GS500PE..Purple Explorer

[NortwestRider]

And so it begins,we are heading up to Alaska next June and my wife needed a bike.I'm a Suzuki man so I wanted to get her a Wee but funds were alittle tight.I decided that a GS500 would be a good choice,and met the GS500 god from the GS500 forum.I bought a great 94 from him and before it left his shop we adjusted the valves,changed ALL the body to purple ( wifes fav color ),put on a new steel braided front brake line,new bars etc.The bike already has Sonics front springs,rear rack and I traded some welding for a factory gel seat.
The plan is to make it more adventure/dirt road worthy.Here is the list of what I'm going to do to it.
DS tires..705's
Skid plate
Fairing..got a cool GPZ style one.
Hard bags..50 cal ammo cans
BarkBusters
Bar mitts
Throttle lock
Hwy pegs

Today I put the bike in the shed and got started.I got the Right bark buster installed but it was wayyyyy harder then it should have been.They were not made for a street bike with a master cyclinder.but a cut off saw and a grinder made it fit.
This build will be slow since I have alot of time and little $$$ but I plan on having done early next year ( Jan-Feb).











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[gunnabuild1]

Watching,always liked GS's got no idea why, maybe the last simple motorcycle.

[NortwestRider]

Everytime I ride it I wonder why I have a DL1000,then I see myself in a window and I remember.I look like a circus monkey on it,small bike and a BIG man !!...hehehe


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[waterboybueche]

I have always liked thise 500's,,, I thought about doing a easy conversion... then, i also remember I am just too damn big too!!!

[RedRaptor22]

If it's comfortable, your not too big, even then you can make it comfortable.

I'm sure my helmet looks huge on me being that I'm 5'10" and 140lbs even though it's one of the smaller full faces out there, but screw it, I can only see the inside with it on.

Same with my bike, people always gotta pop off about how big it is compared to me, usually they say something to the effect "that thing's a little big for ya huh?", I just pretend to freak out and frantically check my pants zipper, then shrug and give them no more attention.

[NortwestRider]

I'm 6'1and 275lbs,it's more the lack of power when fully loaded( bags trunk etc) then the size of the bike.Also I can't really stretch out my legs like I can on the big V..


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[waterboybueche]

Nortwest Rider, I am exactly your height and weight...

I had an old Suzuki GN450 I use to ride down to the water around our neighborhood... I thought I looked OK on it, so I started with a cafe look, had my wife take some pics of me on the bike....

SILVERBACK Gorilla humping that poor little bike!!! SOLD it days later...

[NortwestRider]

60+ lbs lighter I road raced a GS450s for several years and did very well !!.
For around town and commuting it's ok but heading up to Deadhorse might kill it with me on it !!.


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[NortwestRider]

Ok so I found some time to do alittle work on "Dora" today.I got the left barkbuster installed and the fairing trimed to fit I still need to make the mounts.Next I think I will start the gas can mount.







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[NortwestRider]

I bought 3 voltmeters a couple of weeks ago and got 1 of them ready to mount today.I bought 2 project boxes from RS and installed one in the box today.Now I need to figure out where to mount it.







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[JerryH]

I bought a brand new leftover 1995 GS500E back about '97, with a few scratches and a couple of dings on it, but no miles. I should NEVER have sold that bike. I only had it a couple of years and wanted something else. Stone stock, including the exhaust. Would buy another in a heartbeat.

If you're going to make a dual sport out of it, what is the fairing for? I still remember the good old days when dual sports did not have fairings. I still don't have a clue why they do now. Real dirt bikes don't.

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by JerryH

I bought a brand new leftover 1995 GS500E back about '97, with a few scratches and a couple of dings on it, but no miles. I should NEVER have sold that bike. I only had it a couple of years and wanted something else. Stone stock, including the exhaust. Would buy another in a heartbeat.

If you're going to make a dual sport out of it, what is the fairing for? I still remember the good old days when dual sports did not have fairings. I still don't have a clue why they do now. Real dirt bikes don't.

A little wind protection for those blast down the highways.

[NortwestRider]

It's not a real dirt bike,it's just going to be a gravel/dirt road capable standard type motorcycle!!.


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[zig06]

Lately I've been thinking about buying a GS500 for the exact same reason of making it a "sort of dual sport", to me that's just a gravel road capable street bike too. Be sure to keep us posted on your progress and I personally would really appreciate a ride report. Just wondering though, what are you going to do for a skid plate and does anyone make a set of pipes that routes higher or just not under the motor??

[NortwestRider]

I'm just going to run a sheet of alum down the front of the pipes to under the motor.First I will wrap the pipes with header wrap.It's more to keep flying rocks from hitting the engine.I will be working on this bike ALOT more after Christmas!!.



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