Newer gs 500 e ???

[Guest]

I have sold my gs 1100 e and am looking to down size, I am interested in the gs 500 e series. I was just like some input if you have a knowledge as to this bike up and downs, especially the down. If I were to believe everything the internet has said the engine is almost bullet proof and is cheap to run, right up my alley. So please if you will post a comment please so I can sit and learn. Thank you very much. Sachsaca

[tone]

They are not a bad bike if used gently & regularly serviced/ generally looked after but the finish is poor & top ends need regular maintainance or they soon get very noisey

both the ones ive had dealings with were low on compression & needed rings although to be fair both had been used fairly hard

hope that helps
tone

[Big T]

Being beginner bikes, there is a wide variety of what you can find out there for sale.

Ideally, you want one that was ridden for a few years, then put up for a year or so and is now for sale with low miles.

These bikes tend to suffer from that GS malady - no one ever adjusts the valves!!!!

That is the most important question - when were the valves last adjusted?

If you can find a one owner bike with service records, go for it. Then you can decide how much to offer based upon condition.

You will find a lot of older ones with multiple owners who upgraded or decided bikes aren't for them - be careful of these, check the compression

The bikes themselves are pretty bulletproof, an upgrade of the 450 motor and didn't change a whole lot over the years.

[mdole]

Another thought is to check out the Kawasaki Vulcan EN500. The A versions without thew speedo in the tank are actually pretty nice. My son had a used one for several years. It was a 1996 and I rode it quite a few times as it was just a fun lit little bike.

I have ridden the newer GS500's and think the Vulcan is more comfortable. It is a 500cc parallel twin with a belt final drive. The later models after 96 went back to chain drives. The belts would go about 30k or more if not abused. The belts were pricey from Kawasaki but I found aftermarket belts from Scooterworks and other places for about 1/2 the price.

It had 20k on it when we bought it and 65k when we sold it as my sons leg length and size 14's were a little to big for the bike. I'm 5'8' and about 200# and it was fine for me. I also have size 9 1/2 shoes.

Water cooled, 6-speed, belt drive, parallel twin, and the only down side was the cruiser styling, it had a 3+ gal tank and got 50+ mpg.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I've also done some research into the GS500 because I was looking for something cheap and economical to share the commuting duties with my "Jessie". (I don't want to put too many miles on her.)

The GS500 uses the same air-cooled, shim over bucket, 2 valve per cylinder technology that my 850 uses. I even joined the forum at http://www.gstwin.com and asked some questions and poked around. You might want to do the same. Seems those motors can go a maximum of 70K - 80K miles before needing a top end refresh. I'm still keeping my eye out for "just the right one", if it comes along.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff