Hi all,
Here is my story. Sorry it is kind of long.

My office changed locations within San Francisco and I got motorcycle fever after looking at the rows of motorcycles parked downtown.  Also, I was tired of spending my life waiting for the bus. Strangely, I had never really been drawn to ride a motorcycle before, I just thought they were too dangerous. Recently, I cannot stop thinking about them.

I took the MSF course, got my M1 endorsement, bought a bunch of gear (helmet, gloves, overpants, jacket, spine protector, boots), read David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling, and then trolled local dealership websites and craigslist for about 6 weeks looking for the right bike to pop up.  I wanted a beginner bike that wasn't too new,  given that newbies will most likely drop it in the first year, but I didn't want one that was too old either, being new and not really knowing how to properly evaluate a used bike.

On these websites I saw lots of Ninja 250s and most had pretty high asking prices, only a few Ninja 500s, and hardly any GS500s.  The bikes I looked at were either too new and expensive, or already gone by the time I called. I almost got a 2007 Ninja 500 with 6500 miles for $2999, but thankfully (in retrospect) it was already sold when I showed up the second time with cash.   I didn't bring cash the first time I looked at it to prevent impulsive behavior.

Then last Saturday, with a print out (all 26 pages) of the "Used Motorcycle Evaluation Guide" (at http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html) in hand, I went to go look at  a 2004 GS500f  with only 2150 miles.  It's been sitting in this guy's garage for a long time.  He wasn't much of a rider, he managed to lay it down on both sides.  Unsurprisingly, he wasn't really into maintenance either.  The used bike guide says that you should try to determine whether or not the owner really care's about the bikes condition.  Big Red Flag, waving in my face. I quizzed him about racing/stunting/abuse and maintenance, and details of laying it down, but his English isn't so hot, and neither is my Spanish so the info that I got was limited.  Overall, I think this bike was an impulse for him, or fulfillment of a fantasy. He probably did not know basics like slowing the bike before you lean it in a turn, or using the brakes in a turn. I went through as much stuff on the used bike checklist as I could and in the end determined that all of the problems seemed to be cosmetic. Yeah, The front fairing has bondo, scratches, and missing plastic fasteners. The rear turn signals need new brackets, the balls on the brake/clutch levers are broken off.  The clutch cable needs to be adjusted along with the throttle.

It started right up and sounded good, flashlight in the gas tank showed clear gas with no sediment. The chain needs to be cleaned.  It has a new battery. Brake Fluid looked nice and amber, even though it is the original fluid from 2004.  Forks looked straight, welds looked clean, and the oil level was good and had the color of honey, no burnout residue under the rear fender, the chain probably had never been cleaned, but had the proper amount of play (1 inch). All things electrical were in good working order. 

A quick little test ride showed clutch and brakes to be ok, no rotor warp as far as I can tell.  The gears shifted smoothly, and the throttle was responsive. It was difficult for me to evaluate this stuff given that I had only ridden those 250 Hawks in MSF with the spongy brakes.  The friction zone on this GS500 felt a bit different. 

At this point, the question in my mind was, "Could this motorcycle, made with a well proven bulletproof 20 year old design, Spanish built using Japanese quality process control be rendered junk with only 2100 miles, four years of extreme neglect in a northern california garage and a couple spills?"  "No, it is not junk. But the price has to come way down, because the bondo on that front fairing has got to go and it needs lots of TLC", I answered to myself.

I rode off on the bike with the title in my pocket after handing him an envelope with less than 20 Benjamins in it, my wife following me in our "cage".  My wife says that he just wanted it out of there and probably would have taken much less for it.  I was happy to pay what it was worth, I am just still not sure how to arrive at that number. First I stopped at the gas station to get some air in the tires and put some gas in it.  I left a message at the gas station for my StateFarm agent with the VIN and told her to start the coverage.  (age 38, 22years driving, 250k/500k/25k, comprehensive, but no collision for $27/month, BTW).  I had already given her my info.

My emotions at the time were mixed.  I was excited beyond belief, but also scared to death to be driving in traffic on an unfamiliar, even questionable bike after only completing the MSF, and I also had a dark, worried feeling that I had just taken someone's problems off their hands. Maybe the seals dried up sitting in that garage, he probably didn't break it in properly, maybe the frame is bent, maybe I just bought a pile of trouble in the form of metal and plastic.

I pulled away from the gas station with a huge grin.  I thought I was going so fast, but when I looked down at the speedo, it was at maybe 26mph.  I was doing ok, but I was spending about 70% of my attention on operating the bike, only 30% for the traffic around me.  I need to practice a lot away from traffic and get that down to about 10-20%, and leave the other 80-90% of my attention for expecting the unexpected.  At this point, I had driven about 7 miles and was only 4-5 blocks away from home.  The only remaining challenge I had before me was my city's most famous attributes. The hills.  Big, steep hills.  And of course I got stopped at a red light half way down a steep hill, having 4-5 cars in front of me. OK, I thought. This will be easy. After all, I have driven a manual transmission for 22 years, many of them in San Francisco. I kept the rear brake applied, gave some throttle, eased out the unfamiliar clutch.  Ok now let off the brake.  Dammit, stalled.  Try again. Stall again. I must be in second gear.  Nope. No, it is in first. Cars backing up behind me.  Yuppies in BMWs, Audis, Minis, growing more impatient by the second, as they were long overdue for their afternoon lattes. The sun on black leather is making me sweat more. Now we're up to 5 stalls. I keep telling myself to relax.  Thankfully, I finally made it home with only a wounded ego and had a celebratory beer.
   
I wish they went over starting on a hill in MSF.  I'll have to get up at the crack of dawn and practice. 

Overall I am hoping that this bike will be a good one to learn on and use for the city.  I will get it serviced at a local dealer and tell them to just treat it like it is a new bike getting first service.  I plan to have all the fluids replaced, bolts tightened, and cables adjusted among other things. At some point, I will probably try to convert the bike from F to E since the bondo on the fairing looks pretty ghetto.

I am not sure where you can even buy brake/clutch handles, GS500E headlight  kits, etc. I plan on getting the service manual and using this site (and contributing) often to help guide me on this new journey. 

Smart man ... F to E, 2X as smart ...
Dealer - Dumb idea. Especially in SF. Those Idiots cannot pull a tar off the wheel without ripping the inner tube even with me standing there and screaming its got a  tube in it.
OK this is what you do, you find the nearest gstwinner offer him the biggest pizza, the largest keg of beer, the damn french cuisine SFO is so famous for ... whatever and get him/her to cme over and show you.
The beer and pizza etc etc will come back many times over when you start returning the favor.
The Buddha if was in SFO will do it for a case of cheap ass beer, much of which he'd drink before he starts the job. Yea ... 
Cool.
Buddha.

congrats on your new ride. enjoy it. ride safe. 

yeah, I'm with Buddha.  with the help of the wiki, this forum and maybe a clymer's or hayne's manual you can do most of the work on the bike yourself without much mechanical knowledge at all.  basically, if you can turn a wrench you can do almost everything on a GS.

i think the ability to read is probably also a must.   

Congrats on the purchase!  I am new to it as well, took the time Sunday to remove the tank, carbs, filter, re-jet & check all of the important stuff per the wiki.  You can do it!  This bike is simple to work on, especially with the WIKI & the manual.

John.

Welcome! 

Thanks for the warm welcome and the confidence that I can get this bike in shape. 

I orderded the Service manual clicking through this site.   The wiki does look very detailed and well written.

Overall I feel pretty comfortable wrenching on the bike, I was just thinking that because I am not well trained, I might miss something important.

But I agree with all your posts, the local dealership mechanics might not be much better.  And I have motivation to get it done right - it's my safety!!

Now I just need to get some kerosene, chain lube, and a brush.  Better buy a torque wrench too.

welcome to riding. i've taken my bike to sf over a dozen times within a year and the hills suck. on steep hills, don't be afraid to bring the bike up to 4-5k rpm then easing with the clutch.
remember to stay out of the tracks.

save some money by not going E. did this mod to my F but slightly different. the mirrors suck for this mod. i'd recomend you just ride it stock until you feel comfortable about identifying traffic hazards. remember to check your 6. http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=39815.0
if you won't ever go on the freeway, then you will be fine but be warned that i've been scared with 15-25 mph winds on 80 when i've had my fairings and windscreen off.

check out BARF. for lots of bay area riding info and insights.

as far as clutch cables, oil filters, oil, spark plugs, ect, i get mine from pcp motorsports out in sac. the prices for those are pretty inexpensive. if you need that stuff, let me know and i'll bring them to sf. had to order my clutch cable and it took a week.
i got my chain lube from cycle gear. get a battery tender while you're there.

i was pretty sketchy about my bike when i bought it with 7k miles, then me not knowing how to ride it correctly for the first couple of thousand didn't help either, but now,it's at 18k and it rides fine. just oil and spark plug changes.
i'd be more than happy to look over your bike if you're close to clay and leavenworth.

The GS500 is the bike I learned to wrench on.  It's super-simple - if you follow the manual.  Make sure you have the right tools, make sure you have a torque wrench.  You can snap bolts on anything by overtightening.

Just leave the ghetto fairing on.  Theft protection and wind protection in one.

Welcome!

I have everything you need to put an E headlight on your bike.  All the parts are in good condition.  PM me if you'd like to buy them.


Enjoy your new bike - Bob!

Thanks again for the tips.  caliswangin916, I will follow your advice and put off the F to E conversion for a while.  Since a new rider is likely to go down in the first year, esp. the first 5-6 months, it seems wise to wait a while to sink any money into it.

I'll be practicing on the hills and staying out of the SF Muni tracks.  I have browsed both BARF and South Bay Riders, great info,  I might try a group ride in a few months.  I need to log some miles in the parking lot reinforcing stuff I learned in MSF, and then work my way into traffic gradually.

Thanks for the tip on pcp  motorsports.  I'll check it out.   I already got a battery tender and accessories to clean the chain and change the oil.  Had to go to a Suzuki dealer to get an oil filter though,  neither Kragen nor Napa had them.  Next time I'll order them online when I can plan ahead and wait for the delivery.   Geez, $1.09 for a crush washer? Dealers sure can be a pain.

GSTwins - what a nice community, can't believe the offers of help, kindness, and encouragement.   It's easy to get pessimistic about people's motives and behavior, but this place is like a breath of fresh air.

So far I have adjusted my clutch cable, cleaned the chain (used kerosene, toothbrush, and teflon), changed the oil, and cleaned it.  I had a fun time doing it and the wiki is great. 

man am I late to the party or what!  Anyway, welcome welcome welcome, yadda yadda yadda, so on and so forth.  I tell you what man, a lot of the guys around here (and Ill prolly catch hell for saying it) are really into the naked look, but I am partial to fully faired look, I mean with the fairing and a set of 89 clip-ons, you can't go wrong.  Have fun, be safe, and ride at your own pace.  DOn't let the traffic rush you into nervous mistakes  if they can't take a joke.

A swap to an E type before you crash will actually make you $$$ .. crash and you lose that.
A swap costs under 100 bucks ... headlight ears and twin headlights are all you need. cstilt has them ... and I just yanked em off for the kat FE swap ... pretty neat I should say.
Cool.
Buddha.

I think you missed the part oh great and powerful buddha (bowing in reverence) that the PO FUBARED the fairings already. Why is everybody hatin' on the "F". It was for the faire complextion oh I mean fairing of Flick that made me find my first love.  Fairing are way COOLER! Other guys just say nekkid is better cause they messed theirs up already .

Oh WTH my fairing are scratched to not from me but from A$$hole neigbors knocking my baby down. At least leave a freaking notw when you want to destroy my property telling me why! Wow, I'm still pissed about it!

Mary

See, I've got a different kind of neighbor...the other day my cover blew off the bike, because my apartment complex acts like a wind tunnel for some reason.  I saw it, but I was running late for jiu-jitsu, so I just left it.  When I got back, my bike was covered.   

One of the college guys who lives downstairs was detailing his car, and I stopped to speak to him on the way in.  He told me he had covered the bike back up for me.  Sure enough, and nothing stolen from it! 

Maybe I'm reaping the reward of some good karma or something.