I know I'm new here...I have surfed this website for about 10 hours total in the last few days. I see a lot of bad motors.. or motors that went bad with low miles. Is there a reason for that low oil, neglect etc. I have also read that some owners are getting great use out of these 500s. Are some years worse than others? From what I read the motors have not changed much since they first came out. I'm apologize for asking this question.

Bad motors are usually due to poor maintenance. I have 2 that have never been touched and they are fine. One has 27,000kms and the other has 50,000kms and both run fine. Regular servicing makes all the difference.

You only see the problems. When things are good, no issues.
I had one motor go with a bad bearing. That could have been due to the previous owners. The bearing had to have been going out for a LONG time since it was worn paper thin.

These motors are really reliable and easy to work on. I, with friends, have put motors together from parts of 3 or 4 motors and fired right up first time.

These are reliable bikes of older technology, designed when things were simple and easy to maintain.

Air cooled motors consume oil, even when new....check your oil every fill-up.
I don't think the GS500 has an RPM limiter? Over-revving, is another good way to grenade a perfectly good engine.

The only RPM limiter I can think of is that tree in front of you when you should turn but are going too fast to do it. That limits the RPM's pretty quickly.

Good oil, occasional valve adjustment and these motors are good for a long time.

other than the PAIR system for emissions which most of us remove unless the state prohibits it, and the switch from mechanical to electronic tach, 99% of the motor parts are the same for all years (oh, other than outside color). Many of us have done engine work and swapped parts with no regards for what year the parts are. That makes it cool - pick your best parts and make a frankenstein motor or bike! Heck, Phenix, my "licensed as 1993" bike I built, has parts from 1989 through 2012. And some parts from Europe that were not sold on bikes in the USA.

I'd say Phenix is a testament to the compatibility of parts and one sharp looking bike. Also a blast to ride!
(yea, I gotta post more pictures. I'm proud of him!)

Thanks everyone for the replies. 

Quote from: adidasguy on March 08, 2013, 04:40:08 PM

Very nice...

As Addidas said, on forums you see more problems because people join forums because they have problems initially. Very rarely do people join because they are bored in life with nothing to do because their life is so great. It isnt until they get on a forum, get their issues resolved and THEN post more positive things and become a long term part of the forum family

With that being said, the last two bikes I bought had bad engines. One slung a rod out the block and the other engine was 100% locked up. Both Im sure were either from low oil or over revving

Quote from: weedahoe on March 08, 2013, 06:23:04 PM
As Addidas said, on forums you see more problems because people join forums because they have problems initially. Very rarely do people join because they are bored in life with nothing to do because their life is so great. It isnt until they get on a forum, get their issues resolved and THEN post more positive things and become a long term part of the forum family

That's the most 100% accurate feedback I have ever read.

Quote from: philp38 on March 08, 2013, 06:31:01 PM

Quote from: weedahoe on March 08, 2013, 06:23:04 PM
As Addidas said, on forums you see more problems because people join forums because they have problems initially. Very rarely do people join because they are bored in life with nothing to do because their life is so great. It isnt until they get on a forum, get their issues resolved and THEN post more positive things and become a long term part of the forum family

That's the most accurate feedback I have ever read.

adidasguy...that is one beautiful bike 
I see you have rear sets on it...I'm 6' tall, for me to ride my GS500F I kinda had to fold myself onto the bike, rear sets would be like folding my legs twice 
I don't know how you ride it (rear sets)..looks good though! 

Quote from: Suzuki Stevo on March 08, 2013, 06:35:54 PM
adidasguy...that is one beautiful bike 
I see you have rear sets on it...I'm 6' tall, for me to ride my GS500F I kinda had to fold myself onto the bike, rear sets would be like folding my legs twice 
I don't know how you ride it (rear sets)..looks good though! 

Come over some day and I'll show you!

FYI: Seat makes a difference. OEM Gel seat is at least 3" higher than the Gimbel seat you see on him. I switch seats depending on where I'm going and the type of riding I'm going to do.

Quote from: Suzuki Stevo on March 08, 2013, 04:34:48 PM
Air cooled motors consume oil, even when new....check your oil every fill-up.
I don't think the GS500 has an RPM limiter? Over-revving, is another good way to grenade a perfectly good engine.

I think a lot of people forget to take this into consideration when buying an air cooled engine. They use oil. Full stop. Keep on top of your maintenance and check your level regularly and it will last for ages.