Front Springs

The GS500 is known among owners for having soft factory springs. Many claim that upgrading front springs is the most important performance mod and the one that will provide maximum "bang for your buck".

Upgrading to stiffer springs provides several handling advantages:

• Better braking control, as the nose won't "dive" as much
• Better turning, since the bike will remain more level during braking before a turn

Progressive Springs

These springs increase their rate as they deflect. For example, applying 20 kg of mass over the front forks may cause 20 mm of deflection while 40 kg will only cause 35 mm. Stock springs are linear, so every 20 kg will cause 20 mm of deflection.

They can be ordered directly from a Progressive Springs dealer. The Progressive part no. is 111128.

The cheapest supplier is Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse, where they are $55.95 plus shipping. The part no. is 02517.

Another good manufacturer of progressive springs is Hagon Shocks. They cost £61 including both delivery and fork oil.

Sonic Springs

Of the two companies that offer straight rate springs (RaceTech and Sonic), Sonic Springs are the cheaper of the duo. Sonic Springs cost roughly $80 plus shipping and are straight rate springs. http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=24872.0

Racetech Springs

The second, and slightly more expensive, manufacturer of straight rate springs for the GS is RaceTech. Retail price is ~$110 plus shipping, which comes out to ~$125 in the continental US.
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HOW TO

How-To: Fork spring replacement & Fork oil change

Progressive spring install with pictures

Progressive fork spring install- the lazy way (replace the springs without removing the forks)
NOTE. Doing the "lazy way" oil replacement the biggest trouble is to remove the old fork oil. Instead of a large syringe you can use the fork oil bottle depicted below. New oil came in a bottle with a handy 11cm extension tube (BTW you need 2 small 0.5L bottles like that for two forks). That tube helps to pour the oil in. I am not sure if other brands have that feature, sorry this is my first time doing forks. This bottle can be used to suck the old oil out. Just attach some tubing to extend the hose and reach all the way into the fork. After the old oil is removed use a shorter tube to form 140mm hose (that's the distance from top of the fork recommended by Progressive). Pour in the new oil and suck the excess out with this 140mm hose. Should work just fine and save you some time.