Suzuki GS500F
One word sums up the GS500: FUN!
Not the most powerful bike on the planet. It's not going to give you pulse-pounding, heart-stopping performance. But if you get off this little pocket rocket WITHOUT a grin on your face, you've missed something.
The GS500F is a full-fairing version of the GS500. Mechanically identical, it contains a 487cc air-cooled, carbureted parallel twin power plant, chain drive, 6-speed transmission, single front and rear disc brakes, cable-operated clutch, and a “standard” riding position (this last by way of raised handle bars instead of the usual sport-bike clip-ons.)
In many ways, it is hard to tell it apart from a GSX-R, and in fact, unless you know what you’re looking at, many people wonder if it’s a 500cc version. Even the paint scheme is very similar to what you’d see on it’s 2 or 3 year old big brother.
Perfomance:
This bike is QUICK! At approximately 55 horsepower and 30 lbs-per-foot of torque, this is not an insane ride. However, at only 397 pounds dry, it doesn’t have a lot of weight for the engine to move. 7.2 pounds per horsepower, in fact. Compare this to a Mustang GT, at 300 hp and 3483 pounds, giving 11.6 pounds per pony.
The majority of its power is in the low to mid range. It might not lift the wheel during hard acceleration, but drop the clutch too hard from a light, and the bike will definitely feel as if it’s ready to jump out from under you. Acceleration is just what you’d expect from a torque based, high revving engine. It pulls well all the way to 8 or 9,000 (or even 10,000) on the tach, in all gears except the last. While redline is at 11,000 it’s starting to fall off a bit before you get there, so there’s no real reason not to shift sooner, except the sweet music it makes. Don’t misunderstand…it’s not a dog for the last couple grand. It still gets there nice and quick. Passing is very easy, and highway on-ramps are a breeze. No problems at all merging on the freeway. It’s a small engine, though, so be prepared to shift regularly in town or climbing hills.
In town riding, the bike has more than enough “oomph” to keep a smile on your face. On the freeway, don’t expect to spend all your time streaking along like you could on a “pure” race bike. After 110 km/h, the wind starts to fight you, and even with a full fairing, acceleration is going to taper off somewhat. Not that it isn’t still smooth…it’s just not going to continue to raise your hair. Just what the Doctor ordered for a new rider. It helps to keep you from getting ahead of yourself. You’re not going to suddenly find yourself doing 180 with a big truck in front of you. Cruising along at 120 km/h is a breeze, (with a bit of twist on the throttle) and a quick downshift still lets you pass quickly and efficiently. It does take quite a bit of wrist movement to get there, but it will stay there for days.
Braking is smooth and more than enough for street riding. I haven’t tried a “stoppie” on it, and probably never will; although, if you brake hard, the single front disc is more than strong enough to compress the forks to their limit. They’re strong enough that I almost find it easier to brake with 2 fingers, instead of all four, the pads grip so well.
The clutch is nice and easy on the hands, and easy to
feather once you find it’s sweet spot. Seems like quite a bit of dead pull on
the handle, but that could just be me. You still don’t want to go from
Surprisingly, I find the mirrors to give quite a good view out back. Startling how much you can really see out of them.
Comfort:
This is not a touring bike, so don’t expect the stock seat to be good for all-day riding. In this case, though, a little conditioning will go a long way. It’s still comfortable enough for a brand-new rider to spend 3 or even 4 hours a day in the saddle. I’m sure the winner of the Ironbutt Marathon will have no problems. It’s not a cruiser with a Mustang seat, but it still beats the fabric-covered board a CBR comes with. Even though it looks like a sport bike, it IS still a standard configuration, which helps a great deal.
Seat height is quite low for a “sport” appearance, allowing me, at 5’7”, to easily plant a full foot on the pavement. The pegs are a little higher than you might expect from an average standard, but you buy this ‘cause it looks like a sport bike anyway. Taller riders might be a little cramped on it, however.
Reach across the tank is just fine, giving a comfortable lean to the bars. And at my height, it is still a bit of a lean forward. I’m not even close to straight up and down. And there’s enough room to easily get into a tuck if you want to look like you’re going faster than you are, or even just to reduce wind from high-speed dump trucks on the back roads. Even with a tank bag in place. The fairing; well, not exactly the best protection in the world in my opinion. You’ll get much more wind in your chest than on, say, a fully faired cruiser. But again, this IS a sport bike, so what are you expecting?
The rear seat has a nice set of cargo attachment pegs underneath, making the mounting of your tail bag a breeze. And it offers a tad more comfort than a Gixxer or Ninja for a passenger. The back pad is closer to what you’d find on a sport touring bike, a little wider, and a bit more padding for your passenger’s butt. Not that you’re going to want to carry one for long trips anyway. It just doesn’t have the power, I don’t think, for long haul, two-up touring. Has a nice little lockable trunk under the seat, which is MORE than enough for a pack of cigarettes, or a small bag of chips. Just not both. Comes with a neat little tool kit stored under there, though.
The Experience:
Like I said at the beginning, this bike is a blast to ride! Riding a long in a straight line for your morning commute is nice enough, I suppose, but let’s face it…the twisties are where it’s at. And for doing the twisties in Lower Mainland traffic, this bike more than gets it done.
It’s a forgiving bike, and doesn’t mind being laid over in the corners. I haven’t worn my chicken strips off yet (and am in no rush to do this, either) but I’m down to maybe 3/4 of an inch. And it’s very happy there. Steady, stable, and confidence-inspiring. Without so much power than a bad roll-on is going to put you into trouble. A hard bump is not going to throw your wrist so much that you over-rev and cut the rear wheel loose (like, say a 600 or literbike might.) Judicious use of trail-braking in a corner is generally all it takes to correct carrying a bit too much speed. It’s slower side-to-side than a track bike might be, but again, that’s not why you buy one of these.
Sitting at a light, the bike sounds like a small displacement twin. It’s idle is NOT going to have the girls (or guys) running over to you, begging for a ride. But get the tach up to 5 grand, and it starts a satisfying growl. At 8 or 9, the growl intensifies, and a bit of howling can be heard. Take it to the 11,000 rpm redline, and it’ll scream for you. All on a stock pipe.
After you’ve been riding for a while, you’ll start to find the first shift comes a bit early, due to a nice, low first gear. The trade-off is that it’s very smooth away from a stop; handy when you’re first learning to ride. You don’t need to beat on the throttle to get it moving. Handy, also, for carrying that passenger that actually DID beg for a ride on your cool little Sport Bike!
It also has a shorter wheelbase than a cruiser, so parking lot maneuvers are simpler than they would be on a larger bike. U-turns (not my strong suit) are very doable, and, because it’s small, low and light, moving it around in and out of parking spaces is a snap. My 5’7”, 110-lb, size 2 girlfriend moves hers around all on her own, and has never had a problem. So you smaller riders, this bike will be JUST fine.
Ownership:
The basic bike hasn’t changed in several years (18) so they’ve worked the bugs out, and the engine is pretty much bullet-proof if you keep up your basic maintenance. It’s also older technology, so a mechanics student can work on it. You don’t need a Master’s in Computer Science.
There are more than enough things you could do to the bike if you wanted to follow the “custom” trend, just expect to have to look around for aftermarket parts. The big money is in the Supersport world, so not as much is floating around for the Gixxer’s little brother. But it IS out there, if you know where to look. Or have a little “do-it-yourself” knowledge and skill. I don’t. The big key to the manufacture of this bike is Keep It Simple and Keep The Price Down. First thing I will change, though, is the little El-Cheapo rubber foot pegs, for some nice aluminum ones.
I get around 300+ km to a tank before the reserve, (still doing break-in, and most reviews put it at 50-60 mpg) and yesterday that was $15.50 at $1.28 for Supreme.
Might be nice if it had a few little things, like maybe a clock of some kind, and a few more gauges to let you know what the engine is doing (like oil pressure.) But I guess that keeps adding to the price, and the folks looking at this bike aren’t looking for a full-on, luxury sport tourer. And an adhesive digital is a buck at the dollar store.
Conclusion:
All in all, this is a light, nimble little machine that’s more than enough for your first couple years of riding, maybe even longer. Or a comfortable, cost effective commuter with a dose of play time thrown in for good measure. It might not win any races (although for a first, cheap track bike, I bet it would be up t the task), but with an MSRP of $6,799, it has a lot of bang for its buck. (I even saw one on sale yesterday for $5,799 as a Summer Sale, so shop around!)
I was a rider for 3 years before I picked up this little gem, and I can honestly say I’ve learned more on it in two months than I did in the last 3 years on my “big” bike. You’re not going to grow out of it in one season, and I’m sure, even after several years of hassle-free riding, this bike will still have a lesson or two up it’s sleeve for you. If not, it will still be a fond trip down memory lane.