Ok, I just purchased a GS-500F. This is my first bike, and I absolutly love it. Thing is, the dealership forgot to give me the manual and I forgot to ask it for them. Now I have just a few questions hopefully somebody can help me out with.

There doesnt seem to be a gas meter. How on earth do I know if and when I am running out of gas?

What is the "breaking in" period? How fast should I go? How many rpm's, etc?

Is there any storage space at all? I also couldnt find that. I don't expect somewhere to put luggage but just a little space to put in my insurance papers.

Lastly, what exactly is the choke
I just always leave it at its highest setting. Is that ok?

Thanks for any help guys!!!!!

The dealership forgot?  Make sure you remind them, the manual has *lots* of useful information that you should know.

Have you ever riden a motorcycle before?  If not, sign up for the nearest MSF class.  Motorcycling, like piloting an aircraft, is not best learnt by trial and error.  That said....

Not many bikes have fuel gauges.  Then how do you know when you're low on gas??!?  It's quite simple.  Look by where your left leg is, just below the seat above the left footpeg, you'll see what's called the petcock.  It has three positions, ON, PRI, and RES.  Leave it on ON all the time.  When the bike starts to sputter or feel like it's loosing power, switch it to RES.  It feels strange the first time it happens - "WTF is wrong with my bike" will probably go through your mind.  I can't even tell you how many stories I've read of beginning motorcyclists' bikes dying at the side of the road, and riders staring at it for 10 minutes before figuring out to flip the petcock.  I've even read a couple of people having their bikes towed back to the dealership when this happened.  Practice flipping it from ON to RES and back again while moving, without looking down before this event happens at 70mph on a crowded freeway.

Think of your gas tank as a tall glass of water with a straw in it.  In the ON position, the straw is about an inch from the bottom of the glass.  So the bike "drinks" the gas until it starts sucking air, but there's still water in the bottom.  RES "moves the straw" down to the bottom of the tank, letting the bike get the last bit of gas.  When you flip to REServe, find a gas station, fill up, and flip the petcock back to ON.  I don't know exactly how far you can go riding on reserve, but the tank holds 5.5 gallons, and I fill up with about 4.5 gallons if I stop within a couple of miles of flipping to reserve.  I can get about 200 miles of mixed riding before I flip to reserve.  YMMV.  PRIme is used when you have problems with the carbs, you'll maybe not ever use it.  It's also not a bad idea to reset the trip meter (turn the black dial to the left of the speedometer) to zero when you fill up.  That way you'll learn about how far you can go on a tank of gas.

The breaking in period is the timeframe when all the new engine bits are getting to know eachother.  Technically, I think it's mainly the piston rings seating themselves and properly wearing down the cylinder walls for good compression, but I'm not a mechanic.  I have just passed the 1,000 mile mark on my '04 GS500F (woot!  ), so I know the drill.  Don't exceed 5K rpm for the first 500 miles, then don't exceed 8K rpm until 1,000 miles.  There is some debate here and there as to how important it is to follow these guidelines religiously, but that's what the book said so that's what I did.  No, I didn't snap off the throttle at 4999rpm, but I didn't rev much past 5200-5500 for those first 500 miles.  It's also important to vary the engine speed.  Don't just go out expecting to put 500 miles of 70mph interstate miles on the bike the first weekend, that's not good for it.  Also, and this is maybe more important than the engine, be *REALLY* careful for the first 100 miles on lean angles.  New tires come from the factory with a slippery coating on them that can cause serious problems if you're not careful.  Gradually increase lean angles through the first 100 miles and you'll be ok.

Storage space?  None. What'd ya think you were buying, a Goldwing?  Ok, maybe there's a little tiny bit under the seat where the toolkit lives (hint,  far rear-corner of the bike).  I wouldn't trust the space to anything more than, well, the toolkit though.  I carry my insurance stuff in my jacket pocket.  Any bigger items go in my tank bag.

The Choke.  When you start the bike cold (i.e. - it's been sitting for more than 4 or 5 hours), move the choke all the way on when you start.  Yes, the revs will go up to 3500-4000 RPM pretty quickly.  Start backing off the choke to keep it idling somewhere around 3,000 rpm while the bike warms up.  After a few minutes (Depending on outside temp), the bike will be warmed up.  How do you know it's warmed up?  Try putting it into first when she's ice cold and taking off with no choke, you'll stall almost immediately.  If the bike is already warmed up, there's no need to use the choke.  My routine is : full choke, start bike, after 15-20 seconds she's humming at 4k rpm., back choke off a bit to get rpm's down to 3k.  Put on helmet, gloves, etc.  back choke off a little more so the rpm's come down to about normal, but the choke is still on a bit.  Take off, after a couple of blocks I move the choke completely forward (off).  It's pretty standard advice to go easy on the throttle for the first 10 or 15 minutes of riding, *especially* during break in.  Those 10K revs aren't healthy when the engine is cold.  One isn't going to kill it, but a habit might.

Enjoy your new GS500F.  I absolutely love mine, and you'll find a whole bunch of people here who love their GS500x's too.

Do look into taking the MSF class.  It will teach you some really valuable skills

Dragonfire XV,
PAC has given you some great advice. I used to have a 2001 model (same as yours basically, except for the fairing of course).

You should know a few things off the bat.
1) when reading posts here about carburetors, mileage, etc remember that the 2001 and newer models have larger tanks and different caruretors. Your bike should go about 190 miles before needing REServe. it'll feel like its stalling out, because it is-its starved for fuel at that time. Use your tripmeter as a fuel gauge and remember to reset it every time you fill up.

2) break-in period is very important. but keep in mind manual says something like "ride at 'x' rpm MOST of the time" so dont freak out if you occasionally pop over the rpm limits. It isnt the end of the world. The bike has its power between 7-9.5 rpm and is a hoot to ride.

3) its your first bike so be careful. Also, dont consider any modifications until you are a more proficient rider. Spend your time riding, not wrenching. Although, having said that the gs500 is notorious for poor suspension ('budget' is the official term). When you can you should pop in some Progressive Suspension fork springs as that is the weakest part of the whole thing.

4) if you live in a temperate climate you wont need to worry about the warm up time. If you live where there's seriously cold winters the warm up time is a pain. It is alleviated by rejetting the stock carburetors, since they come from the factory leaned out for EPA. Best left for a trained mechanic unless you have experience with cars and motorcycles. There are good tutorials online, I have two bookmarked if/when you get to that point.

5) also recommend MSF!

6) gotten good gear yet? helmet, gloves, boots, jacket and pants if you can swing it.

7) for the love of god remove that nasty rear fender!

8 ) storage under seat. I carried my insurance/reg papers in a ziplock back under the strap holding the tool kit.

Check my site for lots of ideas on the above things and most importantly, congratulations on a wonderful choice of first bikes. I absolutely loved mine for a first bike...

Welcome to the world of motorcycling and this fantastic board...

Stay Safe  

so have you found any slip ons for the gs500f yet, are they any out??

Quote from: emubadboiso have you found any slip ons for the gs500f yet, are they any out??

im selling a 2004gs500f for anyone out there looking for a pretty much new bike make me and offer, it has 600 miles thanks or you can email me at isaiaatemu@hotmail.com I will take no less than 5000 to 4200 dollars. Out grown alrady and bought a 2001 yamaha r6 thanl you!

Quote from: emubadboiso have you found any slip ons for the gs500f yet, are they any out??

one of the other members found that Acropovic makes one but thats a new one if they do. Otherwise only Cobra makes one and Vance&Hines makes a full system. Maybe, just maybe the introduction of the gs500F IS making a difference in the aftermarket....