2004 Suzuki GS500F Dual Sport reviews

Nice starter bike, very forgiving. Seat could be better, after a few hundred miles it gets hard as a rock. Bad part is Suzuki treats it like it's a nothing bike. No accessories to speak of. I don't regret one minute getting the gs500f for getting back into biking.

The GS500 in my opinion, was a great bike. Not the fastest bike though. The rear swingarm left little to no upgrade for larger tire, but it does great with the one on it. I love the even gears in this bike. The ultra smooth power range seems to pull equally hard in each gear. I had mine to the limit, 130 mph on the ummm....autobahn. Seems to be very forgiving, it doesn't wear you out to ride it, and it even does very well with a passenger. With a little more weight on the rear end it handles even better. This was my first bike and I bought it new in July 04 and had 6k on it by the end of the riding season (Oct, Nov). I haven't had any trouble out of the bike and I get many compliments on how clean and sporty it looks. I would almost call it a hybrid between a full out sport bike and a cruiser. It handles well, revs decent, and has the looks, but also has the relaxed handlebars to take some of the discomfort out of the ride. The gas mileage is excellent on this bike. Great bike. If there weren't such a thing as finance charges ;)

After reading other reviews, I have to give you my opinion. For new riders or riders that feel comfortable on smaller bikes, this is the bike for you. It has to be one of the easiest bikes to ride. It shifts smooth, is for the most part a comfortable ride, plus it looks like any other street bike on the road. don't be fooled by what other people say about performance either. So far I got 600 miles on my new bike, I love riding it, and I already topped out @ 115mph. I can even keep up with my friends' bikes (Suzuki SV1000, Honda CBR 929,etc...). So if you hear people putting this bike down, just ignore them because for $5000 you ain't gonna find another new bike like this.

Well like many others I am new to the two wheel experience, I had reviewed and tested many other bikes (both small and large cc). By far the GS500 took the cake, both for its looks, reliability, and performance. Now 1st to say that it's not the fastest bike in the world, but both as a cruiser and at highway speeds it does its job, and well I might add. In addition I have been out with friends that have much bigger bikes and though it took more effort on my part I kept up with them with not too noticible of a difference. And I am constantly having people compliment me on its looks and with 60mpg and virtually zero maintenance costs (as compared to other bikes) it's a great value. Suzuki has a winner here and if anything, my only real complaint is the analog instruments, they do sorely need a much needed upgrade look to them just like the bike has. the GS500 is a winner and everything is nice overall package.

Would recommend this bike to any beginner. Plenty fast for me, and the bike is very "forgiving". Very light an nimble. First day on the road I was on the highway.

I always wanted a motorcycle but was too nervous to leave the safety of a car. This is a great bike to start out on. It is very easy to find the gears on this bike if you never had the chance to drive anything with manual shifting. It has some kick to it that is easy to get used to. Very light weight for hugging those tight curves for first timers. I have had this bike for a month now and haven't driven my car since!

This is my first motorcycle that I have owned, though I've ridden on others. I've put about 2600+ miles on it so far. Pros: Accelerates quickly, sporty styling, easy to handle, comfortable, reasonably good on gas, reliable, proven engine, 6 speed transmission, extremely fun to ride, and it suits it's purpose very, very well (as an entry-level sport bike). It is also a good value and insurance is more reasonable with this bike than it is with other larger displacement sport bikes. Cons: I wish it had more aftermarket parts available and parts were more easily interchanged with say, the Gixxers. The only mechanical problem I had was once the clutch cable vibrated off, and the bike would not start so I had to do a little bit of troubleshooting. Just must not have been secured at the factory or something. No it is not the fastest bike in the world, but it is not the dog some riders make it out to be, either. The speedometer goes up to 130mph, though the fastest I've been up to was 110mph. I did it with complete ease, and I slowed down for fear of getting a ticket - not because the bike had any shortcomings! If, for some strange reason, you think you need to go faster than 130mph, this might not be the bike for you. (The GS500F is still going to be faster than most cars/trucks that you will encounter! I think it has an estimated 1/4 time of low 13's.) But if you need something fun, sporty, stylish, reliable, and economical, this bike might be just what you need.

I just got my new GS500 and it's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. It is my first bike so I was a little nervous at first but once I got used to the clutch, it was so easy to ride I drove it home from the lot with no problem. It's a great first bike and I'm not sure I will ever purchase any other kind except upgrading to a new 500. It's fast. Forget what you heard about it, it's definitely enough to get you going and it's a real eye catcher on the street. Get a nice helmet and some gear, and it's time to ride!

The riding season has ended and I have stored my bike in a friend's garage. I now have 1000 trouble-free miles on it. The false neutrals ended once I began to upshift more firmly. So that was a case of pilot error, not a problem with the machine. If you are looking for a fun and affordable bike for urban commuting, this is your ride!

I have never ridden a bike before, including dirt bikes or scooters, and rode this bike right off the lot. It's a great learner's bike and has most likely saved me from a lot of newbie mistakes. 500cc may seem small to some people, but it's fast enough to open the throtle and watch the floor pass under you with just a seat between you and the pavement. One problem I've encountered was the long engine warm-up, especially on cold days. But other than that, this bike is great for beginners to learn on and also fun to learn how to pop that front tire up.