Hi,

I just bought a 1990 GS500, a bit worse for wear, has a fair amount of frame rust and even has a hole in the gas tank is being sealed as we speak.
I got it really cheap though, so no serious complaints. It's my first bike so I just need it to learn on it before hopefully passing it on.
But anyway, I'm about 6'2"+ and it's just a tad cramped up there...I have a 36" inseam, as well as freakishly long arms, but only weigh around 145lbs. I was looking at maybe swapping the rear shock like in this thread? http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=45246.0
But I didn't know if I did that I would need to do something for the front as well, don't know if that screws with handling or something. I'm not really after looks (which is what I think the guy in that thread wanted), just want to get the seat as high as possible. Also the pegs, there's a link in that thread to
lowered pegs, but can anyone shoot me some links to maybe some cheaper alternatives? I've got about 150$ I can push out to make it more comfy.

Also are there any other simple fixes to get more distance between the seat and pegs?

Thanks!
-Wright

Hi Wright, first of all welcome to the forums. Post up some pics of the bike when you can.

I am the same height 6'2". I made sure I had the preload adjusted to 7 on the stock shock. The only time I really feel a little cramped is after about an hour and a half riding on my GS and usually by that time it is time to stop and stretch the legs on just about any bike you ride. The more time in the saddle the more used to it you become.

If you are really set on making the bike a lil taller a Katana or SV650 shock will raise it. You wont need to raise the front but you may have to adjust your headlight beam. You can probably get an inch of extra leg room too if you use aftermarket pegs but again, you will have to adjust the foot levers to suit.

There's not really anything you can do to raise the front. Putting on a longer rear shock will definitely lift the seat height, but only when you're at stop lights with your feet on the ground. It won't help you when you're riding because the pegs are going to be lifted just as high as the seat. One of the easiest/cheapest ways to get more leg room is to trade your stock footpegs for the $15 gsxr ebay pegs as described here:
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Upgrades/Pegs

If you look at your legs you can see there's at least an inch of rubber on the top of them. Switching to these pegs instantly gives you an extra inch of leg clearance because they're just that much thinner. If you really wanted to get serious you'd have to go with the more expensive adjustable pegs.

The 2nd easiest option would be to get some kind of a seat pad. It would just sit on your seat and lift you up a bit, giving you a longer distance to the pegs and the ground.



Are you any good at modifying stuff? Your best option, if you have the skills to do it, would be to uncover your seat, buy a yoga mat or some other kind of pad, glue it to the top of your seat, shave it into shape, get some new vinyl and staple it back onto the seat. Seat height can be modified pretty well this way, for example:

Low seat


Medium seat


Tall seat


The earlier GSs have a seat with a bit of a dip in it, and you could definitely add 2 or 3 inches to the height and just make it level the the rear seat. It would also be good for you because it would let you slide back a bit too which would give you more leg/arm room.

Thanks for the info.

Just to be sure, is this what I need to buy? And does year matter? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-97-98-99-SUZUKI-GSXR-600-750-TLR1000-REAR-FOOT-PEGS-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4aaa8f83acQQitemZ320689111980QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
Though from the wiki it seems i'll have to grind them, is there anyone on the forums who would be willing to sell a set they already modified for around the same price?

Heh, Unfortunately the extent of my work goes to basic repairs and replacements. So modifying a seat like that sounds a bit over my head. Is there anyplace that makes slightly higher seats that would fit?

Thanks,
Wright.

Yeah those look like they are the right ones. The grinding is pretty minimal. If you have a grinder the whole thing take like 10 minutes, just do it tiny bits at a time so you don't go too far.

I wish I was good at things like recovering seats. It would definitely come in use. The only thing I'm not sure about is finding new vinyl and stretching it to fit. Someday I'll buy a cheap seat on ebay and just try to see what I can do with it. As far as buying one, I know places like corbin will make new seats, but for some reason seats are ungodly expensive and you're not gonna find an aftermarket one for $150, unless maybe someone is selling a used one.

Alright, well I snagged a black version of those pegs. For the seat I guess I'll just keep my eyes open for any junked gs500's that had a custom seat...*shrug*.

Appreciate it,
-Wright

Edit:
Was looking around at seat cushions...Do any of these seem like they might do the job? And how well do the strap on cushions hold? Don't want it to slide off or anything while I'm leaning 
Front Gel Pad
http://www.bikebandit.com/blitzkrieg-vinyl-phantom-pad?mg=3618&t=1
http://www.bikebandit.com/pro-pad-leather-seat-pad?mg=3618&t=1
http://www.bikebandit.com/airhawk-cushions?mg=3618&t=1

I had a sheepskin one for awhile. The don't slip around as long as you aren't hanging off the bike in corners. They just look a lil doofy is all

If you want to switch footpegs but don't have a grinder you might try an aftermarket set for the GS500 sold by TwistedThrottle:

http://www.jpcycles.com/product/5300424

It's hard to tell from the picture how thick they are, but since they're called "highway footpegs" I'm guessing they would offer a bit more leg room than the stock pegs. I plan on trying these myself soon.

Those Blitzkrieg phantom pads aren't what you want. They're made for sticking on the rear fender of a cruiser for a passenger. The others should work. some of them are expensive! You probably don't need to pay as much if you're only going for height and not highway comfort. They'll pretty much all have velcro straps that go under the seat and then when you latch the seat down they shouldn't be able to go anywhere.

Quote from: paalak on April 25, 2011, 01:00:32 PM
If you want to switch footpegs but don't have a grinder you might try an aftermarket set for the GS500 sold by TwistedThrottle:

http://www.jpcycles.com/product/5300424

It's hard to tell from the picture how thick they are, but since they're called "highway footpegs" I'm guessing they would offer a bit more leg room than the stock pegs. I plan on trying these myself soon.

Those look pretty slick, do you know by chance which would create the most height difference against the gsxr ones?

I've been wondering the same thing. Whichever one of us buys them first can answer the question for the rest of the forum   I'll probably be buying them within the month, just a question of when I'll have time to install them. I'll let you know how it goes. If enough forum members are interested we could try to get a group buy going...

Well I had already bought the other ones. But considering how cheap they were I wouldn't mind selling them back on ebay for like 10$ and getting those aftermarket ones if they give any decent amount. Maybe someone will know  

Not sure about those aftermarket ones. The gsxr pegs only take a few minutes of grinding and you're set. I think those other pegs would take a bit of work to fit on the GS. The height would be about the same either way but you're gonna have to come up with some goofy looking bracket/adaptor to fit them on the GS. They might make a good set of highway pegs though if you can get them to fit around the frame in front of the motor.

I vote for seat pad! add comfort to your behind too!