My real opinion on how GSs look

[tconroy]

I love mine because I paid 400 bucks cash and 400 bucks of money I made from recycling cans,800 all to togheter.Got about 400 more into it and and it turns heads everywhere I go.It even came with a complete vetter package.It was the first bike I looked at though.i would much rather have an E or something,but its mine and paid for and runs like a bat out of hell!

[tkent02]

Old Suzukis always had funky styling....

the rotary bikes, water buffaloes, dirt bikes, all were kind of strange looking until the GSes came along. As soon as they got it right once they went and designed the "L" bikes to keep their strange image up. Although in fairness to Suzuki all the Jap bike brands were into "L" style bikes for the American market for a few years, I guess they watched Easy Rider too many times over there.
But really anything 30 years old looks dated now.

[first timer]

L's aren't my cup of tea, it stirs up feelings of polyester shirts, but you gotta give the Japanese credit to be able to take a standard bike design and turn it into 3 different types of bikes. The L model was an attempt to get in the cruiser market (well japan’s version of it), the G to get into the touring market, and the E to get into the sport market, all 3 types very different but all very same. A brilliant idea to keep cost down but maximize market. And as you can see these tastes still exist.

Isaac, you 850 is for the most part still an L, it just has drag/super bike bars, and a different head light. You have just taken the cruiser to another evolution in the ever growing segmented market, the power cruiser look. I liked your bike better when it had the fender on it, it gave it a little more of a finished look. Now without the rear fender, it just highlights a less then desirable looking seat, it kinda looks a little shabby to me. Plus the tire is just hanging out in the back kinda funny looking, and it will toss dirt all over you. There needs to be more refinement in the back section and a separation of the lights from it, (just my taste but motorcycle design has always kept seat and light separate) maybe look a little more into how the V max handles it's rear section. With the back end missing it interrupts the lines of the bike and everything comes to a screeching halt just past the seat.

I would argue with you, on calling your 850 a street fighter (I would say more of a power cruiser), as I understand street fighter, it is more about function over form, lots of retro fitting modern components on a older bike to get maximum performance out of it. Lots of heavy technical fabrication, the stuff that comes with understanding the physics of motorcycling like frame bracing, locations of rear brakes to provide a desired suspension geometry when entering a turn, shock lengths for performance not appearance and so on.... and in the end the look of the bike stems from what you built it to do. Your bike is more form over function; you are putting a lot of effort into how it looks and letting function follow how ever it evolves.

your 850 is a real good start on figuring out how you want it to look but I think you still have a little way to go, and i think you know this too, one thing I noticed is you have very few pics of the bike from the side, you have lots from the front and back and those give the bike a real good image, you just need to carry that image you are conveying from the front and back of the bike to the side now.

-ryan

[tracy borchert]

thanks????

Ditch the toolbag and so's Tracy Borchert's

Tracy's Orange Krate thingee too

Thanks guys I guess?

[Mike_H]

I still like your bike, tracy

To isaac, its cool that you have your opinion. In fact, I tend to agree with you, which is why my bike is stripped down right now...




However, I think this is the third post topic where you've explained, extensively, on how ugly the GS bikes are, how you can't understand why anyone would want to restore them to original. You seem to enjoy being flamed for your opinions, maybe because you use it as an excuse to flame others. But I digress,

Here is a challenge for you. You've said you've owed 2 GS's cuz they're cheap. So are Kawi's, Honda's, etc. Also, you can find GSxxxE or GSxxxT for cheap too, so why pick an L?

[tracy borchert]

I still like your bike, tracy

To isaac, its cool that you have your opinion. In fact, I tend to agree with you, which is why my bike is stripped down right now...




However, I think this is the third post topic where you've explained, extensively, on how ugly the GS bikes are, how you can't understand why anyone would want to restore them to original. You seem to enjoy being flamed for your opinions, maybe because you use it as an excuse to flame others. But I digress,

Here is a challenge for you. You've said you've owed 2 GS's cuz they're cheap. So are Kawi's, Honda's, etc. Also, you can find GSxxxE or GSxxxT for cheap too, so why pick an L?

Thanks Mike, I like my bike too, and the toolbag. Your bike is coming along quite well, can't wait to see some color on it. You have one in mind?:-D

[isaac]

However, I think this is the third post topic where you've explained, extensively, on how ugly the GS bikes are, how you can't understand why anyone would want to restore them to original.

Since many of my ideas seem privy to mass misinterpretation and hyperbole: The one similar "I hate GSs" thread that you're referring to is probably this: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...ad.php?t=86057 in which I delineated my original ideas for how I was going to mod my 850 because I didn't like how it looked stock. A lot of people went nuts in that thread and, much like this one, turned it into a "why I don't like Isaac's opinion" thread.

so why pick an L?

Because, unlike the dozens of other GS models available in the 1980s, they're a rarity in my area today. The one I bought was the only one available within a 250 mile radius that cost less than $500 and represented a reasonable investment on my part. I don't live up north where riding season is 8 months long or less. These things don't turn up in barns all the time in Florida. They're ridden to death then disappear.

As for asking why I picked a GS instead of anything else available: They all look the same to me anyway. The GS was the first bike in my price range that I could find. It turned out to be a pretty good bike until (after religious oil changes) the top end self destructed at 27,000 miles, so I bought another one when I found it a year later.

I'll find a bike in my area and in my price range about once every 3-4 months. It's a matter of fate whether the engine is seized or the rubber on the bike is worthless. If it's worth it, I'll buy it. I've yet to find a non-GS that fills the bill, be that KZ, Seca, CB, whatever. That says something about the longevity of these things.

[Commodus]

I've owned two of the things, and I love the bikes, but seriously they're pretty ugly. I'll note that the comments in this thread largely pertain to L models.

.....

What strikes me as bizarre about thegsresources (however much I love this place), is there are so many people obsessed with polishing and restoring these 25 year old time capsules from an era of hideous, wretched excess. Scroll through the "Appearance Mods" forum, and the vast majority of the threads you see will be about polishing chrome, getting rid of rust, how to bolt the cam end caps back on, or something as mundane as how to add saddle bags. It's a rare pleasure to find a thread that's actually about appearance mods.

....

They're a GREAT platform for a chopper, bobber, streetfighter, cafe racer, etc, but stock, they just don't do it for me.

Well, what you're listing are just your own opinions. And, the thing is, your opinions are hardly universal or even common. The GS1000S (fairing and all) and the Captain America bike are both commonly considered beautiful and desirable.

Also, your analysis of the style and that style's evolution is...lacking. It's not particularly insightful and it does not display an advanced understanding of motorcycle aesthetics. Witness your comments regarding the chromed fenders and gauge placement, for example. These statements do little but showcase your own ignorance regarding the evolution of motorcycle style.

Cap it all off with your comment stating that you can't really tell the difference between the various Japanese bikes of this era: "They all look the same to me anyway"....

In the quoted section above, you seem to be expressing your surprise at coming to a site dedicated to the Suzuki GS and then finding...shock upon horror...people LIKE the Suzuki GSs? Maybe even like their style as well?

It's really hard to take you seriously. In short...your posts make it seem like you don't know your a$$ from a hole in the ground, regarding motorbike aesthetics.

Given that the above is true, engaging you in conversation ON THAT SAME TOPIC seems like an exercise in frustration. I think that's why you aren't getting the answers you want.

Perhaps if you posed your questions with the humility that your knowledge (or lack thereof) of the topic would seem to demand, you'd get more of a dialogue going.

[wharrah]

it was meant to be a compliment...

Thanks guys I guess?

Hey Tracy, the "Orange Krate thingee" phrase was indeed meant to be a compliment. Man, I'm having an off day today.

I LOVE YOUR BIKE... I just called it what I did in a tongue-in-cheek way... same as my other comments that weren't received correctly by Isaac.

When I was a kid, a Schwinn "Orange Krate" was THE BIKE IN THE WORLD TO KILL FOR. I love that orange paint. It ROCKS. And, I say you can leave the leather bag on, I think it looks fine.

No worries Mate.

[renobruce]

How old are you, Isaac? That may be some of how you base your opinion. In 1980, I was 18. the hottest thing on two wheels was the GS1000S. Everybody wanted one... especially an 18 year old. It was beautiful for 1980.
But my dad didn't think it was beautiful. And I'm sure my grandpa thought it was ridiculous! Why? Probably because they were born when they were. These old GS's came about when I was at a very impressionable age. I guess those impressions are still with me. I was riding them when they were new. And now I'm fixing them up and riding them again. Maybe some of the beauty I see in them is the nostalgia.

Also bringing one back from certain death makes them beautiful, too. My Skunk was a mess when I bought it. Broke down, wrecked, oily and rusty.



Now it's clean, running perfect, and shiney... and all done by me. So to me it's not ugly..... quite the opposite.



I bought my 1150 brand new... again because it was the baddest thing out in '85, and I wanted it. Some say the 1150 is the ugliest GS ever made. But it's my baby, and no parent thinks their baby is ugly.

[renobruce]

So to follow up, I say to each their own opinion. But you say the GS's are ugly...... compared to what? What is beautiful in YOUR eyes?

[denydog]

I don't like the looks of the L model Suzuki's

I don't like the looks of the 84 1150E's

I don't like the looks of any Harley Davidson's

I don't like the looks of overly plump women

(Is this supposed to be fun, or even remotely interesting?) :?

[cberkeley]

Ahhhh! ....a thing of beauty IMO!

[isaac]

Also, your analysis of the style and that style's evolution is...lacking. It's not particularly insightful and it does not display an advanced understanding of motorcycle aesthetics. Witness your comments regarding the chromed fenders and gauge placement, for example. These statements do little but showcase your own ignorance regarding the evolution of motorcycle style.

You just came off as a world class jackass. I especially like the use of the ellipsis for dramatic effect during your "..." half-assed, e-testically fueled tyrade about why my opinion, being different than yours, makes it both A: factually incorrect and B: worthy of your unsubstantiated derision.

You made several very strongly worded statements with zero detail or evidence, and presented them as fact.

This is "just my opinion"? I said that myself twice in this thread already.

I don't like how high the guages are. That makes me "ignorant of motorcycle aesthetics"? That's like calling me "ignorant of people aesthetics" just because I don't like the way a certain chick's nose looks.

After my initial post failed to bring about a decent debate, I left simple ****ing instructions, and then I repeated them. You need to read them again.

If you try what you did again, anybody who reads this might agree with your love of GSs, but they're gonna think you're some dumb kid who found a tall rock to stand on.

[Desolation Angel]

Obviously, Isaac has recently seen a mint condition GV1200 Madura and now knows the true meaning of motorcycle beauty! :-D

Once you've seen a Madura, you'll never go back to a homely GS.



Well, that could be the reason!