'96 Rebuild
Hey guys, been a while. So, after a long time coming, I was finally able to start my rebuild. She’s come a long way since the start but I figured while I wait for more parts (and money) I’d post about it.
Quick history - bought the bike 6 years ago, found out it had a LOT of issues, started to fix a few things here and there, turns out I was really good with zip ties. Bike was in at least one bad front end accident (no steering stop, small crack in frame). She had the scars to prove it. So much so that I’ve never considered taking her to a shop to get looked at because I would have been pretty embarrassed. Anyways, this last couple of weeks I had some free time (yay Thanksgiving) and set about a teardown. I’ve had second gear issues for a while now.
So, I start to break down the bike. Crappy fairings off, took the airbox and carb off (everything was filthy and the throttle springs were covered in filth). Then I freed up all the electricals and took the whole harness out. Had to make some cuts and I’ll connect those back up for the tail/blinkers later. Then came the engine. I had no lift, so I paid $1 at Lowes to take 3 pieces of old wood from a trash can and made an engine holder out of it. It’s actually held up quite nicely. Once I had the engine out, I stripped the frame all the way down and cleaned EVERYTHING. She had 22 years of road grime in all her nooks and crannies. I used Nylon brushes and my favorite degreaser (La’s Awesome Degreaser is really awesome) to do it right. I’ll list off the fixes/upgrades I’ve done so far and leave pictures for those of you who can’t read ?
-Re-wrapped seats
-Cleaned Engine
-Rewrapped wire harness
-New fork oil, caps and seals (pretty sure it had original oil and boy, it was solid)
-New (to me) left fork
-Had the frame crack welded and I grinded it
-Had the steering stop re-welded on
-Polished yoke
-Painted the entire frame satin black
-Painted my rims white
-Cleaned out all my brake calipers
-New brake pads (new rear seal kit coming)
-Stainless steel lines front and rear (used off a working race bike - haters gonna hate)
-All new engine cover Cometic gaskets
-New (to me) drive shaft/gears and clutch shaft forks (I split the case)
-Driven racing engine block-off plates
What’s to come -
-2006 zx6r throttle tube assembly/cables
-Slim kill/start switch
-Steel extension plates for my zzr600 fairing stay (bird cage delete) so handle bars don’t hit
-New tires (I’m thinking Dunlop Q3+ ?)
-Safety wiring
-Race fairings down the road (belly pan w/oil catch) ~ when money allows :nerd
-Airbox/tubing upgrade ~ when money allows
