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I have some devastating news… Me and my faithful GS500 are no more. No more trips to Wales, no more emergency pick ups in the pouring rain, no more cursing at the dodgy electronics, no more struggling to get the centre stand down… Just no more!!
But fear not, it wasn’t those evil flashing devils that struck the final blow – more likely a dropped valve. Licence-wise, the worst failed to happen and to everyone’s massive relief the pending speeding tickets didn’t materialise. Ironic then that just days later I had yet another terminal mechanical problem and my days on the road were, once again jeopardised. This time it was different, Christmas time, wintertime and no time to do the major mechanical surgery needed on what would be my fourth engine in a year and a half. So we threw the towel in and admitted defeated to a bike that was clearly destined for the scrap yard from the moment it was assembled in Japan way back in 1989.
So the search was on for a new and equally impressive machine. I had a tiny budget, as little would be recouped on the 500, and eBay and gumtree were looking fairly bare on the tight budget end of the market. I think my decision to search for an even cheaper bike was born out of necessity… because I need to have a vehicle I can moan about and of course a cheap vehicle is more likely to provide me with plenty of interesting tales over the coming months. What good would a spanking new, reliable bike be? What on earth would I write about?!
So the whole festive period was spent without a road going vehicle. The old GS was outside my house laughing its spark plugs out, with a new set of tyres and unused chain and sprocket fitted days AFTER the damage was done in an attempt to coax her back into the fast lane, no luck! However continual gumtree searching became somewhat more fruitful, and within days of seeing the ad, I was riding home on a beautifully exotic… 1989 GS450. Loyal to my make and model, I am still a member of the GS family! And what a bike, no speedo, no brakes, one indicator and, most importantly, no restrictor kit! Like faeces off a shovel! It beats anything away from the lights and feels more at home on one wheel than two! it's one of those bikes that does nothing below 3000 revs and then takes off at around 5000, agile and nimble around town but a bloody death trap as soon as you take it on open roads. Down my regular A2 route I am constantly battling against its urges to tank slap and it has an uncanny ability to steer pretty much wherever the hell it wants to go. Flaming fast though and loads of fun! Due to its fondness for high revs, it does seem to consume fuel at a rate that America would be proud of, and of course I can’t measure how far a tank goes because of the damn broken speedo; my guess work with speed cameras is improving though!
It came with a customised dent in the tank as standard and even some scuffs to sweeten the deal, but it starts on the button and has a luggage rack to strap my waterproofs to in these times of weather uncertainty. Oh and its gargantuan length has earned it the nickname ‘The Limo’!!
So I am back on the road for a shade over £350 quid, substantially less effort, if not money, than fixing the old pile of junk so I can’t complain (for once)!
Now, I have had a look and it looks like the whole front end will come right out of the GS500… !
two wheel passion
www.theridersdigest.co.uk
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