'09 GS500. About to reach 1000k and it's first scheduled service. Living in Sydney, Australia. Web search and word-of-mouth very non-positive about Suzuki dealer service in the city. Don't seem to hear many good things about the few independent shops either. Tempted, and I'm reasonably OK with the spanners on a car, to go the self-service route. Thinking about warranty, though. Would be interested to hear what warranty solved problem Suzuki GS500 riders have encountered in the first year or so of ownership. Would help me make up my mind about which road to go on servicing.
PS It might be Spring and supposedly good riding weather in Australia, but it's bl**dy raining again!!!

Mine is serviced through a shop in Newcastle. He specialises in sports bikes. Mine's never been near a Suzuki dealer plus I don't trust my local dealer as they can take up three weeks to order common parts, no call backs, rude, unhelpful etc. Mines an 07 and after 10 thou kilometres it has already had the fork seals replaced. Only complaint I've had.

Plus I hear you on the weather. Was great on the weekend. Roll out of bed to ride to work and oh look rain AGAIN!!

I do all my own servicing, but if you bought it new I'd suggest getting the authorised servicing done to keep your warranty for at least the first 10,000. These are pretty reliable bikes, but sometimes sh*t does happen.

I would probably follow the moles advice or the very least let them do the 1000km one as thats a pretty important one. Good Luck

I took both of the motorcycles I bought new into the dealer for the 1000 mile service, but I would do it myself now if I bought new again. I would check the law in Australia before making that choice, though. In Ohio, the state law is written so the manufacturer must prove that any scheduled servicing didn't take place in order to void a warranty. If you have a manual, and say that you did it yourself, they would have to prove otherwise. As always YMMV.

Might be spring.... somewhere.... but not in Aust. Still Winter. Spring is next month. You can tell.... cause it instantly becomes the dry season in Qld, the snow instantly melts, little furry critters immediately start fornicating in plain view of the general public, and small green shoots and flowers instantly appear. We suddenly get warm days and cool night. And the most tell take sign is...

These suckers start floating around.



That's when you know Spring is in the air 

Servicing: You or any other mechanic can do the regular servicing on the bike - making sure to put it in the Log Book. BUT.... Any warranty issue Must be done by an Authorised Suzuki Dealer.

Now I don't know how much you ride nor how much, if any, mechanical sympathy you have, but my 09 is quickly nearing 27,000kms - less than 150km to go so should be there by this time next week - and I've had no issues needing attention under warranty. I thought I did. Thought I might have needed a new 6th gear pair. But I didn't. Turns out a little wear in the front cog with a few chain tight spots was making the noise only under certain conditions.

I had asked my normal mechanic to look at it, he said he couldn't - possible warranty. Double checked my paperwork and that what it says... warranty work must be carried out by authorised Suzuki dealers.

So do your own servicing, make notes of what was done and how it followed the guide in the manual, write it down in the log book, and you should still be covered by warranty.

Michael

I feel it depends on your dealer. Here in Seattle, I have 2 dealers which are both superb. I can walk into either dealer anytime and they will always take time to treat me as a friend (not just a customer) and answer any questions about my GS or look at anything I think might be a problem. With these dealers, I'd prefer they do all maintenance. I have heard of other people with dealers they wouldn't trust to make change for a dollar. So it all depends on how good your dealer is. There are good ones and bad ones.