GPX Moto FSE 250R Uncrating and Assembly Thread

[chadzu]

11 hours ago, Old Plonker said:

You would sell me on this bike (FS 250E) but for one thing: the brand is relatively new, and support over the long-haul is unknown. 

Sad to say, a request for information from the GPX website has gone unanswered for more than a week. Not encouraging for someone who is 550+ miles from nearest dealer (who happens to own the GPX brand). Is this the way they will respond to parts inquiries? 

The website seems to be inconsistent and not very informative. If you read between the lines, their priority is to establish dealerships, not sell bikes out in "the wilderness," (meaning places far from their established network.) You guys are luck being nearby, and reliable "guinea pigs" for bike development. 

I'll definitely follow your experiences, and those of Chad, but will probably have to replace my current ride with something like a Beta XT (250 if we ever get them in the States.)

If there is no dealer anywhere close to you I have no doubt that GPX would ship you one.

Although GPX is a new name Pitster Pro and USA Motortoys is not.  They have been in the game for quite a while.  Their store front/ wharehouse is nice and is pretty big.  The website has always been a little lacking.  The GPX site is new and still needs some polish.  In an era where web presence is so very important I think they could do a better job with it.  I do know, however, that there are real people there everyday, and they want to make you a happy customer.

As far as parts go I have no worries.  The motors they use are all from the best quality large Chinese engine manufactures.  They are not specific to any one brand or platform which means they make lots and lots of these motors.  QC has reached a high level and parts are easy to get.

The GPX specifically is such a close clone of the "white" bikes that chassis parts interchange.  That in effect allows you to use their parts department if the need arises.

I have been stacking up the hours on mine. Pretty much beating it without mercy. Nothing has fallen off, nothing has started to leak, nothing has bent.  It is as good a quality bike as I have ever owned.

Now, if you or any one else has the means and will to buy KTM, Husky, Beta you can't go wrong and these are all great bikes that will have somewhat more refinement than the GPX.

All GPX is trying to do is provide a very good product at a pricepoint that is easier to handle.  In this respect I think they nailled it.

 

 

[Pitster]

On 6/5/2018 at 8:26 PM, Old Plonker said:

Yeah, I don't know how I got there. Late night Googlemania I guess.

I found a thread where Chad and others were talking about interesting possibilities with the Zongchen ZS172FMM-3A (72 x 72 + 293 if a stroked 230 crank would fit):

I emailed GPX about the possibility of an in-crate purchase like you did, but haven't heard back. Later, in a random link on the GPX site I discovered that USA MotorToys is GPX. We'll see.

It's the 250E that's on my radar, as a better suspended, lighter, better powered, and cheaper version of the CRF230F. I have visions of a bike as capable as the 230 powered 200R Chad built but without all the fabrication and parts grubbing.

I really appreciate you and Chad sharing your experiences with this brand. 

Hey sorry fro the later reply, can you confirm what email address you sent the request to? I dont think I can really advertise here as I am not a vendor, but perhaps we have a issue with the site email contact? Anyway, we are here and happy to help!

Edited June 14, 2018 by Pitster

[Pitster]

16 hours ago, Old Plonker said:

You would sell me on this bike (FS 250E) but for one thing: the brand is relatively new, and support over the long-haul is unknown. 

Sad to say, a request for information from the GPX website has gone unanswered for more than a week. Not encouraging for someone who is 550+ miles from nearest dealer (who happens to own the GPX brand). Is this the way they will respond to parts inquiries? 

The website seems to be inconsistent and not very informative. If you read between the lines, their priority is to establish dealerships, not sell bikes out in "the wilderness," (meaning places far from their established network.) You guys are luck being nearby, and reliable "guinea pigs" for bike development. 

I'll definitely follow your experiences, and those of Chad, but will probably have to replace my current ride with something like a Beta XT (250 if we ever get them in the States.)

PM sent, 

[chadzu]

Out playing on the GPX last night. It has been a good companion for exploring.

[Roostre]

So I will try and get some pictures, but here are the parts I ordered to get the bike all street legal; the main things are the "Turn signal harness" and the "Main Lighting Harness". If you use a KTM style switch as pictured below it will plug right into the harnesses. The lighting harness bolts to the triple clamps and holds the wiring away from the steering stem so that it doesn't rub. It's very nice and worth the extra $$. The flasher unit is tiny and so is the relay. You actually only need one relay- it is triggered from the light switch and after it I added 2 - 10A fuses inline that tie into the "Main Lighting Harness" above. ( I will try and get a diagram made)

 

 

About $151 if you get just one relay.

Found on Ebay for about $32-42 - use caution; many of these DO NOT have the lower turn signal portion and are tempting because they are cheaper- it's better to just make sure you get the model that has the turn signals built in. (Adding it is $33 alone from RMATV)

 

Edited June 27, 2018 by Roostre
add

[Roostre]

The stock kickstand is longer than I like and the foot works fine in dirt, but is offset weird for flat pavement. 

I measured it up and the Trail Tech stand for a CRF250r/x was about 20mm shorter. I used the stock hole and removed the stop used originally as the TT stand has a built in stop. The spring swapped right over. I like that it has a little more lean now:

 

 

 

 

@malignity

 

[Roostre]

Headlight harness bolts into triple clamp holes, but has hollowed out spacers so your dash or other accessories can still bolt up. Ignore all my incomplete wiring. The front brake switch and headlight molex fit into the plastic holder also.







You can see the holder better from the backside through the triples:

[Roostre]

[Old Plonker]

Thanks for the walk around. This is as close as many of us will get to the bikes for a while. I'm doubly impressed after the close up look. I would think that after 40 hours, if there were anything crappy about the bike it would have shown up by now.

So @Roostre, it looks like your bike and @chadzu's are both pre-production models with carbs. How much weight does that save? And what carb is that?  Is it easy to jet for your altitude? 

[DavidR8]

+1 on the awesome walk around.
I’d have to buy one sight unseen otherwise.

[Roostre]

21 minutes ago, Old Plonker said:

Thanks for the walk around. This is as close as many of us will get to the bikes for a while. I'm doubly impressed after the close up look. I would think that after 40 hours, if there were anything crappy about the bike it would have shown up by now.

So @Roostre, it looks like your bike and @chadzu's are both pre-production models with carbs. How much weight does that save? And what carb is that?  Is it easy to jet for your altitude? 

I think its a "Sudco" labeled chinese PWK33; Chad would know for sure. I'm not much of a fan of carburetors. I will be putting EFI on mine. (MY Pitster Pro LXR had the same Rojo EFI and it has been flawless from 1200 ft asl to 10,800 ft asl)  I just don't like messing with jetting.

I doubt that the weight difference is much. The EFI system is mostly high strength plastic- it uses an ECM that is integraed into the throttle body. Has contactless TPS, a smaller 4-wire O2 sensor and built in barometric and air intake temperature sensors. The high pressure pump is mostly plastic. The low pressure lift pump is a little weight as it is metal/diaphragm style.

Chad has his jetting pretty well dialed. We've had it on some high passes with no issues.

 

Because we went different routes for sparky screens and his has a big bore; we are finding that my bike doesn't like the same jetting as his does.

[Old Plonker]

27 minutes ago, Roostre said:

I think its a "Sudco" labeled chinese PWK33; Chad would know for sure. I'm not much of a fan of carburetors. I will be putting EFI on mine. (MY Pitster Pro LXR had the same Rojo EFI and it has been flawless from 1200 ft asl to 10,800 ft asl)  I just don't like messing with jetting.

I doubt that the weight difference is much. The EFI system is mostly high strength plastic- it uses an ECM that is integraed into the throttle body. Has contactless TPS, a smaller 4-wire O2 sensor and built in barometric and air intake temperature sensors. The high pressure pump is mostly plastic. The low pressure lift pump is a little weight as it is metal/diaphragm style.

Chad has his jetting pretty well dialed. We've had it on some high passes with no issues.

 

Because we went different routes for sparky screens and his has a big bore; we are finding that my bike doesn't like the same jetting as his does.

This sounds like the system @chadzu has been working to get running on his 230 powered XR (last news 5 months ago). 

Is your bike's harness plug-and-play for the Rojo?

What route did you go for the sparky screen? The FMF that Chad used looked pretty simple. 

The reason for all these questions is, of course, that I'm still on the fence which bike I would get, the E or the R. Other questions remain, also, but the picture is slowly forming of a very solid package.

[chadzu]

The FI used on the LXR250 was less than a pound heavier than the carb.
Carb is 33mm PWK or clone there of. I bought jets from the Honda dealer, no issues with pilot, but you need the round Honda style mains.
I actually went richer on the jetting, even at 5000 ft mine was a little lean.

[Roostre]

16 hours ago, Old Plonker said:

This sounds like the system @chadzu has been working to get running on his 230 powered XR (last news 5 months ago). 

Is your bike's harness plug-and-play for the Rojo?

What route did you go for the sparky screen? The FMF that Chad used looked pretty simple. 

The reason for all these questions is, of course, that I'm still on the fence which bike I would get, the E or the R. Other questions remain, also, but the picture is slowly forming of a very solid package.

It is the very same system.  Harness is not plug and play,  but the EFI system is nearly stand-alone.  Just needs "key on" power.

Spark arrestor I used is the Lexx Trail Saver. It has a smaller outlet with a turn down on the end. It seems to make the mid range really strong with a bit less top end, which is fine for how I ride. I like the quiet.

As for E vs R - you really can't go too wrong with either.  The chassis is brilliant and I actually preferred the suspension on the E models. If someone with an E wanted to trade me, I would probably do it.  If you want /need to do some long distance highway miles the R is the first choice.  If you don't foresee any highway, the E is probably the better value.  The E does come with a lighter spoke /wheel package, so factor that in. The HD wheels on the R are quite nice and have already proven that they can take some big hits.

 

 

[Roostre]

Ride up to a 10,400 ft pass. Very steep approach and the altitude was very much a factor! Made it up, but it was chugging like a little tractor to do it.

[Roostre]

 

[Roostre]

 

[Roostre]

Mounted up a 120/100-18 Shino 505 Cheater tire for an upcoming EPIC ride trip. This thing is like a monster truck tire and I had my doubts about it fitting without some issues after I first put it on the wheel:

 

But, after mounting it I cycled the suspension and found that it easily cleared the exhaust and subframe. The tire is close to the front of the swingarm, but I can fit a finger in there.

 

[Roostre]

A little Fork service video for those scratching their head on how to get these apart. A part 2 coming soon. (I swapped to 2.5W oil to see how I like it. If it doesn't perform as I'd like I will go into the valving at a later date.) The stock forks are quite good, but have some harshness on high speed hits. (Keep in mind I am a fat old goat trail rider - stock may be too soft for MX types. )

 

[Roostre]

Part 2: