So I bought this bike a few years ago. I got it for a meager $800. Cosmetically it had issues, but mechanically it was relatively sound for a bike that had been stunted. The most incredible part is that it has a clean title!
When I first got the bike, it had liberal use of duct tape, blue and black paint, and some great looking decals! Plus a nice homemade pillion seat.
The first thing I did when I got the bike home, was tear off the funky decals, order some seats in better shape, and repainted the bike. Silver frame, Titanium plastics.
About 3 months later I then set to do some customizing of my own. I pulled off the broken front fairing along with the headlights. I customized the remainder of the windshield into what it is today. I bought some mirrors to try for a custom look. They ended up looking pretty cool, but the functionality was lacking. The headlights I used are actually some foglights that made it look pretty cool, and the light was ok as long as you weren't trying to see too far ahead. I bought a few button sized leds to use as turn signals. Overall the first major mods came out pretty well. The problem was, after taking it out the very first time, about 10 miles up the road, my voltage regulator took a dump on me. I didn't know it was definitely the VR so I bought a new upgraded replacement VR and a new stator. It worked for a while.
A few years ago, I took an 11,000 mile road trip around the country. My bike was in the back of the truck for the majority of the ride. But I did ride it from Boston to Daytona. Unfortunately just as I crossed the New York stateline into NY, that "upgraded" VR took a dump on me. I was able to ride without the headlights on, but as soon as I turned on the lights the bike began to get skittish. So it made my ride alot more interesting considering I could only ride sunup to sunset. Kinda cut down on my drive time, but it added to the experience.
After the trip was over, and winter was setting in, i decided to finally do what I had always wanted to do. Tear down and rebuild a bike. By myself. So I did. I tore it down to bare frame. The first thing I did was shorten the exhaust can. I know it sounds dumb, but it was the first thing that was done and looking hot. There were quite a few purchases made on eBay, including headlights, R6 rear shock, a bicycle speedometer, fork seals, the VR for the upgrade, and so many other items. As well as a few purchases from members on FZRArchives, including the Factory Pro jet kit and a few other items that are slipping my mind.Went through the motor, cleaning all the gunk and nastiness, painted up and also replaced all the gaskets and seals. Went through the wire harness, fixing up the p.o. wire mess. It had a lots of wire nuts and liquid tape all over everything. Not to mention all of the paint over spray. I stripped all the paint off the plastics and spent a lot of time massaging out all the layers of paint. Including the original paint and decals. I also did the wheels. Stripped bare and brought back to life. The bike started up almost immediately. It must have been because of the blood offering to the motorcycle gods!
Since that last major overhaul, I learned a few things. First, flat black paint may make the engine look good, but as soon as any fuel hits it, it pulls it right up. Silver paint on headers may also look nice in theory, but bugs and road tar, change that theory. Those items are both now painted high heat gloss black. I replaced the shortened can with a custom midpipe and the R6 exhaust can. The pillar mirrors also got switched out for bar ends. I also did the Ford coil modification.
Now, winter is upon me once again, and I have a few ideas for a few other mods. Mostly having to do with the tail.
Pics of the full rebuild to follow.
