i currently have a honda rebel 250cc but plan to get a gs500 whats it like weight wise speed wise steering ect.... if anyone has any experiance or recomendations let me know thx

The biggest difference is honestly going to be the body position.

Despite being twice as big you won't feel like it's some powerful animal that needs to be tamed, it'll feel a lot of ways the same in terms of power delivery, it'll just have more of it.
I don't think it'll feel like it's really all that much larger physically.  It will be but the GS is far from a heavy bike.

You won't have to twist that throttle as hard to get it to go, and it'll feel more stable at higher speeds.

Just take it easy starting off.  One thing I always recommend riders do on a new bike is take a few minutes to find the friction zone (straddle the bike, fire it up, and as best you can roll back until you're on your heels.  Let the clutch out slowly until the motorcycle pulls you flat footed, then clutch in and roll back to your heels, rinse and repeat).
Also take a moment to get used to where the foot pegs and such are.
You won't want to be looking down when riding, and the more familiar you are with the bike the less it will catch you off guard.

Good tips, Watcher, especially about finding the friction zone... I'll have to remember that one.

Like Watcher said, the GS has a sportier riding position than the Rebel, so you will be more leaned forward, the seat height is higher, and the bike will handle differently. The GS will be more nimble than the Rebel for sure. So until you get used to it, you may want to go easy with steering input.

The GS is heavier, but not by that much so that probably won't be a major issue for you.

As for speed, the GS is a much more powerful machine (double the engine displacement, more than double the peak torque, much more HP, etc), so it will definitely be faster. But, it delivers power in a pretty predictable way so you shouldn't have too many concerns about that.

thanks for the responces .... i was under the asumption that the riding position is almost the same?
and do you thing i will fit the bike better... i feel really big in relation to the rebel?

Quote from: dominickbuff on April 05, 2017, 10:06:56 AM
thanks for the responces .... i was under the asumption that the riding position is almost the same?

No, the Rebel is a more relaxed riding position, closer to a cruiser-style upright, legs forward, arms up position. The GS is a "standard" (albeit a little bit sportier than some other standards), so the foot pegs are a bit more rearset and the bars are lower, and you're leaned a bit more forward rather than sitting upright. Obviously it isn't as aggressive as a true sportbike (Ninja ZX series, YZF-R series, etc), so you wont be tucked down onto the tank or anything, but it's definitely sportier than the Rebel.

Quote
and do you thing i will fit the bike better... i feel really big in relation to the rebel?

Maybe? The seat height is higher, the tank is bigger, the engine is bigger, etc. But, the weight of the bikes isn't that different. So, the sitting on the bike might feel better, but the bike wont feel too much bigger because the weight is similar.

kk because right now my knees r almost at where the top of he tank is

Quote from: dominickbuff on April 05, 2017, 10:44:18 AM
kk because right now my knees r almost at where the top of he tank is

If that's the case you're almost sure to be more comfortable.

I ride Rebels in the classes I teach and they are definitely small for me (6'0" 220#), the GS is more appropriately sized.


That being said, it's hard to say whether or not you'll actually be comfortable.  Feet forward vs feet under vs feet rearward is a whole user specific thing, and you'll know relatively quick whether or not it works for you or not.

kk ya im 6.1 and 230 lbs and im going to go test ride one at a dealership next week so that way ill know how it feels

I'm only about 5.9 myself and I find the gs500 to be extremely comfortable. The lowest point of the seat is quite close to the ground but the way your legs sit on the bike just works so well and I have seen people 6.2 saying it is an enjoyable ride for them. Of course it is all a matter of personal preference so have fun with your test ride and as everyone has already said the power delivery is very predictable and it will pull a lot harder than a 250 (especially in the hills)

Easy transition....I traded in my Rebel, for a GS 500..back in 2010 (leftover 2009 bike)....

I rode the Rebel 50 miles to the dealer...made the deal...rode the rebel 50 miles home to get the title...rode the Rebel 50 miles back to the dealer..dropped off the Rebel and rode the GS home....

After the first 10 or 20 miles....it all came together for me... felt like I had ridden it my whole life!

Cookie

Quote from: dominickbuff on April 05, 2017, 08:31:27 AM
i currently have a honda rebel 250cc but plan to get a gs500 whats it like weight wise speed wise steering ect.... if anyone has any experiance or recomendations let me know thx

It's a better bike. Bigger, faster, more comfortable. It's not a huge jump though. You might want to consider an SV-650 if you're looking for more performance.

Slower.

i would go to a sv650 but my riding skill just isnt there yet

Quote from: dominickbuff on April 07, 2017, 07:11:53 AM
i would go to a sv650 but my riding skill just isnt there yet

What skill do you not yet have? The skill to not turn the throttle all the way? The skill to avoid wheelies at every start? Because a GS500 has like 2/3 or 3/4 the amount of power that an SV650 does and the other things (weight etc.) are similar. I guess my point is, it doesn't really require more skill to ride a moderately more powerful bike, unless you just cannot restrain yourself from riding at WOT all of the time. But you're already making a very big jump going from a Rebel 250 to a GS500. The difference between a GS and an SV when compared with a Rebel 250 is pretty small.

An SV650 will accelerate a little bit quicker than a GS500 and it will top out at a faster speed which is hardly relevant for riding on the road since both will exceed all legal posted speed limits in America by big double digits.

You're more likely to find a used SV650 with lots of go-faster mods and blingy stuff like CF exhaust and that's been ridden hard by some 20 year old trying to win a streetlight grand prix, and you're more likely to find GS500s used with first-timer damage from low-speed crashes like busted mirrors, cracked fairings and dangling turn signals.

IME it's way easier to find a clean, usable, low miles and easier mileage GS500 than similar SV650. Around here a mint GS500 will get $2500-3K and a thoroughly thrashed SV650 costs about the same... condition being equal SV650s seem to cost about double that of a GS500.

A GS500 is potentially easier to work on, an SV650 is potentially more reliable (especially with fuel injection on the later models).

I'll echo mr72 in a lot of ways about the SV.  As a *beginner* beginner machine I might not recommend it, as I think the GS is a lot more forgiving of a ham fisted throttle, but for someone who has been on a 250 already for some time and has basic operation skills developed already the SV will only get you in as much trouble as you allow it.

If an SV is what you really want, I say go for it.


Since the SV for a long time was THE novice sportbike to get, many of them are flogged and overpriced.  The KBB on a gen 1 is less than $2000, though, and if you look hard enough you can find them at that price.
The Gen1s are carburetted, however, and the round frames aren't the coolest looking IMHO.
Every so often, however, you can find an "adult" owned SV with generous miles and in good shape.  Usually it'll be a little more expensive than the rest, but you can usually talk them down by throwing the blue book at them.

Quote from: Watcher on April 07, 2017, 09:08:33 AM
Since the SV for a long time was THE novice sportbike to get, many of them are flogged and overpriced.  The KBB on a gen 1 is less than $2000, though, and if you look hard enough you can find them at that price.

Yeah I looked halfheartedly for about five years and then looked seriously for about a year (that is, reading CL every day, emailing and calling about interesting bikes) and never, ever saw one in that price range that was not thoroughly thrashed. Never. For $2K in Austin occasionally you can find a Mk1 SV650 that's been laid down hard at least a few times, dented tank, missing rear plastics and both mudguards, torn up seat, and 35K miles, usually missing the title. Or one that's more complete but doesn't start or run, hasn't in a long time, wiring harness hanging out, no title. Or one that's an abandoned project like "went to replace the clutch, never put it back together" kind of thing, who knows if it can ever be made to work. I guess if you could find an adult-owned highish mileage SV650 for under $2500 I'd probably never notice because it'd sell in about 90 seconds.

Actually it really seems like the starting price for any motorcycle in Austin that you can ride away when you buy it, complete with a TX title and not missing major parts or requiring immediate repair is about $1800. And I mean, a Yamaha XT80 will get $1800 if you can ride it home. A Hyosong GT250 will get $1800... I jumped all over my GS (from San Antonio, where they are cheaper) that was listed at $1700 and I talked him down to $900 and it had a badly dented tank and needed a top end rebuild on top of major carb work to be usable.

Maybe it's because we are a big college town that the MC prices are so inflated.

There was a decent gen 1 SV with a Vance&Hines pipe on Tucson CL for $1900 yesterday.  Can't find it today, maybe it sold, lol.

My experience was similar to mr72's although I didn't search for near as long, and I was looking just as hard for a GS as I was for an SV. With a $2,000 budget I found a couple of SV's that appeared worth looking at in person. The first turned out to be a fake CL ad, and the guy got all bent out of shape after I had tried texting him about a half dozen times over the span of a couple weeks. He'd probably been badgered about it quite a bit, because in spite of having only one photo, the ad looked legit. The second resulted in me sitting in a parking lot for about 45 minutes for a guy that never showed and never returned any of my calls after we were scheduled to meet. I ended up paying $1,700 for my '09 F in late February last year, whereas my brother paid about the same for an '01 SV that didn't run properly the previous fall (it needed a voltage regulator - he's now had to replace it twice since he got the bike). I still feel like I got a better deal, even though I really would've preferred to buy an SV at the time.

If an SV is what you want and if you can find a nice one in your price range, I'd go for it. I've never talked to anyone who doesn't like them, even though the first gen are kinda ugly IMO. I don't think you can really go wrong with either the GS or the SV, especially if you're willing to do your own maintenance.

I'm surprised at what you guys are saying about SV prices. I bought a very nice one for $1800 here in Jax, FL a few years ago. I put 10K miles on it and sold it a year later for $1700. that being said, I did have to sort through a few pieces of junk first.

i would go to a sv but i haven't developed the skills yet (not imo atleast)and insurance would kill me at my age