Don´t be fooled. This bugger performs better than my ´05 883XL, weighs less, has a bigger tank, greater range, costs less and doesn´t vibrate anywhere near my 883 after I´d changed the exhaust, jetted it and went to a K&N filter. Further the clutch is like butter which makes stop-and-go bearable without cramps in my left hand that I get ridding my Sportster.
I had a new ´98 GS500E that was a great bike except for a quirk of fuel starvation in a hard-leaning right curve (no doubt a carb / fuel line issue). The GS500F has undergone some major improvements since my \