Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this Suzuki GS500F for a while now, and let me tell you, it’s been a journey. I wanted to turn this thing into a cafe racer, and I’m finally there. I’ll share how it went down.
First off, this bike is known to be a solid starter, but I wanted more. It’s got like, 40-something horsepower, which is okay, but not really what you’d call thrilling. I wanted that cafe racer look and feel, so I knew I had some work to do.
First thing I did was looking at that suspension. It was kinda soft. I saw online some people were putting in emulators and swapping out the springs. I went ahead and did that, and threw in a new rear shock while I was at it. Made a big difference in how it handles, much more like it!
Then there’s the power. I read somewhere that trying to squeeze more juice out of this engine is kinda pointless. It is what it is, I guess. But I did look at the exhaust. I mean, a new exhaust can’t hurt, right? I swapped that out for something that sounds a bit throatier and might give a tiny bit more pep, we’ll see.
Now, the airbox. Some folks online were saying taking it out gives you more air and power, especially at high RPMs. But then I also read that it’s designed for power in the lower range. I’m still thinking about messing with that. If I do, I’ll probably adjust the sprockets too. People have said that’s a cheap way to get a different feel from these older bikes.
Anyways, here are the main things I tackled:
- Suspension: Put in some Gold Valve emulators and better springs up front, and a whole new shock in the back.
- Exhaust: Got a new, less restrictive exhaust on there.
- Thinking about: Removing the airbox and maybe playing with the sprockets.
So, yeah, that’s pretty much where I’m at. It’s definitely looking more like a cafe racer now, and it rides a bit differently. Still, I am not sure about messing with the airbox or the sprockets just yet. But hey, it’s always fun to try and see, right?
