I am the third owner of my GS and it has been a great commuter bike for the past 10K miles.  The chain was getting to the end of its life so I ordered a new one and a set of front and rear sprockets.  The first owner installed a 15T but I wanted to switch back to a 16T to get better highway rpms.

When I pulled off the front sprocket cover I saw that the install was done without using a shim on the splined shaft.  The sprocket was about 1/16-inch too narrow, and over the 10K+ miles since its install the wobbling sprocket had chewed up the splines ont he shaft pretty bad. 

Luckily the splines were still good enough to hold the new 16T JT front sprocket I ordered.  I used a copper washer and ground it thinner with a dremel and a grinding wheel to make a shim that provided a good snug fit against the c-clip.  So far it has been on about 100 miles and seems OK.  Hopefully I dodged a bullet.

Lesson: if you are not the original owner of your bike don't assume the previous owner was not an idiot.  Check your front sprocket and make sure you aren't doing really $$ damage.

I owned an older GS once.  A plastic fork cover had a piezo buzzer installed.  I have no idea why.  The thin wires were clipped, but I hooked up a 9V and confirmed it worked.  A tiny one, not a car alarm version.

I unhooked it, and am still shaking my head on that one.   

Quote from: jestercinti on November 14, 2012, 12:50:49 PM
I owned an older GS once.  A plastic fork cover had a piezo buzzer installed.  I have no idea why.  The thin wires were clipped, but I hooked up a 9V and confirmed it worked.  A tiny one, not a car alarm version.

I unhooked it, and am still shaking my head on that one.   

I betcha a dollar for doughnuts at one time it was hooked up to the turn signal for a turn signal buzzer?  Of course that doesn't work because the piezo's aren't loud enough to hear with a helmet on....ask me how I know 

Quote from: jestercinti on November 14, 2012, 12:50:49 PM
I owned an older GS once.  A plastic fork cover had a piezo buzzer installed.  I have no idea why.  The thin wires were clipped, but I hooked up a 9V and confirmed it worked.  A tiny one, not a car alarm version.

I unhooked it, and am still shaking my head on that one.   

key in tail-light position (park) will make the buzzer go. you'll hear it, as you're walking away, and turn it off instead of killing the battery. or, key on, kickstand down, same dealio. 

Did not know that guys...was not on parts fiche, which is why I was confused.

Failure of the splines is a common problem with the GS5, breakers yards are full of them because of it and I have seen many for sale where the sprocket has been welded onto the shaft because the splines have worn.

In this case the OP caught it before it became too serious but its been said before and I will say it again, if you are buying secondhand particularly an older one take the cover off and check the sprocket before parting with the cash

Cleaning and greasing the splines on a regular basis will go some way in preventing wear.

I hear suzuki moly paste works well for splines.

I had the same issue, but did not catch it. A local shop replaced my front and rear sprocket and chain. 9 months later disaster. I had to replave the entire transmission shaft and get a new sprocket. I did the work myself this time. And yes they did not put a shim on the shaft with the gear.