Easy To Work On Bikes ... Is There Such Thing?
 

Hi guys,

as some of you might remember, I ended up buying a Suzuki GS500 which proved being a good enough travel bike for me. Light enough, cheap, twin engine and did I mention cheap?

However, after triggering a TUV inspector into a rant about the sorry state of my beloved steed we rode home, sad and not knowing what had happened to us. Suzy had served me so well and we simply knew we could ride many more happy kilometres together as it were. Why did this anal retentive pr*** chase us out of the sight of his eyes?

In the end, I spent quite some time this winter changing brake pads, brake discs, chain, sprockets and wheel bearings.

What occurred to me again how tight things are on this moto and that sometimes there is just one damn angle how to fit things.

I am not a stranger to mechanical things and my wrenching buddy is a great mechanic, yet sometimes we struggled for minor thing like fitting the front wheel after exchanging the brake parts.

My buddy who is servicing an SR500, a Kawa W650, a Vespa and a Simson 50cc said he never before worked on such a "complicated" bike.

Would you agree to our experience? We were not wrenching under the influence!

If so, are there motos in the same category which are simple to work on?
What would be your recommendation?

I love Suzy but I also like simple things.

Years ago I did some work on a GS500 for a buddy. Clutch renewal and oil fork change plus a regular service.
I don't remember it was tricky in any way.

Older bikes are harder to work on because of corrosion and possibly weird things made by previous owners. That's why workshops can be reluctant to work on such bikes.
A good idea before starting a job on a bike you don't know is to have a look at the workshop manual. Should be easy to find for a bike as common as the GS500!