Suzuki GS500E

[stan wagenaar]

Alright, maybe this is the place to to ask. I am looking for anyone out there who is familiar with the GS500 to post their opinions on this thread. I have read most of the magazine tests published since '89, but I am far more interested in the opinions of real riders and owners. I would like to buy a used one someday, and I am pretty sure it would meet my needs as a day to day commuter and weekend fun bike. I also have a strange attraction to the S40(!), due to this bike's basic big-bore single cylinder engine. Yes, I know its slow and all, but I have had a lot of low-speed giggles with my Ascot, and the S40 seems like more of the same, with a cruiser twist. As I don't do any long distance touring, either one of these bikes would have sufficient performance for me. Let me know what you think, and you may be brutally honest, I would expect nothing less from good Cycle Canada readers!

[hank]

Lets see if I can help Stan. I bought my wife a 1993 500E for her first bike. She rode it for 2 yrs, put about 30000km on it with no issues. Then in 2005 I bought a year old 500F that was abused something awful. It had about 10000km on it. Fixed and gave it a little paint and cleaning thinking i'd sell it. The daughter inlaw weazeled it away for the summer(I'm a sucker) in the fall I got it back with 38500km on it. They ended up buying it cheap because of the milage? And rode it til it had about 60000km showing.Then sold it with no issues as well. I'm a big guy and it hauled my ass with no problem. With a little tuning it can go over 200km / hr. The F was my favourite. The only issue we had was it buzzed on the hands at 140km/hr or more trying to keep up with the busa. A great buy and hold there value. Put a hindle on it , gives it a little extra power and sounds cool, John Cooper(of CC fame) can attest to that. Hope it helps.

[YellowDuck]

As for the S40, formerly called the Suzuki Savage, I remember reading the shortest ever description of that bike in a magazine buyers' guide...might have been CC but I can't be sure. It went like this:

Suzuki Savage.
It isn't.

And that about says it all. Not to be a snob, but I think about 90% of motorcyclists with any experience will say that they give the GS500 about 100x more respect than the S40. The GS is a motorcyclist's motorcycle. The S40 is kind of silly.

[stan wagenaar]

Thanks for the feedback folks, I appreciate your opinions. The fact that the GS has logged decent mileage without major issues bodes well as a used bike purchase. I think Yellow Duck hit the nail on the head for me by saying that the GS is a motorcyclists motorcycle, rather than a fashion statement like the S40. I guess I'm looking for a motorcycle, plain and simple, no baggage attached ( well, maybe a tank bag). There was a time, around the 60's, when many riders believed that 500cc's split two ways, with two carbs, a flat seat, light weight and the power to top 100mph was all a rider would ever need. Well, a lot has changed since then, but these facts remain unchanged; 100 mph is still 100 mph, and the road is still just as hard and unforgiving now as it was in 1962. Part of me wants to take 4-5,000 dollars and buy a refurbished bike from the late 70's or early 80's, but another part of me( the small, logical part) says stay away from old bikes with old skinny tires and brakes that don't. Yes, I think a GS500, or something along those lines, would work just fine. Just don't tell my Ascot that my eyes have wandered. Thanks again for the replies, and if anyone else has something to add, don't be shy.

[TimP]

Part of me wants to take 4-5,000 dollars and buy a refurbished bike from the late 70's or early 80's, but another part of me( the small, logical part) says stay away from old bikes with old skinny tires and brakes that don't.

Uh-oh! I'm sensing an unresolved conflict here. Just to be on the safe side, tell that small, logical part you're only conducting basic consumer research and then head over here: http://www.cvmg.ca/ForSale to see what you may be missing. You know, just to be sure a relatively new Suzuki is really gonna do it for you, and all those old, drippy, cantankerous British and German bikes aren't worth the trouble.

I don't want to get all Ann Landers on you, but are you looking for an experience or transportation?

[stan wagenaar]

Damn you, Tim P, with your stupid link to stupid old bikes for sale! I love those bikes. I guess that's why I ended up buying a somewhat tired Ascot instead of a 400-450cc twin like I was looking for in the first place. I am attracted to the bikes of my youth that I lusted for, but could never have back then. The early 80's air cooled Suzuki fours, the Honda CBX550 with that sexy chrome snake-pile of headers, any GPZ in red, the XS1100 with an engine that could power a truck, I could go on and on. I have got to face the facts; I am an old bike guy, can't be helped. I will get a newer bike someday, but there always seems to be tired, neglected bike out there with my name on it. Maybe I will progress from the 80's into the 90's. Lots of good deals to be had.

[craigq]

I owned a 2008 S40 for about one year. The 650cc lump sure does thump. The engine "woke up" with some carb rejetting and a Jardine exhaust; the Jardine might be way too loud for some though. The bike is a relatively simple design, thus maintenance was quite simple which is great if you want to do your own (air-cooled & carb'd, SOHC with crow-foot rocker arms and screw-style valve clearance adjusters, oil filter easily accessible on the side of the engine, belt final drive). The best S40/Savage forum I found is here: Suzuki Savage dot Com (http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl). If you want a nice simple lightweight, low-cost cruiser-style bike have a look at it. The GS is more of the UJM/standard style.

Older models have a head plug leak issue. The timing chain and tensioner is a known weak point on the engine for all years. The combination of drag bars and poor rear suspension led me to have back and hip pain after every ride, even short 20 minute ones. I traded it in on a 2009 WR250R, a totally different ride, a dual purpose bike with much better suspension.

[stan wagenaar]

Thanks for the info Craigg, man those Savage\S40 owners are devoted, no doubt about it. Your comments about the painful riding position and poor rear suspension will probably steer me clear of an S40, as I already get a little sore after an hour or so on my Ascot( what the hell man, I'm only 44?). Too bad Suzuki never imported the Tempter version into Canada. The Tempter was the same engine (400cc Japanese market version) packaged into a sort of retro-standard bike with a rational sit-up riding position and nice Brit-bike lines. I think they were imported to Australia and some parts of Europe, but never came to North America. THAT would have been a hoot as a 650 and a proper pipe added for a proper thump. Now that I am also looking at used bikes from the 90's, there are some neat machines to search for that would work great; the Kawa Zephyr series is good, the Suzuki VX 800 has always been interesting, or even a BMW R100 (yikes! ++$$).For now, the Ascot is just fine. I will probably still hang on to it even if I get a bigger bike in the future, for my wife, of course !