Kawasaki GPX250

[Tryhard]

Advice please. Looking to buy. Been offered a GPX 2001 done 20k for $3500.
If it was up to expectation ie regular servicing bla bla.

Is it value for money?

Please any thoughts.

[Tryhard]

anyone out there? hellooooooooooooooo

[marine0089]

Has it been dropped or anything like that?

I picked up my '07 with 16,000 on the clock for 4k but it has been dropped once so has some minor damage on the right side. Only cosmetic mind you.

It sounds like a pretty decent offer if it has been well looked after as when I was looking around at gpx's not long ago, the average asking price was ~5k

[one fast tl1ooo]

Advice please. Looking to buy. Been offered a GPX 2001 done 20k for $3500.
If it was up to expectation ie regular servicing bla bla.

Is it value for money?

Please any thoughts.

Sound's ok

[Slyer]

As long as it's in good condition, how many k's has it done?

[brendonjw]

As long as it's in good condition, how many k's has it done?

GPX 2001 done 20k for $3500.

Sounds ok if its in good nic

[Slyer]

Ah, then yes.

[Miscreant]

Advice please. Looking to buy. Been offered a GPX 2001 done 20k for $3500.
If it was up to expectation ie regular servicing bla bla.

Is it value for money?

Please any thoughts.

If you weigh more than 50kg move on. Front suspension is crap.

[Slyer]

The comment about the front suspension is true. I spent $600 making mine awesome with race tech springs and cartridge fork emulators.
They could all use stiffening at least.

[avgas]

If you weigh more than 50kg move on. Front suspension is crap.

Easily preloaded with about $2 worth of spacers/washers. Cheap easy fix. Most bikes have this problem sub $10K

[sil3nt]

If you weigh more than 50kg move on. Front suspension is crap.

But a learner will not notice for a while and when they do notice they probably won't care anyway. Increasing the fork oil level is an easy fix. Slyer has done what quite a few in the states do and go all out with the emulators.

The GPX is a fantastic bike that was in production for 20 years so there are plenty of parts available and they are nice and reliable. You can't go wrong with owning one. I would take it if i were you!

[Miscreant]

But a learner will not notice for a while and when they do notice they probably won't care anyway. Increasing the fork oil level is an easy fix. Slyer has done what quite a few in the states do and go all out with the emulators.

I see no point in putting those least able to handle a bike on the worst suspension you can get. I feel sure you will correct my thinking though.

[marine0089]

What's wrong with the suspension?

(please don't just flame, I honestly want to know as my gpx is my first bike so I don't have anything to compare it with)

[Slyer]

There's nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't compare to that of a modern supersport bike. The GPX suspension is really soft when stock. Soft suspension means that the front dives a lot under braking and it's not as stable as it could be when cornering etc. The soft suspension is fine for mainly commuting and cruisy touring but you need to make sure you give yourself plenty of room to slow down, I learned this the hard way...
Increasing the preload on the springs inside your front forks stiffens the front end of the bike and makes it more stable but at the loss of being able to soak up bumps well. It's all about balance.
The advantage of upgrading is that you can increase the stiffness without losing its ability to soak up bumps or increase the ability to soak up bumps without losing stability.

The difference was night and day when I upgraded my bike with race tech springs and cartridge fork emulators, but many would argue it's not worth spending money on a 250. I also bought a second hand SV650 shock and modified it to fit the rear, this stiffened it up a lot and also raised the height of the bike a bit. :P
Linky: http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Front_suspension_upgrades

[marine0089]

Ahh I see, cheers for that.