I recently picked up an older 1986 Yamaha FZ600 from a girl locally very cheap. It isn't currently running, but thats because she hadn't ridden it since May of 2008. I suspect the carbs are gummed up. Also, the speedometer cable is broken, so I need to get a new one. Sadly, the title from the PO was a "Not Actual Mileage" title, so its going to remain at 0. I took a picture of the PO's title, the odometer and the local paper to show the date I bought the bike to the next owner if I sell. Hopefully, this will be enough for them to see how many miles I've really put on the bike.
It is completely stock including the original fairings (that have been repainted at one point). The entire bike is quite clean, no leaks whatsoever. The tires could stand to be replaced as there is a little dry-rot cracking on the sidewalls, but I plan to do that when I take off the wheels to powdercoat them. It's going to be a slow restoration, but I'm going to attempt a complete overhaul, powdercoating, and reinstalling within the next year or two (depending on if I get a job right after I graduate). Most likely, it will be a few parts at a time that will get removed, cleaned and reinstalled.
At the moment I have drained the gas tank, replaced the vacuum hose going to the petcock and am currently charging the battery. Tomorrow I'm planning on removing the carbs and opening them up to see what condition they are in, and then cleaning them completely. I still need to pull the plugs to see what they are like, but for some reason, they do not fit my 5/8" spark plug socket (that is extra deep for the top part of the plug). I will try to pull them to see what the plugs tell me about how the bike was running before the PO stopped riding it.
I fit this bike perfectly. My legs fit in the tank crannies as if it were a glove. I can see myself riding this bike solely once I get it running, but for $250 in the condition it was in (other than not running) I figured I could at least part it out for more if I couldn't get it running, which I'd hate to do, but it's always a possibility with older bikes, especially 22 year old bikes.
I definitely don't need 2 bikes, but like I said, it was a price I couldn't pass up. I do not plan any mods to this bike (maybe aftermarket headers/pipe, jet kit cause these really open this bike up and drop 20lbs) as I want to restore it to its original state. Back in the day, this bike supposedly revolutionized the sport-bike world. It was the answer to the GPz500 and the Honda Hurricane. It was an amazing bike and will be once again after I fix it up!
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