When I move up, it will likely be to one of these:

Ducati Monster 696


Although, I will admit, if I can find a cheap deal on one of these I may pull the trigger:

Kawasaki ER-6n

QuoteWhen I move up, it will likely be to one of these:

buy me one too. perferably a 99.

Quote from: shonole on January 28, 2012, 11:55:21 PM
When I move up, it will likely be to one of these:

Ducati Monster 696


Although, I will admit, if I can find a cheap deal on one of these I may pull the trigger:

Kawasaki ER-6n

The Ducati is a great choice. You may pay a bit more for one but they're a great lil bike. Even the 796 and 1100 Monsters are a good step up from the GS.

The ER6 not so much IMO. Take one for a test ride first before you pull the trigger on one. I was very disappointed when I got to ride one. In fact I could not wait to get back on my GS.

No offense but that ER-6N is ass ugly, in my humble opinion. Too many jagged lines and weird curves.

when I get the $$ one day, ill buy a ducati 848 evo.. for now I'll stick with my GS500f.

Quote from: Kijona on January 29, 2012, 12:39:37 AM
No offense but that ER-6N is ass ugly, in my humble opinion. Too many jagged lines and weird curves.

Looks better in person, if you haven't seen it.

Truthfully, I'd be happy with a full fairing Ninja 650.  Surprisingly comfortable and a blast to ride.

If you want a bigger more powerful bike to ride, go get one and enjoy it; but if you need one to cope with freeway traffic maybe you need to learn to do it with your GS first before moving up.     If you're doing it in 6th gear try running in fast traffic at high speeds in 5th gear and downshifting to 4th for passing if necessary, a stock GS doesn't redline in 4th until over 100 mph.  I know guys who have bought bigger cruisers just so they wouldn't have to downshift for hills when riding 2 up but riding a GS is about shifting gears while flicking it about. 

Years ago I traded my CB400 1st bike in on a CB750 after 6 months of riding because it had no guts on the freeways but when I got my 1st GS500 many years later I discovered the fun of riding one everywhere, on the freeways, in the mountains, day long high speed Interstate trips, everywhere. 

Quote from: Kijona on January 28, 2012, 11:04:03 PM


Ironic that most of them are either painted or wrecked. I can't find a single one in ATL and I've been looking for months.

The TLS was one of the bikes that earned the nickname "widow maker", it had some suspension issues that made it a little unpredictable at times. It's still one of my favorite bikes though, I'd probably just looking investing in a steering damper.

Quote from: Kijona on January 28, 2012, 09:50:04 PM


I've never ridden the TL1000 but I rode a friend's RC51. Extremely cramped and "sporty". My wrists begin to hurt after about 15 minutes. Worse, in my opinion, than a gixxer.

I think the TL1000"S" is more like the SV1000... if I understand correctly, the TL1000"S" and "R" are worlds apart.

The rc51 is also known to be one of the worst 'street' bikes there is. They're great bikes, but when people talk about sportbikes that are literally race bikes with headlights and quieter exhaust slapped on, the rc51 is at the top of that list. I think Honda pretty much just threw it into showroom floors so they'd have something to compete against Ducatis, and then Suzuki had to make the TLR because everyone else did. The TL has an amazing motor though.

As far as the difference between the TLR and the TLS, the TLR is a superbike and the TLS is a street bike, just like comparing a gsxr to a katana. The TLS is a lot more capable than a katana though. As far as comparing a TLS to an SV, a TLS is basically an SV1000S one generation before, same bike though. In case you've never noticed the style similarities between the TL1000S and the first generation SV1000S, it'll give you a better idea what the bike was meant for, I just wish Suzuki had made a naked TL1000, but that's an easy home project.

1st gen SV650S:



TL1000S:

I have a GS500 and a Ninja 650R (mechanically the same as the ER-6N).

In my experience, the GS is just fine on the highway, even in 70mph zones, if you cruise in 5th and downshift to 4th to pass.

The 650R has more HP and torque than the GS; you don't need to stay geared-down or downshift at freeway speeds.  However, it doesn't handle quite as well as the GS.

On the freeway, neither can keep up with my friends on their supersports.  In tight traffic and on twisties, though, those guys end up behind me.

I used to ride a ZL600 Eliminator (I-4), which absolutely ROCKED on the freeway.  However, at city speeds you had to keep that I-4 screaming to have any kind of immediate throttle response, a marked contrast to the GS and 650R parallel twins.

The best overall power-and-response moto I've ever ridden was a 675 Daytona (inline-3).  Powerful at low RPMs, insane at high RPMs.  Only the ergonomics keep me from getting one, but the Street Triple sure looks sweet...

The TL-S had some chassis and steering stability issues. Wheelbase was shorter than the GSXR, so it was easy to wheelie. Erratic like the 1st gen. CBR900 and YZF-R6 were.

Quote from: SAFE-T on January 29, 2012, 10:34:39 AM
The TL-S had some chassis and steering stability issues. Wheelbase was shorter than the GSXR, so it was easy to wheelie. Erratic like the 1st gen. CBR900 and YZF-R6 were.

A common upgrade to the CBR900RR was to swap out the 16 inch front wheel for a 17 incher.  A steering stabilizer was another good addition to help prevent a tank slapper.

-Jessie

Quote from: SAFE-T on January 29, 2012, 10:34:39 AM
The TL-S had some chassis and steering stability issues. Wheelbase was shorter than the GSXR, so it was easy to wheelie. Erratic like the 1st gen. CBR900 and YZF-R6 were.

good lord people are crazy about the tl1000 this week ? go ride one on the same roads you enjoy flicking your gs around. you'll love it, hate, and possibly die on it all in the same trip. this is not a bike for new riders. <--- read that again.

as far as teh bickering between folks, this is gstwins, there are standards. apologies are in order.

to the OP: over 75 is not a fun place on a gs. actually, over 60 or so or any speed on the interstate is not fun, on a gs. the wind is annoying, there is no ground cover to protect your from it (interstate) and if cars are traveling 90mph, find a different road.

bikes with more mass will be more comfortable lon the i-states, but the ride will still suck.

reference: i've had the gs cruising on mountain roads and steep hills 2up without feeling i needed more power. it's the wind that is the annoyance, simply because the gs is light. find a bike like the vstrom, ninja650, or one of the yamahas inline 4. ride it. if it's not exactly what you're looking for, keep riding your gs and bypass the interstates for a while.

I bought my GS because I wanted a good starter bike that I could learn how to ride on without having to worry about massive power sliding out the rear wheel, or expensive repairs/maintenance

It's performed in this function well, but I think I'm ready for something a bit faster.

The TL-S is an interesting bike ~ I know people who own them and appreciate it's Jekyll and Hyde personality. I think its flaws far are too great for me to ever be interested in one.

At present, I think the Yamaha FZ6R is the closest 'next step' after the GS500. 

Not to argue but according to Wikipedia, the TL"R" was the one that didn't do too well because of its reputation as a "widow maker" although I guess they both could have had the same issue? 

Ninja 650R, V-Strom 650, GSX650F

Quote from: Kijona on January 29, 2012, 12:08:39 PM
Not to argue but according to Wikipedia, the TL"R" was the one that didn't do too well because of its reputation as a "widow maker" although I guess they both could have had the same issue? 

I thought I read that too, and then realized I read it wrong:

The TL1000R's sibling, the TL1000S, was widely known as a "widow-maker".[3] Some riders crashed, and blamed the bike's instability. Although Suzuki claimed that they fixed this problem on the TL-R, the reputation stuck and Suzuki reported "sub-optimal" sales on both TL models. The TL1000R was also criticized by many in the motorcycle press for being overweight,[1] and is faulted for its rotary damper rear suspension.

The rotary damper rear shock on the TL's (S and R) was a good idea poorly implemented. The reservoir was positioned too close to the rear exhaust header and highly prone to overheating, which led to a loss of damping ~ several race teams replaced it with a conventional shock at great expense but by then Suzuki had abandoned it as a race platform.

Quote from: MysterYvil on January 29, 2012, 10:20:30 AM
I have a GS500 and a Ninja 650R (mechanically the same as the ER-6N).

In my experience, the GS is just fine on the highway, even in 70mph zones, if you cruise in 5th and downshift to 4th to pass.

Yup. Or if you're like me, "cruise" in overdrive, aka 6th gear, and enjoy the 58mpg that comes from running at 5k rpm all the time, rather than getting all worked up over showing off to the cars around you.



And PS to the post about getting left behind at stop lights by cars... erm...
Unless the "stop light" in question is a drag strip, "you're doing it wrong". Aint the bike's fault.
Poke around the web, and you'll see that the gs500's 0-60 times are quoted as 5.x seconds.

There arent that many cars around that can beat that.
If you're getting left behind all the time, either your bike needs an overhaul, or you need some quickstart lessons.

I quite liked the way we had the GS setup ~ we had to sell it to pay for the FZ6R we bought to replace it, and I would buy another one except there are better bikes out there for the same price. This wasn't the case when we were looking for the GS for my wife in 2008, who needed a lighter and slimmer bike that wasn't a 250.