It seems there are all sorts of GS riders, from noobs through to die hard veterans. Somehow the GS has wide appeal after decades?!? Here in Aus it is enjoying a resurgence as it has been made learner-legal in several states (previously learners had to ride 250s).

So what's your story? How long have you been a GSer, and why?

In my case - two months; ideal first bike for me after many years in the wilderness. I have a full license so could upgrade, but just don't want to; there's plenty in the GS for me still.

After many years of biking I bought a yacht and lived on board cruising for 4 years, now on land again and with a long way to go to work I bought my 06 GS for reliability and economy at highway speeds (no, not cos biking is FUN. much ).
Chose the GS bacause I had a good run with a GS450 in the early 80s. The 500 has a similar feel, but noticeably better handling and suspension apart from the same soft front end!
Its good honest transport that puts a big smile on my face when we hit the twisty bits.

About two months now. <edit> on the GS. Quite few years of riding the Yamaha and commuting on it 9 months out of the year, as well as the Yamaha before it. I'd agree with Jack that it's not just a beginner bike, at all.</edit>

I have the old Yamaha in my sig, but aside from being an expensive pain to fix, it has a tiny tank (I used to ride with a 1.5 gallon gas can strapped to the back seat so I could go 200 miles) and gets milage (40) that a honda hatchback can match.

The GS cost about as much as parts (ignoring my time, and whether I can actually get all parts) for refurbing the Yamaha, and gets better milage. It got me back on the road.    It's gotten so that it's difficult to find a reasonable sized bike in the US (all these 1000 - 1500 - 1800 stupidosity machines) - this is a good one, and the long string of essentially similar bikes over 19 years should mean parts availability is good.

Hmm - can I put an Earls fork on the Yamaha and either graft on a sidecar or chop off the swingarm and couple the shaft-drive to the rear end of an old Subaru (or other small car with a driven rear axle)  for a trike-pickup-kinda-thing? Probably ought to just refurb it to spiffy and sell it to someone that wants that sort of thing and then start from a beemer, I guess. Whatever - no copious spare time available anyway.

Since december 07.
I chose the GS for its looks, price, and handling.
Oh and it wont gety a newb like me killed quite as fast as, say a gixer 1000 

Got mine in 2005  I have thought of upgrading, and I will sometime. Its just a matter of $$$  But I will always love the GS. The main reason is this site.  I even bought another GS as a project that I plan to keep forever. I may sell my other "good" GS when I find the right bike to upgrade to, but for now I still love the GS and always will 

I've been riding for about 6 months now. I got a GS because a friend was upgrading to a Triumph and sold his GS to me at a really good price. I ride it more than I drive my car and have probably already come close to paying for it in saved gas alone...

How could one upgrade from a GS500?  

I bought my first GS500 in Mar 99 because I was looking for a small naked standard bike that was fun to ride.  Put 80k miles on it and replaced it with a 02 GS500 that has 60k miles on it now.

That GS500E was not my first bike, I put almost a quarter million miles on 4 Hondas before the GS.  It's not just a beginners bike in my opinion, I can remember when folks rode all over this country on the Brit twins like the Bonnie 650.  It's amazing how close the GS is to those old Bonnies in size and weight and outperforms them too!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500vsT120.jpg

Since'96. Bikes probably been down more than running due to my noobness at the time about bikes but she's my baby. I just recently did the Kat FE,rear shock,rear wheel w/150 rubber and the full on F conversion to make her what she is today plus a few cans of black primer.  As long as nothing happens to the frame; this bike isnt going anywhere

I got my '94 GS500 in 1999 as a 'starter bike' but I like it so much I just haven't bothered upgrading.  It's basically the perfect bike for me.

* Small (I like small cars, too): easy to split lanes with , easy to pick up , and contributes to the fun quotient
* Simple: one brake in front, one brake in back, no bodywork to mess with, battery easy to get to, oil easy to get to, no water or oil coolers hanging off it (do the new ones have an oil cooler?  I dunno).  The only thing that would make it better is if it had a kick-start!
* Well made: even though it's simple, it uses quality parts.  I've ridden a couple of friends' modern sportbikes, and I'm sure they're lightweight, but there sure are a lot of bits on them that just feel flimsy and cheap to me.  And those two brakes on my GS are disc brakes unlike some inexpensive bikes.
* Economical/parts availability: I get 55mpg on my 37-mile mostly-highway commute, and as for parts, they made the GS500 for a lot of years and sold plenty.

When I was first shopping for a bike, all the salesguys were telling me 'oh no a guy as big as you needs at least a 750 to go on the freeway.'  Or sometimes 'Well sure it can *go* on the freeway, but on a motorcycle you have to be able to accelerate out of trouble, so you need a big bike.'  followed by 'Here let me show you this GSXR1000!'  Bull****! 

My driving style has always been not to get in trouble in the first place, but I have never felt underpowered.  You do need to learn to drop down a gear or two quickly so you can make the most of that 11000 rpm redline, but I'd much rather learn to shift (a skill I will be able to keep if I ever sell the GS) than have a bigger more complicated bike interfering with my fun!

 

Got my 07 F model June 1 of this year.  I've been riding 5 years - this is my second bike.  My first ride was a Yam RD350.  Reasons why I picked a 500? Many!
  1) Great fuel economy - I'm averaging 58 mpg (as advertised - and I generally DON'T stick to the speed limit, except in areas I know are heavily patrolled  )
  2) It's as fast and powerful as I need it to be... I've learned the hard way, fortunately without any personal consequences, what can happen when you ride over your head.  I have a slight problem w/ "Target Fixation"  - and now I am very aware of it!  I don't need to go a couple hundred miles an hour, don't think I'll go much over 85, ever. I can out-accelerate most anything on four wheels.  And, it's not too powerful so that I'll scare myself silly when I whack the throttle.  In short, she's an excellent match for my abilities and wants in a motorcycle.
  3) Handles great!!!!  I love twisty roads and feel I've got PLENTY of grip!
  4) Opens the possibility for some touring!  My Yam, aside from being expensive to maintain and keep tuned properly, got only 35 MPG.  With only two gallons of useable tank, that means stopping for gas every 70 miles.  That can't suck enough!  My 500 is a lot more reliable, too.
  5) The price was right!  I was out the door, tax, tags, dealer prep, everything for $5100!
  6) Very fun and easy to ride!  Since June 1, I've put about 3000 miles on her - and I did stop riding for almost two weeks when our family went on vacation.  I guess I don't like her much.... <pause>... NOT!
  7)  I think she looks great!  I've gotten lots of looks and compliments.

All in all, I'm very satisfied and glad I bought my 500...

Mike

I've been a GS rider since Fathers Day 2008 (July 15th) and I couldn't be happier.

I bought my GS500 bone stock from an ad on Craigslist fopr $700.  I put about $65 bucks into parts to get her running tip-top again, and have now been spending money on gear and mods 

The bike has a LOT of grip for the twisty bits, and can keep up (almost) with some of the middleweight sportbikes (600's, in the straights, when they're 2up) 

No seriously though, bigger bikes might get your heart pumping, because you know you are doing something that can kill you at just about every twist of the throttle.  With the GS, I plan my route to give me the most viceral thrill, and have a blast anticipating the curves thatI am able to plan into my trip.

Overall, I think I will eventually buy a bigger displacement bike, but I will probably always keep my GS500, and probably be able to pass it on to my son when he is old enough (he's 3 now).

GSTWINS  FTW!

Bought my '89 GS 2 weeks ago.  I had just begun saving for a GS in good nick, but came across a bit of a fixer upper for cheap.  Now I know how to rebuild forks, brake calipers, and how to replace an alternator and voltage regulator.  This week I'll learn how to align a rear wheel and replace a front caliper.  

Been riding for 2 weeks.  OK, in actuality I've been wrenching more than riding. Next week she'll be ready to go in all of her dented tank and broken side plastic glory.  

Chose the GS because I wanted something reliable, naked, easy to learn on, and great on gas.  The current plan is to replace the GS with an SV650 in a year or so.  

I've had my '02 GS for the past year or so, I bought the GS because someone at work had one and I liked the look of it, it was small and without alot of complicated stuff on it. I took a motorcycle maintaince class and realized there that I could not have made a better choice for a motorcycle at this stage in my life. Not only has it been fun to ride, it has been fun to work on it too. My GS has been really good to me, I often think of selling it because I need to finance some travelling but it is tough to think about because it is such a loyal stead. Suzuki really made a great bike when they made this one.

A little more than a month.  I had a few bikes before the GS though.  Long story short the price was right, it's good on gas, it handles great, and overall it's a great bike to get back into riding.  Plus, like others have said, bodywork aside, it's been pretty much the same bike for many years.  It's simple and relatively easy to wrench on    You guys rock 

QuoteThe main reason is this site 

+1
I've been riding mine for six years. I also keep it because it's practical, easy to work on, and fun to ride.

Been riding my 2003 GS since January this year. I bought it as a learner bike and although I now have my full license I'll be keeping it for a while. It is basic and honest and reliable. I have a naked one and I don't have to worry about fairings and lots of precious paintwork. I have dropped it once and had to replace the brake lever and touch up a few scratches but that's it. I think it's a great bike for any beginner, but especially for a smaller woman (I'm 5' 7" and my feet are flat on te ground) It is light and easy to manouvre around when parking.  I love it!

I grew up with a dad that rode cruisers.  He taught me and my bro to ride on a KE100.  Then, I graduated to a 250 Ninja.  Once my commute was to far to ride I sold the bike.  My dad got a new Suzuki 3 years ago and I rode it and got the bug.  I wanted a 600 Katana or Gixxer.  Insurance was going to be $4,000 a year.  Ok sportbike insurance is expensive so I looked at the SV's and again found the insurance to be ridiculous.  I was about to give up because I did not want a cruiser and I found the GS and then this site.  I have had it for 3 years and aren't riding anywhere near its potential.  This board keeps me busy with ideas for mods and the bike is paid for so it isn't going anywhere.

I have had mine since the middle of April. It is my first bike and I love it. My friend and I had both wanted bikes for a while and we finally decided to buy them. We went to a stealership I bought the GS and he bought a ninja 500. He has since converted and is now a GSer. We both love them. Lightweight , fun in the twisties, Just enough power for a noob, great gas mileage.....

Quote from: laserred97gt on August 04, 2008, 10:34:12 AM


Overall, I think I will eventually buy a bigger displacement bike, but I will probably always keep my GS500, and probably be able to pass it on to my son when he is old enough (he's 3 now).

bought my GS track bike in 94 and had it ready in a weekend
rode it up and down the block 2 or 3 times before i went to race school
it's a good learner bike but most don't realize that the bike can do more than the rider
the ego gets in the way and they move up
two up.... nah
let the gurl get her own ride..... she will enjoy riding more than sittin on back
sent one or two others to race school on her also
still have her and will probably rob the engine out of her for friends' son's GS for street duty

still have a couple in parts
enough to build a nice stout street bike....(80% finished)
my other great street bike is a beat on F-3

Had mine since new in April of 2000. Love the looks, the nakedness, the parallel twin, and the way easy on the insurance.
It always gets me there and back (this is important). Has been very reliable and it don't get half ass bad gas mileage! I keep it in the storage shed until I need it.

This reminds me of a story.............I had a Bayliner (boat) I bought in '89. I had a few people that told me that I should've gotten "something else".........told me about "that Force engine was nothing more than a renamed Chrysler...........and more.
I reflected on that when I traded it in June of '05 on the new Xpress with Yamaha. That old ragged ass Force was still running.
Always got me back in, even on a stripped prop.................twice.