I'm so new, I don't even own a GS500 yet.  In the very near future I am going to pick one out at the dealer's, and I may have a choice between a 2009 and a left-over 2008. My question is, is there any difference between the two year models?  Are there any significant improvements in the '09?  (If any?)

Appreciate any advise. Thanks!

Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but there should be zero changes between the 2008 and 2009 models, with the possible exception of different available color schemes.

The GS500 is a very established design.  Aside from a modest mechanical revision in 2001 and the addition of the fairing (GS500F) in 2004, the bike has remained largely unchanged since it's introduction in 1989.

Unless you sell it at the end of your very first riding season, I doubt there's even a resale value advantage to getting the 2009 model over the 2008.

Quote from: Roy_d on February 11, 2009, 07:07:57 AM
I'm so new, I don't even own a GS500 yet.  In the very near future I am going to pick one out at the dealer's, and I may have a choice between a 2009 and a left-over 2008. My question is, is there any difference between the two year models?  Are there any significant improvements in the '09?  (If any?)

Appreciate any advise. Thanks!

Yeah, there is no difference as far as I know. Mechanically, both bikes have like 98% parts compatibility with every GS 500 ever produced. Why bother with new? With the recent economic downturn, I've seen a lot more bikes for sale, including GS500s. In the Los Angeles area there are 4 very good looking used GS500s for sale on craigslist...

Thanks for the info.  It is what I suspected.  It looks like I could save a few hundred dollars if I can find a new '08.

Quote from: Roy_d on February 11, 2009, 10:44:59 AM
Thanks for the info.  It is what I suspected.  It looks like I could save a few hundred dollars if I can find a new '08.

Yes, even more likely if you can find one... The local dealers around here have no love for the GS and I'm sure if they had a 2008 still on the lot, they'd be more than happy to make a really good deal...

80% of us pretty much dont own a GS. Not me though, I own several. 5-6-7 in fact. None of them run. One may in the next 2-3 days but well its truly a blip in the long trend of not running.
Cool.
Buddha.

assuming this is your first street bike, I'd get a used one knowing full well THAT YOU WILL DROP IT.  That's not an assumption, that's a promise.  There are only 2 kinds of riders - those that have fallen and those that will.

i never dropped my first street bike but it did fall off the trailor on the way to the shop for service....boy was i mad. lol

Quote from: The Buddha on February 11, 2009, 11:54:28 AM
80% of us pretty much dont own a GS. Not me though, I own several. 5-6-7 in fact. None of them run. One may in the next 2-3 days but well its truly a blip in the long trend of not running.
Cool.
Buddha.

Yeah, and the other 20% of us own GSs that don't run right, that's why this forum is so active. 

Quote from: fred on February 11, 2009, 11:52:32 AM

Quote from: Roy_d on February 11, 2009, 10:44:59 AMThe local dealers around here have no love for the GS and I'm sure if they had a 2008 still on the lot, they'd be more than happy to make a really good deal...

Hi Fred:

Can you elaborate?  I'm not contesting your statement, I'm just genuinely curious. 

Is it because it's a low-cost bike with a low profit magin?  That it's generally a reliable machine that needs less service?  That it's a no non-sense bike bought by people who don't drop a lot on accessories?  Or is it that when your local dealer was a young child a gang of GS500's attacked his family and killed one of his parents?

Inquiring minds want to know.......

Quote from: Majorhavoc on February 11, 2009, 12:57:40 PM

Quote from: fred on February 11, 2009, 11:52:32 AM

Quote from: Roy_d on February 11, 2009, 10:44:59 AMThe local dealers around here have no love for the GS and I'm sure if they had a 2008 still on the lot, they'd be more than happy to make a really good deal...

Hi Fred:

Can you elaborate?  I'm not contesting your statement, I'm just genuinely curious. 

Is it because it's a low-cost bike with a low profit magin?  That it's generally a reliable machine that needs less service?  That it's a no non-sense bike bought by people who don't drop a lot on accessories?  Or is it that when your local dealer was a young child a gang of GS500's attacked his family and killed one of his parents?

Inquiring minds want to know.......

The dealers around here are all about selling people bigger bikes. It is as if they don't treat the GS as a "real" motorcycle. They're happy to sell you a scooter or a GSXR 600, but I think they don't really know what to do with the GS. The dealer I go to for parts usually only has one GS sitting way off in a corner of the lot pretty far away from the other street bikes and close to the dirt bikes and scooters... They also never ever have any GS parts in stock, which leads me to believe they don't think the GS is important enough to actually have things on hand for fixing them. I'm talking about simple parts too, like oil filter cover gaskets, they never have them and always have to order them. They also don't stock any valve shims, which means there is an annoying 3 day wait every time I need to change a shim (although I'm working on avoiding that all together by learning how to make my own, but that's a different story). One more parting piece of evidence: when I ordered a new rear tire for my GS, the lady on the phone said "so, this is a front tire, right?" and then was amazed there were bikes out there that used such a small rear tire...

Quote from: fred on February 11, 2009, 12:38:01 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on February 11, 2009, 11:54:28 AM
80% of us pretty much dont own a GS. Not me though, I own several. 5-6-7 in fact. None of them run. One may in the next 2-3 days but well its truly a blip in the long trend of not running.
Cool.
Buddha.

Yeah, and the other 20% of us own GSs that don't run right, that's why this forum is so active. 

+1 Just got mine seemingly running right thanks in an extremely large part to this site and an apparently long dormant love of fixing things