gpx 250

[BUNGY]

Hi. Im looking at a 1988 gpx250 on trademe and had a few questions

1-Is it suitable as learners bike

2-Is a 1988 too old

3-Its done 31,500km is this too many and will it need an engine rebuild in the near future.

[gamgee]

Hi. Im looking at a 1988 gpx250 on trademe and had a few questions

1-Is it suitable as learners bike

2-Is a 1988 too old

3-Its done 31,500km is this too many and will it need an engine rebuild in the near future.

1 yes
2 no
3 no
awesome learner bike, one of the best comprimises of performance and reliability in the 250 market I've had my one for nearly a year, and has been completely problem free

[gamgee]

oh mines just gone over 40,000km

[mynameis]

Hi. Im looking at a 1988 gpx250 on trademe and had a few questions

1-Is it suitable as learners bike

2-Is a 1988 too old

3-Its done 31,500km is this too many and will it need an engine rebuild in the near future.

Well good bike overall, great to learn on and very easy on you. Kawasaki's are quite reliable. Few things you have to look out for are obviously age and mileage in this case.

Can't really judge as you have to know how the previous owners have looked after it and if there are any existing problems with it or not. Generally speaking you won't need a new engine up till 60 000 odd k's if well looked after and maintained.

Having owned a 2001 GPX which did 10 000 k's I find them really gutless, they are two cylinders, if I was you I'd bite the bullet and go for a ZXR 250. Check this one out :

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=66091581&key=517169

Good luck !

[gamgee]

Well good bike overall, great to learn on and very easy on you. Kawasaki's are quite reliable. Few things you have to look out for are obviously age and mileage in this case.

Can't really judge as you have to know how the previous owners have looked after it and if there are any existing problems with it or not. Generally speaking you won't need a new engine up till 60 000 odd k's if well looked after and maintained.

Having owned a 2001 GPX which did 10 000 k's I find them really gutless, they are two cylinders, if I was you I'd bite the bullet and go for a ZXR 250. Check this one out :

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=66091581&key=517169

Good luck !


It's a 250 they are all gutless, so whats the point in wasting a lot of money buying a flash gutless bike, as I said get the gpx, it's the best compromise of performance and reliability, plus they will hold value well, and don't look too bad

[mynameis]

It's a 250 they are all gutless, so whats the point in wasting a lot of money buying a flash gutless bike, as I said get the gpx, it's the best compromise of performance and reliability, plus they will hold value well, and don't look too bad

Having owned the two GPX and ZXR, two and four cylinders, there is hell of a lot difference between them.

My GPX was dynoed at 30 hp and my ZXR 250 at 43. 1 hp in bikes makes a difference. You have to ride both of them to appreciate the difference. ZXR's will always hold value and are reliable as well. Plus the one on Trade Me is hell cheap !

[gamgee]

whoa a whole 43 hp, hold me back :doobey:
as I said all 250's are gutless save your money for when your allowed a big bike

[twinkle]

I had one for a 3 years and it had done about 75,000ks when it died. The guy I sold it to is rebuilding the whole bike now.
A really good bike. I found the rear suspension a bit soft though.
I'd choose one over a 4 cylinder 250 mostly because of price. The 4's aren't very good value for money. The twins have the same amount of torque as the 4's anyway.

[T.W.R]

As a stepping stone bike the GPX will do everything you want without any nasty vices or suprises. It has the attributes of a larger bike but within a user friendly package, by comparison to a ZXR250 it's down on power & technological gimmickry thus a more comfortable bike for a learner to get to know and be able to use and more forgiving to slight mistakes.
The likes of the ZXR are far more sports orientated and less forgiving to inherant novice mistakes, although they do offer a lot of bang for your buck.

Mechanically the GPX is a far simpler motor to work with & maintain compared to a 250/4 and more durable to minor neglect. The GPX has been around for ages & the engine design has been basically unchanged since being introduced in the GPZ250R.

30 odd thousand kms isn't a hell of a lot of kms to clock up, GPX engines by design have a slight audiable knock when cold but nothing major.

Use it as a stepping stone onto a larger machine when the time is right, 250's & the likes turn over quickly and there's always a market for them.

[mynameis]

whoa a whole 43 hp, hold me back :doobey:
as I said all 250's are gutless save your money for when your allowed a big bike

Gutless compared to what? "A big bike" 600, 1000? Well it's only logical to not compare apples with pears, when we're talking about the 250 category only.

Make the most of it and enjoy the best 250 around not a little 2 cylinder toy. :rockon:

[ZeroIndex]

I like my GPX.. just got a few things left to sort out (when I got it, it was on the verge of being a giant gargre-filling paperweight)

[twinkle]

how much are the 250 4's now? something like $5000? It doesn't make sense to spend that much money on a 10+ year old bike when a brand new honda vtr250 is $8000.

It's a much better idea to buy the gpx for say, $2000-$3000 and spend the rest on riding gear, or start putting it toward the next bike once off the restricted.

[Motig]

Not everybody is worried about image. The GPX is perfect for starting off on. Worry about more power when you've got to grips with it. It'll be a lot more fun to learn on.

[speights_bud]

I'vehad my gpx now for about 10-12 months, it had a rebuild around 30 thou k's and i've done about 12 thou on it now (42,000) on clock. Altrhough i'd have to say it's not the 'sportiest' of 250's it's a great learners bike.
I took it out on trackday 3 at taupo after not having it for very long and was still able yto keep up/pass other riders in my group, only drawback was straightline acceleration. Even threw Gixxer 4 Ever on the back for a blat around the new track during pillion session and it managed to cope alright.

I'd reccomend one, fairly cheap yet should be able to do what a learner requires of one:)

[mynameis]

how much are the 250 4's now? something like $5000? It doesn't make sense to spend that much money on a 10+ year old bike when a brand new honda vtr250 is $8000.

It's a much better idea to buy the gpx for say, $2000-$3000 and spend the rest on riding gear, or start putting it toward the next bike once off the restricted.

Nope got your market value wrong there, can fetch a good one for $3500 to $4000, (cheaper in winter) while a GPX would be $2000 - $3000. Pay $500 extra and enjoy if you have the doughs!

[Sketchy_Racer]

Hey mynameis...

I have a GPX 250 and i can assure you that my GPX could smoke your ZXR :yes:

I spent the extra $1000 that i saved from buying the GPX instead of the ZXR and spent it on engine development.

and suspension.

I know what bike i would rather have :yes:

[mynameis]

Hey mynameis...

I have a GPX 250 and i can assure you that my GPX could smoke your ZXR :yes:

I spent the extra $1000 that i saved from buying the GPX instead of the ZXR and spent it on engine development.

and suspension.

I know what bike i would rather have :yes:

0oh man it's on now, you've comitted the ultimate sin!! When are you in Auckland next?

I feel like pissing all over you! Lol..ehehe :p And what have you done to the engine? A busa engine :p lol ehehe

[ZeroIndex]

0oh man it's on now, you've comitted the ultimate sin!! When are you in Auckland next?

I feel like pissing all over you! Lol..ehehe :p And what have you done to the engine? A busa engine :p lol ehehe
I'm sure he forgot to write 'p/t' at the end of his post.. simple mistake to make.. us GPX riders know (at least me) where our place is..

[Sketchy_Racer]

Carbs done . K&n filters Dyno tuned and Yoshi full system.

I don't go to that place you call auckland.

[Sketchy_Racer]

I'm sure he forgot to write 'p/t' at the end of his post.. simple mistake to make.. us GPX riders know (at least me) where our place is..

Errr Im for real.

On my GPX i could probably out ride most 250 riders

[mynameis]

Errr Im for real.

On my GPX i could probably out ride most 250 riders

Ehehehe just pulling your leg fella !! Relax just that you know, it's not all about the machine it's about the rider as well but lets not get there.

Lets talk about your bike now aye ehehe lol, I didnt even know you could get yoshi for 250's thought they declined the performance on 250's if you fucked around with those?

You really have yoshi and KnN, shit I wish I was as cool as you man !!:nya:

[Sketchy_Racer]

Its a american import. And you can get SHITLOADS of parts over there.

lol


You are really funny, Shit i wish i was a funny as you man !! :nya-nya:

[The Pastor]

Gpx is a better LEARNER bike than the zxr becuase even though its 250 a zxr is still very fast. A gpx isnt slow either.

[ZeroIndex]

Errr Im for real.

On my GPX i could probably out ride most 250 riders
wasn't referring to the skill of the rider.. rider skill will almost always count more than horsepower figures (in that 250cc range especially)

[The Big J]

Hi,
well I started on a 1988 GPX 250 having never ridden more than a mountain bike and thought it was perfect to learn on. Enough power to overtake/have fun but pretty contained really. My first week I took it to the South Island and rode Dunedin-Picton in a day comfortably enough.

Weaknesses, a bit soft at the back - not too bad though
- didn't really cruise at 110, the bike seemed to want to go 95 but chugged along well enough

I would recommend to anyone starting.

[gamgee]

my bike cruises easily enough at 110 (+ :blah: )

[The Big J]

I got my bike up to 140 and could have gone faster had I wanted to.
It definitely went 110 and that's what I cruised at.
I just mean it felt like it wasn't designed for it. Did the job well enough, was sluggish if I had a big backpack on...

[ZeroIndex]

my GPX got to 175km/h (on the speedo), was trying to keep up with a 285km/h ZX-14 on a back road <-- very long straight, no driveways, or traffic (pretty much a closed road)

[Reno]

My first bike was a '90 GPX that had done 80 odd thousand Kms. I only paid $900 for it and was the best purchase ever. Certainly did more than 140 and once you got used to the "soft rear" was pretty sticky on the corners.
Paying almost nothing for a first bike meant I had no reservations on seeing how far you could take it. If I dropped, it who cared, it was only $900.
I learn't many things on that bike, my first lesson was never to fixate on an object 'cause you WILL hit it and the last was never assume a car has seen you as they approach an intersection. Sadly my first bike is now in the scrap heap.
I firmly believe that a first bike should be practical, you're learning a new skill and you don't want to be worrying about dropping it while you're doing so. Save you're money for the bike you really want to ride when you've got you're full license.