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Suzuki GS500F (2004) - Sid in Croatia (Motobke.co.uk has a diverse audience!) tells us of his biking history, why he decided to come back to biking after a long time away… and how the humble GS500F compares to the bikes of his youth (relatively speaking of course)

Suzuki GS500F - Sid's arrival into the world of 'modern' biking, via... When I was starting my motorcycle life times were totally different. You had a choice between a Tomos (50-80 ccm 2 stroke), MZ, or Jawa 2 stroke. Back in 1978 in Zagreb – population of maybe 800,000 people – maybe 10 Japanese bikes. The lucky ones got an old BMW R25 or perhaps even an ex-police R50. That said, there were a fair few NSU 175 and 250, Horex 350 and possibly even a Norton or two (might have been a Commando but I can’t remember now)… and that was it.

As for tyres, we had to suffer the local brands; Sava, Tigar or Obilicevo – almost plastic with no grip at all… but at least they were long lasting!

(Editors note: Those of a certain age will remember with horror Japanese tyres that were pretty similar to Sid’s description)

My first bike was a little Puch Pony express. 49ccm, no gears 2 stroke, with a hand made exhaust and paint work from a spraycan. I ran that for a few years, before switching to a “real” bike – a Jawa 175 enduro. Pretty bike (or so I thought), very simple mechanically. Of course, when I first bought it, I did not realise the gearbox was 1st up, others down… until spending three hours pushing the bike to try to make it start in the middle of Summer under a hot Croatian sun!

... a Jawa 175 enduro - just remember 1 up 5 down... Next came my first NSU 175 that I ran for two years until I sold him to get a ‘big’ bike – a Yamaha XS500s (we are now up to 1992), which I picked up cheaply as it had a “minor” problem in the engine.

Minor? When I opened up the engine casing, I found the crankshaft, pushrods and camshafts were all damaged… oh lets be honest, the entire engine was crap! Thankfully I was able to take it to my work and 'improvise' some modifications and improvements.

Two years with that and… I bought another NSU 175! I think I must be a masochist, as I bought another bike that needed a lot of work:

... a couple of NSU175s - and some interesting modifications... I found a lot of brand new parts left from a former authorised dealer. So the engine was completely new, only the block was old. The ignition coil was from a old VW Beetle (because it was 6 Volt) and a tension regulator came from the same car, as did all the bulbs! The forks came from an un-named Kawasaki, as did the front wheel and speedometer. The front light came from an MZ – but the bracket was hand made by me. I hand made the seat from an aluminium plate that I covered with leather.

This took me a Winter of hard work to finish, but once it was done, it went without any problems and I ran it for two years until I needed to sell it to do some work on the house. So in 1995 it was sold (and is still running to this day – I saw it recently (this article was written in early 2007) and it was still performing for it’s latest owner). And then, like a lot of bikers, house, family and many other things got in the way and I was without a bike.

Finally in 2006, I decided to return to biking once again.

I wanted to find a Moto Guzzi V35 (our police use these, so they would have been well maintained by police mechanic), but none were available or the paperwork involved in buying an ex-police machine was far too complex. So I changed direction totally and found a little Derbi Senda 125cc trailbike.

The Derbi Senda was a brilliant little bike. Extremely stable when it needed to be, but very agile when you wanted, needed to flick it about. However, that 125cc engine was just too weak for my needs. I needed a bike with some more power, but still friendly to ride. Reliable would also be good!

... a Yamaha XS500 - cheap... but with a knackered engine, just as well Sid is something of a mechanical expert! The new bike also had to deal with another problem. In Croatia we have a really stupid insurance rating system. Up to 500cc it is about 200Euro, from 500 until 750cc it is 400Euro and over 750 it is 800Euro per year, no matter how many horses you have in the engine.

So I needed a bike to do the daily commute, take out for fun and also trips out to the sea (about 200km). This meant I was looking for a 500cc bike – but with maybe 50hp? A local dealer had a 2004 Suzuki GS500F – which met all my needs, so I moved up to ‘big’ bikes once again.

Obviously, it needed a little work from me to improve it. I changed the oil in the front fork, using a 15W Shell advanced fork oil, replaced the pads with ABC double H front pads and Fuchs brake oil, also put on a Goodridge teflon brake pipe in front. All these changes was cheap ( about 100E ) and around a 4 hours of working with friend in my garage.

(Ed’s note: When Sid sent me in this article, he gave me one of the biggest laughs I’ve had for a long time when he told me about the ‘payment’ for his friend’s assistance – he paid him in beer… estimated at 2 litres per person!)

... a Derbi Senda 125 trailbike - lovely, but more power needed... which takes us back to the GS500F The GS500F is – for me – an ideal bike for beginners, returning bikers and anyone who enjoys riding without the need to push hard all the time, simply getting pleasure from the ride. No need for tension, just sit back and let it do the work. The handling is excellent and needs little input from the rider to get it turning (this is why so many training schools used the GS500).

Although I make it sound slow, it will reach over 100mph and will accellerate up to 70 quickly enough. It also – if you compare it to my other bikes – is like riding a rocket instead of a wooden boat!

But it is an easy bike to ride and gives you confidence at all times. Making the changes I did has improved stability and also made a big difference to the braking. Next change I want to make is to fit a full set of Michelin Pilot Active tyres (how things change – when I began biking we only have plastic tyres, now I am looking to fit grippy ones!). I was able to find a rear one which I am very happy with, but have to wait for a front tyre to arrive.

Verdict This is a very easy bike to ride. It is very forgiving to the rider if he makes mistakes, which is important if he is new to biking or has been away for a long time. It can run at higher speeds if needed, but is just as happy with gentle riding or working in town.

I am very satisfied with it.

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