Kevin
Thu Nov 4th, 2010, 12:47 AM
Hi All - it's been a long time since I've posted here. I had to sell my beloved ZX6R 636 two summers ago, (I think that was the last time I posted here) and I've been jones'n for a bike since then, but have been going through a 2 year long nightmare with life and finances. Well, I found a bike in my budget, (which is pretty much zero) and I thought I would share this project.
Picked this bike up the other day for an unbelievable price - only $350 - it's a 2001 Ninja ZX6R 600J, and it looks like it rolled right out of the junkyard. 13k miles, and it's pretty trashed - it's missing a bunch of parts, and I'm hard pressed to find something that doesn't need work. I'm baffled by how a bike can even get into this kind of condition!
The tank is missing the fuel valve and has some random gas cap shoved into it. The stator cover gasket is missing (!), the fork seals are leaking, all of the front ram air ducting is missing, a majority of the bolts and several brackets are missing, the chain is toast, the tail is smashed and held together with wood (!) and duct tape, there was no oil in it, there's pure water in the cooling system, the battery is shot, needs tires, the list goes on and on. According the the seller, it hasn't run in a long time.
The good news: The rest of the plastic is solid, no cracks or rash, and once I got past the ugly, it appears to be solid and is mechanically sound and tight.
Took it to the car wash tonight and cleaned it up, put oil and a filter on it, hooked it up with jumpers, and it cranks fine and fired and tried to run off of carb cleaner. :) The motor sounds perfect, and the bit of oil I did drain from it was clean. When it comes right down to it, it looks like a fuel valve (about $20) is about all that will be needed to be able to take it for a test ride. Of course, it needs a lot more work beyond that to make it truly ride-worthy, but that will come with time...
Tomorrow, (or this weekend) I'll be heading out to steele's to see if I can find another one of these that I can get bolts and brackets off of, and to find a fuel valve. Are there any other sportbike junkyards in town?
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, I might just leave it ugly fro a while and ride it, until I get some breathing room in the budget. It books out at about $2500, but are going for way more than that, from what I've seen so far. I could certainly fix it up to be 100%, but I would have to go all the way, and judging by the condition of the finish on the frame and swingarm, I would have to strip it all down and have those items refinished, would be where I would start. The swingarm looks like there's grease actually embedded in the finish, and I can see black where the frame has been scuffed through, so I'm assuming I'm seeing primer and the frame is painted? Anyone know if these are painted, or coated, or ???
I'll post updates and pics here as the project progresses, but it'll probably be slow going. (I've got the whole winter to work on it)
Here's my list of parts needed so far, somewhat in order of importance. I'm sure it will grow as I get further into the project. If anyone has any of these or knows where I can get them, hit me up. Oh, I need a service manual, too.
Pics after the list, or see the full set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55565878@N08/sets/72157625184342297/
2001 KAWASAKI NINJA ZX600J*
fuel valve
gas cap assy
fuel tank
stator cover gasket
thermostat & gasket
lower radiator hose
chain
inner fender (battery box)
rear fairing upper & lower
ram air assembly (everything forward of intake tubes)
right passenger foot peg mount bolt
driver foot pegs
left handlebar controls
brake lever
clutch cable
choke cable (possibly)
handle grips
fairing bolts
re-key the rear seat lock, gas cap, ignition lock to match
front left & right fairing upper covers
turn signals - will probably do flush front, integrated tail
passenger seat
front fender sides
idle adjust cable bracket
rear brake line brackets
bolts, clips & brackets all over the bike
Picked this bike up the other day for an unbelievable price - only $350 - it's a 2001 Ninja ZX6R 600J, and it looks like it rolled right out of the junkyard. 13k miles, and it's pretty trashed - it's missing a bunch of parts, and I'm hard pressed to find something that doesn't need work. I'm baffled by how a bike can even get into this kind of condition!
The tank is missing the fuel valve and has some random gas cap shoved into it. The stator cover gasket is missing (!), the fork seals are leaking, all of the front ram air ducting is missing, a majority of the bolts and several brackets are missing, the chain is toast, the tail is smashed and held together with wood (!) and duct tape, there was no oil in it, there's pure water in the cooling system, the battery is shot, needs tires, the list goes on and on. According the the seller, it hasn't run in a long time.
The good news: The rest of the plastic is solid, no cracks or rash, and once I got past the ugly, it appears to be solid and is mechanically sound and tight.
Took it to the car wash tonight and cleaned it up, put oil and a filter on it, hooked it up with jumpers, and it cranks fine and fired and tried to run off of carb cleaner. :) The motor sounds perfect, and the bit of oil I did drain from it was clean. When it comes right down to it, it looks like a fuel valve (about $20) is about all that will be needed to be able to take it for a test ride. Of course, it needs a lot more work beyond that to make it truly ride-worthy, but that will come with time...
Tomorrow, (or this weekend) I'll be heading out to steele's to see if I can find another one of these that I can get bolts and brackets off of, and to find a fuel valve. Are there any other sportbike junkyards in town?
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, I might just leave it ugly fro a while and ride it, until I get some breathing room in the budget. It books out at about $2500, but are going for way more than that, from what I've seen so far. I could certainly fix it up to be 100%, but I would have to go all the way, and judging by the condition of the finish on the frame and swingarm, I would have to strip it all down and have those items refinished, would be where I would start. The swingarm looks like there's grease actually embedded in the finish, and I can see black where the frame has been scuffed through, so I'm assuming I'm seeing primer and the frame is painted? Anyone know if these are painted, or coated, or ???
I'll post updates and pics here as the project progresses, but it'll probably be slow going. (I've got the whole winter to work on it)
Here's my list of parts needed so far, somewhat in order of importance. I'm sure it will grow as I get further into the project. If anyone has any of these or knows where I can get them, hit me up. Oh, I need a service manual, too.
Pics after the list, or see the full set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55565878@N08/sets/72157625184342297/
2001 KAWASAKI NINJA ZX600J*
fuel valve
gas cap assy
fuel tank
stator cover gasket
thermostat & gasket
lower radiator hose
chain
inner fender (battery box)
rear fairing upper & lower
ram air assembly (everything forward of intake tubes)
right passenger foot peg mount bolt
driver foot pegs
left handlebar controls
brake lever
clutch cable
choke cable (possibly)
handle grips
fairing bolts
re-key the rear seat lock, gas cap, ignition lock to match
front left & right fairing upper covers
turn signals - will probably do flush front, integrated tail
passenger seat
front fender sides
idle adjust cable bracket
rear brake line brackets
bolts, clips & brackets all over the bike