After completing my Learner Permit course about a month ago I have just bought my first bike.

I was thinking of buying a CBR250R brand new for $4990 but Honda had run out of those 2012 models. I took a look at the CBR500R which looked great but ended up being just too pricey for me.

I took a look at a 2012 Suzuki GS500F for $5500. It's only got 460km on it, hardly been ridden and is in immaculate condition. I believe they are around $7500 ride away in Australia so I thought it was a pretty good deal.

Got my Dad to take it for a test ride, and after he said it was all good, rode it home for me.

Went for my first ride on the weekend, bloody nervous as! I've ridden a few more times since then and ventured onto the main roads last night after visiting a mate. It was about 12:30 AM and I only past a dozen cars.

One thing I'm struggling with is that I can't always remember what gear I am in, which doesn't help when I am slowing down for a round about or give way, I often find I'm in the wrong gear and bike has no power to get moving again.

The bike has a centre stand, any tips on how to get it up? It seems really difficult! I'm probably doing it all wrong.

How to get the bike on Center-Stand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWi7zgBYEsU

You'll get use to mentally going through the gears both changing up & down,so much so that it becomes second nature.There are digital displays that tell u what gear your in but i don't think the cheap ones work well.....do a search.
Congrats on completing your Learner Permit & even though it might get stinking hot always wear descent protection........DON'T TRUST ANYONE. 

Congrats on getting your first bike!!!!! AAWWWSSSOOOOOOOMMME
Dont worry,you will soon get used to changing down the gears properly.With some practice you will soon feel much more confident

The trick to having the bike in the right gear ready to drive out of the corner is to shift down the gears as you are braking into the corner.Yes it takes practice to do braking and gear changing at the same time 

Here is one trick to help you learn quicker;  As you come to a corner, be sure to brake early and gently.Its easier to train your brain to do both braking and gear changing if your brake hand and foot are doing a simple job (the gentle braking)

Learn to ride instinctively before you go out in any real traffic. If you are not sure what gear you are in, go to 5th and work from there, above 25 MPH. If the gear does not slow the bike down then it is probably too high for decent acceleration. if you try to accelerate and it is not quick enough go down one gear. The gS has awide power band and mine will putt along at 25 MPH in top gear, but it needs to go to 3rd gear to get decent acceleration. 1st is good up to something close to 50 MPH, but I never run my 89 hard, it cost me $850.

regards
Mech

Congrats on getting it, the gs500f is a great bike and will last you a long time, you will get use to the gears and there speeds over time, once you get use to the bike you will understand what gear your in for that speed and revs eg. I know know that in 6th gear 100kph is 5,000rpm so listening to the bike will then help you judge your gearing for what your doing at that time.

Hope this helps, where are you from

if in doubt, go flat out

Thanks for the tips.

I got the bike up on the center stand, was a piece of cake doing it the right way!

I'm from Melbourne, Australia

I've also got to keep the revs under 5500rpm for another 200km then under 8000 I think until 1600km's.
I'm really enjoying this bike and I'm so glad I chose this over a Ninja 250R which would have been about $1000 cheaper.

GS is a better choice than the 250r. Friend had a 250 - what a pain to do any work on. Tank has to come off just to check the spark plugs. Ninja plastics are a royal pain. I guess if you don't mind paying a shop to do the work then the 250 is OK. If you like doing work yourself - even if just simple things - then the GS is best.

The GS is soooooo easy to work on.

Congrats on the bike!
Remembering the general speed limit (at which you will probably be riding the most in vacanted areas), plus your preferred gear and RPM for that is a good way to start learning. For example, we have a speed limit of 60km/h in town here, and that's almost exactly 4000 RPM in 4th gear for me (your gearing may differ, mine's standard). From there, you can start 'feeling it' and throwing in a bit of math.
Trust me, by the time you clock those 1600 km's, it won't be a biggie

Quote from: adidasguy on January 14, 2014, 05:05:37 PM
GS is a better choice than the 250r. Friend had a 250 - what a pain to do any work on. Tank has to come off just to check the spark plugs. Ninja plastics are a royal pain. I guess if you don't mind paying a shop to do the work then the 250 is OK. If you like doing work yourself - even if just simple things - then the GS is best.

The GS is soooooo easy to work on.

I know for a fact that on the pre-gen 250R things were really tight and you pretty much had to pull the side panels, tank, and upper cowl to do any work on the carbs or top end.  In fact, the air box stays in the bike making it a pain to work the carbs out; only after removing the carbs and battery can you split the airbox in 2 pieces if you want to remove it and use pods.  Oil changes can be done without removing the plastics, but it's better to remove the belly pan first so none of the oil gets in there.

The one nice thing is that the valves use adjustable rockers so you don't need to buy special tools or shims to adjust the valves.

Another question, the bike was manufactured in May 2012. It only has just under 500km on it, the first service is due at 1000km, but seeing as it obviously hasn't been used much should I do an oil change on it?

What's involved, is there a workshop manual anywhere?

I've changed oil and filters in cars before, just the same process?

Remove sump bolt
Drain the oil
Remove filter
Grease rubber seal on new filter
Fill oil
Refit sump bolt Does this need to be torqued to a certain value or just small spanner tight?

Anything else to note?

Any recommendation on Oil? Shell recommend 10w-40 on their website.

EDIT: Just found the video tutorial thread! This site is great!

Quote from: aldmo87 on January 14, 2014, 08:29:12 PM
Another question, the bike was manufactured in May 2012. It only has just under 500km on it, the first service is due at 1000km, but seeing as it obviously hasn't been used much should I do an oil change on it?

What's involved, is there a workshop manual anywhere?

I've changed oil and filters in cars before, just the same process?

Remove sump bolt
Drain the oil
Remove filter
Grease rubber seal on new filter
Fill oil
Refit sump bolt Does this need to be torqued to a certain value or just small spanner tight?

Anything else to note?

Any recommendation on Oil? Shell recommend 10w-40 on their website.

EDIT: Just found the video tutorial thread! This site is great!

If the bike was manufactured in May 2012 then say for examle it was purchased Sept 2012.Suzuki has a 2 year warranty on your bike(dunno if it's transferable;probably is) so that means it's under warranty till Sept 2014 PROVIDED the first service(1000Km) was done by an approved Suzuki dealer.With my bike i had the 1000Km done by a dealer & i purchased all the necssary tools/equipment to do ALL after services as i intend to keep this bike for many many years.
Service & Repair Manual...or try eBay.
http://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-1989-2008-Haynes-Service-Repair/dp/1844258815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389768011&sr=8-1&keywords=suzuki+gs500+service+manual