I see the SV650 and katana rear ends are pretty common swaps but they both raise the backend up a bit.  Another suggestions for a cheap upgrade to the rear end with out making the bike taller?  Thanks

You can get dogbones that lower the ride height ,  that u can use the Kat or the Sv650 shock , I Personally have a racing shock made for the gs500 , so it doesnt change the ride height

Safe
Jay

I used a kat 600 shock, It only raised it up only about 1/2 inch.  being 6'2" it doesnt matter much to me.

Same , im 6ft 3 and almost 200 pounds , and its the exact same height lol , before when i sat on it , it dropped like 2 inches , now it doesnt move really

I'd actually LIKE the bike to be a bit taller, like another 2" because it just feels so low, its like being on a ninja 250, but with more power.

The increased ride height loads the front a little bit.  That means putting a little extra throttle into the corners in order to balance the weight to the rear.  Works for me! 

thanks guys, I'm 5'7" 150lb, but my girlfriend is 5'4" 110 or so (so she tells me  )  so a couple of inches may really make it difficult to put her foot down.  I'm still a bit confused about the kat shock, are there differences between the years that are longer than others?

Well, I just received my new Works shock, so I'll be able to tell you whether or not ride height is affected in a few hours...

You could try Ikon suspension in Australia they bought out Koni in Aust and still had some shocks for GS500 I've got one and its great 

don't think i can go for anything fancy (expensive)  I've exhausted my bike budget as is.  BTW, just curious, does anyone thinks having crappy suspension actually makes you a better rider (as least in the beginning)?  When I first started riding, I had shocks with no oil in the GS, every corner was a challenge.  My braking had to be super smooth, and no funny business in the corners either.  If I brake, gas, change lean angel too abruptly mid corner, the front end gets really upset (almost like a pogo stick)  Finally got some new fork legs in, and now I think I'm more careless, the damping really helps to hide mistakes I know I'm making. 

Quote from: flyingmachine on October 24, 2007, 11:24:38 AM
BTW, just curious, does anyone thinks having crappy suspension actually makes you a better rider (as least in the beginning)?

Absolutely.

Quote from: GSRider on October 23, 2007, 02:55:16 PM
Well, I just received my new Works shock, so I'll be able to tell you whether or not ride height is affected in a few hours...

Ride height is not affected at all with the Works shock.

Quote from: GSRider on October 25, 2007, 04:10:27 AMRide height is not affected at all with the Works shock.

How about ride quality? : )

Uh, outstanding? 

Doesn't dive on the brakes as bad, doesn't squat like a little girl peeing when on the throttle, and soaks up bumps (Washboard effects, most notably) with no problem.

The biggest problem, was that after I replaced the front springs, I REALLY noticed how bad the rear was.

My recommendation? Replace front and rear at the same time, just to save the trouble.