My 1993 Suzuki GS500E

I have setup this page to share my experience with my very first motorcycle! This page can also answer everyone's questions about my motorcycle, the service I received on my motorcycle from various service facilities, vandalism inflicted upon the bike, my accident, cost of various parts and service, etc.

These following two pictures are the most recent ones taken of the bike (late September 2000).

I bought this bike on July 12, 1999 in San Antonio, TX from an ad I saw in the paper. The asking price of this motorcycle was $2,200.00, and I talked him down to $2,000.00 over the phone, and I got a cashier's check from my bank ($3.00 fee) to go to San Antonio to take a look at it. I liked it, and I was very excited. It was missing the choke cable, and he agreed to take an additional $50.00 off the purchase price for that. So, the final price I paid the previous owner for the motorcycle was $1,950.00.

Unfortunately, I was in an accident on this motorcycle while I was learning to ride it. I locked the front brake without applying pressure to the back brake, and this was on a gravel surface. This was obviously a bad combination. I fell over, and my memory of this event is not too good, but I remember getting up after the whole thing and limping about feeling no pain. This must have been the adrenaline. The reason I had to brake hard was because there was an ambulance in front of me on the shoulder, and the Dodge Ram right behind it realized at the last second that it could not get around it because of traffic. Someone helped me into the back of that truck, and kind people tended to me . . . then, pain started to hit in. I kept asking, "Someone call and change my insurance to collision," because I was apparently not thinking correctly. Then, I passed out. I was then rushed to the hospital, and I sustained broken bones in my left elbow along with full thickness wounds (severe "road rash") on my left side and scrapes all over the rest of my body. I was wearing a helmet (as I always do), and my head was fine. Pictures of my torn clothes: 1, 2

Please click the following link to see a picture of the bike as I saw it for the first time after the accident: Wrecked Bike.

After extensive towing and estimate charges, I ended up just getting a blinker repaired. There is still a little damage to the bike, but it is damage I can live with. The front has a little scraping on the headlight and speedometer. The left side had scraping, but I touched it up with touch up paint, and it looks like the right without the "Suzuki" lettering.

I rode it around a bit and got more and more comfortable with riding. Then, I started riding to school everyday, which is the reason I purchased a motorcycle in the first place. It saves much time by allowing me to not take the bus or walk nearly as much.

Later, I decided it was time for a major service and tune-up so I could establish a service history for this bike. I asked some of my friends where to service a motorcycle and what to do in a service. I was referred to Zabor's Motorcycle on Burnet Rd. The battery was dead, and I could not get it started, so I had to get it towed. I had Choate's Towing Service tow me, and All State Motor Club reimbursed me for that. Here's a picture of my bike getting put on the tow truck . . .

Paul Zabor suggested that I did need new tires, a tune-up, a battery, etc. My total repair bill ended up being $606.67. Here is what I got for that amount of money (including all the labor to put on or install the parts):

Front Tire: Bridgestone Battlax BT45F (54H) 110/70-17

Rear Tire: Bridgestone Battlax BT45R (65H) 130/80-17

Choke Cable, Battery, Rear Brake Pads, Air Filter

Spark Plugs, Valve Adjustment, Compression Check

Sync. Carbs., Change Oil and Oil Filter, Gen. Checkup

Adjust and Lubricate Chain, Repair Manual and More!

He suggested I could use a speedometer cable, because that guage was not operating. He also noticed that the handlebars were a little bent. He said he noticed because he rides a lot of motorcycles, and I probably would not notice. Another suggestion was that the bike needed a carb. cleaning. The previous owner had it sitting for 6 months, and that is why he sold it. Paul suggested I could save myself $125.00 (the price of the carb. cleaning) by just riding it a lot, because that may fix it. I got my bike back from Zabor's on October 22, 1999, although it was ready before then. Thus far, I am happy with the service I received at Zabor's. He appeared to be very kind, and he seems like an honest businessman. I highly recommend him.

During my holiday visit to my parent's place in Plano, TX . . . some vandals horribly vandalized the motorcycle . . . they poked holes in the side of the fuel tank and at the top. They also poked holes in the seat and ruined my brand new tires. The fuel was sitting on the ground for a long time, and it damaged my covered parking spot very much. The concrete felt like sand, afterwards. This whole situation made me very upset. I'm sure the vandal will never be caught or punished, unfortunately. What worthless people . . . Here are pictures of the vandalism: 1, 2, 3, 4. I reported it to my insurance company, and they totaled out the bike because of the previous damage left from the accident. (Picture of the Progressive van coming to see the bike.) I retained salvage myself and got $540.00 from them. I decided to use Zabor's again for the service, and they replaced and mounted my tires for $250.50, and they did not charge me storage for the two weeks it was there (because of the purchase). Zabor's would not install a used fuel tank, so I went to Manny at Austin CyclePlexx for a used fuel tank (darker shade of red, no decals, good shape). All this stuff (tires, tank, etc.) came to around $470.00.

I have learned a bit about racing it around, recently, too . . . I've learned that it'll get the wheel up real high (monster wheelie) given some proper clutch work, and I have taken the bike to River City Raceway to drag race it a little. I learned a lot, although I haven't had a chance to turn very decent times. The best I got out of it were some high 13 second runs in the low 90 mph'ish range, babying it off the line.

Recently, I've bought a new bike, because I feel I've learned enough to handle that bike, now . . .

I didn't want to sell this bike, because I didn't feel what I could get for it was worth it for a bike I'd spent so much on service for with so little mileage . . . I waited and kept it, and then a friend expressed interest. I'm always happy to do a friend a favor. Said and done, more cleaned up . . . I gave it to him for $1,800.00 (which I loaned him) and loaned him a helmet. This was on 2/1/01 . . . he was so excited, and I got to teach him how to ride. I got to do a friend a favor, and my bike will be in good hands and enjoyed . . . made me feel good. He ended up putting in 5 hours of riding time that day . . . in the cold. =) It was good to see my buddy havin' so much fun . . . just like we were kids again playing on my Go-Kart . . .

Well, Cameron . . . I wish you loads of fun, and more importantly . . . safety, with the bike . . . take care of it, I'm goin' to miss it! =*)

Update: I believe the bike has taken some falls since Cameron's had it, and it is still trekking on strong. If Cameron has gotten rid of the bike at some point, then I have no idea where it is, now, but I hope it is makin' someone else happy and teaching them to ride as it did me!

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions . . . please send me an E-Mail by clicking here.

This page is updated often, so please check back with us! This page was last updated on March 15, 2005.

The background image of my page and the term, "Suzuki," are registered trademarks of that respective company.