Hey, folks:

I took the MSF course this fall, and the bug bit me. I had to have a bike. I'm 6'3" and 185 lbs, so I spent a while agonizing over choosing a bike. The GS500 appealed to me because it fit with my price range and was bigger than a Ninja 250. After a couple months browsing Craigslist, I bought this guy:



The abrasions on the exhaust made it pretty clear that I wasn't the first one to use this as a first bike. However, it's mechanically sound. Some previous owner went nuts with a rattlecan, so everything is black - even the clear shield on the fairing (included) and belly pan (included) are black. I put a couple of scrapes on the tank in transport, so I've got a good reason to repaint. There are some great articles on this site and others on rattlecanning a bike the right way.

She's not going far from the garage until the snow melts, but come spring, I'm taking the refresher course and using her for pleasure riding. Good to be here!

-MA500E

Good bike. Glad you joined us.

Look around at postings and pictures I've made. You can see 2 things you should get:
1. Crash sliders (or engine bars)
2. Muffler crash guards.

Those prevent lots of unnecessary scrapes. Especially if riding with show and ice. Just a couple days ago my GS500F fell over in the drive while opening the garage: was on a spot of ice. The crash sliders prevented even the slightest scratch. Well worth the $75 for them.

Ride safe!

Welcome to the forum 

Quote from: adidasguy on January 04, 2011, 09:57:07 PM
Good bike. Glad you joined us.

Look around at postings and pictures I've made. You can see 2 things you should get:
1. Crash sliders (or engine bars)
2. Muffler crash guards.

Those prevent lots of unnecessary scrapes. Especially if riding with show and ice. Just a couple days ago my GS500F fell over in the drive while opening the garage: was on a spot of ice. The crash sliders prevented even the slightest scratch. Well worth the $75 for them.

Ride safe!

Addy, got a link for the muffle guard things?

MA... welcome to the nut house!

Michael

http://www.rg-racing.com/browseType/Exhaust_Protectors.aspx

They also have the bar ends, crash sliders and other good stuff


Also available from

http://www.bikebitsdistribution.com/contents/en-us/d644.html

Welcome!

Welcome! Lots of folks here would like to get their hands around that belly pan. We're just a bunch of parts whores!