Is back from having a lovely time off! will be adding some more reviews in a day or two :)
Is back from having a lovely time off! will be adding some more reviews in a day or two :)
Member since:18.06.2009
Reviews:10
Members who trust:2
This bike has been my angel on wheels over the past 10-11 months! it really is as good as people say, and more!!!
i have had numerous people say to me that they are bullet proof, will do in excess of 60-80k miles, and mine hasnt once let me down!
considering mine is a 95 N reg GS500e, it is in excellent condition, and for around £1000 you get a whole lot of reliability and masses of fun!!! it corners like a dream! left knee down to right knee down in milliseconds! and the best thing is its an ideal sportsbike trainer and pre 21yrs old sports bike if it is restricted to 33bhp (for about £100)!!!
i have the unrestricted 50bhp version, bought it with 24k miles on the clock, and N reg... for £1000 exactly.... it was advertised for £1200... but with a bit of cheek i had this reduced.... and i have never ever regretted the buy ever! and i expect you could get the same bike cheaper elsewhere, but i had a lot of extra's and 12 month warranty added in too!!!
ok... so down to the real stuff....
im 6'3" and after long journeys of 70 miles
plus, my legs need a good stretch... it would be perfect for a shorter or smaller framed person, and is light enough for a small woman to feel relatively comfortable at slow speeds! but even for me, its bearable and quite comfortable, but the tradmark leg stretch in mid flight helps alot every 40-50 miles!
thats the problem with good things... there is so little to write about them because it is soo good! its a bike that works, and i dont doubt for a second it wont aim to please even the sportiest of racers! they would still have fun, its ability in the wet is far more composed and natural than a full on sportsracing bike, as i found out following another bike in the ice! his back end was a tad twitchy, but the GS instilled great confidence and i felt reletively secure!
i will add though that changing the teeth one less on the front sprocket doesnt really merit enough difference to weigh up the life of the chain, and i would much rather have the standard arrangement! when you get good on it it does give you a wealth of power, ideal for "lawful" speed limits! its power ratio fits perfectly withing the national speed limits, so if a car is doing 55 infront, a drop down into a better gear, a twist and go, you will be doing 80-90 by the time you get to the cars front... making safe enough to overtake, but not mad enough to instill fear into everyone watching you! and in the same breath, motorway speeds are good, the bike will sit comfortably at 90-100, it will do over 110mph, but whats the point! absolutely perfect for new riders.... who wants to kill themself, lose their license or put other peoples life at risk before you get good enough to ride the monster 10k+ bikes you dream of having....
also, if you want a disposable bike, this is for you... if your practicing track days etc, and can see yourself coming off alot then this bike is perfect for finding those limits without worrying about stupidly high repair charges etc... all the bits are relatively cheap in comparison, i had fitted some Perelli demonsport rear tire fitted for £65! and the tires are fantastic... better than the standard bridgestone bt's! and the tire gets quite hot after only a few miles! ideal for all weather conditions really, but great for sunday summer fun too!!!!
i have left mine outside for the whole of last winter in very harsh and salty atmosphere and apart from a few tiny spots of rust in unimportant places its still immaculate! the paintwork is still top notch, the plastics still shine, and the wheels still are as white as snow, apart from a bit of wear, where the previous owner attacked the chain oil covered rims with a brillo pad!!! for future reference, turtle wax eats away all the grease and grime on the wheels with amazing dazzling effect!!!
the bike sounds lovely, it red lines at 11000rpm, which isnt really needed, thjrough personal experience, the power range is between 6000rpm and 10000rpm... and 3rd and 4th gear are opver with very quickly with a bit of agressive riding... its economical rates is 4-6000 rpm... although it doesnt seem to like being under 4000rpm, and especially if you want power, its just not there, so always a little gear planning before power use is needed, but thats the great thing with the bike, after 6-12 months on this bike you could beat an average experience sportsbike and rider around twisty tracks hands down!
one more thing i must add before i go, is its starting routines! it starts first time, everytime, but because it was made for an american market, and also apparently i have heard the engine is designed to have precision tolerances at hot engine temperatures, so unless the bike is stupidly hot in the sun, it does need the choke... no more than 10 minutes in down to -2c, and 5 minutes for 10c+, but to leave the bike parked up, im still very impressed with the way it starts up instantly, even after being left for an couple hours... its a nice trick being able to walk up to it, press the start button for a split second and hear it come to life and purr like kitten everytime!
in summery, wow, what a bike, highly recommended, and perfect for anyone, whether a starter into the bike world, or a beginner track goer.... its virtually indestructable, cheap to run, cheap to repair, will live through a holocaust and most likey still start after a nuclear bomb went off under the engine! you cant go wrong! just make sure no one else has had it as a trackday bike! im sure hard and high revs could reduce the engine life quite a bit! but not alot in my opinion!
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