Yeah so this guy has cbr bike (i think ) and he just did a quick ride on my gs500 and he goes your motorcycle feels like a bicycle. This thing aint going to teach you anything about heavier bikes yadda yadda yadda. Is this true? I mean i thought if you start small then you can work your way up to heavier bike etc. But he goes everything is different on bigger bikes. Is this true or is this is true? 

its 40 hp.

A modern 600 super sport is 100 hp. BMW now sells to the public a 1000 sport bike that was introduced at 190 hp and could easily make 250 hp but they capped it and worked some more on traction control and handling. 250 hp is for a later year on that platform.

Yes, if you double triple or quintuple the power it will feel different. Better? Well thats another story.

There is an old saying, "its more fun to drive a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow".  This is true for cars as well. 

Imagine owning it but never going full throttle on the BMW for more than a second or two, legally. 

In the car world this is why a miata can be more fun than a lingenfelter Corvette or Ferrarri F540.

Yeah if you compare a bike that was designed in the late 1980s and hasn't been modified much since 1989 to a 2000+ CBR which are redesigned every other year (yay racing ) then yes, it will feel different.  I've ridden a friends ZX-636, and all of the skills you learn on a GS are transferable.  There are differences however; the seating position/clip-on handlebars are quite different, the engine is extremely powerful (along the lines of attaining a speed greater than the GS top speed in 2nd or 3rd gear), the components are better (usually), and more.  The clip-ons change the handling in a not insignificant way.

I was out riding with this friend a few weeks ago, we come up to a stop light and are joined by a guy on a 'Busa.  Needless to say, on the city streets a GS is more than capable of holding its own.  Once in the twisties you'll start to dominate most guys on a 600 (hardly any of them know how to actually ride).

GS500 is a completely different class of bike than a 600cc supersport. Its ugly, slow and old technology. It can do a lot of things a supersport can't do though, like be cheap (cheap to buy, maintain, fix and resell). You can leave it out on your street w/o worrying its going to get stolen, you can track it and then tour with it and then commute on it.
It will teach you how to ride though.

If you spend two years on a GS500 and always push your limits to where your tires have no chickenstrips and you outpace the super-sports in the corners, yeah you are going to be smoking fast when you hop onto a 600cc bike. The basics of safe and effective motorcycle handling don't change, your engine size doesn't matter. Almost anyone can accelerate fast, its cornering fast and braking well and picking good lines and being safe and knowing how to work on a bike that you are learning with the GS. If you ever get to a bigger bike you will master it very fast.

Personally, I like my GS too much to ever sell it. I dunno about you but I don't usually have to go faster than 110 mph.

you guys are right. If you leave it on the street then you dont worry about it getting stolen etc. Personally i like gs500 as well but this is my first bike so i wouldnt know any better.


But my only question is that if i spend a few months/years on this bike.. will my experience transfer to bigger bikes? or i will have to learn all over again....

All the intangibles (being smart, choosing lines, etc...) will transfer 100%.  The mechanical skills (accelerating, turning, braking, clutch control, etc...) will transfer at a slightly less % - due to the differences in machines.  But they will quickly return to whatever level they were at once you are used to the new bike. 

I'm with Bluesmudge, I'm never getting rid of my GS (I really like it, and I've had too much frustration with it to get rid of it ), but I will eventually get a bigger bike as well.

it will be a little different, but the fundamentals will always be there, like making good decisions like with  acceleration and braking

Its going to teach you in a hurry what will happen if you make a mistake ... as in, it will teach you and not just kill you.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2009, 05:19:48 PMIts going to teach you in a hurry what will happen if you make a mistake ... as in, it will teach you and not just kill you.

That was almost poetic... and true.

The best riders I know started out on small bikes.  (Most of 'em have a good amount of dirt under their belt, too, which I also pimp for skill-building.)

Quote from: Roadstergal on September 29, 2009, 05:28:12 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2009, 05:19:48 PMIts going to teach you in a hurry what will happen if you make a mistake ... as in, it will teach you and not just kill you.

That was almost poetic... and true.

The best riders I know started out on small bikes.  (Most of 'em have a good amount of dirt under their belt, too, which I also pimp for skill-building.)

this is how i say +2

and ...

Quote from: Bluesmudge on September 29, 2009, 05:04:22 PM
GS500 is a completely different class of bike than a 600cc supersport. Its ugly, slow and old technology. It can do a lot of things a supersport can't do though, like be cheap (cheap to buy, maintain, fix and resell). You can leave it out on your street w/o worrying its going to get stolen, you can track it and then tour with it and then commute on it.
It will teach you how to ride though.

If you spend two years on a GS500 and always push your limits to where your tires have no chickenstrips and you outpace the super-sports in the corners, yeah you are going to be smoking fast when you hop onto a 600cc bike. The basics of safe and effective motorcycle handling don't change, your engine size doesn't matter. Almost anyone can accelerate fast, its cornering fast and braking well and picking good lines and being safe and knowing how to work on a bike that you are learning with the GS. If you ever get to a bigger bike you will master it very fast.

Personally, I like my GS too much to ever sell it. I dunno about you but I don't usually have to go faster than 110 mph.

i wanna +1 that one

and ...

you're riding with the wrong people if they say you can't learn on a gs, a ninja 250, a dirtbike, a goldwing, or flying saucers. everything you do in life is a learning opportunity. everything. even just now, when you looked at your keyboard, and wondered if you should type something, or stand on your head. either one can teach. your choice.



(fast sucks)

I get crap from some guys i know with with 600's because i got a "girl bike" or whatever. I'm perfectly happy with a 500 right now, its a blast to ride and definitely gets the job done.  When the time comes to get a new bike (right now i have my sights set on a r6 or a triumph daytona 675) i'll be much more prepared to ride than these guys who started out on crazier bikes.

but yeah, as far as the op's question goes, compared to other bikes the gs isn't fast at all.

I also own a Ninja 600, along with my GS500. The Ninja is only an '89, but it is muuuch faster than my GS. I almost prefer riding the GS. The Ninja is a blast to ride, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather push the GS at 3/4-full throttle through some winding roads, as opposed to blasting down the highway on the Kawi.

But that's just me.

The GS is a great bike to build your skills on and leaves room for rookie errors.  If you get on a bigger bike without developing good throttle control first you may end up in a surprise wheelie.  And while not a sport bike, the SV650 is definitely a lot more powerful than the GS.  When I go back to West Virginia next year though, the SV is staying home while the GS gets to work the twisties.  The GS is just a fun bike to ride. 

-Jessie

Quote from: inexplicable718 on September 29, 2009, 05:11:33 PM
But my only question is that if i spend a few months/years on this bike.. will my experience transfer to bigger bikes? or i will have to learn all over again....

Depends on what kind of "bigger bikes" you change to.

I rode my '01 GS (first bike ever) for 3k miles, then bought a '03 YZF600R (specifically to see how a 600cc rides differently), then a SV650N. Now I switch back and forth between the three bikes.

Going from a GS to a YZF600R - Very difficult, not because of the power, but because of the ergonomics. I could hardly turn the YZF when I first started riding it. It turned out the low clipons on a sportbike requires a different riding posture and body positioning to turn effectively, and you have to learn it. I've now ridden the YZF about 1600 miles. It's great at high speed and relatively open roads, but when the road gets very twisty, narrow and steep (downhill), I still get nervous because it's just not as nimble as the GS at low speed.

Going from a GS to a SV650N - Not too difficult. The SV's throttle is much more abrupt, and the strong engine braking takes some getting used to, but the ergonomics are almost identical (except the SV's about 2 inch taller than the GS), you'd get used to the SV after 1-2 rides if you're already good with the GS. Still, on very twisty, narrow and steep roads, I get a bit more nervous on the SV than on the GS, partly because of the more abrupt throttle of the SV, and partly because my SV is a lot newer/shinier/more expensive than my GS.  

After riding a sportbike (low clipons, crouched down ergo), switching back to the GS does make it feel like a bicycle, in a good way. The GS's high/wide handlebar makes it super nimble doing u-turns, and running up/down super twisty/narrow/steep roads. While GS's power feels a little weak in the wide open situation, it actually feel great when the road gets gnarly.
 

deleted - double posted by mistake

GS is great for real world everyday street riding.

I have never ridden any bike other than the GS but personally i feel like it is enough power when needed and isn't to much power that it will get you into trouble quickly.  Going fast in a straight line is boring to me on the bike so I try to always take twisty back roads even though it is a slower route to get to whereever i may be going but it makes the ride more enjoyable.  I believe that when or if i upgrade to a bigger bike all the skills you have learned on the GS will transfer over but will need to be adapted to the new bike so their will be a learning curve on the bigger bike but it will be a much quicker learning curve if you have already mastered the skills on a GS.  Learning on a bigger bike can be done but would probably be a much longer learning curve.  The GS is a very forgiving bike to learn on and is great for being able to do all your own maintenance so incase it ever stops working on the side of the road you will be able to fix it instead of having to call for a tow.

You should ask him to clarify when he says "bigger bike". I know we consider it small. It's skinny and has a low seat height, and the bars make it feel easy to ride, but a GS is heavier than a lot of newer 600s, and it is decently top heavy. The displacement/HP numbers are smaller, but that does nothing to actually teach you anything. I pass sportbikes on my bicycle all the time when I'm downtown, so being fast and learning to ride well is all pretty relative.

Ok, I can give a picture from all sides of the fence.

When I am at the office, I commute on a 125cc scooter, why, Because the office is right in the centre of the city, parking is a nightmare if you have a car, traffic is a nightmare and the scoot can change direction in a heartbeet, so I am in and out of traffic in no time. And its allmost as cheap as walking.

When I am working further afield, I use the GS as its still cheap as chips, but can easilly cope with motorway speeds, out manouver most things, and still beats most cars, yet still small enough to cut through traffic on the bigger raods and motorways.

My weekend plaything is a GSF1200, the power is nice, but you can hardly ever use more than a quarter of it on the road, the handling is fantastic, but its just too much of a lard-ass to cut through traffic and it has a healthy addiction to fuel, It loves the stuff, it uses more than the wifes car. But for touring, two-up, fully loaded with camping gear and long distance, its fantastic.

As the saying goes, "horses for courses". Depends what you use your bike for.....................

I traded a '98 CBR 600 for my GS and do not regret it one bit