1989 Kawasaki GPX750R

Summary:

Very good, great fun

Faults:

Nothing but exhaust rusting through, not bad for 20 years old, I am really impressed with this twenty year old bike.

Getting 45 MPG.

General Comments:

For a 750cc bike and twenty years old, very impressed. I have been riding bikes since I was 16 years old, am 56 now.

Handles great.

Brakes great.

Exhaust starting to blow, got to buy complete thing, no front pipes, so will get MOTAD replacement.

Over the last 15 years, have always had a Harley's and a rice burner, in the garage, as well as a BSA C15, these have to be kept on the road for future generations.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th February, 2009

1989 Kawasaki GPX750R

Summary:

A very capable old bike

Faults:

The anti dive unit on the forks kept leaking out of the adjuster valve.

The rear caliper need regular checks carried out on it because of the seals leaking.

The seat are bad quality.

The expansion bottle splits very easily and are very hard to get, as Kawasaki don't make them anymore.

General Comments:

Very average handling.

Great acceration for a bike of this age - keeps up with many new bikes.

Good top end speed ie: 164mph on a speed gun, done on the track.

Would recommend to anyone.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th March, 2006

8th May 2006, 02:38

I've had a GPX750R for the last 18 months or so. It's a rather enjoyable ride that has fared me well over 16kkm.

Pro's

* Cheap to buy and run... usually

* Reliable

* Strong motor

* Fun.

Con's

* The chassis is definitely from the 80's

* 16 inch front wheel performs very well, but it's very hard to get quality rubber for, same goes for the 18 inch 80 profile rear tyres.

* Designed for Japanese mechanics, some things are extremely hard to get your hands into and fix.

* Pneumatic rear shock

* ECBS braking system works, kinda.

Improvements:

* Fitted a new Formula-1 full system.

* Koni rear shock.

* Dynojet kit.

Things I'm planning to do:

* Rebuild the front forks

* Keep it for a few more years.

The cons may seem to outweigh the pro's in the above list, but the negatives are mostly much smaller than you'd think them to be. The rubber I use on the bike (bt45's) is an excellent dual compound, and serves me well for a long time and grips well in that time. The pneumatic shock and ecbs were a good idea, but were poorly implemented. Product design is typical of the 80's, as despite the strong strides forward, the Japanese sports-bike market was still finding its feet.

Overall, a good fun bike that has cost me $3500 to buy and $1400 in parts to upgrade, but very little in maintenance costs. It's a keeper.

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