From reading through the above few posts, two items come to mind. . .
1.) Some day I'm going to try a Ninja 250. I hear it's a great little bike.
2.) Hey aussiegs, Stop harassing my voter base!

Quote from: aussiegs on October 09, 2011, 03:06:30 AM
Who's the noob who voted that he wished he bought something else?

Quote from: aussiegs on October 09, 2011, 03:06:30 AM
Who's the noob who voted that he wished he bought something else?

That would be me.

The GS is not the quintessential perfect motorcycle to me.  Sure it is solid, simple, etc etc, but not perfect.

But i also voted 'best bang for the buck', though i think a Ninja250, ninja500, er-6n, ninja650, gsx650, any other lower cost introductory level bike would have fit the same bill to me.  I basically wish i had gone with the er-6n, which is the bike i really wanted at the time... but being unsure i even wanted to ride motorcycles or not, the low $$ used GS was acquired.... a few rides later i wished i bought the er-6n.  Plus my GS has been a complete PITA up until two weeks ago, when i got it running right.

Who knows, if i had bought the er-6n i might then wish i had bought something else; since now that i have the GS i don't see changing to the er-6n as being enough of a change to warrant buying it (yet), i would probably go for a bigger cc cruiser now.  [I really wanted a Triumph until i found out they are China made.  So there is probably a Harley or Victory in my future, distant future.]

Well first of I don't flip bikes or anything else, I tend to keep things I buy. Started riding back in '72~'73 on a '65 Harley FLH. Bought a Moto Guzzi 850-T3 new in '77 and still have it. Bought my new '09 GS500F in February of this year. Price was great for a new bike so it won over a Ninja 250 or 500. There are other reasons like the fact that most everything else is liquid cooled meaning more to maintain and wear out, etc. I don't need 100+ HP or top speeds of 150+ MPH. And while I'm 56 years old I certainly don't need a rolling couch/easy chair weighing 800+ pounds. Now I'm going to get my little underpowered GS out and go for a ride

Dale

Quote from: Electrojake on October 09, 2011, 06:28:48 AM
From reading through the above few posts, two items come to mind. . .
1.) Some day I'm going to try a Ninja 250. I hear it's a great little bike.
2.) Hey aussiegs, Stop harassing my voter base!

Quote from: aussiegs on October 09, 2011, 03:06:30 AM
Who's the noob who voted that he wished he bought something else?

Sorry ej and gs500e, I really thought it was someone havin a joke. I wasn't havin a go I saw all the other votes and u see that one negative you'd think someone's being funny.

Best bang for buck and read on multiple forums that it's the best learner bike. Enough grunt to get in trouble but enough forgiveness to get out of it without too much blood 

Quote from: gs500e on October 09, 2011, 07:56:43 AM

Who knows, if i had bought the er-6n i might then wish i had bought something else; since now that i have the GS i don't see changing to the er-6n as being enough of a change to warrant buying it (yet),

... i would probably go for a bigger cc cruiser now.
[I really wanted a Triumph until i found out they are China made.  So there is probably a Harley or Victory in my future, distant future.]

Wow!
You went from a GS500 to a Victory in one post!
When you hit the right bike. . . Let us know what one it is.
In the mean time, keep posting here at GStwins. It's good therapy.

Speaking of therapy. . .
I detect a bit of "stress" in your avatar.
Just sayin'
Peace,
-Ej-

Quote from: Electrojake on October 09, 2011, 03:25:18 PM

Quote from: gs500e on October 09, 2011, 07:56:43 AM

Who knows, if i had bought the er-6n i might then wish i had bought something else; since now that i have the GS i don't see changing to the er-6n as being enough of a change to warrant buying it (yet),

... i would probably go for a bigger cc cruiser now.
[I really wanted a Triumph until i found out they are China made.  So there is probably a Harley or Victory in my future, distant future.]

Yeah down here it's the number 1 learner bike cause your fully setup on the road for under 10 grand. But it's facing new compitition from the new cbr250r, which is priced a couple hundred cheaper.
Wow!
You went from a GS500 to a Victory in one post!
When you hit the right bike. . . Let us know what one it is.
In the mean time, keep posting here at GStwins. It's good therapy.

Speaking of therapy. . .
I detect a bit of "stress" in your avatar.
Just sayin'
Peace,
-Ej-

Quote from: aussiegs on October 09, 2011, 05:06:48 PM

Quote from: Electrojake on October 09, 2011, 03:25:18 PM

Quote from: gs500e on October 09, 2011, 07:56:43 AM

Who knows, if i had bought the er-6n i might then wish i had bought something else; since now that i have the GS i don't see changing to the er-6n as being enough of a change to warrant buying it (yet),

... i would probably go for a bigger cc cruiser now.
[I really wanted a Triumph until i found out they are China made.  So there is probably a Harley or Victory in my future, distant future.]

Yeah down here it's the number 1 learner bike cause your fully setup on the road for under 10 grand. But it's facing new compitition from the new cbr250r, which is priced a couple hundred cheaper.
Wow!
You went from a GS500 to a Victory in one post!
When you hit the right bike. . . Let us know what one it is.
In the mean time, keep posting here at GStwins. It's good therapy.

Speaking of therapy. . .
I detect a bit of "stress" in your avatar.
Just sayin'
Peace,
-Ej-

LMAO

From reading some of the other threads around here, as an example: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=57852.msg656780#msg656780
The question should be. . .

Why did you sell your GS? rather than why did you buy it.

I see so many stories about "used to own" a GS.
So, why do you HAVE to sell the GS before your allowed to buy another bike?
And why do you HAVE to buy a "bigger" bike? (I myself was toying with the idea of selling my GS500 for a KLX250, but decided the GS is a keeper).
Just an oxi-topic thought, 
-Ej-

Quote from: Electrojake on October 07, 2011, 08:42:00 AM
Personally, with several different bikes in the stable, I simply do not understand why the GS gets such a bad rap.

I don't think the GS has a bad rap, I just think it's woefully underrated by the general population.

The reason I bought the GS is because of it being a simple, air-cooled, carbureted, easy-to-work-on, comfortable, cheap-to-insure, cheap to maintain, inexpensive tires, chain, no expensive bodywork, good handling light bike.

Paid 700 for it and knew I wouldn't feel bad if I dropped it since there is barely any plastic to scratch/break...

friend happened to be selling it but i heard great things about it already in terms of ride-ability and maintenance.

man they were right; its an air cooled twin, naked bike, and a simple proven design. couldn't get any easier for a beginner to get into the mechanics of it.

I, also, forgot to say easy and cheap it is to fix after a crash, how crash-survivable it is...

This is my first bike so I wanted something 1) cheap, in case I didn't like riding as much as I thought I would and 2) something that I wouldn't get myself killed on but could also take to highway speeds for short bits of time.  I really like the looks of naked bikes so I got an E.  Things I didn't think about but like: it's light and I'm not a very big guy so it helps when putzing around campus, I don't really have to worry about people stealing it or scratching it.  I'm tempted all the time to get a newer, slightly bigger bike (probably Bonneville) but right now my finances and especially my rider skill is keeping me in the gs500. 

Besides some issues with buying an older bike and not being very good mechanic, I've been happy.

Cheap and easy to work on and Honda didn't sell anything in its range to match it (at least in Australia at the time) and Kawasaki's ER5 just didn't seem as good 

Quote from: Roxtar on October 08, 2011, 04:17:26 PM
I wanted something "sportbike" looking
I didn't want something that would be out of breath on the highway
the gs500f and ninja500 were the ones I looked at. found a killer deal on a new gs500f and jumped on it.

Ditto to the letter.  Even the year of GS

I was looking for a cheap, economical, easy to maintain bike that could do highway speeds happily. I'd owned a GS450 in the early 80s and it met all those criteria, so when I saw a cheap GS5 on eBay I bought it sight unseen. Its doing all that I expected (good and bad!).

After a 20 year hiatus from riding, I wanted something light and flickable.
My previous bike was a Virago 1000. Handled like a dog in the twisties.
Originally I wanted a GSX650F or Kawi 650R and only contemplated a GS500F or EX500 if the price was right.
As luck would have it I got a great deal on my 07 GS500F with a Yoshi pipe and only 5k on the clock.
Love it!
I did a few mods to make it a more comfortable commuter, and have no intention of parting with it.
I'll have to agree that the bike does get a bad rap by anyone who has more cc's.  Big deal!!!

Cheap to buy
Cheap to insure
Proven reliability

My only suggestions to Suzuki would be...
A more comfortable seat, would be nice.

none listed for me.
I honestly bought it because it was the first cheapest "running" bike of the season that I seen & could afford at the time. (that I would actually enjoy riding)

Initially wanted an SV650 but since the GS500 is also a naked bike (my fav. kind of sport bike), I therefore read up on the GS500 as well.

So, after owning it since May of this year, riding & wrenching on it and being totally new to both, I would Highly suggest this bike before anything else for someone in a similar situation.

Have rode it enough to know how to ride now (not being cocky there) and pretty much wrenched on everything but the main motor parts & electrical.
I got lucky with this girl, couldnt have gotten a better starter bike to learn to ride and wrench on.

Because of all that & being my very first motorcycle, I have absolutely no plans to EVER sell it.
I dont care how many engines or parts I go through, until the frame is shot... she'll be mine and on the road!

Also doubt I will ever replace her as far as a Sport Bike goes, there is enough speed, power, and handling for me to enjoy and not kill myself on.

Only other bike I will buy and ride is a cruiser.

i had a 2006 triumph tiger started to get hip problems cause you needed a ladder to get aboard ,saw a gstwin for sale with 1500km on it  and a lower seat height .glad i brought it lots of fun and ride 36 km a day to and from work  .Came across GSTwin forum while looking for a little increase in performance  ..