Hi, I'm looking to buy my first bike this summer and I've been leaning towards a GS. I havent been on one yet so I'm not sure if Ill even like how it feels but if I do go to possibly buy one I was wondering what I should look for. To narrow down the list I will either be getting a mid to late 70's or early to mid 90's GS500. Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.

mmm, late 70's i think that will be a gs550= I-4, screamer, neat ride.

late 80's - today = gs500 = parallel twin, lotsa fun too.

go to your local dealers and sit on every single bike they have. ask the salesguys questions about longevity, reliability, maintenance, etc. if they say "They're all pretty maintenance free, and similar" they're lying. Flat out.

Sit on the ninja 250 and 500 also. Those are very similar machines. Nice weight, tons of parts everywhere, very few changes from their beginning to the one sold brand new for 2008.

As far as what to look for on a new-to-you-bike:

Milage: lower is usually better
Chain: is it clean and are the sprockets in good condition ? (no sharp sharks fin points?)
Tires: you only have two, make sure they're in good condition or plan to replace them before your 1st ride.
Oil: no metal flakes in the oil (obviously), make sure it's full, clean, and not leaking anywhere. Having a bunch of muck on the left side is normal from chain sling, but make sure it's only chain sling !
Lights/electrics: if everything doesn't work, find out why. big negotiaiting point.

Stock exhausts and generally everything stock usually means an unmolested bike = better.

Don't spend more than you can afford to wad up and kiss goodbye. Financing your first bike is insane. YOU WILL DROP IT ! Take a buddy thats been riding 10-15 years and does his own work with you when you shop. Buy him beer/lunch/whatever every time you shop. He'll show you little witness marks here and there that testify to how the bike was used / abused.

Really, sit on every bike you can. If it doesn't feel right, pass for today and try others.

Remember , when you're riding it, you can't see how cool those plastics are, chrome shines, or if the wheels are all blinged out. It's all about the ride, and stayin alive.

Enjoy the first bike man, wahtever it may be.

Old bikes are for people that either like old bikes or who think that they are saving money. They don't really save any money in the end, and parts tend to be difficult to get. If you want to focus on riding over wrenching, you can find a 5 year old GS500 or Ninja 250 for for maybe $500-800 more than a 15 year old one. Well worth it.

Bikes cost more to work on than cars. You may know this already. They require more frequent maintenance, and parts are available either new or used, not remanufactured. If your car starter went, you would never buy a new $400 one, or a $20 used one, you'd get a $60 remanufactured one. With a bike, that is not an option. Mount/balance 2 tires is $150 plus the tires. Etc.

Many folks opt to move away from starter bikes within the first year. Not everyone, as this forum can attest, and you can find plenty of folks still riding 30 year old Japanese bikes. But others want a dual sport, or a faster bike, or something they can go 200 miles with comfortably. Try to get something that requires no wrenching for the first year, as you will never get that back.

To that end, try to get a bike that is ridden daily, or weekly at a minimum. Screw cosmetics. If it is used every day to get to work, it is in better condition than 90% of the used bikes for sale. Ideally, get one with new tires, new battery, recent service, etc. Recent means last week, maybe last month, not last fall. Again, screw cosmetics. Expect to pay more of course.

Avoid at all costs a bike that has been sitting for a year or more. That is a project. 3 years means full brake rebuild, probably refurbing the tank, new cables, new tires, etc. Anything sitting more than a year is a project, requiring more than a basic tuneup and carbs to run well. Bikes need carbs done if they have not been run in a year, sometimes a month. Peter Egan had a nice article about it last month. Cheap to do if you have the skills. $200+ if you don't. When you learn more about bikes, you can make an educated decision about taking on a project. Not when you are just learning to ride.

If it does not run, avoid it for your first bike. You have no way of knowing what needs fixing. Wrench your bike for a year, then you might know.

Thanks. Cosmetics are something I'm really not worried about. Financing a bike? Thats just WAY out of the question for me right now. As for the maintenence issue, I figured working on a bike would be alot easier than a car since it's so much smaller and everything is basically right there in front of you. Am I way off here? I had no idea about the parts and upkeep being so expensive.

No you're not way off at all. Pick yourself up a maintenance manual and you should be able to do most work yourself and save a ton of money. It's all pretty easy, as long as you're somewhat mechanically inclined.

hey, download a copy of the haynes manual while you're here. it's good reading when surfing sucks, and it's  raining. when we finally have a garage, I won't be on here much at all, unless all the maintenance is done, and it's raining. man, i cannot freaking wait for a garage to fart in !

Wrenching a bike is different. Changing filters, fuses, fluids, plugs, battery, etc is the same on a bike or a car. Opening the engine, replacing a clutch or tranny, valve job, etc is somewhat easier on a bike but when have you ever had to do valves or carbs on a car? Other parts, well you can't always run to Pep Boys to get what you want. Sometimes you are bidding on Ebay, hoping you win, hoping the part is good or you are waiting 10 days for the UPS guy to deliver from Bikebandit, or you suck it up and go to the stealership. 5 year old bikes don't need much beyond maintenance. 15 year old bikes have you praying the previous owner had a clue.

Starter bikes are supposed to be slugs. Some will say that 250's are slow. As soon as you are comfortable, you will want more acceleration. Same goes with 500's. It just takes a little longer. Slow is good though. Most people make mistakes when they start riding. They are jerky. They give more throttle than they want. They grab the front brake. Etc. This can cause a crash in marginal circumstances (weather traffic whatever). To that end starter bikes are supposed to be sluggish to respond to rider input. So don't let a salesmen talk you into a faster bigger bike because you will outgrow it. If so he is missing the point of a first bike. Also avoid rejetting, better brakes, race tires, etc. Squeezing that extra 3hp also misses the point of a first bike. Spend the money on real motorcycle gloves or an MSF class.

Lighter bikes are easier to manage when not moving. If I had an old bike it would be tiny, just in the interest of pushing it...lol Under power, a 500 is not all that tougher than a 250 to start on.

Okay thanks. I can't find this manual on here though. Is it available for download off of this forum or did I misunderstand you ohgood?
also, 250's are really that similar to 500's? I figured maybe in size, but in acceleration too? I think if I like the way a GS500 feels I'm going to get one, used of course. I love the way the GS500E's look too. Ive always been a huge fan of naked bikes and out of all the car forums I've been on, yall are nowhere near the elitist assholes they are. The main reason I want to get a bike is change my outlook on things. I used to ride atv's and when I was on my Warrior or my Blaster I was calm and truely happy. I hope to get that feeling back on a streetbike everyday I get a chance.

I don't feel that there is much difference in performance. Neither one feels fast, though of course if you stay on the throttle, you will get a ticket. Neither one sounds fast (more important than handling most of the time....lol). Both are fun. I prefer the additional weight of the 500, unless of course I am pushing the bike up a hill.

A 70 year old lawyer down the block has the same year and color GS that I do. I ride every 2-3 days for fun. He uses his to go to work, just about every weekday, every week, leaves at 530am, comes back about 930pm, rain, 6" snow, doesn't matter. Totally stck except for the Givi topcase and the heated gloves. I don't see folks doing that on 250's. I do think that the bigger bike is a better commuter.

Since you're not financing, it sounds like you'lll be looking for used bikes. There are heaps of resources on the 'net to tell you what to look for. Aside from the GS Gods ( ) on this forum, you'll find heaps of FAQs on used bike checklists. They all boil down to the same thing: has the bike been cared for? Some easy ways to help discern this are:

- Oil change? Ask outright when the last oil change was. If the seller doesn't know, this is a bad thing. Hopefully he knows off the top of his head. If he tells you off the top of his head and then reaches for his maintenance records (handwritten or from a dealer), you should feel extremely comfortable.
- Paint job? Custom paint is cool, but it can also mean previous road rash. (I looked at a CBR600 with spray-on silver paint and plastic ties holding on the fairings. So glad I got a GS).
- Check for road rash on both sides. Harder to see on 500Es, since there are no fenders.
- Was it a commuter? Like mentioned above, if it's run every day, then the bike is likely going to be in bettermore-ridable shape than one used sparingly.
- Custom parts? Try to get all the stock parts with the bike.

If it's your first bike, it's always helpful to get tools/Clymer/Haynes/chain grease/oil filters etc... from the person selling. Ohh ... and good luck. The GS is a ridiculously handsome bike, hope to see you around here more.