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My GPZ and it's issues!

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1.7K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Saabnut  
#1 ·
Hi everyone!

Just wanted to start off by saying thank you to those on the forum. I bought my GPZ with the help of commentors on here, and I may not of bought it without the confidence from experienced EX-500 individuals. I love my GPZ500s, it is fantastic. Sounds great, feels quick, lovely gearbox and is just so cool.

After driving it 500 miles I have found some issues that I need help with though.

Leaking coolant:
Starting with the most concerning, the bike leaks coolant, and it has only stopped leaking coolant now because the reservoir is very low and I need to buy some. There is a very mild amount of grease around the engine, so I am worried it might be a head gasket, possibly just an o-ring needing replacement.

Concerning sound:
Not sure just loud ticking or something, linked a video let me know what you think.


Toasty smell:
Recently smelt burnt toast when revving it out and slamming gears, this was after heavy city work with lots of clutch use so just assumed the clutch had enough and overheated.

Jolty rear brake:
There was at first no rear brake, then I swapped out the bleed nipple and was able to build some pressure in the pipes and got it working, however it can be jolty. Assuming I need to fully flush out the pipes.

Any advice is welcome, and again thanks to the forum.
 

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#2 ·
Coolant leak should be an easy fix. Pull the upper fairing off, make sure the coolant at the radiator cap is full and the reservoir is half full, fire it up and look for the leak. The leak won't necessarily be in any of the components behind the upper fairing but there's a chance it is and it'll be highly difficult to pinpoint with the fairing still on so just start with it removed.
The lower fairing doesn't really need to come off but it's super easy to remove and will help you see better if anything to do with the water pump cover is leaking. It'd be a good time to clean out the inside of that fairing too, crud tends to collect on the inside since it's a low and large flat surface.

Probably not a head gasket unless the coolant is disappearing into the combustion chambers. If the oil is up high, it's more than likely the valve cover gasket or possibly the high pressure oil feed line that goes from the lower engine case up to the cylinder head. It's the small diameter pipe that runs up from under the starter, in between the intake runners and attaches to the head via a couple of banjo bolts, those banjo bolts being the place where could possibly leak. It's possible oil could leak from the head gasket or cylinder base gasket but I have yet to encounter that, it's not very likely and that oil flowing through those gaskets is not under any pressure, gravity is simply drawing it back down to the sump.

No sound on my work computer so I can't comment on any sounds.

These engines have wet clutches, meaning it sits in the engine oil and helps keep the clutch cool. I've never heard of someone overheating one on these bikes, they are over clutched and under engined. Not saying it's impossible but it would be very difficult. Getting hot and smelling something burning is often, on old machines, just crud burning off of the engine or exhaust. Unless the clutch is chattering or slipping, then don't worry about the clutch, it's fine.

Rear brake is simple. Check to make sure the rotor is straight or mostly straight. Put it on the center stand and spin the wheel, you'll see with the naked eye if it's not straight. Even if it's mostly straight, you'll be fine. I've been running a slightly warped rear rotor for 80,000 miles and the rear brake has never felt anything other than normal.
Pull the brake pads and buff them up with some sand paper. If they're super worn or worn unevenly, just replace them.
Bleed the system.
Should be good after that.
 
#4 ·
My goodness, that is quite the reply thank you for the response, really appreciate your time. I had recently topped up the rear brake reservoir after bleeding, which is in a tricky little spot so maybe it could of burnt that off or something, the clutch definitely was not slipping. The coolant, or whatever it is (it is red so maybe it is petrol?) has collected in the lower fairing so will clean that out thank you. And now that you mention it, it would make sense if it is the valve cover gasket as that seems to be where the grease is forming, it is very mild so does not seem to be an immediate issue.
Also, sometimes if I brake hard on the front I can hear the forks make a small clicking sounds?

Again, thank you for the response.
 
#9 ·
Diagnosing sounds over the internet is tough. Cameras always record sounds different than what you would hear standing next to the bike.

Having said that, it's a light tick and not very worrying at all. It sounds stronger when the camera is moved closer to the front of the engine than the rear? Check that your exhaust header nuts are correctly tightened. If they are loose you can sometimes get a ticking noise from the exhaust headers.