GS 500.. Avoid or haggle?

[NJD]

Just come across this on ebay.

GS 500 2002.
26.7K Miles.
MOT Until Feb 2016.
No warrenty / sold as seen.
Delivery 1 pound a mile.

Two concerns.. one is that I wouldn't get to see the bike in person before buying due to location and second is insurance, currently just approaching the end of my first year on the roads and have yet to claim my first no claims bonus, entering the details of zed bike on gocompare with all modifications gave me 2 insurers at £1.7k TPO without no claims and then MCE willing to quote me £341 with 1 years no claims.

Should I just stick to the tiddler for another year and save more monies and enjoy more power next year round?

A2 License, GS 500 is ideal because of being able to ridden without restriction, not after suggestions just opinion on above scenario.. i'm in no rush to upgrade.. rather get it right than put myself out of pocket with a potato bike.

[wr6133]

I wouldn't bother declaring the "mods" they can hardly refuse a payout to a third party because you had a fly screen and a set of dominator lights.

I wouldn't buy it because I despise the GS500 but I suppose you could do worse for 700 notes. Try to bat the price down a bit though or if you live many miles away try to haggle in the delivery for free.

You could probably get this CB500 for similar money with some haggling though. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-HONDA-CB-500-GREEN-/131620539128?hash=item1ea5320af8

or an er5

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kawasaki-ER5-1997-ER500-/262077050514?hash=item3d05026e92

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kawasaki-ER5-V-reg-ER500-commuter-/121782212679?hash=item1c5ac91847

[Rogerborg]

Running bikes with MOTs don't come much cheaper than that. However, you could get a better bike. Yes, I know, A2 native, but it's not rocket surgery to print out a TOTES UFISHUL CERTAFKIC RESTRICTIONED.

Despite the typical attempt to disclaim warranty, it is being sold by a dealer and you will enjoy your statutory rights for it to roadworthy, as described, and fit for the purpose sold.

[NJD]

Ideal bike, price and delivery, but.. as above buying without seeing is a risk and one that's not worth taking, probably would snap up if was more local but the location isn't the easiest to get to and would probably take up a chunk of possible bike cash just for possible "no thnx" at the end of it all.

Plan (b) is to wait until this time next year with more monies in hand and purchase something second hand from a local bike shop or plan (c) is to just wait until I can take A license and then spunk monies on anything because no stupid law on power.

Short lived dream but probably for the best. Can splurge out on almax and other things on my shopping list meanwhile.

[P.addy]

Avoid.

GS500.

You do not want one. Simply put. Do not buy, if you do not only will you be ridiculed by other bikers but you'll be riding a piece of shit that is due to break later on.

[Matt B]

[FlightRisk]

[Itchy]

It's a GS500...

Think of it this way it's a bike which is less loved than the SV650 and everybody hates those things.


I've seen early fazers go for £1000. Hell I even sold one for about this much a few months back.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[orac]

I don't understand the hatred for the gs5, I used one for years. never had to change the engine despite the abuse I gave it, never left me stood on the side of the road and was cheap enough to run.

a few tweaks to remove the flat spot, stiffen the rear shock a set of hagons progressives in the forks and it sort of handled.

as a hack and a commuter its absolutely fine, as with many things the user is more the issue than the bike its self
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Current rides - 2016 Triumph Street Triple Rx, 1994 Suzuki Bandit 400 VM, TGB 204 Classic 125cc
"with nothing left to lose, there is everything to gain. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"

[Itchy]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

I don't see many GSs, but I was on the Derby ring road last Sunday and this kid was really enjoying one. Fast filtering, overtaking, and generally making decent progress. He made it look like a pretty fun bike.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[Polarbear]

Horrible bikes. My wife's first big bike. She bought it and rode it while I was at sea. When I got home and rode it once I sold it and bought her a divvy.

Horrible horrible bike that I can't specifically finger what I hated about it but she wasn't riding it ever after I had tried it.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[NJD]

All the negative views and or opinions on the bike make my chinese tiddler seem popular.

Have settled with sticking with the tiddler for another year to then save up and see what's around this time next year, gives me more chance to save for things like tax, insurance etc rather than attempting to scrape the monies together all in just over one months time. Enables me to upgrade the chains I have and get a better cover etc so I'm better prepared, was just a "Oh wow, I might actually be able to escape the tiddler" moment and wanted to see if it was worth a go.

I rode the GS 500 on my training and during both my Module 1 & 2 tests so had enough time to gather an opinion on it although riding someone else's bike is always different to owning that model also it is the first "big bike" I've ever ridden and am likely to ride until I purchase something different so don't really have enough experience to make to many comments, rather just my opinion.

Negatives:

(1) It was heavy enough for me to almost drop when turning into a side road the first time that I rode it, thankfully saved with my foot down and a bit of luck, picked it up, started and on I went.

(2) I remember something about the gearbox annoying me, I think it was getting into neutral as the bike had an adjustable clutch lever with a dial so was always set far to soft and as soon as I let it out would stall. Lights on the dash where no where near illuminated enough and always left me releasing the clutch slowly to see if I had or hadn't won the lottery of attempting to get it in to neutral.

(3) Power delivery seemed to be the opposite I ever needed during training.. instructors made comments such as "you love to use the power and have no hesitation about getting up to speed" as I soon figured out that shifting up to 3rd and sitting at 30mph was enough at low revs and had more pull to get going so always left them behind unexpectedly on town roads etc, but then when it come to NSL I always struggled because I'd have to work up the gearbox a lot more than I thought I would and it seemed to find it's spot at about 70mph. The point is controversial as it was the first time I'd ever gone 60/70mph but always took more work and effort and seemed like a chore than I thought a bike with more power would.

(4) Seemed hard to cold start, training school had a routine of letting it sit idling for a long time and leaving the choke on and then turning it off every day before use where as I just put everything on and then start riding, not sure if starting issues where caused by this but for a bike that is inside stored all the time and cleaned after use it seemed a bit strange.

Good points:

(1) Could be more a generalized positive but I really liked the feel of the back brake and how powerful it was and how much more slow control it gave me compared to the tiddlers drum brake.

(2) Switches and controls seemed easy to operate and not flimsily made.

Thanks for all the help.

[Iain.]

Run a mile before it falls apart.

My first one broke everything including an engine, J.M's broke everything apart from an engine, Paddy's fell apart, my freind Emma had one that broke down every Wednesday night without fail (impressive given she only rode it once a week), another freind Chuckles had one that lasted three weeks before it broke, then I bought it, fixed it, rode it for a week before deciding it was too many ghey, sold it to Bonny and suprisingly enough it shat all its electrics and its fork seals in his ownership.

Buy any bike you like that isn't a GS500. ER-5's aren't bad, but the CB500 is probbably the pick of the commuter twins.

[J.M.]

[stevo as b4]

Strange thing is that you if you looked at CB500/ER5 spec vs the GS500E, the Suzuki's frame has always been a more sporty looking perimeter frame that should be stiffer than a steel cradle?

The same with the rising rate mono shock at the rear end, where all the other commuter twins (I don't count the GPZ as it was quicker and better handling than a 350YPVS) has basic pre-load adjustable twin shocks.

The GS should be much better than it is, except for the over stretched old engine from the 70's, that started out as a 400cc lump. But then that is no different to what Kawasaki did with GPZ305, making a 36bhp 105mph bike out of the already stressed Z250 motor itself 33bhp from a 4valve twin.

I do wonder if better build quality and a better engine would have made the GS500 as good or better than the ER5 or CB500 even, on account of the chassis?

[Iain.]

Oh I agree! On paper it ought to be a better bike.

Frames better in design, disc brakes front and rear, monoshock setup...the later faired models looked pretty good too! It had potential, but the build quality is so poor it's killed it. Frame rust is a major issue too, as is cracking of the front engine mount. Calipers regularily seize up too.

Whilst reading this I forgot to mention, we went and picked up a CG125 for a freind a few weeks ago. The seller had just bought a GS500 and said it'd given him more problems in a month than the CG had in two years of ownership. Stuck floats and a reg/rec from what I gathered.

[stevo as b4]

It sounds like there could be potential in the GS500, if your stripped and re-built one with thick powdercoat everywhere, decent suspension parts and loads of stainless fasteners etc?

Then all it would need is a motor with some go and some reliability?

Maybe a GPZ500 lump would go in, or better still use the chassis as a better home for a tuned big bore YPVS350 lump?

It would be nice to see what if any tuning can be done to the GS engine though? As was the base motor not originally a GS1000 engine cut in half? Those things had some real old school solid air cooled reliability and drag strip tuning potential galore!

Something must have gone wrong somewhere in the progression from 400 to 500cc, or they cheaped out on materials maybe?

[P.addy]

Base engine was some 70 or 80s 400cc bored out to create a worse bike.

Orac saying some shit about owners... It doesn't matter who you are a GS500 is going to shit itself.

[orac]

yes paddy its based on the GS400

and no I am not talking shit about anybody, its general observation about everything. ran my gs5 up to over 80k, had it for 4.5 years and the biggest problem was linkage bearing. makes me wonder how my little bike from 98 managed to last so well compared to everyone else

only made £100 loss on it too.
____________________
Current rides - 2016 Triumph Street Triple Rx, 1994 Suzuki Bandit 400 VM, TGB 204 Classic 125cc
"with nothing left to lose, there is everything to gain. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"

[redeem ouzzer]

Horrid things. Rot like bad teeth and the engine is a warmed over 70's lump that's longer than a ships gearbox. However they are fairly reliable and the engine can outlast the cycle parts. I wouldn't give 700 quid for one even if it was like new.

[Northern Monkey]

[deadwolf]

1. Look at the GSTwins forum and see the issues faced by owners: https://gstwins.com/gsboard/
2. Watch this Schaaf guy tear it up on a CB500: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5kbRv5SKDc
3. ????
4. Buy CB500
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Motorsapien Art

[smegballs]

I had an import GS400 (a sleeved down 500, not the old one) and I quite liked it. Was only 18 tho, so big(ger) bikes were a novelty. Still it was pretty reliable and could hold an easy 70 cruise on the highway which is more than the 250 does now....

[NJD]

Take #2.

<hides>

So are these things defiantly one hundred percent not worth owning then, even for a year?

Yes i've re-read what was written the first time I answered this question and from what I understand they're cheaply made to start out with, dull and don't come without their problems. I could do better for my money but are they really that bad that even owning them for a year is advised against? The prior description could be used to describe my lexmoto and I've put up with that.

Problem with the first time I asked this question was not being able to view the thing whereas this time I can do that plus have the past experience of riding the thing.

Training school bike that I rode has come up for sale, tis the reason I ask. Price seems steep and probably even more so for a school bike, the closer the a grand the better?

Bike nearby, seller I already now and a bike I've already ridden. Got to be worth at least a viewing and see if he'll come down on price a little at the very least? Own it for a year, do A tests and then sell it on afterwards. Only really want a quick hop to tide me over plus lets just say I go for it and soak up the admin fee's on insurance then that leaves me two months of riding to see if I like it or not before commiting to an entire year, small price to pay?

In truth I liked that particular example when I rode it, the only downside I noticed was long cold starts but that's a common theme throughout everyone's ownership from what I've gathered.

So I've drawn a short list of the issues you've all mentioned:

Rear suspension - rust, fasteners, saggy, condition
Rear wheel bearings - expensive to replace so inspect those
Regulator - ask owner if any issues in his ownership
Starter clutch - same as above
Buckets in the head - same as above / see how it cold starts and idols

..Ask about those and see what's what? I'd say I'd trust the owner on this one given I see them out and about on lessons all the time and are all friendly, be nice to pop in and chat at the very least.

<can I come out of hiding yet?.. nope, paddys still standing at the door with a bat that has nails in <runs>>
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