GPX750R resurrection

[Smitty]

Hi folks,....
I have not been able to figure out why the small side-panels at the rider's knees is a different colour to the rest of the bike. Plenty of pics of these bikes on the 'net show the same difference. Doesn't make sense and looks a bit bodgie.

gpz750r0001.jpg

.. should be painted to match (as per mine)

[Mister_T]

.. should be painted to match (as per mine)

People around the world apparently do paint them to match,e.g.

GPX750R Dionne.JPG (37.34 KiB) Viewed 6907 times

but I have a different idea I may try first.

[Smitty]

naaah... they come from the factory that way (I did not paint that)

[Mister_T]

The main problem with the red/white is that it does not match my leathers. Also, I would not want uneducated people mistaking the bike for a CBR1000.

[BrettZZR]

naaah... they come from the factory that way (I did not paint that) ...

But your bottom pic seems to show it in that dark colour?

Dunno.

[Smitty]

naaah... they come from the factory that way (I did not paint that) ...

But your bottom pic seems to show it in that dark colour?

Dunno.

huh?

both pics of the same bike.. one pic taken with a film camera and scanned, the other with a digital camera several years later
here is another (digital) pic

[Mister_T]

BrettZZR is talking about the brochure pic.

[Mister_T]

Riding the bike on one of the coldest mornings of the year was worth the discomfort to finally get the RWC. It needed a little more work for final approval due to a front sliding caliper which didn't slide as good as it should have, but that was just old grease getting a bit too sticky for its own good.
It won't be long now until the bike is on club rego.
There are a few more little things I want to tinker with which are mostly cosmetic, but keeping a 29 year old bike nice is an ongoing commitment.
The sides of the tyre treads are a little shiny from sitting around for so long. A practice session at the Honda Australia Rider Training facility should be a good way to scrub the tyres up and get aquainted with the bike.

[GPX Denis]

I finally got my front brakes worked out i ditched the idea of the race setup brake lines didn't fit went to standard set up with braided lines bleeding the brakes . tried reverse bleeding that didn't work ended up placing an old brake pad in the caliper using a G clamp to force or hold the pistons in then suspending the calipers well above the master cylinder pumping the lever pouring the brake fluid in the master cylinder as per normal and it worked . so far have fitted two front and one rear caliper kits clutch and front and rear brake master cylinder and clutch slave cylinder kits , my carby's leaked at the start but stopped when started. fingers crossed three months later all will be good and hopefully on the road September this year keep up the good work enjoy reading the GPX updates and living in Melbourne when the bikes are up and going a possible ride cheers Denis

[Mister_T]

Hi Denis,
I'm glad I didn't have your bleeding issues when I replaced the front right caliper on the resurrection bike, it surpirsed me how easy it was. I borrowed a front caliper off a GPX250 which are same same, gotta love these Jap bikes.
For now I am happy with the feel from the stock rubber lines. I'll have a pic up in the future as to why I changed the caliper.

Now that I have the bike on club rego and in my garage, I can get more things done. It will be while before I am confident enough in me and the bike to take it to a track but I'll get there eventually.
I'm going to be a fair-weather weekend rider and no apologies from me. I'm not scared of wet weather riding, I've done plenty of that in the past, but geez a black bike shows up the dirt. The club reg gives me 90 days use per year (log booked) and I want to maximise the enjoyment of my time on the bike.

[Mister_T]

One thing that has bugged me is that the fuel cap has been difficult to open, no doubt some corrosion from the stale fuel has set in. The original key has a bit of a twist in it now. Some CRC down the lock helped get it open.
Once apart I used a plastic scourer to take the powdery matt off the alloy plunger and its housing. Works like a charm now.

[Mister_T]

Cruising the net for interesting tidbits of GPX info led me to the website of Tony Foale ( https://motochassis.com/ ). That is a name which older riders with a technical bent will remember.
In one of Mr Foale's articles ( https://motochassis.com/Articles/Frame.mod/KawaMods.htm ), he describes stiffening a GPX750 frame, also describing the original as "super bendy". Mr Foale is no fool so that article caught my eye.

Here is a visual excerpt:


That is all well and good, but a frame needs to contain an engine and other parts.
When I look at a pic of a Jap GPX with the radiator off and the headers nearly off:

Nice and clean!

GPMF3001.jpg (112.49 KiB) Viewed 6787 times

I have to wonder how it will all go into the stiffened frame. It probably won't.
Kawasaki designers are no fools either. They did what they could with the goals and budget they had.
I'm sure Mr Foale did an excellent job stiffening the frame. It's just that a motorcycle is more than a bare frame.
Even if the engine fit in, the stock airbox would not, and I suspect that you would have to be on very good terms with an experienced tube-bender and welder to get headers to fit.

Don't let this put you off reading Mr Foales's articles, he has plenty of interesting things to say. You don't have to agree with everything but if it makes you think a bit more about the design and operation of that collection of parts you trust your life to, that can't be a bad thing.

[pkay]

I guess the ol;d saying don't believe everything you read on the internet must be true then........

[javaman]

Getting the carbys in is a lot easier than getting them out. I made a special tool out of a couple of sheets of thin ally and lubed them with some vaseline. I was going to use rubber grease but I couldn't find that so the vaseline was used which shouldn't bother the rubber anyway.
I put the ally sheets against the rubber adapters on the airbox and engine and shoved the carbys between them, then pulled the sheets out and the carbys slid into place.[/attachment]

Great write up!

The carburetors on my GPZ is the one thing I haven't touch. I was scratching my head because the boots+carbies+boot+airbox (if seen from the left) are absolutely tight fit! So I left it alone.

Any chance to describe this magic tool of yours? is it just a plate you force the carbs/boot into?

I too had the oil cooler line touching the exhaust! Lucky I looked beneath and it was a 30-sec. fix.

[Mister_T]

I guess the ol;d saying don't believe everything you read on the internet must be true then........

The GPX frame article apparently first appeared in 1988 in a magazine.
I'm not sure why Mr Foale chose a GPX750 frame to examplify, in 1988 the GPX was still gracing new bike showrooms. Perhaps the GPX's fundamental frame design, dating back to the McCandless design of the 1950 Manx Norton frame, was an illustration of how little some things change.