I've had a set of Cortech saddlebags on my GS500F for a little more than a year. They are quite handy for carrying rain gear, stashing warm clothes when the weather heats up, or putting a to-go box in when I've got leftovers from the Mellow Mushroom. But they don't stand up all that well to the elements. They are not fully waterproof, and the top of them has faded from red to a washed out pink. The sides still look OK, and I suspect the black saddlebags may hold up a bit better, but still, I've been thinking I should upgrade to hard luggage.
Finding a bolt on kit for hard luggage for a GS500F isn't easy. Sure, I could fabricate something, but I don't mind spending a bit extra if it saves me a lot of time. Givi and many of the other major manufacturers don't have kits to put hard saddlebags on this particular bike. They do have bolt on top case kits, but for some reason, I'd rather have a set of saddlebags. Five Star sells a bolt on mounting kit, but it's very expensive (around $500 without the bags) and their dealers list it as special order.
Finally, I managed to find an eBay auction for a set of Shad luggage that included a bolt on mounting kit. I know, there's an obvious joke that this sounds fishy. But I did a bit of looking around, and I've turned up that Shad luggage is made in Spain and there are quite a few positive reviews of their luggage kit for another Suzuki, the DL650 V-Strom. So today I ordered a luggage kit for the bike off eBay. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A Long Sunday Ride
Last Sunday, my wife and I decided to meet up with some of the other members of Beginnerbikers.org for a ride through north Georgia and a little bit of east Tennessee. Most of the group met at a gas station off of Ga-400 north of Atlanta and rode from there to our "official" starting point of Rider's Hill in Dahlonega. After warming up for a little bit (the start of the day was about 40 degrees,) we hit the rode. It became immediately apparent that I need to practice riding winding roads more. Not only was I riding well below the speed limit, the rest of the group was far enough ahead that I took a wrong turn at the first chance I got. Fortunately, I realized my mistake and turned around before too much time was lost. After that, the group split into two groups: the fast riders and my wife and me, bracketed by the ride organizer and another rider who was perfectly happy to follow us at whatever speed we chose.
After almost 90 miles of mountain roads, we stopped for gas and lunch in Tellico Plains, TN. at a place named Prospector's. Good food and good prices and a place to relax after some very technical roads.
Following lunch, we made our way back to the Ocoee Scenic Byway and made a small detour off the main road to one of the overlooks along the Ocoee River. The overlook was at the top of a steep, winding road that may have been two lanes. I couldn't tell since it wasn't painted and I didn't have enough concentration to spare from trying to negotiate the turns. While two of us hadn't wanted to go to the overlook, it was well worth the ride up for its breathtaking view.
By that time it was getting late enough in the day that we all needed to high-tail it back to Atlanta. Overall, we put another 360 miles on our bikes from 7:00 am to 9:30 pm. A few of my pictures are below.
After almost 90 miles of mountain roads, we stopped for gas and lunch in Tellico Plains, TN. at a place named Prospector's. Good food and good prices and a place to relax after some very technical roads.
Following lunch, we made our way back to the Ocoee Scenic Byway and made a small detour off the main road to one of the overlooks along the Ocoee River. The overlook was at the top of a steep, winding road that may have been two lanes. I couldn't tell since it wasn't painted and I didn't have enough concentration to spare from trying to negotiate the turns. While two of us hadn't wanted to go to the overlook, it was well worth the ride up for its breathtaking view.
By that time it was getting late enough in the day that we all needed to high-tail it back to Atlanta. Overall, we put another 360 miles on our bikes from 7:00 am to 9:30 pm. A few of my pictures are below.
The initial gathering started early in the morning.
All the bikes parked outside of Prospector's.
The view from the overlook.
Never leave home without your traveling Gnome.
As a point of interest, the motorcycles along for the ride were as follows: Suzuki Hyabusa, Yamaha FJR, Yamaha FZ-1, BMW R-1150GS, Kawasaki Versys, Buell Blast, and Kawasaki EX250.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Non-Routine Maintenance
For some time now the Ninja has been having what I thought to be problems with the carburetor being dirty. What I mean is that when the throttle got opened wide, the engine would bog down and sometimes stall. Pretty clearly some sort of fueling issue.
Here is where it comes in handy to either be a good mechanic or know one. A friend of ours (the same one who fixed my fairing) came over this morning to help me take the carb off and give it a thorough cleaning. When he got the carb off of the engine (in about the same amount of time as it takes me to get the fairing off) we discovered that the vent hose that helps regulate the air flow had a kink in it.
Like so:
We cut this section off the hose and re-installed everything. Took it out for a test ride and everything was back to the way it should be. The bike should now be reliable enough for me to get back to commuting regularly on it next week.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Suzuki GS500F
I've been meaning to post a review of my own bike for a while. I ride a 2005 Suzuki GS500F. It's one of the more commonly recommended beginner sport bikes. This doesn't mean it is slow by car standards; I used to have a C4 Corvette, and the GS500F was a bit faster up to any legal speeds. I'd say that it is still suitable for most people as a first time bike, if you've scored well on the exams at the MSF class. If you're feeling uncertain after the class, though, something like a Ninja 250 or Buell Blast might be a better choice as they are a bit easier to ride.
The GS500 has been around since the late '80s, but Suzuki gave it a major styling update in 2004 to make the GS500F. Without the decals, you'd have a difficult time telling a GS500F from a GSX-R600 unless you look at it closely enough to spot the difference in handlebars or manage to catch a glimpse of the cooling fins under the bodywork. It seems that F may stand for "fairing," but the naked (that is, no plastic bodywork) version was called the GS500E, and I'm not entirely sure what, if anything, the E stood for.
Power comes from an air cooled parallel twin, with two valves per cylinder. It slots in between the Ninja 250 and Ninja 500 for overall power, making somewhere in the vicinity of 50 hp. It redlines at 11,000 RPM and is quite happy cruising at around 5,000. Like I said earlier, the power to weight ratio is a little bit higher than an '80s era Corvette. It is enough power to get you in trouble if you don't respect it... but unlike a 600 cc supersport, you need to show it some pretty blatant disrespect. It typically gets around 50 to 60 miles to the gallon.
The one point where it can be a bit unforgiving is the rear brake. It has a single hydraulic disc at each end, and if you panic and stomp on the brake pedal, it can lock the rear wheel. You'll want to make a point of using the front brake a lot more heavily than the rear.
Handling is pretty agile without being twitchy. It's certainly a fun bike to attack twisty roads with. If pushed to the limit, it's not as sophisticated as a supersport or a more expensive sport-standard like a Buell Lightining, but it's still a lot of fun. It's also quite stable in crosswinds, even though it's not a particularly heavy bike. Heavy is relative here, though - it feels a bit heavier than a Ninja 250, Buell Blast, or most of your common MSF range bikes. It's lighter than the CX500 I used to ride, and about the same weight as a 600 cc supersport.
The one area I'd want to improve on is comfort. It's not too bad to ride about town, but ride it for an hour or more and you'll start wanting a better seat. Kawasaki arguably does a better job with their factory seats on the Ninja, and unlike Ninjas, there are few aftermarket seats available for a GS500F. I'm also 6'2" tall and my legs start feeling a little bit cramped on a very long ride, though I could probably ignore that if it wasn't for the seat. I've got to wonder why the aftermarket hasn't stepped up, as there's quite a few of these bikes out there and it's definitely an item that owners could use. The riding position itself is quite comfortable; it's fairly upright with a little bit of forward lean. I modified the handlebar mounts on mine to make it friendlier for a tall rider.
There is one weird "gotcha" about owning a GS500F. For some reason, many of the parts books list the wrong oil filter. Don't let them sell you a spin on filter like the one you'd put on a car; the correct filter is a cartridge that sits inside the engine and looks more like a miniature automotive air filter.
Here's how I would sum this bike up.
Good points:
The GS500 has been around since the late '80s, but Suzuki gave it a major styling update in 2004 to make the GS500F. Without the decals, you'd have a difficult time telling a GS500F from a GSX-R600 unless you look at it closely enough to spot the difference in handlebars or manage to catch a glimpse of the cooling fins under the bodywork. It seems that F may stand for "fairing," but the naked (that is, no plastic bodywork) version was called the GS500E, and I'm not entirely sure what, if anything, the E stood for.
Power comes from an air cooled parallel twin, with two valves per cylinder. It slots in between the Ninja 250 and Ninja 500 for overall power, making somewhere in the vicinity of 50 hp. It redlines at 11,000 RPM and is quite happy cruising at around 5,000. Like I said earlier, the power to weight ratio is a little bit higher than an '80s era Corvette. It is enough power to get you in trouble if you don't respect it... but unlike a 600 cc supersport, you need to show it some pretty blatant disrespect. It typically gets around 50 to 60 miles to the gallon.
The one point where it can be a bit unforgiving is the rear brake. It has a single hydraulic disc at each end, and if you panic and stomp on the brake pedal, it can lock the rear wheel. You'll want to make a point of using the front brake a lot more heavily than the rear.
Handling is pretty agile without being twitchy. It's certainly a fun bike to attack twisty roads with. If pushed to the limit, it's not as sophisticated as a supersport or a more expensive sport-standard like a Buell Lightining, but it's still a lot of fun. It's also quite stable in crosswinds, even though it's not a particularly heavy bike. Heavy is relative here, though - it feels a bit heavier than a Ninja 250, Buell Blast, or most of your common MSF range bikes. It's lighter than the CX500 I used to ride, and about the same weight as a 600 cc supersport.
The one area I'd want to improve on is comfort. It's not too bad to ride about town, but ride it for an hour or more and you'll start wanting a better seat. Kawasaki arguably does a better job with their factory seats on the Ninja, and unlike Ninjas, there are few aftermarket seats available for a GS500F. I'm also 6'2" tall and my legs start feeling a little bit cramped on a very long ride, though I could probably ignore that if it wasn't for the seat. I've got to wonder why the aftermarket hasn't stepped up, as there's quite a few of these bikes out there and it's definitely an item that owners could use. The riding position itself is quite comfortable; it's fairly upright with a little bit of forward lean. I modified the handlebar mounts on mine to make it friendlier for a tall rider.
There is one weird "gotcha" about owning a GS500F. For some reason, many of the parts books list the wrong oil filter. Don't let them sell you a spin on filter like the one you'd put on a car; the correct filter is a cartridge that sits inside the engine and looks more like a miniature automotive air filter.
Here's how I would sum this bike up.
Good points:
- Enough power to be fun without getting out of hand for the beginning rider
- Contemporary sportbike styling
- Sporty handling
- Really needs a better seat
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Cycle World International Motorcycle Show 2009
Every year Cycle World runs a series of shows featuring most of the major manufacturer and, at some shows, a few of the smaller ones. There really isn't much for me to say about the show in general. They have demonstrations, stunt shows, product showcases, an accessory marketplace, demo rides from some of the marques, and giveaways.
This year was no different. The closest show to us was held this past weekend in Greenville, SC. A short hop, skip, and a jump away from our home base in Atlanta. Aside from all of the features I've mentioned, the single best thing about big shows like this one is the chance to see almost every motorcycle that will be sold in the upcoming model year and sit on them back-to-back for a great comparison of the various models.
Without further ado, on to the photographic evidence we gathered. This is but a small sample of what you can find here.
Harley-Davidson had a demonstration on how to pick up a dropped motorcycle, in this case a Sportster 1200 which happens to be one of the most top-heavy motorcycles Harley makes. If you can lift this one, you can pretty much pick up any in their line-up. Even the touring models weighing in at 300 pounds heavier.
The stunt show had a trials rider displaying amazing balance and control. He was doing jumps and wheelies on platforms his motorcycle barely fit on.
Another bit of the Harley-Davidson display was the Nightrod Special.
Indian was on had with a line of their new cruisers, I just had to get a shot displaying their attention to detail. Here is the Indian light on top of the front fender.
Kymco had a spot close to the front entrance to show off the full line of scooters and the new 150cc motorcycle (not pictured.)
Ducati proves that some of the classic styling of motorcycles is alive and well.
Just as Honda shows off some of the newest styling on an bike missing the standard clutch, the DN1 only comes in automatic.
Suzuki takes some styling ques from the wildly successful Ducati Monster in the new for this season Gladius, a naked 650cc.
This year was no different. The closest show to us was held this past weekend in Greenville, SC. A short hop, skip, and a jump away from our home base in Atlanta. Aside from all of the features I've mentioned, the single best thing about big shows like this one is the chance to see almost every motorcycle that will be sold in the upcoming model year and sit on them back-to-back for a great comparison of the various models.
Without further ado, on to the photographic evidence we gathered. This is but a small sample of what you can find here.
Harley-Davidson had a demonstration on how to pick up a dropped motorcycle, in this case a Sportster 1200 which happens to be one of the most top-heavy motorcycles Harley makes. If you can lift this one, you can pretty much pick up any in their line-up. Even the touring models weighing in at 300 pounds heavier.
The stunt show had a trials rider displaying amazing balance and control. He was doing jumps and wheelies on platforms his motorcycle barely fit on.
Another bit of the Harley-Davidson display was the Nightrod Special.
Indian was on had with a line of their new cruisers, I just had to get a shot displaying their attention to detail. Here is the Indian light on top of the front fender.
Kymco had a spot close to the front entrance to show off the full line of scooters and the new 150cc motorcycle (not pictured.)
We saw a nice display of historical motorcycles, including this superb Norton Commando.
Ducati proves that some of the classic styling of motorcycles is alive and well.
Just as Honda shows off some of the newest styling on an bike missing the standard clutch, the DN1 only comes in automatic.
Suzuki takes some styling ques from the wildly successful Ducati Monster in the new for this season Gladius, a naked 650cc.
With these and many other bikes, it is easy to spend hours at the show just sitting on one bike then the next. But that is really the purpose of shows like this one. It gives the manufacturers a venue to show off everything they have and get to people who may not necessarily go to a dealer's showroom for a company they are unfamiliar with and it gives the enthusiast a chance to see all the new models without the sales pressure one might find at a dealership.
The only problem I can figure out with these shows is that now my list of next motorcycle purchase has about doubled.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Motorcycle Exotica
Who out there thinks that a perfect Valentine's Day should be spent going out and drooling over motorcycles with your spouse? If you raised your hand, please continue reading.
I say "exotica" because we weren't going out to look at the common names in motorcycling, well known names but still not ones you see daily on the road. We started the day out with saying we just wanted to stop in at our local BMW dealership. That quickly turned into stops at a massive used bike dealership on the other side of the city followed with a brief stop at a Harley dealership to ask for directions to a Ducati/Aprilia/Moto Guzzi dealer.
Why do I find it important to tell you about this? Simple, as you ride you gain more insight into what it is you want from a bike. Once you have the seat time and the skills to move on, you also have a better idea of what will be comfortable for you. These two things (comfort and needs) are your guiding light for the next bike. The bike's power will be less of a concern, but I still wouldn't recommend jumping on a race replica, 1000cc+ sport bike as your second ride.
Enough of this, what bikes did we like? I found Ducatis to be far more comfortable than I remembered and one like this ST4 would be great for sport touring.
But lastly, I think she found one that she'll get next, assuming we can find one in our price range when it comes time to buy. I present the unmistakable Aprilia Shiver.
I say "exotica" because we weren't going out to look at the common names in motorcycling, well known names but still not ones you see daily on the road. We started the day out with saying we just wanted to stop in at our local BMW dealership. That quickly turned into stops at a massive used bike dealership on the other side of the city followed with a brief stop at a Harley dealership to ask for directions to a Ducati/Aprilia/Moto Guzzi dealer.
Why do I find it important to tell you about this? Simple, as you ride you gain more insight into what it is you want from a bike. Once you have the seat time and the skills to move on, you also have a better idea of what will be comfortable for you. These two things (comfort and needs) are your guiding light for the next bike. The bike's power will be less of a concern, but I still wouldn't recommend jumping on a race replica, 1000cc+ sport bike as your second ride.
Enough of this, what bikes did we like? I found Ducatis to be far more comfortable than I remembered and one like this ST4 would be great for sport touring.
My wife found the Monster series (this and the new ones) to be marvelously light and comfortable.
But lastly, I think she found one that she'll get next, assuming we can find one in our price range when it comes time to buy. I present the unmistakable Aprilia Shiver.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Getting Back Into the Swing of Things
One thing that needs to be done after a period of inactivity in any sport is mentally and physically prepping yourself to go full swing again. With running it would be talking walks interspersed with stints of running. For soccer it would be a few hours kicking the ball around and doing some practice drills with some friends. With motorcycling it can include parking lot practice to get some of the kinks worked out or taking some short rides on sedate and lightly traveled roads.
Now, short ride has a different definition for each rider. For some it would be a few minutes riding around the neighborhood, others would go meet some friends for dinner at a local restaurant, for my wife and I it meant riding down to the International Horse Park in Conyers and swinging by her barn so I could see where she rides horses. There and back could be a simple 40 mile loop, done in about an hour. Somehow we turned it into 60 miles and about two and a half hours.
We had started out going to a parking lot close to us to warm up, but we both were feeling a little uneasy with our practice and decided to just start out and go slowly. We could always turn around and go home if things felt out of whack. Turns out what we needed to feel comfortable again was to get out and just ride. Sometimes, the mental preparation you need is just going out and reminding yourself you can do it, after all.
Now, short ride has a different definition for each rider. For some it would be a few minutes riding around the neighborhood, others would go meet some friends for dinner at a local restaurant, for my wife and I it meant riding down to the International Horse Park in Conyers and swinging by her barn so I could see where she rides horses. There and back could be a simple 40 mile loop, done in about an hour. Somehow we turned it into 60 miles and about two and a half hours.
We had started out going to a parking lot close to us to warm up, but we both were feeling a little uneasy with our practice and decided to just start out and go slowly. We could always turn around and go home if things felt out of whack. Turns out what we needed to feel comfortable again was to get out and just ride. Sometimes, the mental preparation you need is just going out and reminding yourself you can do it, after all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)