I now ride in San Diego, w/ a group full of R6's, GSX's, a ducatti, and a hayabusa..  It's cool and all, and I can keep up for the most part.  But when some of the guys gun it and go, I can keep up for a short while, then just get left..  I don't wanna get a bigger bike, I just wanna make my lil' bike "The lil' bike that could."  any ideas?  I was thinking of doing the minor stuff, exhaust, intake, maybe a new carb, and a jet kit?  Can anyone tell me where a good place to start would be?  I'm not trying to build the fastest GS, just one that the rest of the guys don't hafta wait for.

The only other thing I'm scared of, is if I get the jet kit, would I stay emissions legal in CA?  or any of the other parts at that.  thanks for all the help

No way are you going to hop up the GS that it can keep up with that ilk on the straights.

If they want to leave you in the dust, they can.

so where are they leaving you?
in the twisties? . . .  you should kill a pig busa in the twisties

on the straights?  . . .  not many places one can go 120 +  with out attracting attention.

oh, i agree with MarkusN . . . you will be pissing up a rope....ride with friends on slower bikes...it is the street, remember?!?!?!?!

I've recently realised I don't really get a kick out of speed anyway - enjoy smooth comfortable riding instead so I can enjoy the relaxing experience...

And guess what? I'm not FASTER than I was before!!

Funny that...

The problem is that your GS is down over 100cc of displacement and 100 HP in power, just against the "little" 600s. Its like you have a knife in a gun fight.
Being down on power is just a fact of life for the GS. However there is quite a bit of satisfaction (at least I get) when guys pull up to a 1/4 mile on me on the straights, only to find me right back on thier ass thru the turns.
That said,  you aren't racing, and if your riding partners are regularly breaking "the ton" and more to the point where they can walk away from your GS on the street. Perhaps you should find some more prudent people to ride with.  The LEOs will lock up you and your GS just as fast as the guys on the repli-racers.

Safety lecture over.  :mrgreen:

What you can do is to maximize your bikes strenghts. Light weight, good tires, and good suspension will make a good turning bike even better. Power wise? You can eek out a little more (5-10 hp) with AM pipe, pod filters and rejetting. Donno what that will do for your emmissions, its not something we have to worry about over here. I would imagine that you fairly easily lean out the jetting enough to pass, and then put it back afterwards...

I'm not trying to beat them, and I know I'm not gonna get close to them anywhere after 100mph..  besides that, just when we enter a freeway, and they gun it till we're in the open.  I'm not trying to say I want to zoom past anyone, I'm just trying to find any help I could get to maybe close the gap a few feet

ok, so Cams and Jet kit is on the way.  I'm wondering if there's a Carburator upgrade I can do?  Like is there a better Mikuni Carb I can drop in w/ out doing any tapping and drilling?  

Also, w/ my new WEB cams, would I need to modify anything else inside the engine?  I'm just trying to see what to expect.  Would I be needing to mess w/ the pistons or compression or anything?  Or would it drop right in?  the cam is .100 inch reduced base circle and features .454" lift.  Web grind number 122.

BTW:  The guys I ride w/ now, are also the ones who got me into motorcycles, so I don't think leaving them would be a question.  I'm just wondering if I can make my GS fast enough so that I wouldn't have to buy another bike.  I'm a guy who likes being underestimated.  Used to own small cars that get laughed at for their size, ('89 CRX, '90 RX-7, ''78 corolla.)  but eat up big manly mustangs and such on a basis at the local 8th mile track.  I'm not trying to be an uber fast GS, just one that the guys would be surprised to see still on their tails.

There is nothing you can do to a GS500 (except a turbo, maybe) that will make it stay with a pack of R6, GSX-Rs, ... when they open up on a highway.

So the best you can do is taking your friends to the twisties. The power doesn't count that much there and I'm usually faster there than most of the supersports I meet on the street.

 D.

To keep up with them when they gun it on the straights (like getting on a freeway) is to upgrade to another bike. There's nothing that will compensate for the HP differential. You'd be throwing huge amounts of money at the gs...likely more than the bike is worth.

However, upgrade the fork springs, rear shock and tires and take your friends to the twisties. Then the best upgrade, after the suspension and tires, is to become a smoother rider. In the twisties my buddies would always be surprised that I was right there on their wheels, often leaving some of them behind...until the straights. That's the beauty of the gs-it'll force you to become a better rider since you dont have the HP to hide your deficiencies.

Don't bother doing any engine upgrades on the gs. The most that has been seen out of a gs engine, modified for racing is short of 60 (65?) HP. This is before the NOS and turbos...Those guys would still be almost 100HP more than you.

Quote from: TeBook, so Cams and Jet kit is on the way.  I'm wondering if there's a Carburator upgrade I can do?  Like is there a better Mikuni Carb I can drop in w/ out doing any tapping and drilling?  

Also, w/ my new WEB cams, would I need to modify anything else inside the engine?  I'm just trying to see what to expect.  Would I be needing to mess w/ the pistons or compression or anything?  Or would it drop right in?  the cam is .100 inch reduced base circle and features .454" lift.  Web grind number 122.

BTW:  The guys I ride w/ now, are also the ones who got me into motorcycles, so I don't think leaving them would be a question.  I'm just wondering if I can make my GS fast enough so that I wouldn't have to buy another bike.  I'm a guy who likes being underestimated.  Used to own small cars that get laughed at for their size, ('89 CRX, '90 RX-7, ''78 corolla.)  but eat up big manly mustangs and such on a basis at the local 8th mile track.  I'm not trying to be an uber fast GS, just one that the guys would be surprised to see still on their tails.

OK what cams... I think you might end up getting something fooked up in that motor... Make sure the cam will fit and work with no other mods... and also I doubt higher up in the rpm's it will make any diff... the restriction is almost all in the port config and the sizes of the valves and ports. OK and a pipe also will be needed... hope you have accounted for that, and with cams a slip on might not be enough. Also cams with more lift will effectively reduce the rpm you will likely have valve float at... a steeper opening profile with a milder closing profile will help... dunno what your cams are like...
Cool.
Srinath.

ok, the cam is .100 inch reduced base circle and features .454" lift.  The Web grind number is 122.  The cams are for a GS500,.  so I'm hoping it'll fit properly.  I have a shop do all the internal and jetting.  Not that I can't do it, just that I don't trust myself that much quite yet.  As for exhaust, I'm looking for a full exhaust system as we speak.  I want a Yoshimura exhaust, but it's really hard to find, and no one carries it in San Diego.  As for the float, thanks for the advice.  Gonna hafta try that.  Like I said, I'm not looking to be Super fast on the bike, I just want a lil' more out of it.

the cheapest way to have LOTS of fun below 100......
$20 upgrade!!!!!
do this before the cams....
hey it only costs 20 bucks.

14 T c/s sprocket
you will have to shift alot more but it is FUN!!!!!

That's a 14 tooth rear sproket like that YSR 50 of werase...
Cool.
Srinath.

The cheapest thing is to rev it.

Have any of the GS racer-types played around with advancing/retarding cam-timing on the baby G? Srinath says the exhaust ports are horrible, so maybe you could try some basic port work and dial in the cams to the degree. I was reading somewhere that a racer took a GSXR 1000 (I think) jug-set and head and sawed the ends off and made up blank plates and made about 65 horses. Course that's a lotta work for 65 HP. But I bet it was fun...shoot half the fun is workin' on 'em anyway. I love the little bugger...sometimes...and the forum too...usually.

C.......

Quotereduced base circle and features

you will need race valve springs, keepter, and longer stemed Valves for use on Just about ANY reduced base circle cam,  i was going to by an exhaust cam off ebay much the same specs and got outbid (what a shock) i asked the guy about it and thats what he said, springs,keepers, and longer valves.   translation, speed cost $, how fast can you afford to go? and when does it become Not feesable

I don't know anything about reduced base cams.
Here's what I deal with. Both Web-cams  and Megacycle regrind the stock cams. .454 lift is pretty extreme. This requires new shorter valve guides for clearence. The front and back of the bucket area on the head needs to be notched to clear the cam lobes. The cam sprocket needs to be notched where the pin fits or you can't get it back on the cam.
You'll need racing valve springs and a shim under bucket conversion kit.
Kibblewhite engineering makes these. Web-cam should get this for you.
It'll require 13mm diameter Kawasaki shims to adjust clearences.
Sudco has carbs for the GS that will fit. You'll need a coustom throttle cable (2 into 1) for the 2 seperate carbs.
Might as well open up the ports and do a comp valve job while you're at it.
You won't need race gas as long as you have stock pistons.