I just went to the Suzuki website......list price fora new (but 2009) gs 500 is $4,400....but they are offering a $1000 discount with coupon!!  So $3400

My dealer doesn't charge prep or freight.....just tax and MV fee....

What a deal!!

Cookie

Yup. That's the deal I got! 

Couldn't afford NOT to buy it. Better get em now. They won't last at those prices. I put money down and came back the next week with the balance. He said that others came looking for a GS500F, but he was already sold out. Suzuki was, also, offering a 1.9% rate on loans through March. I didn't have a coupon. They just knocked $1k off the price. 

 A friend of mine says he's getting an ER-6n for $4700 OTD.  I don't remember if it is a '09 or '10.

Wish I had some extra cash laying around....

Yeah, I have seen the '09 models around here for $3100 from the dealer. I wish that kind of deal was around when I bought mine in '08! I spent that much on a two year old bike with a lot miles on it!

Quote from: TCARZ on March 11, 2011, 12:50:24 PM
Yup. That's the deal I got! 

Couldn't afford NOT to buy it. Better get em now. They won't last at those prices. I put money down and came back the next week with the balance. He said that others came looking for a GS500F, but he was already sold out. Suzuki was, also, offering a 1.9% rate on loans through March. I didn't have a coupon. They just knocked $1k off the price. 

Same deal I got also. I was going to buy a Kawasaki but Suzuki Corp per$uaded me to buy a Suzuki motorcycle
instead.   

There is a 2009 GSX-R 600 at the dealer with 1 mile on it for just under 8k sticker. I have no where near that kind of money but nice chunk off the top for the clearance event. Probably could leave the lot in the low to mid 7s. I think thats a great deal, certainly is for my neck of the woods where lately even 10 year old bikes are hanging around 3 or 4k

Quote from: twocool on March 11, 2011, 09:34:48 AM
I just went to the Suzuki website......list price fora new (but 2009) gs 500 is $4,400....but they are offering a $1000 discount with coupon!!  So $3400

My dealer doesn't charge prep or freight.....just tax and MV fee....

What a deal!!

Cookie

1989, 1999, 2009 - whats the difference ?

i'd get a $1500 used and already abused one, slap some very nice tires on it and ride it till the valves were done.

do you think that lowered price of GS500 is Suzuki's response to the new CBR250R being introduced in American market?

Quote from: kml.krk on March 12, 2011, 07:03:37 AM
do you think that lowered price of GS500 is Suzuki's response to the new CBR250R being introduced in American market?

I doubt it.  Bikes in general aren't selling well right now due to the current recession our president tells us is over but clearly isn't.  I think Honda is looking at this, weak American foreign policy, the resulting high gas prices, and are betting on strong sales of small bikes in the future.  Honda tends to set the trends in motorcycling, the most notable exception I can think of being the Hayabusa which they still don't have an answer for.  I think fear of litigation is the answer there.  Over 10 years ago Suzuki decided to focus on high-performance sport bikes and big cruisers.  They have yet to change their minds.

Suzuki is offering a grand off bikes that aren't selling.  I think it's that simple.  For as long as I can remember, motorcycle dealers hate people like me who like smaller bikes and keep riding them as the profit margin is so slim.  Having said that, they'll have to cozy-up for folks like us more if the scenario I laid-out plays out.  Young people today don't own cars in as high a percentage compared to when I was young and I fear it will get worse.  That leaves them with motorcycles and *gasp!* public transit.

Suzuki hasn't promoted the GS in years.  They wish people would stop wanting it.  They were ready to stop selling it 6 or 7 years ago.  They still sell a few on the quiet to folks like us who basically want a 250 with more guts.  My local dealers don't carry them but will get one if you ask.  Why Suzuki doesn't offer a 250 cc liquid-cooled sport bike in North America is anyone's guess considering how well the little Ninja sells.  I would guess if gas stays as high as it is now or goes higher, they will be soon.  On that note a brand spankin' new DR 200 is now $3,199 USD.  If it were a 250 I would be buying one right now!  I am fortunate to be at a point in my life where I'm out of debt and still working (27 years at my present employer, knock wood) so my bank account is climbing, unlike many folks who can't find work other than the local taco stand and $3.70 gas is eating them alive.

Having said that, the GS 500 is a better street bike than any liquid-cooled 250.  Since it has more guts you don't have to rev it to death to make it go.  This appeals to kids but the thrill fades as you age and becomes an annoyance.  It also goes almost as far on a gallon of gas so it appeals to folks like us who won't go away!  We just want a good cheap street bike and the GS still shines when that is the criteria, so I see Suzuki making the GS 500 for years to come, even if it's somewhat against their will!  Marketers can't change the fact that the GS 500 is just a good idea.

Quote from: bill14224 on March 12, 2011, 08:55:25 AM

Having said that, the GS 500 is a better street bike than any liquid-cooled 250.  Since it has more guts you don't have to rev it to death to make it go.  This appeals to kids but the thrill fades as you age and becomes an annoyance.

Oh come on now, Bill. Twisting the throttle hard on a high rev-loving Japanese bike *never* gets old!!! 

I'm 64 and I still get a thrill from cranking my DRZ400SM up into the powerband. I even put a 1 tooth smaller front sprocket on it so it would be easier to keep it up in the powerband.

I just bought my '94 GS500E a week before xmas so I haven't had a chance to ride it (we get serious winter here on the Canadian Prairies!). But I'm fully expecting that it will love revs, too.

If I wanted something I didn't have to twist to make go, I'd buy a H.... H...... Ha.... Har....  .....phooey, can't even say it .. doubt I could ever actually do it. 

But you are 100% correct that the GS500 is just a good idea. 

...ken...