FZR600 Resurrection and Frame Swap?

[FZR-kyle]

Due to some medical issues, I had to leave my FZR 600 sitting for almost 3 years. I bought the bike (my first) a few years ago that didn't have a title with a frame that did. After some research, there are no liens or anything wrong with the bike, just a lost title (guy i bought it from said it was destroyed in a fire) and was never replaced. So I bought it, planning to do a frame swap. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and have done all my own auto repairs, and my brother offered to help. he used to have a 96 FZR600 and did tons of work on his.

To get it running again, i know i need to:
clean the fuel system (I was thinking about replacing all the fuel lines, the filter, etc)
flush and replace all fluids (coolant, oil, brake, tranny, clutch)
replace spark plugs and wires

For the frame swap, what all do i need to replace?


I was thinking of getting the bike running again before the frame swap, and then undo a lot of the work, which doesn't sound fun, but I would rather have the knowledge that everything works before switching to the new frame.

Currently I havent touched the bike yet and would love to get some help/ideas on the best way to go about doing this

[willandrip]

Welcome to the forum Kyle.

I think your idea on getting it running correctly prior to swapping frames is the way forward.
Otherwise any problem you encounter will always cause the "was it something done in the frame swap?" debate to arise.

I would not be hasty with replacing fuel lines provided the originals are in good condition.
Many are special shapes and very expensive if even still available.
Replacing some of the curved items with generic fuel pipe often causes more problems than it solves and some fuel pipe has a very short life with modern fuels.
The fuel filter change by all means but one can usually see if any debris is present with the OEM unit.

Do pay particular attention to the tank inner and tap though.

There are no service parts on the frame itself to replace but the steering bearings can be upgraded/replaced if necessary.
The suspension and s/a bearings are not particularly expensive if in any way suspect.

Take pics. as you do the strip down for rebuild reference.
No doubt a problem will arise causing temporary cessation of the work and once returned to ,memory may not suffice.

[pefrey]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to have the previous owner get a replacement title and transfer that to you? Depending on where you live the bill of sale may be all you need to take to your Motor Vehicles department and get a title.

Does the motor spin? Did you do a leakdown test? I'd start there before spending any money.

[FZR-kyle]

UPDATE:
My dad told me that if i cleaned out his shed, he would let me work on the bike in there, so had to get that done first.

I just started working on it, and broke a freaking spark plug... It is the first one on the left side (from sitting on the bike) so at least it is somewhat easy to get to. I got an 'easy-out' tool, but haven't used it yet because my drill is too long to fit between the head and the front plastic. I was looking in my Clymer manual, and it looks like I should be able to take out the front motor mount bolts and have the entire motor rotate on the back motor mount (this is in the procedure to remove the head off the motor). I took off the carbs, which need to be cleaned anyway, but must have missed something because I cant get the motor to rotate forwards at all.

As to the title transfer, the previous owner must have moved, and there is no forwarding address. In my state (South Carolina) if a vehicle is 25 or more years old, you can get it inspected at the DMV and get a title for it. The only downside is that it cannot be transferred out of state.

[TomcatMJ]

UPDATE:
...
I was looking in my Clymer manual, and it looks like I should be able to take out the front motor mount bolts and have the entire motor rotate on the back motor mount (this is in the procedure to remove the head off the motor). I took off the carbs, which need to be cleaned anyway, but must have missed something because I cant get the motor to rotate forwards at all.
...

There are 2 Bolts at the Rearside of the Motor,at least one should be loosened, too in order to rotate the Motor

[FZR-kyle]

I just got the spark plug out!!! I ended up just pulling out the porcelain that was still stuck in the broken spark plug, and I guess that let enough of the pressure out of the cylinder and it came out smooth as butter And I got the motor to turn over! now I just have to clean the carbs, order a few parts, and start her up!!!

[FZR-kyle]

My next question... to clean the carbs, do I need to replace the jets? or is the video by match417 on here enough? I have K/N pod air filters and stock exhaust (I think) on now. I saw a bunch of people saying that with the pod filters the bike needs stage 3 jets.

Since it ran OK before, is there a way to see what size jets are already in it?

[TomcatMJ]

The Sizes of the Jets are usually engraved in the Jets, so if you unmount the Jets the Number should be found on them...but beware, Dynojet uses another Numberscheme than Mikuni for the Size. Jetrepolacement is only neccesary if the Jets are worn out. Factory Pro has some pictures on their website where you can see worn-out Jets for comparision.

[FZR-kyle]

Its been a while since I could work on my bike, but fortunately life has calmed down a bit and I finally got the carbs cleaned and rebuilt, and figured out the wiring issues. there was a bad ground, a couple wires that the rubber rubbed off and one of the main fuses was blown. After a lot of headache and tracing wires (and a lot of beer), I think I finally have all the electrical issues worked out and all the lights, horn, turn signals, and starter works

Up next is putting it all back together, fine tuning the carbs, and cleaning all the fluid systems.

As for the fluid systems:
Has anyone heard of Motul Engine Clean oil additive? the salesman at my local powersports dealer swore by it (but I'm not sure how much I should trust any salesman working off commission), and said he used it in a bike that had been sitting for over 4 years, and said it worked better than Seafoam. I looked up reviews online, and couldn't find very much, but everything I did see was good. This is the stuff I have: http://www.amazon.com/Motul-Engine-Clea ... gine+clean

Is there any sort of kit to flush the coolant like there is for cars where you can hook up a garden hose in the line? or should I just add coolant, let it run for a while and change it a few times?

I think the brakes are sticking a bit because I can still move the bike, but it is harder than it used to be and I can hear them rubbing. Hopefully when I change the brake fluid it will be taken care of, but I might need to take them apart and clean them.

[FZR-kyle]

Ignore what I said about seafoam. I was having a brain fart and forgot that goes in gas...

[willandrip]

Coolant is too expensive and bad for the environment to be wasted like that.

Not that I am a treehugger mind.

Just flush the system with water from a hose with some coolant pipes removed.
Then do it from the reverse direction.

I have an external hot tap that is great for this.....so good that the bike can be run and the hot water keeps the thermostat open and the motor gets a good flush to.

The rad is where most of the shite is.

Oil additives are mostly snake oil.
Cheap detergent oil changed at 500 miles when mad hot is better...do the filter.

If you are OCD....take the sump off....be prepared to shit yourself when you see 25 years of build up on the sump plate and oil pick up strainer.

[FZR-kyle]

Just flush the system with water from a hose with some coolant pipes removed.
Then do it from the reverse direction.

I have an external hot tap that is great for this.....so good that the bike can be run and the hot water keeps the thermostat open and the motor gets a good flush to.

The rad is where most of the shite is.

This is what I ended up doing:
I took off the thermostat since the bike was still not running along with the coolant drain plugs in the engine block.
I took off the radiator hose that goes from the fill cap to the radiator and the lower radiator hose from the radiator and flushed out the radiator both directions, took me 20 minutes just for the radiator (and it wasn't even the worst part)
then I did from the lower radiator hose into the engine block to the upper radiator hose that was still disconnected.
then finally the hose that goes to the thermostat.

there was so much junk and grime in there the water was coming out the consistency and color of mud at first.

All in all, I think I spent 3 hours just flushing it out and I bet if I went out there and drained it again there would still be crap in the coolant

After putting the rest of it back together, I tried to start her up with no luck. There where a couple blips like it was trying to start, but then the battery died (it was already low from just sitting there and the couple times I tested to make sure it cranked on it's own. It's hooked up to a trickle charger and back at it in the morning

[willandrip]

When you get it up and running go for a ride to get it up to temp then repeat your flushing regime.
It often takes multiple hot/cold cycles to thoroughly clean the system.
Coolant additive not only prevents freezing but has corrosion inhibitors and as you have no service history
it may have stood rusting away for years.

When attempting to start a "mothballed" engine, jumper leads and a heavy duty battery enable the starter to turn much faster over a longer period whilst giving the most spark.
This often is the difference between getting it started or just chewing on fouling plugs.

[FZR-kyle]

I charged the battery overnight, and tried to start her this morning... SHE'S ALIVE!!! it 'burped' a couple times and then fired right up

I got her up to temp and did an oil change, I'll do another one after I put a few miles on her.

On to the next thing... now that she can go, she needs to be able to stop I have an oil leak in the front caliper that needs to be taken care of. All the brakes are stock, so how much of a difference can I expect if I change them to 'blue dot' calipers would I still have to rebuild all the O-rings if I got the other calipers?

I'll probably end up pricing the parts needed to rebuild the calipers and see how much the blue dot calipers cost and go from there...

[FZR-kyle]

The rebuild kits are friggin expensive... over $100 for all of them. I think I will take off the calipers to see if I can pinpoint where exactly the leak is coming from, whether it is in fact from the caliper or one of the hoses. I haven't looked at it very well yet

EDIT: didn't see any leaks at the hoses, so it must be the caliper. I ordered a set of blue dot calipers.