Hallo.
First of all, i am new on this Forum, i am from Denmark and my name is Marcus, 21years old.
My bike is a Suzuki GS500E from 1994 with 33000km on the clock. its my first bike.

I was thinking about taking a trip to visit my parents at a campsite in Croatia in the summer, from denmark. About 1700 kilometers. The bike will ofcourse have a roadside assistance plan which will work in europe.

I will only have 500 - 600 euro for unexpectet things like engine breakdown etc.

The motorcycle have been fully serviced with new chain kit, oil and filtres, sparkplugs, tire and wheel bearings, renovated fork, new exhaust and so on this winter, and it has all been done by me.

Would you dare to do it on a 20year old bike?

Havent really droven the bike yet, Will get it inspectet next week, and hopefully it will pass, so i can get it on plates soon

First off, that is an awesome bike. We very rarely see the full fairings on an E model. And welcome to the site!

I would have no worries if I was you, depending on a few things. If every last detail is covered with the bike, there's no reason it couldn't make the trip. The one thing you didn't mention were the valve clearances - so make sure that's included in your maintenance. And older bikes (not just the GS500) sometimes tend to burn oil, so keep an eye on that too.

How much riding will you get to do before the trip to Croatia? I just looked on Google maps, and it is about 1800 kilometers / 16 hours between Denmark and Croatia. It's a good idea to add 50% of the estimated time since you'llbe travelling by motorcycle, so figure three 8 hour days in the saddle covering 600km per day. Not impossible either, but if you don't get some time on the bike before the trip, you could be exhausted (and putting yourself at risk).

Have you ever looked on ADVRider.com? There are plenty of folks there that have great travel experience.

If you are just learning how to ride I would suggest practicing for a couple weeks at least to get somewhat comfortable with controlling the motorcycle.

Like all things motorcycle don't get in over your head.

Welcome to the site Marcus, that is a sweet GS. Thank you for sharing pics!!! Those wheels look really clean 

I wouldn't hesitate to take a long trip on/in a vehicle simply based on its age (all 3 of my rides are from the mid 90's and I've racked up a lot of miles on them! )... but I do know how they have been maintained and I do a trip check each time before I go on a longer journey.

I agree with Rich and lucas... be sure to check everything and most definitely get used to the bike as much as you can before taking a long trip.

Good luck and ride safe!!

Very nice......wisely spend 30mins and check everything for tightness.

Quote from: Big Rich on February 28, 2016, 06:20:10 PM
First off, that is an awesome bike. We very rarely see the full fairings on an E model. And welcome to the site!

How much riding will you get to do before the trip to Croatia? I just looked on Google maps, and it is about 1800 kilometers / 16 hours between Denmark and Croatia. It's a good idea to add 50% of the estimated time since you'llbe travelling by motorcycle, so figure three 8 hour days in the saddle covering 600km per day. Not impossible either, but if you don't get some time on the bike before the trip, you could be exhausted (and putting yourself at risk).

Thank you. The full faring on and old E model is quite common in Denmark, There is only a few because you cant get new parts for the farrings, so once you mess them up you gotta fix them yourself or put it in the trash can and convert to normal/naked which many people tendt to do  I love the look, i think it looks more like a sportsbike than the newer F model.

About the other thing, my only experince on a motorcycle is from the 22hours you drive when taking the license, also i rentet a GS500E last summer for two days which i was driving constantly  and then i have had a moped for 2years when i was younger ( 16 - 17).

But the trip will first be in summer, plenty of time for practicing getting a better MC driver.

Quote from: fetor56 on February 29, 2016, 12:55:10 AM
Very nice......wisely spend 30mins and check everything for tightness.

Everything has been checkt. I had a small aciddent in my small workshop, so somethings i had to check twice! 



(luckily nothing happened, The bagpart of the cycle was hanging on the motorcycle lift on the rear wheel bolt so no impackt to the ground, and the front the farring frame took the fall. So only thing was it got bent as shown in this picture and gave the speedo a push. Nothing else happened, not at scratch. Extreme lucky!!

Oh no I hope she is OK cause she looks beautiful for her age. I am taking my gs500 from MN to TX this summer gonna be aswome. The old geezers I ride with always tell me to name my bikes for good luck so Suzi is going through all the small checks right now.

Omg yes very very lucky!!! Thank God nothing more got damaged... sh*t happens! 

Also, if you ever want to replace that missing high-beam indicator lens, here's a link for you:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=69046.0

First of all, lovely bike. It looks in really good condition.

I would have no worries about the bike making the trip - just check the valves before you start and check the oil level frequently. These engines are very reliable, so you should have no prblems. I would also agree with others that you should get a few more miles of riding experience. particularly for longer periods. Although riding is a lot of fun, it also takes a lot of concentration, and you should get some experience.

Have a wonderful trip.

I have the same year and even color as yours! (I painted mine white though) I've taken it on long distance trips and haven't had any problems, very reliable. If you're up on the maintenance, which it sounds like you are, you should be good to go. If you haven't already, here's a maintenance schedule on the wiki http://gstwin.com/maintenance_info.htm

As for traveling tips: keep a spare key in your wallet, keep extra spark plugs, oil, clutch cable, fuses in your tool kit (oil in your bag), consider rain gear if it rains a lot there, extra water for yourself. I love camel backs- I just shove the tube under my helmet and sip whenever I want without stopping.

Have fun!
Erika

ps: you could use some straps for when it's on the lift, too Hope all is well

i rode my last Gs in funeral escorts. she will use oil. not in a bad way though. i always kept a quart of oil, a plug wrench and a pair of pliers in my go bag. if needed. ( pliers in case filler cap was hot.)
btw my friend, welcome to ze nuthaus

Aaron