Some questions about my "new" GPX...

Hey guys, I recently became the proud owner of a GPX250 (thanks to BT Humble
and Zebee for your advice) and have a couple of questions about it you may
be able to answer. Its a '91 model, and has done 22,000kms.

Here's a pic:

http://www.farkin.net/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=9688

The bike seems to ride really nice - I dont have much to compare it to (only
the CB250 I did my L's on) but to me it definitely feels well balanced and
faster than I need

Only things I can see that are wrong with it at this stage are a moderately
badly rusted exhaust header and a clicking noise in the front suspension.
There are no actual holes in the exhaust header at this stage, but it look
like it could happen within the next few thousand k's. Anyone know how much
this generally costs to fix? Anything I can wrap/coat the pipes in to slow
down the rusting?

The clicking in the front forks is mysterious, and something I was warned to
look for when buying a bike, but since its one of the only "major" things we
could see wrong with the bike I decided to cross my fingers and hope its
nothing too expensive! Anyone care to tell me the good/bad news about what
this might be? Its in the first 1-2" of fork travel, and occurs only on the
compression stroke. We are 95% sure the headset is tight and that the noise
is coming from the forks.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me.

 

OMG BT has seen it already , straight from the booth from the looks of it

mightnt have any oil in the forks or be low
they arent all that difficult to strip down and refill with oil

how are the fork seals, leaking at all ??

 

Fork seals look fine.. No oil leaks that I can see which I guess either
means its all leaked out, or its not leaking at all

 

They might be tight but they could well be shot.
Take the caps off the slider legs and check for oil.
cheers
pete

 

I agree with what the others say, Just one ? though, You sure there's
nothing else wrong with it giving the impression that it's the forks? I had
a 91 model GPX & it was black, Yours is white which I don't think they
actually came in, Even original Kwaka imports. Those front indicators look
too big also.
What I'm getting at is that it's possable that yours has been repainted
due to crash damage & something has been missed in the fix.
I hope I'm wrong.

 

After the mechanic worked on my brakes at the local dealer,
he omitted to insert/tighten one of the bolts on one of the
brake calipers causing the caliper to move and 'click'.

It sounded like head bearings. . .

Nice bike.

Tony Dilworth

 

Loose steering head bearings?

 

Thats a pretty considerable mistake on you're mechanics behalf - lucky you
(presumably) realised before you really needed them!

Just checked the calipers and its not that... Thanks anyway..

 

The front indicators are pretty damn big! The fairings are all in amazingly
good condition for such an old bike, which I guess could be a bad sign.. But
they're ALL in good condition, definitely not repainted and there are no
signs of plastic welds on the insides...

I did see another white GPX when I was looking for this one, it was an older
one but I cant remember exactly what year.

 

How can yhou be 95% sure something is tight? Either you've
checked it or you haven't.

Bearings can be subtly rooted as well as just undertight ...
if you can't see any visible play at the headsteam, you'll
have to disassemble it (or take it to a reputable mechanic)
and check the little round balls aren't shaped like footballs.

The interesting bits of (conventional) forks are generally
way down near the front wheel and immersed in oil, so they
don't make noises (well, except for oily, squidgy noises
if there's water in there, or whale noises if there's no
fluid left ...)

-----sharks

 

Very pretty! That's only the second one I've ever seen in the factory
white paint job. It's a grey import, as you'll be able to tell from
the compliance plate.

The exhaust headers are supposed to look like that. Don't worry about
it, they're quite thick-walled tube, and will last as long as the bike
does.

If the forks have oil in them, then it's a problem with the headstem
bearings. Most bike dealers will have a set of tapered roller
bearings in stock to replace the standard loose-ball-bearing type, and
they're $89 well spent.

No wuckers, enjoy the ride!


BTH

 

I'd like to be subtly rooted...
Waddya mean I just was?

V-Twin Traillie Pat