Suzuki GS500F Motorcycle Review

After about a year of commuting on the Suzuki GS500F, here are my impressions. As this motorcycle is not characterized as a sport/racing motorcycle, I will assume if you are considering this bike that you are probably not looking for peak performance. Thus I will be going over the points that I was looking for when considering this motorcycle; economy, handling, comfort and overall livability.

The motorcycle is rated on paper to get 59 mpg, I have found that I have averaged about 55 mpg; this is about 24 miles highway and 16 miles local a day. During the winter the average dips a few points while the summer bumps up a few mpg, this was over a year in the pacific northwest, everyday rain or shine. A few factors may have affected the average, after transitioning from the Honda Rebel 250 to the Suzuki GS500F, I have noticed that because I can go faster I generally do so to keep up with traffic, where as on the Rebel, I avoided the faster lanes. Even though the Suzuki is more of a standard bike, the gearing still gives it a sporty feel, thus should you feel the need, the power is there at a twist of the throttle, unlike the Rebel where at highway speeds there is the feeling that the bike its at its limits. Finally due to weather conditions I am generally decked out in full gear, and even when not wearing rain gear I still carry it, thus weight wise the bike is pulling around more than just a rider.

As the GS500F is billed as a crossover of a beginner bike and a transitioning bike, the handling is very friendly and forgiving.  There are a good deal of reviews that discuss this issue in depth so I will just go over the main points. The low seat height gives a good grounded feeling and the solid handling will give riders a feeling of confidence in turns as the bike does not feel as if it is tipping over when compared to more traditional sport bikes.

A second benefit of a low seat height is being able to stand flat-footed at a stop light, this scores big points when riding through the city or local streets and generally through stop and go traffic. It is much more comfortable to be able to stand on both feet to support the bike than it is to have to lean on one leg trying to balance the bike. One point of contention that I do have with the bike is the riding position, this may be an individual nit-pick but if you are considering this bike make sure you get a few test rides in and generally sit on the bike to make sure you are in a comfortable riding position. For me the riding position is a odd mix of sitting upright and a half riding tuck, I suspect this is due to my height ~5'6" my arms, hands and wrists are tired after a few hours of riding. (I end up supporting my weight on my wrist when riding.)

Finally livability, by this I mean a combination of all of the above factors rolled into one, cost wise fueling up is not too bad as at even my calculated 55 mpg you are still beating a good deal of half liter and up bikes out there. However as Suzuki calls for among many things : valve checks, nearly every major check up this adds up and will get quite expensive, as most places will be charging 3.5 to 4 hrs of labor. My next bike I will definitely be checking out the maintenance costs and factoring that into the over all life time cost of the bike. In terms of daily useability, the bike does not come with any easy points to mount luggage, thus to haul anything substantial you will need a good backpack or pick up a luggage box and rack. Accessories are difficult to find in the United States, one necessary accessories are slider pegs or crash bars and if you lay this bike down it is expensive as the casing juts out past the fairing. This bike is definitely not for long road trips; the seat is a little too hard for that and depending on the rider, the riding position may leave you sore. In short as a commuter, learning/transition bike, it fits the bill, as being more of a jack of all trades it does not do anything perfectly, but rides the line with a little of everything.

Edit: Also see my take on everything 2 years later.

Rocking the Cascades and a Review of the Suzuki GS500F

Rocking between the Fringes of the North Cascades National Park and Mount Baker National Forest, on my new bike; the Suzuki GS500F. Given that this trip was basically the shake down cruise for my new bike, with the break in for the engine and getting to know the characteristics of power and handling, I was in my element. Soaking in the stunning scenery; Mount Baker putting on a show in the gleaming sun light as I skirted the western side of Mount Baker National Park, the rim of the North Cascades National Park was no slouch either on visuals, with breathtaking jagged peaks and the road weaving between the river and old homesteads with open meadows.

While this trip may have been to break in the bike, I found myself getting broken in as well. Due to starting on the Honda Rebel I found that the riding stance that I am used to puts a great deal of strain on my wrists not to mention the lean towards a more aggressive riding stance compared to the Rebel. This coupled with trying to learn the leaning and turning tolerance of the bike made for quite a sore body afterwards.

The six speed transmission for the GS500F shifts smoothly and is a nice upgrade compared to the five speed Rebel, I found that at the final shift down from 2nd to 1st - there is a slight shudder as gears grind - if you are too gentile in changing. I can not speak for the power for now as I am trying to stay under 5500 rpm as much as possible during the break in period that coupled with my tendency to ride in a higher gear than normal - usually results in less pull from the engine until I shift down. However that tendency has resulted in a little more than 62 mpg after the first major fuel up and that is even during the break in period before max efficiency. Nice. That gets me to one of the things I did appreciate, the 20L or 5.3 gallon gas tank couple that with ~60 mpg - I can get over 300 miles on a tank! After being used to the 2.7 on the Rebel, the nearly double volume with that extra 2.6 gallons is amazing. The brakes work well enough, a little squeaky although it may be a little dirty so a nice cleaning should take care of that, time will tell how good they are as I get more chances to use them. Things that I would change/add, to personalize my bike include some luggage storage, I may put in risers for the bars to get a better seating and feel, and maybe get a gel seat as well, again time will tell, but I can say this bike make a good first impression and it is growing on me.

Revamp and Reorganization

Completely reorganized and labeled a great deal of the posts as well as fixed the dates on the older posts that I had to migrate from my old blog. More updates and posts to come.

Around the Island and Back Again - Day 2

The next morning after waking up I stroll down to the seawall and look back at the hostel, a non-discript building in the cityscape. Getting packed and ready to head out to breakfast, I find out that overnight the battery has finally died, having the to start a 150cc engine with a battery only rated for a 100cc bike has its consequences. So we get on the other bike and head out for a bite to eat, Almond milk, a Chinese donut and a steamed bun. After breakfast, I push my bike a little under a mile to a near by bike mechanic shop, we find out that the starter motor is drawing too much power from a battery not design to power it, and since the bike is modded we can't get a replacement part in any reasonable time frame. The mechanic calls up his contact and gets the starter motor disassembled and cleaned out by hand on special order! Had this been in the US, this would have cost as least a round trip plane ticket back to Taipei. We get out for under 50. AKA if your ever down in the area this is the place to go.

After a slow start to the day we head out and ride along the coast, there are clam & fish farms and so for lunch we stop at the edge of town at a seafood restaurant and have a bite to eat. With the smell of salt brine in the air we press on toward one of the notable temples in the southwest. The temple and adjacent garden are huge and in the background is a multistory hotel under construction to be run by the temple to accommodate visitor and pilgrims during holidays. My favorite feature is a the stair case for one of the watchtowers.

With the afternoon upon us we make a stop at the famous "Salt Mountain" a former salt farm, where sea salt was harvested, the place is now a theme park of sorts. The central building sells many salt inspired novelties, from salt toothpaste (which as expected tastes like a mouthful of sea water) to the famous salt ice cream bars. Being a fan of dessert tofu I couldn't pass up try a cup.

Late afternoon just outside the city we make a stop to check the prices at a temple hotel, unfortunately being a relatively new facility the prices are comparable to hotels, So we press on. In Tainan we settle down with a bowl of beef noodle, priced at only 50NTD, only to find that a buffet at a department/mall was only 199NTD remarkably well priced. Too bad we were already full. After checking out the night scene we turn in for the night at a youth hostel. [On a side quest I find out that while 7-11 the local get everything store does not stock ear plugs! In fact had to pick them up at a domestic store, what would look like a Japanese/Taiwanese themed "dollar store" in the US except they sell all domestic items.]

Pictures after update.

Around the Island and Back Again - Day 1

After nearly 15 hours on the road we finally reach our rest stop for the night, a temple hostel. Basically it is a hostel that is free to stay, with a suggested donation to help keep them running, definitely a worthy cause. The temple hostel mostly plays host to traveling students, backpackers, and bicycle tour groups.

On a note about the last group, it is a popular pass time for those in shape to get a group together and circumnavigate the island riding along the coastal highway, it has become such a popular pass time that many city and countys are building bike lanes or boardwalks off the main road just for the bikers, and for those in not quite that great shape its by scooter. Breakfast today started with cleaning out the last of the bread in the fridge so it didn't go bad while we were out traveling. After a fuel stop we started to roll, about an hour and a half in we passed a park with a beautiful forest of mangrove trees and a nice boardwalk making its way though the park . . . a good time for a picture break.

At about 10:30 we were hungry already, but then again thats what you get for eating at 5 something in the morning. Therefore we made a stop at a local restaurant that was funny enough just getting things set up for the lunch hour rush, so while we had to wait a little for our food, it doesn't get any more fresh.

Two hours later we stopped again for a road side snack, hmmmm there seems to be a lot of eating going on here . . . basically a fired leek and oyster pastry. Later at a traditional market we picked up a cup of watermelon juice (yes they have juiced a watermelon) and a “cow lick” which is a sweet pastry named so because of the way they are cooked and thus come out looking like a cow's tongue.

Finally for dinner steak and eggs with noodle on the side!

Status . . . Green

Fundamentals of Engineering Exam : Passed
Washington State University, College of Engineering and Architecture : Graduated

It has been over a year since my last post and now after graduation, I don't have the excuse from before, such as a of lack of time due to homework. So I guess here it goes. As a graduation present of sorts, I get to visit family and travel before I have to dive into the real world. More to follow.

Sexy Pics of My Honda CMX250 Rebel

On the side of 194, on the way to the lower granite dam.