| Author | Message | ||
     Interex2050 |
Well today was fairly uneventful and straight forward... Changed the brake fluid, put the body work back on, fire her up with the body work... She is a pretty one:    The ignition shall be going to the locksmith tomorrow and then I shall be able to investigate the condition of the tank. As well as a trip to the hardware store to find some nylon washers to the fairing bolts don't scratch the paint Hopefully the parts will come in soon... | ||
| Ulywife |
Looking good! I bet the previous owner is looking down with a big ole smile on his face seeing how much you've put into this bike. Nice job. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
That's great! tranny shift ok you think? | ||
| Bake |
Yee haw, looks good | ||
| Interex2050 |
Ulywife, I really do hope so. Much thanks! Natexlh1000, The tranny is as smooth as butter, it shifts better then the Buell, S4, RC51, and SV650... Bake, Thanks Well this morning... A lot of progress has been made. I went down to the locksmith, and he made me a three keys. It only took him 30 minutes to make a key using the codes that I found on the ignition, and he only charged me $25.  Which was really nice because I came in ready to spend $80 that they had told me before...  They keys work wonderfully and fit all the locks. The tank was a bit tricky to get opened though. The lock tab was stuck and I had to use my "special" lube (1/2 kerosene and 1/2 motoroil with a dash of industrial grease). So I let that sit for 20 minutes and sure enough the cap opened right up. Inside though there are good news and bad... The corrosion inside is not that bad, but there is corrosion nonetheless. Surface rust is plentiful and will need to be removed, I will also get the tank sealed to prevent something like this from happening in the future. Although I do not even want to know how bad it would be in there if it were empty for all this time.  So I will looking for a small mom/pop radiator shop, as I would trust them a lot more. | ||
| Tom_b |
before you go to a radiator shop, take short length of chain and drop inside with a piece of nylon fishing line sticking out of the cap for retrival. use kerosene instead of gas and shake the tank a few hundred times. this will usually remove a lot of the surface rust. Then go buy a 35.00 Kreme coat kit and coat it. Cheaper than a radiator shop and won't hurt the paint if follow instructions. If done right kremecoat won't come off and clog fuel filters which I'm sure you installed after seeing the inside of that tank | ||
| Interex2050 |
That is a great idea! I think I will do that, I will try this on another old tank I have laying around to see how well it works out/get some practice. How much do radiator shop usually charge for something like this anyway? And how good are they about keeping the finish on the tank unscathed? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Man, what a cool project. As far as getting out the loose rust, if you don't have a piece of chain handy, grab a handful of whatever small hardware you have lying around (nuts, bolts, screws, etc.). For that matter, rocks or gravel will work! I think the Kreme kit may come with an etching solution to get even more of the rust off. I think you're on the right track with buying the stickiest rubber you can to fit the stock wheels. Yea, you can get better rubber for 17" wheels, but then the stock suspension probably wouldn't be up to the task, and then the brakes would be next, etc., etc. | ||
| Tom_b |
the problem with loose hardware is getting back out of the tank. I did B B's once and it sucked trying to get them out. a cahin work better. Even a dog leash chain is good. battery acid is the same as the acid used in the kreme kit for the etching in case you don't have enough in the kit. Remove all ruber products first and petcock and plug them off and the use the kreme. You don't hve to remove the rubbers to chain it just rinse the heck out of it. the reason i suggested the kreme coat, is most radiator shops boil out tanks, which will damage your stock paint. chain it and kreme coat it and run an inline filter and you will be great. (Message edited by tom_b on June 04, 2007) | ||
| Interex2050 |
I had an idea! I did not learn electro chemistry for nothing ... I will give this a shot this weekend, on the old rusty tank of coarse... I figure if I fill the tank with some sort of electrolyte and run current from a piece of metal suspended inside the tank to the tank, the rust should fancy the piece of metal inside the tank more then the tank itself... If I remember correctly the tank should be negative...? I will try the chain method first to get the majority of the surface rust first, then use the above method to get the rest out... Heck in that case I could also use Chromium Hydroxide, and chrome plate the inside of the tank. But Chromium Hydroxide is such nasty stuff... I figured that once I start changing one thing it will lead up to another... This bike has one of the nicest dashes that I have ever seen...  (note the original top triple with a fancy new key) Nice big tach, smaller speedo beside it, temp gauge, and even a fuel gauge. But this is the greatest feature... If you press the volt/tacho button the tach becomes a volt meter, good for checking the battery or charging system:  | ||
| Interex2050 |
forgot to mention. I also found a factory service manual, which has been used by a dealership so it may have notes and such in it... Update: I just did a few searches, and the "electrolysis" method has been used by many before... Should be interesting Another update: I just realized that I will not be able to register it with the current exhaust, as it does not have a "road legal" stamp... But I think I have an evil plot which would allow me to bypass this little issue... I do have the other ninja with a stock system... I could just accidentally happen to cut off one of the mufflers, and accidentally weld a proper diameter tube onto the end... And then accidentally install it on this ninja to register it... hmm... (Message edited by interex2050 on June 05, 2007) | ||
| Blackbelt |
I had the exact same exhaust on my ninja.. very good sounding especially around the 5k-7k mark. man I am having flash backs to my Ninja every time you post.. KEEP IT COMING I love that year of bike. cept my dash was missing the button for the volt meter, so I had to rig the switch so i could read the tach... but it worked. I had the same problem w/ my tank.. I took it to a place by me called Gastank Renew and they comepletely redid the tank.. cost me $150.00 but it was worth it even took a dent out of it for me | ||
| Interex2050 |
Well at this point I am somewhat torn with regards to what I should do with the tank... Well I suppose first thing I should do is drain the tank, and see how bad it really is. I guess there would no harm to see what what places will do to it around here and for how much. And at the same time I should try cleaning out that old Honda tank and see what kind of results I can achieve... I am also debating what I should do with the chain, should I go with the 520 or should I just stick with the 530... Is there a good source for hardware? The fairing bolts a bit crusty, and I was wondering where I could get replacements. Tasty-nuts has a kit for the bike but its a bit pricey ($32)... | ||
| Interex2050 |
Oh goodness... I cannot believe that I am actually considering this, should I get a Parts Unlimited X-ring chain for ($65)? Chains have never been more then just a source of frustration for me... Perhaps the o-ring or "x-ring" chains are better... I think I will need help with this one... I talked to the guys at "the shop" and they do club racing and such. They advised that I use DID and I found a 520VM "x-ring" for $100, is it a wise choice? | ||
| Tom_b |
Just go with the stock chain and sprockets, unless your going racing inmho the extra cost isn't worth it. my advise on the tank is at least chain it really good and flush and run fuel filters | ||
| Interex2050 |
Well I have not found a direct conversion... But I did find the specs for the sprockets:   I am now determined to do the 520 conversion as the 520 chain costs a lot less then the 530 (50). | ||
| Interex2050 |
Tom_b, I will be trying the chain technique tomorrow. I found this nice chain laying around and it should work perfectly for this. The reason the 520 chain seems appealing is actually the cost, the 530 is much more. Update: I finally found something that I think is reasonable... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-85-97-Kawasaki-ZX600-Ninja-RK-Chain-Sprocket-Kit_W0QQitemZ4605079679QQcmdZViewItem $170 rather much but I guess its better then nothing... Another update: Or... for $130 I could get JT sprockets and a Parts Unlimited x-ring chain... But then is the savings really worth it? (Message edited by interex2050 on June 06, 2007) | ||
| Interex2050 |
I win! I have discovered that the front sprocket is the same on the following bikes: Yamaha yzf600r 94-07 fzr600r 89-99 Suzuki TL1000 (various models) gsxr (various models) And the rear: Yamaha yzf-R1 98-00 R6 03-05 (the actual list is longer, but these are the most promising candidates) Now at this point too tired to figure anything else out... But since those are more modern bikes 520 sprockets should be easier to attain. | ||
| New12r |
This project is coming along nicely! | ||
| Staindus |
Excellent work she looks great. Keep the updates coming. | ||
| Sshbsn |
Very nice work! Now I can shop around more easily for the chain conversion for my FZR600 too. Who would've guessed 20 years ago that we'd all be so interested in '80s japanese sport bikes?! | ||
| Interex2050 |
Thanks! Plenty more to do, so stay tuned Sshbsn, Now that I think I have this more or less figured out (cross-referencing sprockets) I could come up with a list of compatible ones for your FZR600 Well I think I found a winner chain/sprocket combo... Its cheaper then the RK kit and better too! For $155 I can get myself: Vortex 39 tooth rear (375-435) Vortex 15 tooth front (374-3270) D.I.D 520VM X-Ring chain (120 link) | ||
| Interex2050 |
Well I drained the tank and well... I was able to so far slosh out about 2-3 handfuls worth of crap... And there is more left... Its a shame they had to put the smallest possible holes in the tank I will post pictures shortly | ||
| Interex2050 |
This is going to take a long long time... Well as it turns out, well as far as I can see, most of the crap in there is varnish with some rust in it... Getting this varnish out is going to be well... next to impossible. I am tempted to just cut the tank open on the bottom and sand blast it I did look at the rusteco stuff and it sure looks appealing, but because most of the rust is in the varnish I do not know if it will take if off... when I spayed some carb cleaner in there and took a toothbrush to it, it revealed a nice shiny silver finish underneath... The problem is I cannot get a toothbrush in there much further then the neck, or even see further for that matter The chain got a lot of the large loose chunks free, or at least it sounds the part. The chain is getting caught on something though Draining  Sample of the crap inside the tank:  Little plugs that I made for this extravaganza:   Tank after scrubbing with carb cleaner:  | ||
| Interex2050 |
This tank is proving to be a nightmare... It is full of hoses and metal tubing. The chain decided that it would be fun to wedge itself inside the tank (I have one end loose and out of the tank)... Making an access panel seems more and more appealing, or perhaps taking it to someone. The inside of the tank, even after a day long soak and chain sloshing, is still covered in crap... On a lighter note, my service manual and parts should be coming in tomorrow. I also bought some fancy oil. | ||
| U4euh |
I ran K591's and enjoyed the reliability of those tires ,back in the day. Man what luck. The lil 600r is what started it all. Sure there was the Interceptor, but Kawi made the first fully faired bike that was reliable, fun to ride, and easy to produce for the masses. KREEM treat that tank and never look back, did it to all my mid 80's honda's. | ||
| Interex2050 |
Well after wrestling with the chain all morning I got it out... It was very tricky to figure out what was going on in there but eventually I wiggled the chain up the breather and got it loose.  (pardon my poor artistic abilities) I may just use the KREEM stuff, but its such a shame to just leave all that garbage in there when the inside of the tank cleans up so nicely... I think I will give acetone a try, that should dissolve the varnish (I think). | ||
| Interex2050 |
Quick question: Is anyone familiar with the KBS MotorCycle Tank Sealer Kit? For some reason I have more faith in this one, as it appears as though it comes with varnish remover rust remover and the sealer And they say that their sealer will even work if some crap is still left in the tank... (after using the other two products) | ||
| Interex2050 |
The mail just came...  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Ain't it just like Christmas when you get motorcycle parts in the mail?  |
