just a bit of an update on things
I've decided to spend a bit of money on the old girl. But it needs a fair bit of money thrown at it. I could buy a R1 for the amount I'm going to spend on this bike and it will still be worth nothing in regards to resale value. But every time I look at it, or ride it, I just love it, so I want to hang onto it, as impractical and probably stupid as it might be!
Hadn't ridden it in ages, so decided I'd spend a few days over the Christmas break, pulling it apart and fixing the electrical issues that have been causing it to be unreliable..I gave it a general tidy up, polished it. I fit some new footpeg rubbers (from the UK). I also finally managed to source 2 brand new plastic filler panels (between the front fairing and frame) from the US, was good to finally replace the old broken panels. @ brand new genuine silky white mickey mouse ears mirrors imported from US, fitted. I cut the main electrical connector out (the one in front of the airbox, the source of most of my electrical issues..). Fit a new 8 pin connector, crimped and soldered the wires to the terminals. Lights are now all working reliably! I also fit a new reserve tank sensor (ordered from the US) and soldered up the wires which had torn off the switch. I had to drill out one of the screws which had seized itself in place. Reserve switch now works for the first time since I've owned the bike! The fuel tap snapped, when attempting to turn it back on, so another delay as I ordered the part from the US. New fuel tap arrived and I put it all back together.
Valve clearances haven't been done for over 80,000kms and carbies were out of balance - all beyond my current capability....
So I arranged to drop the bike off to a local guy out here who loves the older bikes, builds race bikes, restores all the old stuff. He's well known for being passionate about all kinds of bikes and great quality work. So he rebuilt and balanced the carbs, fitted the carb to head rubbers that I'd ordered from the US, checked valve clearances (said they are still good for another 25,000km), checked cam chain, changed/flushed coolant, new radiator cap to be on the safe side, fixed a couple of small oil leaks, adjusted the EXUP, flushed all the brake fluid (I had only done this recently, but didn't hurt to do it again), oil & filter.
He said it needs new airbox to carb rubbers - he had to heat them up with a heat gun to get them to fit. I was aware of this so will need to put it on my order list from the US. He also recommended ditching the EXUP valve - he tried to remove it to service it, but one bolt is already snapped and the other felt like it was going to snap so he left it, only adjusted it. He's not a big fan of the EXUP valve, reckons I'm better of buying a good full system and he'll jet it to suit. But I'm not so convinced. He's from a race bike background, was only really thinking from a top end point of view. I love how the FZR has such a nice steady power curve right across the range. I don't ride the thing hard, low to mid range is more important to me, so I'm going to try and keep it, even if it costs me a fortune. Plus I'm trying to keep this bike fairly original, as I love them just the way they came from the factory. I still have the factory muffler fitted
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
He hates it, reckons it's too quiet lol! But the upside is, he said the engine is in really good condition. He also noticed the cylinder head port work that had been done by the previous owner. He was impressed how well it rode.
So I rode the bike home and it's running sweet. Idles a lot smoother now - used to be all over the place and the exhaust used to 'pop' and crackle at idle. Starts a lot easier now too.
So what's left to do ?
The back/side fairings are completely stuffed (lugs all broken off, l/h/s has a big chunk out of it and crack where the chain came off, previous owner). I have one screw holding them on... I could probably get them repaired, but figured it would be cheaper and easier just to replace.....I found a brand new r/h/s part in the US but by the time it got here it was going to cost me nearly AU$500. Can't find a l/h/s new part. So I decided to buy a second hand pair off a guy in the UK. They need to be painted in the right colour, but they are in good condition. Cost me about $260 delivered to Australia + painting. I want to send the main front side fairings off to a repairer to get the bumps and scratches repaired and repainted. A new decal kit is on it's way from the UK to be fitted once it's all painted. I want to order a full fairing screw kit, as there's heaps of missing screws, well nuts etc.
I'm going to order some brand new white rubber frame hole plugs from Yamaha in the US to replace the old yellowed plugs. The turn signal indicators storks and lenses are long past their useable life, so I'm ordering a genuine set off Ebay to replace them all. I'm building up a list for my next order from Yamaha in the US, just want to make sure I get all the parts I need.
I took the bike out for it's first ride in 6 months or more last weekend. I had the girlfriend on the back along for the ride. We covered about 360kms. Bike performed faultlessly, it was SO good riding it again. I love it. It was a fairly hot day, but we didn't sit stationary for long, so didn't really get to test if the bike still overheats or not when sitting for periods of time. But having said that we did stop for a few minutes in traffic here and there and no temp issues. So crossing fingers it's sorted the overheating issues.