- This topic has 10 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by WeaponZero.
Suzuki GS500E for a beginner?
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May 12, 2009 at 2:35 am #2811cgwParticipant
I passed the test and have been looking for a bike. I have very little experience. I have been looking mostly for a Honda Nighthawk 250 or similar to learn and basically that is all I would want for now. Everyone has been telling me I would want more power. I don’t really feel that I need it (more power) though. I just saw a a Suzuki GS500 in a parking lot. It looked pretty good and not to big. I have been researching it (which led me to this site). I am average size (5′-10″, 165), but am a beginner. The question is should I stick with looking for 250’s or can I include the GS500 on my list of possibilities?
May 12, 2009 at 3:03 am #18360briderdtParticipantIt’ll do more of what the 250 does, and will require a bit more vigilance on the throttle than the 250, but it’s not a bad choice for starting out. Make sure you can flat foot (or nearly so) both sides at the same time (shouldn’t be a problem at your height unless you’re all torso and no legs).
May 12, 2009 at 5:59 pm #18394WeaponZeroParticipantTen years ago, when I first started looking into buying a motorcycle, I began asking around as to what were suitable beginner bikes. The more experienced riders I asked all unanimously agreed that regardless of what type of bike you plan on moving up to, you won’t find a better beginner’s bike than the GS500E or Kawasaki Ninja 500R. The only things that have changed about those bikes since then are the plastics, so I believe the same still holds true, although I personally would add the Suzuki DR-Z400SM to that list.
May 13, 2009 at 5:42 pm #18461jmango95Participantim a beginner rider too (in street anyways) but after getting my license and looking for a bike i found this great deal on an 04 500r. now i didnt get it just b/c it was only 1800 bucks with only 1600 on the tac, but also b/c the bike fit me. when i got on it, it just felt right. i had gone down to the dealership before and sat on the new model 250 and my gf freaked out b/c she didnt realise how forward the riding position was and then she yelled at me to get off (sometimes shes worse then my mudda). anyways as we were leaving the dealership i saw a used 500 and wanted to know the difference between the two so i sat on it and as aformentioned it just felt right. so now ive been riding the 500 which is perfect for me to learn on and is one that i plan on having for awhile. regardless of looks, power, or so-called lack of, i ride what i ride because it suits me, i can learn better riding on it and well yeah finances lol. and about not getting an older 250 its not b/c i think there is something wrong with them i just found a bike i really liked and went with it and havent regreted anything since.
May 14, 2009 at 3:28 pm #18497Gary856ParticipantI’m 6′ even, 32″ inseam, 170lbs, and had never operated a motorcycle before January 09. I started on a ’01 GS500E which has been great. The night I finished the MSF class I took my GS out for a ride in the neighborhood. Being first time out on real streets on a motorcycle, I didn’t really know what I was doing but the GS worked great – very controllable, no evil tendency. To make an analogy, it’s like driving a Honda Civic – easy to operate, no surprises. I can easily flat-foot on the GS, so at 5’10” I would guess you can flat-foot it too.
I’ve ridden about 2700 miles on my GS so far. This is what I think now:
1. Fun on twisty roads in the hills. Plenty of power for this since you’re limited by your cornering skills.
2. No problem on the freeway. It’ll cruise easily at 80-90 mph. I’ve taken it up to 100 mph (at over 8000 rpm in sixth gear) and it still felt stable.
3. For stop-and-go surface street riding, it begins to feel a little slow and could use more torque/power.Again, I want to say it feels like a Civic in the car world – once it gets rolling and builds up speed the nimble handling is great and fun. But in stop-n-go it’s fairly low power does not give you the “wow” like a higher powered motorcycle/car would.
I fill up about every 200 miles, and I think it probably still has another 40-50 miles of reserve before the tank runs dry. My average fuel economy over 2700 miles is around 57 mpg.
May 15, 2009 at 12:50 am #18543WesParticipanthaha I know exactly what you’re saying about girlfriends Mine was pretty opposed to me getting a bike for a while but she eventually gave in but said I couldn’t have a sports bike. After alot of whining and begging, she said I can get whatever I want. She even went to the dealerships with me. She actually told me to get the white (with the I want to say pink and grayish designs) FZ6R. I’m still stuck between that or a GSXR600. I really don’t want to finance a new FZ6R and there are nooo used ones so I’m pretty sure I’ll go with the GSX. My friend is getting a GSXR750 (but hes had alot more experience) and we’ll be cruising together so that’ll be cool haha.
May 15, 2009 at 1:02 am #18544EddiepowerfmParticipantThanks for making me laugh. Dating and marriage, better to laugh than cry.
May 17, 2009 at 4:43 am #18614bigguybbrParticipantyeah the FZ6R is new for this year so unless someone decided really fast that they didn’t like it, there won’t be any used ones till next year. And with girlfriends, do what i did, make her take the class with you, then she’ll want a bike too…
June 4, 2009 at 1:04 am #19272cgwParticipantIs the Suzuki GS500F a GS500E with a cowling or is the sitting position more sport bike?
I took a look at a GS500E this past weekend and it looks like it would be perfect (I did not end up test riding it though).June 4, 2009 at 3:49 am #19276briderdtParticipantI think it just denotes the design iteration (minor changes over the life of the product).
June 7, 2009 at 5:34 am #19426WeaponZeroParticipantThe Suzuki GS500 series originally started out in the late 70s as a 400 that didnt have electric start. Sometime during the 80s they increased the displacement to 500 to compete with the then-new Kawasaki EX500 and added electric start, which is why they added the “E” at the end, to denote electric starting. It stayed the same as a standard up until 2003 when they redesigned the tail section to look more like that of a sportbike. In 2005 they added the bodywork and changed the “E” at the end of the name to an “F” which denotes fairing. It’s still the same bike under the skin. Mechanically, it’s been the same ever since the 80s when they increased the displacement from 400cc to 500cc and added electric start. Nothing mechanically has changed since then.
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