This video is just a quick review of my gs500. It's just passed it's 4th MOT since i have owned it and is now 13 years old. I just love it, never faulted me one bit :)
Awesome bike, Ive got a 2007 GS500 full faired edition -- was my first bike and I'd never give it up -- Super easy to work on, quick, comfortable, and perfectly simple. I've never seen one in any rallies or roads anywhere around here tho, makes me feel kinda unique haha
There is much to be said for simplisity! Mild tuning makes for longevity, it lets you have more fun time and less work time, saves $$'s also. Thanks friend Bill, 40 plus years riding veteran.
Great review! I myself own an '02 model, 70K on the clock yet looks and rides like a brand new bike (after a valve clearance setup, timing tensioner replacement and carb sync). Overall a great little touring machine, and it won't mind some mild offroading.
i totally agree with you regarding these becoming collectors items,they are the most underrated bike in their class,i absolutely love mine,i have never had any problems with mine and it is 8 years old now,they are the most basic and cheap bike to work on,even a girl like me can do most jobs.i was looking into getting a bigger,better more expensive bike but i just love the GS500 so much i am just going to spend the money and upgrade my little beast. cheers for the video.
I've just bought a gs 500 after years of back breaking sports bikes,I love the riding position and simplicity....should have had one years ago ,a very underrated bike,I cant wait to take it around the lake district.ps thanks for the review.
Thanks for this. Picked one up for £100 a few weeks ago and am bringing it back to life with a friend - looking forward to getting it out on the road !
I had a GS500 that I bought for 500. I sold it nearly a year later, and got 800 for it. I kept my one in good condition. I did a 600 mile trip in a weekend and had no problems whatsoever.
I agree with you. I've been riding bikes since 1996 and owned many bikes. Often when I buy bikes, they are in need of TLC. My bikes tend to last me years because I keep them maintained well.
I've got a gs 500 & it's a good bike! Put a smaller sprocket on rear, k & n filter, Vance & Hines exhaust & raised the bars. Goes well! Totally reliable engine! Good review by the way :-)
I've had mine for two years now, with about 9 months actually road-worthy. Previous owners seriously neglected it, but after I got it fixed up I have learned to enjoy the ride it gives. Mine has most of the "performance" upgrades, like stiffer springs, aftermarket exhaust, lunchbox, etc. so it's a bit more fun than a stocker but it's not to say the stock one is bad. Do I want something a bit more sporty? Yeah, but the GS is doing a fine job for now.
Great video and nice tips. That mentality of yours is a great one but it's not just with bikes, with most things. I take care of my car like that, I love it to death but it's quite high maintenance. I passed my Mod 2 recently on a GS600 Bandit N and I really like that. Now saving pennies to get a bike =p
GGB, great review of a great bike. Ive just passed my test and bought one thats like new (see my channel). You say you are 5 foot 6 - how do you find the clip on bars? Im 6 foot 2 and the stretch is really hurting my back! Its very far away i feel :) Im thinking of getting the normal biking bars custom fitted.
Great bike absolute work horse mate I've had one myself . I've just seen the amount of bike vids you have uploaded looks like I'm going to be busy lol , be lucky
Valves are a very common issue. I have a gs500e that i got for free. It needs valves. I like the fact i got the bike for free, but its just taking up space right now.
I'm a 250 miles a week commuter rider and burnt a valve out at the 47K mark. It had been running badly for the previous 6K and gradually, as the miles clocked up, returned a diminishing MPG. I suspected just about all the usual culprits for my machine's slow demise. New spark plugs, filters, running on premium Shell petrols all failed to improve matters. Then suddenly, it started running on one cylinder. That was the final straw... I took it down to the bike mechanic for a service. It was quite costly to put right... requiring some machining and there was little change out of £500 (including an MOT and a few other minor fixes)! However the bike is running absolutely great now. Never had so much power and it pulls much better at low revs. As for the burnt-out valve, it would seem it was caused by running lean due to an air leak between the carburettor and the power block. I'm up to 53K now and all is well.
I had a GS500 and I only had it for four months. I got so bored with it very quickly. I very much doubt the GS500 will become a classic. Too many people dislike it for it to be considered a classic.
I bought one the other day. It’s the same colour as yours and has the original exhaust which has a slight blowout under the engine and it’s running a bit lumpy. It’s not too bad apart from a bit of corrosion on the swing arm and linkage. Any tips for a replacement exhaust or anything else to check?
Nice bike you have there. I do have a question, how many miles before a valve shim check, I think I read 4 thousand miles, if so why is it so short ? Thinking of buying one with around that many miles. Thanks, yl
Well my bike has done just over 22,000 and i have never had to shim the valves once. Inspecting them that often i think is a bit OTT but that is rich coming from me, i check mine every other service i do. If your putting good quality oil in and changing it every 3-4K, my experience is you should get very little wear on the shims :)
Thanks for the info, I have been told & read that they are good bikes, just could not understand, why so many valve shim checks. What your saying makes sense, keep the oil changed, on a regular basis, and do check, I would think the first check would be the most telling, as to what might be needed later on, that is the way I have found my bikes, but if needed fix, that is why the range is so big, and they seem easyer than most shim type, no cam removal. Take care & ride safe. yl
hi I have a gs500 aswell and that's running rich aswell, ive also changed the exhaust that's pretty much an open pipe as its off a thou inline 4 and i avg 65mpg round town and anything upto 85mpg out on a run but it had a hard life before I got it plus its got 58k on clock which I no isn't anything to these engines but im wanting to change airbox out for the lunch box filter as you have an I was wondering what benefits are there apart from the pain in arse of removing the airbox to work on it
Where can I buy a fork brace like that? I've just spent an hour or so googling gs500 fork brace and only come up with the original and a very expensive one the looks like a pair of handcuffs
You can't get them new here either stopped making them in 2008. Funny thing with me is i seem to like things which when i first saw them i didn't. The GS500 was one example and my Nissan Micras another, it's funny how that works.
Yeah I did. It has a full Remus exhaust system, K&N lunch box filter and is jetted to 142.5 on each carb. Once you get the jetting right does make a difference. other then that everything else as is.
I will get my GS500 in a week if i pass my A2 license in 2 days. Do these engines use alot of oil ? Air cooled engines seem to use a bit of oil. The GS500 i get is from 1995 with only 9424km / 5890 miles.
+Sven Hollmann The headers are custom made, it was bought off ebay from a show bike. These were designed to fit a Remus back box. Full stainless headers with aluminum and stainless end can.
+Joseph Howlett Exhaust is a must just for the sound I think. Once you get that a lunch box filter and jet it. You can't get too much power out of the GS but it's a great bike to tinker with. Also some thicker fork oil does help with the handling.
+Ginger Geordie Biker i've read your reply about the oil usage. Got mine now for 2 months and it didn't use any drop of engine oil after about 2500km. i also had the carbs get cleaned and synced. only problem ( and known issue ) is the gas thing at the tank.
