Hi, im new here. Im not sure if this is the right sectiin to be posting this. Im looking at getting my first bike and looking at a gs500.
How do you price these things? Kellyblue book and NADA are really confusing.

I found a 1998 gs500 with supposedly 5k miles. He's asking $1800. What should i expect to pay for an older gs500?

Thanks in advance.

Hi jsh09 and welcome to the site 

I have a '98 and when I bought it, it had 11k miles and was cosmetically pretty banged up. Paid $1000 and was really happy with the price.

That being said, can you give us any more info about the bike? Have you seen pictures, does it run, what kind of maintenance has been done, how many owners, etc? That would help to determine if $1800 is a good price.

Yes- we need more information.

Sometimes low mileage isn't always a good thing. i would rather get a bike with higher mileage that's been ridden on a regular basis than a bike that's been sitting in a garage for years and not kept correctly. 

Seems pricey....if your able to ride take it for a test ride and see what u think.
5k mls in 18yrs....was it laid-up for a long period.....why,accident?
Bring a mate who knows more about things than you.

I recently paid $1500 for a '99 with 23k miles. Not sure if that was a good or bad deal, but it seems fair. Bike was in pretty good shape, had a carb issue right away, but now that I got it sorted out, it seems to be running great. I like the low miles on the bike you are talking about, but that can be concerning considering the age. Hopefully it was maintained and just wasn't ridden too much.

I paid $1,700 for an '09 with less than 11k on the clock. It all really depends on the condition of the bike. Even then, if it needs work and you're able to do the work yourself, you can often get by with fixing any problems for a pretty low cost.

yup i bought my first '97 with bent forks. a set from fs/ft here, a fender, a carb overhaul. and frankenbike was born. i.e. what he said ^^^^. the more youre able to do yourself the more will be available. the gs is EASY to work on. and it could serve you by training yourself eventually to work on more complex bikes. i had fun working on a ducati paso @ MMI Taught me the workings of a desmodronic valve train. but the gs no matter what has a special place in my heart. i know kerry had a thorough valve adj. vid at one point.
Aaron

Thanks for all the replies. I was hoping i would get email notificatiins about replies on here... i guess not?
The pics look clean. Says less than 100 miles on new tires. And car was tuned in 2011. 5 years ago...... also says new side mirror which makes me think it got dropped or they're aftermarket.... or both.
Im willing to do all the work myself. I want to learn.
Another option i have is a '93 with 22k miles. Has hid lights, needs new tires.
I'll work on posting some pictures.

I just picked up a '93 that needed quite a bit of work and I can tell you that these motorcycles are very simple to work on.  Whatever you choose I'm sure you will end up loving it!

I picked up my 91' GS  with 7K miles for $50. It was sitting for 12 years, wasn't running and needed a bunch of work to get it running and road ready. I ended up dropping about $900 in parts and tools but I'm very happy with the results and through the processed got very comfortable with wrenching on the bike.

Be sure to get more details about the "new" tires. If there are items that will need to be rebuilt/replaced/tuned then you can use it as leverage to negotiate. $1500 sounds reasonable for a running bike that needs minimal maintenance but if it's been sitting or neglected expect to throw down more cash to get it reliable.

Good luck and keep us posted! 

My favorite thing about this bike, is that it has an easy learning curve for working on it. There is a ton of information on this forum, and if you pick up a manual, you can do everything. It's pretty simple.

Now that mine is running great again, it's a blast to ride as well.

Mine was about $2000 for a 2006 with about 22k miles. It ran when I bought it but it wasn't in great shape. I might have saved myself some time and money if I knew what to check when buying used. Newb tax, I guess.

Quote from: Torstein on June 21, 2016, 05:51:52 AM
My favorite thing about this bike, is that it has an easy learning curve for working on it. There is a ton of information on this forum, and if you pick up a manual, you can do everything. It's pretty simple.

This. Awesome people too.