Another Wasted Post

So I decided to go full on into the carburetors off the 1997 GSX-R1100 and replace them with all new gaskets and everything. I placed the other and have been waiting on parts since.

In other news, I put yet another engine in the 1997 GSX-R600.

I've been riding it around the past few days and I must say it feels like a new bike. Tires are perfect, suspension is spot on and the throttle response is phenomenal. I almost want to keep it. Almost. But alas, the money garnered from selling them would go further toward other bikes to rehab!

That's all there is to report currently. Please enjoy this video of the revolutionary 1993 Honda CBR900RR.

What I wouldn't give to be a buyer at that time!

Until next time,
See you on the road!

Putting In Work

I started working on the 97 GSX-R1100 today. First step was to remove the carburetors. A pretty straight forward (albeit fiddly) procedure.

Well this was interesting. The results of parting a motorcycle for 3+ years in a garage. There were even two rotting mouse corpses! That was a nice touch.

Now comes the part where I disassemble the carburetors!

First, start with a nice adult beverage and some good music. My choice of music is Q-Dance Radio and choice of beverage is the classic screwdriver:

Next is to make sure you are working in a clean, organized environment:

Normally I work from the top to the bottom as I find it easier. I keep everything organized in the proper order it was removed in: 

Next step is to flip the whole unit over and start pulling the bowls: 

I have run into this problem before, one or two bowl screw won't come undone no matter how much PB Blaster and WD-40 I use. That's when the trusty Vice-Grips come out: 

Viola: 

Next I remove ALL of the jets. In this case, these carburetors just have main jets and pilot jets:

Jets should be clean and clear. I couldn't see through ANY of mine. Tomorrow I will do the actual cleaning and reassembly!

Until next time,
See you on the road!

Couple of Updates

So I sold the little Bandit 400. I put it on Craigslist and someone gave me close to my asking price so I came out ahead. I would have really liked to fix it but I have other bikes that will net a bigger profit once fixed.

Last night I picked up the 1997 GSX-R1100 I bought last week;

I'll probably start working on it tonight. I believe it is a California model as it has lots of emission tubes and hoses.

On a closing note, the GSX-R600 I put the motor in is still for sale. I have to take it off the market because the motor I was sold is bad. The headgasket is bad and I think that is what all the running problems can be attributed to. I cleaned the carbs but they were in perfect shape when I took them apart. This weekend I'm picking up a known good engine in order to swap it out (again!).

Until next time,
See you on the road!

Long Time, No Write.

So since I last wrote, I had picked up a nice, restorable 1987 Suzuki GSX-R1100. I put it right in storage with the Honda NT650 Hawk for now, speaking of which, I was finally able to track down a fuel tank so I can bring it home and start working on it.

In other news, I picked up a very low mileage Suzuki Bandit 400. It has just 6,200 miles! It's been sitting for a few years but it has a clean title.

The seller gave me all of the items like the tank and air box.
I fiddled with it for a couple days. Realized it wasn't getting spark and the leads had broken coming off the ignition pick up so I resoldered them and now it gets spark. I think the carbs are the culprit now.



At any rate, I sold the moped for a small profit.

I had my fun with it so it was time to move on.

I took the profit plus some cash and bought this.

Bad pic, it was all I could muster in the seller's cramped garage. It's a 1996 Suzuki GSX-R1100 which is pretty close to original condition with the exception of a full Kerker exhaust with twin (!) exits. While not the most sought after series, it still holds a place in many people's hearts.As of right now, it is just going to be a flip. I got it for a decent price.

In other news, I registered and insure the 1994 Honda CBR900RR I bought back last fall. Rebuilt the carburetors and it runs flawlessly.

I still have the 1997 Suzuki GSX-R600 I put the motor in. Hoping to have that sold soon so I can put the money toward other flips.

Until next time,
See you on the road!

Some Updates!

So, in the last post I made reference to another bike I was picking up....

I replied to a Craigslist ad titled "87 GSX-R1100 - $250"
The description in the ad was sparse at best. "Not run in nearly 10 years. Parts or scrap"

Well okay fine. I guess it's worth an email. His reply was "Are you interested in restoring? This bike screamed when I first got it." So I told him I'd like to restore it and he said It'll need mirrors and paint
He attached a dark pic in his garage. For $250, I was expecting some flatblack hacked up POS or something. Pleasant surprise when it was blue and white. Even better surprise when I got there and saw how nice it really was!

I've put it right in storage for the time being.


In other news, I got that little moped running well and reliably.

Don't try this at home, folks!

I checked the clutch/transmission fluid. An itty bitty drop came out. So I filled it with the proper spec fluid. 

Tonight, I got the GSX-R600 running and riding as new. 

The choke wasn't disengaging all the way. Who knew such a small phenomena could result in such obnoxious consequences!

Bike is currently for sale at $2,500! Cleanest and lowest mileage SRAD you'll find at that price.

Until next time,
See you on the road!

Happenings.

So lately I've picked up a little Bandit 400. Supposedly, the motor is bad; yet it cranks over just fine. Seems to be a fuel issue. Pics of that will come later. I also managed to pick up a little moped - 1977 Sparta Foxi GT. Put some fresh fuel in and peddled a bit and it fired up. Needs tweaking though.


I sold my 1993 ZX7 last week as well.

I put it up for sale at $2,000 with all the spares I had - one left side fairing, one upper, two right side fairings, OEM clutch set up, Vance & Hines PowerPak, Vance & Hines ignition advancer and some other small things. The fellow I sold it to is a local who bought one brand new in 1993 and put 18,000 miles on it in 2 years! He had a child so he had to get rid of it but he wanted another one. He intends on taking it down to the frame and fully restoring it. 

Parting shot a on a very very rainy day. 

Today, I finally got around to dropping the blown up motor from the 1997 GSX-R600 I picked up in Vermont last year.

Again, ignore the stupid decal. It was on it when I bought it.

Getting there. 

And it's out!

Hey, see those two screws that are missing? The motor ate them and blew a hole in the piston!

New motor in. Only took about 4 hours from the turn of the first screw to get the new motor in. Getting it started was a different story. Took some coaxing but finally she fired up and ran well. 

Tomorrow I'm picking up another bike, check back then for an update!

Until next time,

See you on the road!

Triumph Tales + New Purchase

So I finally got the Triumph motor back together.

Then it came time to put the motor in the bike:

All in all, it went pretty smoothly. The motor is hung and I just need to finish hooking all the wiring up, attach the exhaust and put the carburetors on.
It's pretty exciting to see it finally all go back together - it's been apart since December! After this motor is in, the next bike to get a heart transplant is the 1997 GSX-R600 I bought with just 5,800 miles.

Before I put the motor back in the Triumph, I went down to Rhode Island to purchase another bike.

It's a 1989 Suzuki GSX-R750. It's pretty close to original condition.

As far as mods go, it has the following:
Vance & Hines air filters (I've never seen a set in the 35+ bikes I've owned) 
Adjustable Rev limited with shift light
Lockhart Phillips tinted wind screen
Lockhart Phillips front flush mount blinkers
Lockhart Phillips tank bra
Twin Kerker slip ons
Fog lights deep in the upper fairing - pretty slick actually
Vortex rear sprocket
OEM Suzuki Solo Cowl - comes with rear seat and trim panel
Polished wheels & frame 

The mods it has don't really detract from the bike at all; I think they're very period correct.

I got it for a good price. It just needs the carburetors cleaned and gone through. Not 10 minutes after I brought it home I polished and waxed all the fairings. 

In other news, I'm currently trying to work a deal for an all original 1989 Kawasaki ZX10-R and a 1995 Kawasaki ZX9-R. If everything pans out, expect a post on each of those.