GPX 250 making rattling noises

[zeocen]

Pretty hard to explain this one, it's just a rattle around the engine area.

I've been running it well and it still performs like it always has but I've just noticed a rattle that seems to increase with revs but is always there. Does anyone have a clue what could cause this or should I take it into a bike shop?

Thanks

[98tls]

cam chain rattle.....

[zeocen]

That seems like a pretty definite answer, could you explain to me the reason for it? I'm mechanically challenged

[98tls]

Not saying its that definetly without hearing the thing running but would be a good bet....they strech with use just like a drive chain and do need adjusting..it may have a faulty tensioner...take it down to your local bike shop and get them to have a listen...not a huge job but if as you say your not mechanically minded then best to leave to someone else...do you have a mate or someone who knows a bit close to were you are.

[zeocen]

Hmm nah I don't.. I think I'll take it down to the shop and get an experts opinion on the sound, but it sounds like it could be what you say.

Thanks a lot!

[98tls]

no worries...good luck with it and let us know what it is....

[zeocen]

Well I took it into Papakura Motor Cycles and the guy there had a play with it and tightened the cam chain tensioner or something (I think) and said it probably was the cam chain and if it still seems a bit odd then I should bring it in for a fix up.

He said it would cost around or just under $300 for it to be done, but I'm thinking my problems don't end there. I stopped into a petrol station to get a magazine real quick and left my bike in 1st gear because it was on a bit of a hill, I clicked it back into neutral and the neutral light came on but when I started it, it jumped and stalled like it wasn't in neutral, I had to play around with the gears in and out of neutral untill it finally decided to start.

Very weird, and by the sounds of it, my next visit to the shop will be a very expensive one

[slimjim]

if you have the ability, remove your fairing's prior to bike shop, as the time you save by removing these will mean saving in his labour cost,and its not a big job, just carefully remove and remember what goes where and when putting it all back that you don't overtighten anything, the pressure that you need to undo a bolt, should be the same pressure in doing it back up,

[dickytoo]

Well I took it into Papakura Motor Cycles and the guy there had a play with it and tightened the cam chain tensioner or something (I think) and said it probably was the cam chain and if it still seems a bit odd then I should bring it in for a fix up.

He said it would cost around or just under $300 for it to be done, but I'm thinking my problems don't end there. I stopped into a petrol station to get a magazine real quick and left my bike in 1st gear because it was on a bit of a hill, I clicked it back into neutral and the neutral light came on but when I started it, it jumped and stalled like it wasn't in neutral, I had to play around with the gears in and out of neutral untill it finally decided to start.

Very weird, and by the sounds of it, my next visit to the shop will be a very expensive one

Is that Colin? I've dealt with him and he seems like a pretty nice guy and know his stuff. I don't have any work done there (just WOFs), usually doing all my own. I'm in Sydney at the moment, otherwise I could have looked at it for you. I'm normally based in papakura.

The neutral light thing might not be such a big deal. it could just be s sticky switch. next time try rolling the bike with the clutch lever disengaged. if the bike rolls, than it's definitely in neutral.

if it jumps into gear by itself, then you do have a problem but I'd check the neutral switch first. it's usually located near the front sprocket.

[98tls]

as per dickytoo i wouldnt be to worried about the neutral thing....things just getting a bit worn and its found a false neutral.....good idea every know and then to get some kero and an old paintbrush and clean all the crap that builds up around that front sprocket area away....

[zeocen]

dickytwo: Yeah, it was Colin, he was great and very helpful (though I must admit, halfway through I was drooling at all the other bikes there instead of focusing on mine).

I'll have a look at the gunk around the front sprocket area, it may be disconnecting. I know when I've just started it up in the mornings and given it a few revs it can sometimes make the N light flicker or sometimes even dissapear. It was just weird that I had to click up 3 times from 1st untill it *really* clicked into neutral.

Thanks for the continued help guys, really appreciate it.

[dickytoo]

dickytwo: Yeah, it was Colin, he was great and very helpful (though I must admit, halfway through I was drooling at all the other bikes there instead of focusing on mine).

I'll have a look at the gunk around the front sprocket area, it may be disconnecting. I know when I've just started it up in the mornings and given it a few revs it can sometimes make the N light flicker or sometimes even dissapear. It was just weird that I had to click up 3 times from 1st untill it *really* clicked into neutral.

Thanks for the continued help guys, really appreciate it.

if it flickers, it could be a loose connection. the connector gets a little loose with age, nothing a pair of pliers can't fix. slowly and don't squeeze too hard or you could end up crushing it!

if your clucth is dragging, it could make it hard to engage neutral. check the adjustment and make sure you have enough free play. 2 to 3 mm at the lever is recommended. if it is larger than that, it could be the reason.

check your clutch cable is not starting to fray. i had one that had the same symptons and caused me great embarrassment when I pulled in the clutch lever and kicked started a bike only for it to take off even though i had the clutch lever pulled all the way in. right in front of a sweet young thing and her mother - just after i had boasted of my absolute control of said piece of machinery!

the cable had frayed so badly, the clutch wasn't disengaing completely when I pulled the lever in. good luck with the gpx. my nephew has the zzr and the engine is the same, i think.

[zeocen]

Well, I FINALLY got my bike back today! Rejoice!

But ... wait...

So it was the cam chain it seems, and there was a bit too much oil around the clutch area or something (I wasn't really listening *bad zeo*), however when I went out to pick it up just as he turned it on something from the carb dropped out.

It seems one of the previous owners mucked up something on the carb and used putty to keep it there, and .. I dunno, 6 - 10 years later(?) it finally got loose enough to fall out. Just luck of the draw it fell out in the hands of an expert.

Anyway he had done his job and then some (great guy, btw, Colin - Papakura Motor Cycles - really goes the extra mile.), and I asked what I could do to remedy it and he said just get some "knead it" and do the same thing basically.

As I was riding home, I had to keep the revs up or it would just cut out - made for an embarrassing trip home, stalling at intersections etc.. I got home and bought some knead-it and stuck it back on, it seems a bit loose to the other bolt (or screw, whatever it is) on the other side but I think what Colin said was that with it open it will suck air in and that is what is causing the bike to cut out on idle.

So I figure even though its a tiny bit loose, it should hold when the putty sets and if it is sucking in air then it should be fine since there's no open seals anywhere (i hope).

I hope that made sense, this is all foreign to me :P It's great to have my bike back but by god I need to find a better paying job because I don't think this one is going to get any cheaper to run any time soon

[pervert]

You'd have to try pretty hard to do much serious damage to a GPX, they are pretty damn tough...

[zeocen]

Well I waited the 60minutes and turned it on, viola! It doesn't cut out, the revs sound pretty high but the rev counter says its on 1.. dunno whats up there, maybe it has always been kinda on the way out and now it's properly tuned - who knows.

I'm thinking of taking it back in tomorrow to see if he can hear anything wrong with it, I'm so sure I can hear the same rattle as the beginning (haha) but I may just be paranoid. But my god, does it ever go! Gear shifting is a luxery rather than a violent struggle now!

I only hope the high idle sound and the rattling is just my imagination.