Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Ladies and Gentlemen,

will be looking at picking up the above said scoot fot the loverley Terrie tomorrow, (her first bike). The bike has only done 44,000km's needs TLC and fairing repairs, but if anyones seen my 900 ya know I'm not too worried about that until the funds are available.

My question is, what should I be looking for? and please be Captain Obvious, is there those of you out there that have any dealings with the GPx 250's?

cheers all

I have heard (often) that 40000k's on a GPX250 is quite high mileage for them, being so revvy and all...so there is no "only" about 44000km!

Mind you that applies to the engine mostly.

It should "feel" tight, not sloppy, and if everything feels loose, then keep looking. At that sort of mileage, they usually should have had some suspension work done etc. Look at how well forks work and all that.

It all depends on how much it is and how much you are willing to spend time and effort looking after it.

I have basically given up on getting a second had 250 for 'er indoors - she either gets mine, or a brand spanker Hyosung 250 Comet with 2 years warranty...

it's amazing how some of the old GPX250 actually survived this long.
Main issues suspension, cam chain, head stem bearing and overall engine condition, specially do a carbie check they don't fare to well with age.
44k is a shyteload for a GPX of that age, i have a friend who stacked one and as i found out parts are getting real hard to find now for them. Those everyday parts you reckon you should be able to get nah think again.

tape
check our KSRC bike buyer guide....
we have everything here for the discerning Kwika buyer...
http://www.ksrc-au.com/html/bike_inspection.html
the old GPX??
my bro had one til he blew it up recently.....at 260,000km

the only problem he had
apart from the usual stuff wif something old.....
(camchain, stg head and fork seals)
was the carbs on the Gpx 2fiddy....apparently
they play up and are hard to synchronise..old age

hth

cheers

Geez I'm a der!!!

It is an '89 model (I was wondering ). Personally, I'd look for something newer, and even spend a few $k more - it will be worth it. I don't think I'd ever buy a bike more than 5 years old.

On the topic of carbs - these can break down purely on age, regardless of distance. Some of the alloys used in years past, are notorious for breaking down with age. They become brittle and the stuff starts "decaying". This can lead to all kinds of internal vacuum leaks which means heaps of nightmares for a twin carb system. Yuk.

Jus had an 89 GPX 250 with just on 50 thou K's.. It wasn't running to well when we bought it, but it was only $1000..
Gave it a good service and had the carbs fixed up, one float bowl had busted and fixed up the forks. $700 later it ran fine.
She did 2 trips to P.I. on it and sold it for $2200 2 years later..
They are a pretty strong motor so the K's shouldn't be a problem depending on how it was ridden. The front suspension was stuffed so we also had new seals and oil put in it. Its bloody soft too so I added some spacers to the forks and put heavier oil in it. We aslo put a smaller rear sprocket on it so it ran at lower RPM at higher speed and added a few KS to the top end... Just the thing for P.I. trips...
The only problems we had was a leaking water pump and a stretched chain.. She had to carry all the luggage you see, I was on the 7 and didn't want to be weighted down..

Musty wrote:44k is a shyteload for a GPX of that age,

i wouldnt think so, 16 years old, thats only 2750 k's per year. most gpx250 engines are a bit noisy too (well, most of them have been used to learn on.....nuff said)

i've seen gpx and zzr250's with over 60K on them still going....i wouldnt say going strong, just going

Mine wasn't doing too bad at 80000kms - it had shit compression but still went like the clappers.
Check everything ppl have mentioned and you should be fine.
ty

my 91 gpx has done 13000 and the timing chain was really noisy, plus the tappets needed adjusting. After having the chain adjusted and tappets done...it's as quite as. The brake fluid was black which means that noone actually ever changed it. The tyres were 13 years old and as hard as a car tyre..I did a duro test and they were 80...the new dunlops are only 58...big difference (oddly though the fronts are harder than the rears)

Well I bought it....

Will do all the above... Tho if anyone can suggest a competant bike mechanic for a super service and tuneage?

I reckon it's carb is in need of a look at, soooo anyone got any advice?

Front disk will be needed in not to distant future, any info would be appreciated.

I have the Kwikasaki Manuals as well.

cheers

Buy something like a Haynes manual, and invest in a few good tools and learn to do as much as you can - on an older bike it will save you $$$ and still not be too hard.

There is virtually nothing I wouldn't tackle on the ER (except for brakes - I don't believe there is margin of error here for me to learn, but that is a personal thing) however, once the engine needs rebuilding, it's time for something new.

What did ya pay for it?

$950 and came with kwikasaki manuals for the bike, spare brake pads (new) and new cam chain.

Also if I show the bloke a RWC I'll get the plates off him with 8 mths rego.

It has a few scrapes and scratches and some minor repairs needed but mostly needs tune and carby overhaul I'm thinking.

I need someone to weld the tags that the tail/gear sack screws into and right side pillion peg screws into but apart from that for an old little beast it is fairly good nick.

Terrie said I bought it for her so she doen't squash my nackers up against my tank when pillioning her her around...lol

I had the bike home 5 mins and started riping the bike apart...rofl. Gotta find someone with a good welder str8 away...lol

cheers

Bargain! I'd take a chance for that price, I was just concerned that maybe it had been like some of the others I've seen around that age going for $2500+.

Can't go wrong really.

Get a manual, and do the carbs yourself. It will take a week or so the first time, but take the time and do it properly. It isn't that hard, it just takes a bit of patience and a nice clean work area. You'll need a vacuum guage or two, but it will be cheaper than paying someone else to dismantle them for you.

Just remember not to be ham fisted with screws in alloy carb bodies

Good stuff Mick n Congrats Terrie.
Cheers Brett

Top stuff!!

You'll have to post some pics.. $950 is cheap hopefully you don't have to spend much to get it in tip top shape.


Dan