Restoration of 1989 Kawasaki GPX 600R

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum and just wanted to introduce myself and my current resto.

I have been riding bikes since I was 10, road/trail and have been riding mainly a 1988 Honda VT250F that I did a full restoration on back in 2006. That bike has since been sold and am now working on restoring a 1989 Kawasaki GPX 600R that I picked up for cheap.

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I got the bike about 6 weeks ago and have been assessing what I need to complete the resto. Mechanically it is in pretty good nick though it was sitting outside in the weather for a few years and not started for just as long. It looked an utter mess and thought I would be in for a can of worms.

When I picked up the bike the clutch would not dis engage when in gear, not an UN-common problem with a wed clutch.

After dropping the old (Very Old) oil and water, flushed the system and charged the battery, filled with fluids and discovered an electrical problem. I thought that the wiring loom was cactus due to its age and storage. Only 10k on the clock (Not sure if its gone around) Multi meter out and found that there was a loose connection on the ignition switch. Re-soldered and starter would turn over, though the fuel tank was full of rust so off came the tank and all the fairings.

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Feed fuel to the carbs and turned it over. Wouldn't start but fired a few times, checked the choke and the lever was missing so manually pulled the choke rail on the carbs and she fired up. No knocks running smooth once warm, though once the cooling system pressurized the radiator leaked like a sieve..

Found a radiator on eBay in the US for a good price. Came 2 weeks later which gave me some time to strip the bike and clean it.

The radiator arrived today! No leaks so pretty happy with that. Filled and started it up, came up to temp and let run for about 20 mins. Unexpected thing happened, the clutch was working now so I decided to take it for a quick test ride (On a property so all legal) Gears were a bit still but loosened up after a few changes up and down.

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The front brake master cylinder was seized, found a replacement on Gumtree for less than a re-build kit. Hope it gets here soon. The drive chain is covered in surface rust and all the rubber o rings between the links were brittle so have to find a new chain as well, should be one on eBay.

Now that the bike is running and I know what I need to get it running and roadworthy I am turning attention to the fairings, choosing a color scheme that is a bit brighter than the plain black, grey and white. Thinking about blue, white and red with a new set of decals off eBay. I want to keep the design close to the GPX of its day so it will take some time to get it right. I have seen a 1989 GPX online that I like the look of and will go with something similar to this.

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You can see the fairings are in a terrible state though they are mostly complete with little cracks to be repaired. Next step to sand back all the paint and prep for painting.

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I will post more as the project progresses. Please feel free to comment, I would appreciate the feedback!

Absolutely awesome first post mate!

Welcome aboard.

All new posts have to be moderated due to spammers, so sorry for the delay.

Cheers mate.

Thanks mate,

More to come!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg_ymCtkcOk

First startup with radiator replaced.

Great stuff mate. Keep it coming as I love these restoration threads. I had a go on a GPX600 back in the early 90's, so I know they are a bit of a gutless pig, BUT, with that in mind, it proves you are all about the fun of the restoration process, at a price that is right, and I really admire that passion. Good stuff and cheers again.

This looks like it will be a cool resto, good luck with it and plenty of pictures mate ;)

Thanks guys, Ill keep you posted with more pics and video's as the resto progresses. I'm still waiting on some parts so will try to get some more up in the next weeks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gix11

Great stuff mate. Keep it coming as I love these restoration threads. I had a go on a GPX600 back in the early 90's, so I know they are a bit of a gutless pig, BUT, with that in mind, it proves you are all about the fun of the restoration process, at a price that is right, and I really admire that passion. Good stuff and cheers again.

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Cheers mate, yeah its a bit gutless stock, after the resto and get it on the road I'll be looking at getting a few more HP out of it, I would appreciate some tips on doing this.

Yea, of course. Don't expect miracle power increases, but you could definitely get a few HP from a new can, air filters and re-jetting.

Somebody started playing with one of these a fair few years back, but you might find this topic interesting all the same: http://www.streetfighters.com.au/for...ighter-project.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gix11

Yea, of course. Don't expect miracle power increases, but you could definitely get a few HP from a new can, air filters and re-jetting.

Somebody started playing with one of these a fair few years back, but you might find this topic interesting all the same: http://www.streetfighters.com.au/for...ighter-project.

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Thanks for that thread, looks like he was having a lot of trouble from the get go as it was a project in progress. Luckily mine runs well, surprisingly well and will run a bit better once I have welded up the crack in the exhaust.

Just pulled the rear wheel of and chain. re packed the bearings ready for the new chain to come. Got everything I need now to strip the fairings down and prep.

From others trying to get more out of this bike with pod filters and re-jetting seems like a nightmare, so I'll keep you posted what I'm going to do. Definitely starting out getting it stock for RWC, no oil leaks which is a bonus.

Any bike of that age with no oil leaks is a bonus! Yep, keep us updated mate. Cheers.

Hey guys,

Pulled the rear wheel off to remove chain as it is stuffed.. All the o rings have perished.

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Front master brake cylinder arrived yesterday. The one on the bike was seized and the top cap screws were threaded to picked on up cheap on gumtree.

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Old master cylinder

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replacement master cylinder

When I pulled the rear wheel off I discovered a lot of old chain oil and garbage in the drive sprocket area. Gave it a good clean, still needs more DE-greaser and some elbow grease. Have soured a new chain off eBay for $55.

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How does the sprocket look? Do you think I should get a new one??

I have found brake pads though I am still looking for a choke lever for the (LH) lights array as the lever has broken off at some stage.

If anyone has one lying around or is willing to take it off a spare I will buy it. Thanks guys.

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Pics of the (LH) lights array. I have found someone who has the entire unit though is in worse condition than mine and just want the lever. It's not warm enough in winter to start without the choke.

More to come and would be great for any advise, comments or parts :)

Also need a Petcock as well. I've seen rebuild kits on eBay, has anyone had experience putting a kit on these? Whay success have you had with getting one working again?

I found one for sale complete in the US though is $150+ postage (Rip off)

The tank was full of rust. Filled it with 12L of vinegar and left it to sit for 2 days, added a heap of nuts and washers into the tank and gave it a good shake around every few hours. After I got the vinegar and nuts and washers out (took forever....) the tank was rust free! Cost about $9.50 for vinegar so was a very cheap way to fix the tank.

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Another question.

Has anyone had to bleed the brakes on a bike with AVDS (Anti-Dive System)? When I put the working master cylinder on I am going to have to bleed the system. Ive done this on cars and my old honda though they never had this system. Is there any tips or tricks to it?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gav89GPX600R

Another question.

Has anyone had to bleed the brakes on a bike with AVDS (Anti-Dive System)? When I put the working master cylinder on I am going to have to bleed the system. Ive done this on cars and my old honda though they never had this system. Is there any tips or tricks to it?

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All good, got the replacement master cylinder on and bled system. Seems to be holding good pressure and the AVDS is stopping the forks from diving when I apply the brake and push it down.

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Replacement master cylinder. Sanded back the embossed lettering to tidy it up a bit, will probably spray it when I get to that stage.

Just need to work out if I keep the AVDS or scrap it as others have posted on various other forums. Apparently the bike performs better without it??? Does anyone have a bike with anti dive system, and how do you think it performs for you? Already got original AVDS decals for both forks but don't care if I've wasted $15 on decals if the handling is better with the system removed.

Any thoughts?

Everyone I know that had the old Anti-Dive mechanism has updated their forks anyway, so I can't really say that the system is good or bad, it's just kinda there with that model bike!

Sanded back fairings and tank lightly ready for wax and grease remover and then respray.

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Going to get some plastic rejuvenation for the lights and other plastics.

Good progress mate!

Looks good mate, its a bit of work involved in resto of a full fairing bike. Keep up the good work.

Cleaned fairings with wax and grease remover and sprayed with primer.
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2 more main fairing to go and then I'll be ready for color. Let the fun begin!

Nice. You going to do all the final colour painting yourself as well?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gix11

Nice. You going to do all the final colour painting yourself as well?

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Yeah mate. All work done by myself, Paint, Mechanical top to bottom. Except for tyres, Ill buy them myself but I'll get a pro to fit them.

Nice. Keep it coming.

Looking good mate, working pretty quickly through it.

Yeah it's going at a good pace. My partner is unwell and am caring full time so this is giving me something to do at home.

Going back to dad's in a few days to give the fairings a sand and another coat of primer.


More pics to follow soon!