What are good/practical modifications that are within a low budget for an ol' 250?

[riffer]

What F5 Dave and Jim2 said are gold.

Never underestimate the power of decent fork oil and properly lubed bearings.

And I'll add one more thing - put some good rubber on it.

These things will make you twice as fast as a turbo on the motor would.

[zeocen]

I don't really want to make it go faster, that's for when I get a bigger bike and have more experience under my belt. I just want to make it comfortable (which I'm sure proper suspension would definately do - however I can't warrent spending so much on a bike I may not keep after I get my full) untill I get there.

So I was thinking in the way of maybe a new seat that doesn't feel like a plank of wood, or repainting the fairings if it's cost effective.

The tread on my tires (apart from the chicken strips) are almost at the minimum legal limit so that's on the market anyway hehe

Thanks for the help though, the performence tips have gone into the ol' memory banks for when I buy a bigger bike!

[FROSTY:Me]

DUDE --listen to the old farts here---
Replace the fork oil and the tyres as first prioroty.
Its better for your resale than a bit of cosmetic fixing up

[zeocen]

I know what you're saying Frosty, but that post seems to come across as you thinking I'm a kid who doesn't know what he's doing.

The probability of me selling this, my first bike, is slim.. I don't care about resale. And I don't particuarly want to give it any performence boost because I want to keep it as a project bike to practice on once I move up. I would want to do that myself to get into the guts and nitty-gritty of a bike.

So for now, I just want it to be pleasing to my eye and nice to sit on.

I hope this post doesn't come across as a "know it all mid twentys idiot", far from it.. It's just I've said what I wanted to do a few times now :/ Believe me, I take every advice of the resident veterans to heart. It's just.. not what I want to do right now.

[F5 Dave]

Maybe I should have hit the unsubscribe button ages ago, but I am a little curious,

You launch into a “What are good/practical modifications that are within a low budget for an ol' 250” thread.

People suggest some low budget bang for buck mods, but. . . “It's just.. not what I want to do right now”.


Erm ok. . .

So a paintjob? Well option 1, find a shop to do it. Grand easy. More if they are good. Or you find a mate to do it, a good mate will rush you 2 -3 hundy on product & maybe paint it for free. Next year, after he’s cleared a few other jobs away. Maybe.
Or spray cans, which ‘can’ be made to look good, but not by many. $100 for enough primer & paint to do the job. Expect to be under-whelmed.

Or seat refoam. Rider seats are 500 notes. Other upholstery companies can have a bash, maybe for 200, but cutting the foam to suit & knowing what foam to use is an experience thing. Low budget ones I’ve had done were not much improvement.

So it seems that what you really want is someone to tell you to do what you want to do.

Heck ok, go for it, you have our permission.

[Steam]

so it's mainly cosmetic that I'm looking for.

I've said it to other people, I'll say it to you: Matt black spraypaint, solid wheels, raggedy lagging, and whatever the hell else you can think of.
You will not be ignored. Small children will cry and their parents will flee.

Here it is here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...7&postcount=56

[FROSTY:Me]

Im agreeing with Dave here.
What I will add is that the GPX to my knowledge hasn't changed phsicaly from its introduction way back whento the "latest" model available today new
From your point of view this means that updating your cosmetics can just be a matter of sitting back and waiting.Id put all the wreckers on my e mail contact list

[Ixion]

Fish. Cactuses. Missile launcher from the warewhare. Change from $50. Sorted.

[zeocen]

Maybe I should have hit the unsubscribe button ages ago, but I am a little curious,

You launch into a “What are good/practical modifications that are within a low budget for an ol' 250” thread.

People suggest some low budget bang for buck mods, but. . . “It's just.. not what I want to do right now”.


Erm ok. . .

So a paintjob? Well option 1, find a shop to do it. Grand easy. More if they are good. Or you find a mate to do it, a good mate will rush you 2 -3 hundy on product & maybe paint it for free. Next year, after he’s cleared a few other jobs away. Maybe.
Or spray cans, which ‘can’ be made to look good, but not by many. $100 for enough primer & paint to do the job. Expect to be under-whelmed.

Or seat refoam. Rider seats are 500 notes. Other upholstery companies can have a bash, maybe for 200, but cutting the foam to suit & knowing what foam to use is an experience thing. Low budget ones I’ve had done were not much improvement.

So it seems that what you really want is someone to tell you to do what you want to do.

Heck ok, go for it, you have our permission.

I had no idea where to start looking for paint/seats etc, I figured making a thread after searching the forums would be a good start, no?

I didn't "launch into" anything. If you read beyond the thread title you'd see, pretty clearly, that what I was looking for was cosmetic, and that suspension and the rest ...is just, not what I want to do right now.

But you gave me advice on the price and quality of various ways of painting and custom seats, that's all I was really looking for, advice on what I was looking into, so thanks for that!

[skidMark]

see if you can find somebody to make custom LED tail lights for it , or perhaps a rear cowling from another bike with a modern tail light.

get it a paintjob i know a guy and there are plenty around that will do it for 300-500 get some really nice graphics,100 bucks or so i know a plastic welder that will do stuff for me for under $20 a whole fairing put back together.

and then remove the front indicators and thier indents in the fairings (well before you get it painted obviously)

get it all smooth then put some nice little triangle oxford indicators on it

you could always skimp on a paint job etc and streetfighter it , leave the lower part as a little belly pan

and get a streetfighter headlight , ie the acerbis cyclops.

heres a pic of my one when i streetfightered it





just some ideas take from it what you like.

SM

[okeh]

Leaner = more power. Richer = less power
But going to lean can be bad for the engine.

[T.I.E]

if it aint too long to wait, save ya money till ya get ya full liecene and spend it all on the next bike.
if ya want some extra comfort try ya fork oil, and tyres. its makes the ride so much better. i know suspension ya dont wanna, but the ride of the bike and comfort increases with it, just a bouns ya get a better handeling bike too.
led's would be cool for the tail light, but also extra led's on a switch for under bike and engine to give it that night time bling
or go the whole hog if ya got the money and go all out and bling the hell out of a GPX250. probably never been done before.
depends how much money ya got and how long its gonna take till ya get ya full and move up a bike.
but ya could be waisting ya money.
instead of the bike, what about ya own personal gear? how are they looking? new leathers maybe?