The next bike is what really got me into the old sportbikes.
I was at work one day surfing the net and came across a simple ad in Western Mass titled "1988 GSX-R750- $250"
I had no idea they made GSX-Rs so long ago.
The ad was posted minutes before I saw it so I sent him an email with my phone number. He called me shortly after and I agreed to purchase it.
I then went to check the ad to see if there was any further information and it was gone. Uh oh I thought he sold it! I called him back and he said he deleted the ad because I wanted it. First and last time a seller has ever been that kind.
That weekend, I borrowed my co-worker's VW Passat TDI Wagon and trailer and drove 2.5 hours each way to retrieve the bike. The seller bought it as his first bike and it scared him so he parked it.
It was stock except for the Yoshimura exhaust (I'd like to find the OEM Dual exhaust set up for it), Lockhart smoked windscreen and Ken Sean mirrors.
After I got it home I signed up on Gixxer.com's forum. It was there I started to realize just what I had bought and the cult following they had as well as the impact on the market they created back in 1986.
I also realized I had to find more and collect them. These images are shortly after reassembly:
When I picked it up all the fairings were off it and the carbs were gummed up. I cleaned the carbs out and replaced the needles and it fired right up. I rode it for a season and then managed to blow the clutch and flywheel.
I found a replacement motor and on a Saturday night me and a friend drove out to upstate New York to pick it up in my VW Beetle. The following weekend, we swapped the engine and it was back on the road.
Another day of cruising through Craigslist I came across a 1990 Yamaha FZR600 for $300 with a title. Seller just needed it gone because he bought a new R6.
The fairings were in okay shape. Far from perfect but presentable.
I did the same thing I did on the CBR with a GSX-R voltage regulator. I flushed the coolant a few times and replaced the thermostat and cap. The problem never fully went away. It probably had a bad head gasket.
Then came the hunt for parts. I managed to find some guy in CT who lived in his parent's basement trying to sell the remains of an FZR600 he used to race back in the 90s. The seller is definitely the most interesting man I've met in all my dealings. He raced the bike then had to sell it when he got locked up (not sure why, didn't ask) then bought it back when he got out. He then got in trouble with the law again and had to sell parts off it like the race wheels and front brakes.
It had a powder coated frame, rebuilt, revalved and powder coated forks with Progressive Springs for a 160 pound rider, Airtech fairing kit (main reason I was interested), a pair of solo cowls, JMC braced swing arm, Performance Machine rear caliper as well as loads and loads of spares.
Picking up these parts had to be done in two trips with my little VW Beetle. First trip was the frame, forks and swing arm as well as all the spares placed neatly in the trunk space.
Second trip was for the cosmetics.
I installed the fairing kit onto mine and kept all the spares just in case. Eventually I got tired of dealing with the stupid cooling system and sold the bike.
The guy I sold it to rode it home on my tag and registration promising he would mail me the plate back. He didn't. But I kept the two major components to the swing arm to make it functional: the adjusters. I canceled the plate. Ultimately he ended up with a piece of tin with some numbers written on it and a really expensive and shiny paperweight.
After I got rid of the FZR, I learned that I don't like Suzuki Katanas- the hard way. Again, searching Craigslist I came across an ad for a 1989 Suzuki Katana. Seemed nice enough, black with a blue seat and wheels. Looked sporty.
The tank lock was stuck so with some WD-40 and a screw driver, I got the tank opened and nearly passed out from the extremely potent smell of varnish.
I pulled the carbs off and they were just totally shot. Missing floats, stuck needles, stripped jets. The list went on. The bike also didn't have a title so it wasn't worth dumping the money into it.
I found another one being sold as a parts bike, it was an '88 with a title. I gave $250 for it.
Previous owner rode it til wife told him to stop riding for their kid's sake. So he parked it the summer before. It came with a spare set of wheels and all the fairings. I tinkered with it on and off a few times and could just never get it run right so I sold the pair for $750 to a guy who rode a Ducati and was going to fix them both up for his girlfriend.
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