88 ZX600 Restoration (pictures)

[Superfly]

Thanks for the encouragement! It has been a blast! I picked up the 2 frames in April and had the 88 Tagged by August. During that time, I built 3 engines (tore one down again because of the starter clutch....) I have just working on the bikes after work during the night & on weekends. Blowing the first engine set me back some time & a few bucks, but I think at the point The bikes are at right now, I am about $1,000 deep, and that is including getting the 88 tagged.

The engines are almost identical. the pistons, connection rods, and piston pins are different between the 2 models (and the 86 has a different oil pan to allow for the oil cooler). The Heads/Cylinders/cases/internal components seem to be identical (and interchangable) between the 2 years. I have used the 86 head on the 88 engine, and vice versa. Thought that was interesting.

[sebastian1000]

As far as I know the horsepower/torque redline compression is all the same between the bikes. 1000 bux invested and you have got two bikes? not too shabby!

[1st Kow]

Superfly.

How's that `86 coming along? I just bought an `86 with a dead motor, so I will be following your foot steps (maybe I can jump over the case ventilation step) this winter. Hopefully I won't bother you too often, but you're the only one I've run across so far that's gone throught one of these motors.

Be Good! And I would like to hear about the `86 some more when you get a minute.

[MR.S7]

HI PAL, I DIDN´T READ ALL THE POST .. BUT THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY IS GO AHAED ITS HARD WORK BUT IT WORTHS IT..

I VE DONE THIS WITH A LOT OF BIKES.

HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE SAME ONE THAT YOU HAVE.. WHEN I GOIT IT WAS TOTALLY WREKED! .. IF YOU WANT PICTURES OF THE BEFORE GIVME UR EMAIL.. FOR NOW ILL SEND YOU THE PICS OF THE AFTER
=)




http://www.geocities.com/SANTYBAEZ/fotos/yellow/

REGARDS

[sebastian1000]

mr.s7........psst. you are yelling! (caps lock = yelling)

[Superfly]

Originally Posted by 1st Kow

Superfly.

How's that `86 coming along? I just bought an `86 with a dead motor, so I will be following your foot steps (maybe I can jump over the case ventilation step) this winter. Hopefully I won't bother you too often, but you're the only one I've run across so far that's gone throught one of these motors.

Be Good! And I would like to hear about the `86 some more when you get a minute.

The 86 is going really well, thanks for asking. I am in the final stages of getting everything to work right, all the idiot lights working, all the cables routed, etc. The rebuilt motor is starting fast, has the correct compression, and overall is running well. These engines are straightforward, and very easy to rebuild.

Finally mounted the real metal tags on the 88, and that bike is running great, just a few more spots of bodywork, and she will be all done. Very solid & reliable bike. I am really suprised how much I like it.

A friend of mine really liked the 86 also, so we are building one for him too. He wants to make it like a streetfighter style, so that will be a fun project. Here is a picture of where we started this morning.

[Superfly]

been working on the 86 alot lately, and decided it was time to start some bodywork. The fairing I got was on a bike that had been laid down, so there was some damage to the right side of the fairing (a broken air vent and the mounting points). I did not see any way of repairing it, so I decided to fiberglass it shut, and add some reinforcement to the mounting points.



A little bondo on top of the fiberglass, and added some primer.



Everything was going great, then in the middle of fine tuning the engine, and setting all the seals, I shifted the bike without the sprocket cover on, and snapped the shifter peg holder right off the engine. You can see the broken part in the bottom lower right corner of the engine. The worst part is that the engine was running great at the time, and the rebuilt engine had about 20 miles on it. It is VERY hard to tear down a perfectly good running engine. The moral of the story... Never shift the bike without the sprocket cover on! Needless to say that I was not happy. So, after I calmed down a bit (took 2 days!), I found some engine cases, and it was back to square 1 with the engine. The only positive thing I could come up with was that it gave me a chance to look into the engine, and make sure everything was ok. Everything checked out great. Oh well... lessons learned.



I decided to snap a picture right before I sealed up the new engine cases.



This morning, I added a little more primer, and worked on the side panels a little bit. I like the way the fairing looks without that air vent, but I still need to do the other side.




Test Ride!!!
I was able to get the bike up to about 65 this morning, and was really happy with the way the engine was feeling.

I had a bit of luck also. I needed some carb parts, so I picked up the dirtiest set of carbs I have ever seen in my life and put them on a shelf. 3 months later, I get around to seeing what parts I could use, and to my suprise there was a stage 1 jet kit in there. So I took a Sat. afternoon, and cleaned them for a couple of hours. MUCH BETTER! The jet kit with the Micron exhaust makes for a pretty snappy response in the powerband.

Getting ready to go to the DMV again to start the registration process for the 86, but I still need to seal the oil pan once more. It is funny, sometimes you can find every part you need, and every so often there is 1 part that you can not find, or they are backorderd. I had the biggest problem finding a wiring harness for the headlight, so I had to wire one up myself. Then I found one a week later... that was kind of funny, but I ended up keeping the harness I made on there.

[1st Kow]

Very Cool! This gives me inspiration.

Sorry to hear about the shifter disaster. I will keep that experience in mind if, no, when, I get impatient to get mine up and running. I've been known to use vise-grips for a steering wheel in my haste to get a chassis rolling; It can go very wrong very quickly!

[Superfly]

Alright!

The 86 now has tags! The frame was already in the DMV computer system, so I just had to pay some late fees, and the bike is now legal, and it is tagged!

Finally had a chance to take the 86 out on the freeway, and that was really good. The rebuilt engine now has 30 miles on it, feels strong, and the compression is good. I have been breaking the engine in the traditional way, of not going too crazy with it, but more and more I am getting the RPM's a little higher and higher. Now it is time for the last little bit of work, a little more fine tuning, and then start putting some miles on the bike.

[Hacksaw]

Grats! Glad to hear you are having fun with it.

[CerealKiller]

Awesome project! Someday I hope to have a garage that will support these kinds of projects. You can learn a lot about your bike (and motors in general) when things go wrong

[Superfly]

The 86 has been coming along good. The rebuilt engine has 100 miles on it now, and I am in the final stages of getting all the little bugs worked out. Then, I ended up finding a great deal on a set of carbs, Stage 3 jet kit, and K&N pods, so I had to pick it up (just to make things more difficult!)



I am still working out the new carb setup. The bike is starting a bit harder than before, and it is bogging down a 7k rpm. The midrange is really good, and at times, I can see how the bike wants to perform with that setup.

Time to take the bike out for a short trip. I called a friend of mine (with a truck...) and let him know I was on my way over, and if I was not there in a certain amount of time, to come and find me! I did the final "bolt check", geared up and took off. Overall the bike did really well, there are still some glitches to work out, but the trip there & back went better than expected.





The bodywork on the 86 is almost done so I put a base black layer down on the bike. When the 86 is ready for the daily commute to work, I will take the 88 off the road to put the finishing touches on the bodywork and to paint it. Hopefully that will be soon.

The 88 is running great. I have put 4,000 miles on the bike so far, and I must admit that I'm impressed. The bike starts very fast, runs great and rides smooth. I can understand why this bike stayed pretty much unchanged from 88-97.

[sebastian1000]

looking good superfly!

[sublimobile]

Inspiring post man. Thank you. I would like to do the same thing soon. I really love when people take the time out to show others how to do something that they really enjoy. I try to do the same, but I'm not nearly as mechanically inclined as yourself. Did you learn from experience or did you get training somewhere? b/c it seems like youre pretty well versed.

Good Luck and keep the updates coming!!

[Superfly]

Thanks for the encouragement, the 86 is starting to take a nice shape. I just ordered some new main jets for the carb, and hopefully that will cure the high end stumble I am having.

I have no formal training for this at all, but I have done all my own repairs on my cars since I was a teen. When I picked up my first street bike, it was in dire need of repair, so I just tore into it, got in running, then ridable. I still have the bike off in a corner of my garage.

I am hooked on the 88 right now, it is running great, and very dependable. I love riding, and enjoy working on the bikes also. I ride everyday, and I must admit, that there is something special about riding a bike that was brought back to life after being discarded as trash in a junkyard.

[Superfly]

The 86 has now been upgraded from "Project Bike" to a real Motorcycle!

It was a nice morning here in L.A. so it was now time for the 86's commute into work (only 23 miles) and she did great! There are a few little quirks to work out, but overall I am extremely pleased at how the bike did. I was finally able to get the Carb situation under control, and I am very pleased with the performance of the bike. It is not perfect yet, but it is really getting there. I had to snap a couple of pictures in the parking garage (that is why it is so dark)





Now that the 86 is able to get me to work, I will take the 88 off the road, and start the preperations for painting, I have been working with Orion (on page 1) to put a interesting paint job on the 88, nothing too stock looking, but to add some color to the bike. This should be interesting!

[alec]

Crazy! Great job! I can't even tell the difference from your project bike and a new 2006 250.

[1st Kow]

SWEET! Nice job dude! Glad to hear you got the carbs sorted out.

I'm knee deep in putting the `86 motor back together. All is going well (except for a missing 2nd shaft bushing ) and I'll post some pics on the other thread (don't want to hijack your thread here) when I get a chance. Actually, I just got a call from the "salon" that the head is ready - wash and blow dry. Now, where did I put all those little valves.....

Again, nice work, you're keeping me inspired

[cromanyak]

I have some parts for that bike if you need any. If you want I can send you a list. I bought an 88 with no title and swapped what I could into an 85 frame. Basically the opposite of what your doing. My e-mail is cromanyak@yahoo.com

[1st Kow]

Originally Posted by cromanyak

I have some parts for that bike if you need any. If you want I can send you a list. I bought an 88 with no title and swapped what I could into an 85 frame. Basically the opposite of what your doing. My e-mail is cromanyak@yahoo.com

Thanx Cromanyak! I'ill keep that in mind. That 2nd shaft bushing should be in today or Monday. Man, I hope I'm done buyin parts for the time being `cause, "mister, I just wanna ride!"