look great, so I've thought of getting one.  But I've heard that they're unreliable, or at least take a lot more work than a modern bike.

There's probably also a bit of a markup here: the MSRP is between $4000 (kick-start 350) and $4400 (500 with chrome and electric start), which would seem a bit much for a commodity product in India.

How did you find them to behave in India? (cost, reliability, weird shifter)

Welcome!

Welcome, enjoy it. Those Enfields are something, one of the old sidecar manufacturers in U.K. (Watsonian-Swire I think) has started importing the basics from India and building in UK again with modifications, all this happens just a few miles from the origional Royal-Enfield manufacturing facility, it's made round to go round.

Me again, Is the GS the one with the 40-50 mph wobble you were asking about a little while ago, if so did you fix it, what was the outcome.

Welcome to the world of the gs500 hope you have a good time on it i defo do

Quote from: john

Quote from: kidproquoHi,

Well, I am a proud owner of a 2001 GS.  I used to ride back home in India (100cc - 250cc bikes) and have been wanting to scratch the biking itch ever since I came here.

Keep riding.

-Kid

Srinath Sashadri is gonna love you  You Indians are bikers down to the core, I wish cycling was 1/2 as popular here.

Welcome

Hey, Dont forget Manjul... And welcome KidProquo. BTW the 250 he was talking about in India was a 2 stroke single (I think - Yezdi-Jawa right) and my last name is Seshadri...
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote
How are those Bullets to shift? It looks like they have left hand shift like a Bajaj scooter? My S.O. thinks they look great, so I've thought of getting one. But I've heard that they're unreliable, or at least take a lot more work than a modern bike.

There's probably also a bit of a markup here: the MSRP is between $4000 (kick-start 350) and $4400 (500 with chrome and electric start), which would seem a bit much for a commodity product in India.

How did you find them to behave in India? (cost, reliability, weird shifter)

Rema100, the Bullet has gear shift on the RIGHT side, while the brake pedal is on the left. So, it's exactly opposite to what all the other bikes have. It does not have a shift like the scooter. One neat thing is that it has a separate neutral lever so u can jump to neutral from any gear. Bullets are pretty reliable bikes - tried and tested technology that just lasts. About 3 years ago, they changed the engine from a cast iron block to an aluminum block. That was the only major change in the past 60 years! I just love their sound - a deep rumble. They r heavy bikes and u need some really good calf muscles to kick start one!

In India, they retail at around 1200$. So, I there is a massive markup in the international market.

QuoteBTW the 250 he was talking about in India was a 2 stroke single (I think - Yezdi-Jawa right)

Yeah, the 250 cc bike is the Ideal Jawa (Czech manufacturer) Yezdi. It has been discontinued due to stricter pollution norms. One kewl feature/misfeature on this bike was the kickstart+gear shift combo. You used the kickstart to start the bike and then rotate the same lever to the other end and use it to shift gears! Wonder why anyone wud make such a corny design. It was a a major pain to use. But, Yezdi's were pretty famous back home because they cud run on "alternate fuels" - u cud run one on cheap kerosene! Now don't ask me abt the pollution THAT caused!

Keep riding.

-Kid
[/quote]

Quote
Me again, Is the GS the one with the 40-50 mph wobble you were asking about a little while ago, if so did you fix it, what was the outcome.

The wobble was fixed! The front tyre pressure was 22psi. Just filled air to 33 psi and now she handles like a dream.....

-Kid[/quote]

Oh crap. Another GS to see around campus... j/k. I'm EE at UT and there's always a few GS's over by CPE for me to go ogle over.

I'll get mine one day.... hopefully this next spring. Have fun with it!

trey

Quote
Oh crap. Another GS to see around campus... j/k. I'm EE at UT and there's always a few GS's over by CPE for me to go ogle over.

I'll get mine one day.... hopefully this next spring. Have fun with it!

Thanx dude. I park mine on Dean Keaton. No money to buy a permit! Anyways, just shoot me a message if ya want any help when buying a GS.

-Kid

Welcome to the best dang forum on the net!
Nice work on picking up the '01. IMO the newer bikes look quite a bit better (sorry everyone pre '01). Ive got an '02 (which is goin up for sale again) and as soon as I got it, I took Pantablo's and everyone else's advice, and hacked that fender off. DO somthing about the mirrors if you get a chance. I think people have a better reaction to the bike without those nasty mirrors.