I rid myself of that foolish Harley and set out to find a first generation GSX-R that was all original. A tough task indeed. But as luck would have it, I found one down in RI for a reasonable price ($1,500). He sent me pics and lo and behold it was an all original red/black 1987 GSX-R1100. I got down there as soon as I could!
The seller owned the bike since he was 14 and rebuilt it from the ground up. It was mostly stock except a Muzzy slip on, Wiseco internals and K&N lunchbox filters. He told me the bike ran and he had some extra parts.
Well when I got down there, we couldn't get it to crank over. He knocked $400 off the price and we loaded it up with the extra parts (calipers, fuel tank, spare set of carburetors etc) and headed home.
The problem was a very simple one. The circuit breaker tripped! Reset it and the bike fired up. It was very loud on account of the Muzzy slip on so I've sourced an OEM Exhaust and a set of Skoal Bandit graphics. And it's sort of sat since then while I can find rare OEM parts and spares.
Shortly after I bought that, I found a VFR750 (RC36) for sale in Carver. Bit of advice: Don't EVER buy a bike at night. I got burned real bad on this one.
The VFR750 is a very nice bike, comfortable, V4 and a very aesthetically pleasing single sided swing arm. This one was not a nice bike. Sure it had a Fox Racing rear shock, Givi windscreen, Supertrapp exhaust and a Corbin seat. But it also had some horrendous body work. The previous owner went to town on it with a can of red spray paint, the battery was shot and the front brakes were locked. No wonder it sucked to ride home. The only thing that made it okay was the sound of the gear driven cams. They whine like a supercharger.
Luckily I was able to get out of it for what I paid for it. Phew!
Next up is a 1993 ZX7L. This was on Craigslist for $300 a couple towns over. It had one side fairing and no tail useable tail fairings. It was very beat down; it sat behind a guy's house for 5 years and was last titled in 2005!
When I got her:
Yikes! I had my work cut out for me. I replaced the carburetors; whoever "cleaned" the old ones managed to file down ALL the needles and seats! I then removed the stupid Kleen Air emission system these had and the bike runs flawlessly.
Unfortunately spending so much time outside, various rubber components are slowly failing. So far I've done the clutch system, petcock, fuel lines, tires and forks. A labor of love.
Current state:
I am on the hunt for a set of PM Chicanes, Fox/Ohlins rear shock and a Corbin seat for it.
While fixing this, I bought two more bikes: 1988 FZR750 & 1990 ZX6d Ninja.
I spotted the FZR on Craigslist in Maine and knew I had to have it; it is one just two hundred made for AMA Homologation rules in the Superbike Class. It was in good condition and I gave a very good price for it. The downside is finding parts is difficult. It needs the left tail fairing which is specific to the 1988 model as far as paint and graphic scheme goes. But the good news is that FZR1000 panels will work, it's just a matter of repainting them.
I think once I get it running I will post it for sale.
The second one is a 1990 ZX6d Ninja. I bought it because it has PM Chicane wheels with good Metzler tires. The previous owner painted it. But then didn't wait for the paint to dry and the clear coat ruined the yellow base coat. I've cleaned the carburetors and put a factory exhaust on it. It's for sale for $1,000 if you're interested ;)
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