TBH, the GS fell in my lap, I was looking for a beat up or stunted CBR/R6 and I couldn't anything.  My friend bought a Ninja 500 and I razzed him until I drove it.  After having it for a day and checking out insurance costs I started searching for a 500 anything.

My GS looks like it survived a nuclear holocost, but I only paid $600 and it runs.  It is really allowing me to hone my sporty skills, after riding a Shadow 1100 for a few years, I am glad I didn't get a I4.  The GS gives me something in which I found a great community of helpful people (this site), cheap parts, and something I can wrench on.

I will most likely keep this bike for many years even if I go up a notch.

I love my GS. I love that it's simple and light. I even love that it's air-cooled. I've learned to do all my own maintenance on this and on my first bike (Honda XL185S) another air-cooled of moderate performance. If there had been liquid in the block and a radiator I might never have worked up the courage to tear into these engines and wrench on them a little. I love that it's a twin. Half as many bits and pieces to pay for now that I'm playing around with modifications. The only downside for me is that at 6' tall I'm at the limit of comfort and could use a physically larger riding position. But I've lived with my GS since '92 and plan on keeping it (though a future mod might be to relocate the footpegs).

Still, I understand that it doesn't sell in today's showroom (chalk that up to marketing hype and consumers who want to LOOK good instead of buy smart). I think the bike I'd buy tomorrow would be the Kawasaki ER6-n.  It's got to be the modern equivalent of the GS500. A reasonable displacement twin without the frills. Decent quality suspension and parts, not exotic.

I plan on keeping my GS fer ever. If I ever feel the need for something bigger, I'd be in the market for a 4-cyl GS or an older (1980's) honda CB.  These are the 4-cyl equivalents with all the virtues I like. They're solid as a brick and easy to maintain.

Long live the UJM.

i agree with 5th ave, the simplicity is a big reason i bought the GS. The little 250 ninja's are nice bikes, but although still carb'd i didn't want the water cooled, 8 valves, and even the V configuration- although they are technologically more current. i have 2 4 wheel vehicles i can't work on because of the complication/special tools & diagnostic equipment required, i sure didn't want to add a 2 wheel to the mix.
i would bet if you questioned the guys in the service dept at the dealerships the GS would get real good marks for doing what it does, as well as it does, and much fewer headaches when it comes time to service one out.

Quote from: ohgood on February 11, 2009, 05:01:04 PM

Quote from: galahs on February 11, 2009, 03:43:25 PM
GS500's are the number 1 selling model in Australia atm 

really ? wow. where did you pull that info ? cool.

A mate said it was in a Suzuki press release.

+1 on what Farakin said, I have a bike that I can work on myself and get parts for pretty cheap - and it cost under a grand to buy and fix up, but it still does 100 mph without too much effort. Value for money per dollar and per CC? Pretty high, I would say.

Quote from: sledge on February 12, 2009, 09:40:22 AM

I am certain we will without doubt be saying goodbye to the GS5 and its 30+ year old engine for good when Tier2 and Euro3 does finally become law in 2010.

I am not so sure, there will always be a need for a 500 machine if nothing more then for the Direct Access course. The road tax break is at 600cc, most "middle weight" bikes seem to be coming out at 650cc which puts them into the higher tax bracket. While it may need some tweaks to get it to meet the Euro3 standard, the engine itself is one of the few left these days that the owner can actually work on, parts are cheap in the event something does go wrong.

On a personal level, I brought the GS as it looked better then the ER5 is dirt cheap to insure and is great fun to ride. Someone said that many bikers are in it just to be "seen", as I don't get many nods from other bikers in my local area I would tend to agree. I went out for a ride last summer and there were a collection of bikers sitting at the side of the road in their power ranger suits and fancy super sports bikes, I nodded but got nothing back, aside from one guy who looked at me with the expression "what the heck is that?!". Personally I don't care, I was having fun RIDING while they were sitting in a carpark

Re: What is it about the GS, anyway?

Well it's certainly not the price!     Went to the Cleveland bike show 2 weeks ago and the biggest surprise there was the increase in Suzuki prices.  Both the GS-F and the Ninja 500R came out last fall priced at $5500 (approx) and now the GS-F is $5900 ($5899).  The Ninja 500R is starting to look like a real bargain if your buying new.  Better get one before they go up too or go away!

I was very dissapointed when the GS-F came out in 04 and the naked GS was dropped after the 02 year in the US.  When my 97 was totalled in July 03 I went looking for a clean low milage (4k) naked 02 even though I bought back my totalled 97 and restored it to use.  It had 80k miles on it and and now the 02 has almost 70k miles on it and is getting old and rusty looking from year around riding here in the NE OH salt capital of the world.  I like naked UJMs.  Buy a GS-F for almost $6k and throw the plastic away and spend even more to make it a naked GS?  No way.  I'd still rather ride a bike than work on it.

I saw a few bikes at the bike show I would like to ride (SFV650 for example) but none I'd like to live with and maintain like the naked GS has been.  Maybe I'll just try to keep the 02 going till I'm 80 and then get a fuel injected TU250.  That was one of the best looking and most comfortable bikes there, probably because that's what motorcycles looked like when I started riding.   

GSJack - as much as I hate fairings - the fairinged GS runs better at speeds over 65. Accelerates better and has more top end, and almost certainly will turn in better fuel economy. That last part is almost vital to its survival - In a way its worst feature is what will sustain it in the long run.

FWIW I'll take a fully electronic GS complete with FI, exhaust sensors, a variable length intake runner etc + a better tighter motor that wont use so much oil and 16 inch rear tar and belt drive - the last 2 are dream list items, over no gs at all.
FI and tight motor with nikasil and better rings etc will help the fuel economy and emmissions more than anything else. The fairing will let it run with less loss to wind and it may just keep the GS alive for another few years.

Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: grayghost on February 12, 2009, 02:56:33 PM
i have 2 4 wheel vehicles i can't work on because of the complication/special tools & diagnostic equipment required, i sure didn't want to add a 2 wheel to the mix.

Eh.  Grab yer balls and make a call... you can work on just about anything.  A friend of mine and I pull parts off his BMW 525i at least twice a month - without a manual - we redid the valve cover gasket on that a few weeks ago (he cracked it pulling it off and we used plastic weld to fix it... ).  I've had the wheel bearings of a durango on my front lawn.  My WRX intercooler sat for 5 hours on my parents' mailbox.  Nothing is beyond him with the stones to wrench upon.

Buddha, the test results in the mc mags just don't show the GS-F to be any faster on the top end than the GS-E was, as a matter of fact they are a bit slower.   And there really isn't much difference in the published gas milage figures either.  I got/get a solid 60 mpg overall spring thru fall with a bit less in the winter on both my naked GSs.

I agree they could fit them a bit tighter to reduce the oil consumption on high milage engines.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500tests.jpg

Here in Aus we have a Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme in most states (as mentioned by my compatriat before) which allows learners to ride a bike with a power to weight ratio of 150kw per tonne with a max 660cc. This means that the GS500e and F is the biggest, newest and cheapest learner bike you can get here. This means that GS's and GS parts a readily availiable. My local Suzuki dealer has 13 GS500E and F's on the showroom floor, with only 9 GSX-R bikes on the floor

Quote from: Helmet27 on February 18, 2009, 06:39:19 PM
Here in Aus we have a Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme in most states (as mentioned by my compatriat before) which allows learners to ride a bike with a power to weight ratio of 150kw per tonne with a max 660cc. This means that the GS500e and F is the biggest, newest and cheapest learner bike you can get here. This means that GS's and GS parts a readily availiable. My local Suzuki dealer has 13 GS500E and F's on the showroom floor, with only 9 GSX-R bikes on the floor

Wow, that is impressive. I don't know if you'd ever find a dealer like that in the US... Unless it was a really big dealer and there was just a rush on GSX-Rs...

Because in the US, the attitude is, "You can do a U-turn on a scooter?  Cool, here's a license to ride street-legal race bikes!"

Yeah,it used to be like that here, where learners had 2 ride a 250 for a year, then they could get whatever they want. The new system is a bit better. To get your learners liscence you have to do a 2 day rider training course,then pass a written exam. You are then on your "L" plates for minimum three months with a 80Km/H to speed limit. You then have to go for your Provisional Liscence ("P" plates). the P's cousre is basicaly an obstical course in a carpark then an hour ride on surrounding roads so the testers can see your road using ability. when u pass that u the have a top speed of 90Km/H for a year then you get your full liscence. This liscence system works farely well with the Approved bike scheme. When i went for my "P" liscence a year ago we had to use our own bikes, and out of 10 students there was 6 GS500 owners! Thats how popular they are here, Suzuki sold something like 100 less GS500's last year than GSXR750's!

Quote from: gsJack on February 13, 2009, 10:09:03 AM
I saw a few bikes at the bike show I would like to ride (SFV650 for example) but none I'd like to live with and maintain like the naked GS has been.  Maybe I'll just try to keep the 02 going till I'm 80 and then get a fuel injected TU250.  That was one of the best looking and most comfortable bikes there, probably because that's what motorcycles looked like when I started riding.   

I know it's apples-to-oranges with these bikes and the TU250--in displacement, performance, and PRICE (especially how I have them configured...go to Triumph's website and try the Configurator...really, it's fun.).  These are the classic looks I go for when not in a sportbike state of mind.  I thought you'd like the look of "my" Bonneville.  The Thruxton's riding position is a bit more aggressive than the Bonneville's, but I like 'em both!  I'll gladly take either...  ...if anyone's offering...  Other than that, I'll be content with my GS 




Just for the record...  You won't look at motorcycles if you type www.triumph.com into your browser...      

Mmmm... Triumph... (drool) mmmm... For the longest time I wanted one... still do...

If I could have any bikes... I'd probably have the following.

In order of most wanted:

1. Kawasaki Versys
2. Suzuki B-King
3. Triumph Bonneville
4. Harley (I KNOW) Heritage Soft Tail Classic
5. Harley (I KNOW!) Nightster
6. Suzuki Gladius (That sticker would be the first to go.)
7. Honda CBR1000RR
8. Yamaha (Star) Warrior
9. KTM Duke
10. Kawasaki KLR650

Near as I can figure I have the best of all worlds. Because the GS500 is a lot of things.

1. Hooligan bike... no question.
2. Commuter.
3. Has a good rumble with proper exhaust.
4. It's naked.
5. It's comfortable.
6. It keeps up with traffic.
7. And it's cheaper to maintain than probably all of those bikes above (with exclusion of the KLR because that's been around as long as the GS almost.)

Therefore GS beats all.

Hmmm...I just noticed it didn't take the standard equipment mirrors off of my Bonneville when i added the bar-ends....  Oh well...

Triumphs don't do anything for me.

I rode a 675, and was whelmed; I'd rather have my old R6 or my nonstock GS on the track, and my FZ on the street.  I rode a Bonneville T100, and it was highly blah.  If I have to have a faux dualsport, I'd take a V-Strom over a Tiger.  If I could get a real dual-sport, I'd take an F650GS Dakar.

Those are totally sweet looking Triumphs. I never could figure out what the heck the Triumph designers were smoking when they came up with their engine design though. Why would you build a two cylinder engine then have 360 degree timing? It makes no sense. It is like a super extra complicated single cylinder engine. I don't understand...

i love my bike don't get me wrong but i could def see my self getting say an SV650 in the next 5 years