Motorcycles
restoration
How it all started
I love the process of bringing something back to life, something that’s been maybe pushed aside, forgotten about, or even abandoned, the rare opportunity to offer another chance.
In this case a 1997 Kawasaki ZX6R (F3)
Now, like a lot of people, I love Facebook market place, its a treasure trove of unloved gems.
I was getting ready for work one morning, and while I was waiting for my coffee to brew I loaded up Marketplace. The top of the pile was this Kawasaki. Listed at the sum of £800, and a description stating it’s been off the road under a sheet in the garage for 13 YEARS! Now that’s starting to sound like a barn find, and who doesn’t love a barn find?
Normally I might consider an offer because I love a bargain but in this case I had a feeling, Im up early, its not even 7am yet, lets just drop the seller a nice message and offer the full money, lets be honest I wanted it and its Facebook, 85% of people don’t respond for a week anyway.
To my surprise I got a reply within minutes, a few questions later I had arranged to pick it up the same evening, so I loaded up the trailer and got to work.
At the time I was a technician in a Motorcycle Garage surrounded by many other enthusiasts, and to my disbelief without me even mentioning it one of my colleagues states “I Saw a 97’ ZX6R on Facebook this morning for 800 quid, I messaged them and it had sold already!”, as you might imagine there was quite the stir when he found out why I had the trailer with me on a normal work day.
later that evening I drove South to Peace Haven in East Sussex, a quiet coastal town surrounded by the rugged South Downs.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, marketplace is often a gamble. On arrival the bike was parked on the driveway in all its glory. Shockingly it fired right up after the owner faffed around with the 90s alarm fob, it only ran on 2 cylinders and it was definitely a bit lumpy but sure enough it ran, as tatty as it might have looked.
we were losing light so swiftly got it on the trailer and secured it with some ratchet straps, being mindful not to blow the fork seals.
After a natter we did the paper work. Unbelievably the seller had full history up until the bikes retirement in 2013, including the original Kawasaki warranty booklet and owners manual.
I got in the car and was about to set off when the seller approached my window with an aftermarket screen and a period correct Scorpion end can to which I was delighted.
I drove into the night speculating what I might find, exited to get my hands dirty, and ready to take the bike into work the next day.
So the recommissioning begins
It’s a new day, the suns out and I can actually see the bike for what it is, I started off making an assessment on the Ninja to see exactly what I had bought.
After going over everything here’s what I found.
A fuel Tank with 13 years of rust build up
seized brakes
corroded fork stansions and seals
dry rotted tyres
a filthy chain
a very temperamental alarm system from the 90s
no functioning speedometer
Faulty temperature sensor
running on two of four cylinders due to bad fuel air mixture caused by clogged carbs
leaking fuel tap
general surface corrosion and grime
Now to remedy all of this.
Fuel tank ⛽
I started out by stripping the bike of all its plastics minus the nose cone.
The first item on my list was the leaking fuel tap, this was solved by simply stripping and cleaning the reserve switch with the application of a small amount of rubber grease.
The tank offered a level of internal corrosion that was concerning but not beyond salvage, firstly I drained all the stale fuel and blanked off both fuel ports and the breather vent on the tank in a watertight fashion, next was to create a rust removal solution using a chemical product by the name Deox-C. Once the solution was prepared I filled the tank and placed it on a shelf to react for a few days, this process requires occasional agitation and re positioning to make sure all surfaces are covered, once complete I drained and flushed the tank with water and a high pressure airline making sure no debris or moisture remain in the tank, this was finalised with a generous coating of your favourite penetrant spray or WD40 equivalent.
Carburettors 💨
Off comes the air box, throttle cables, fuel, and vacuum lines, not to mention the messy coolant hoses that run through the float bowls.
Carbs out and onto the table, where the fun begins. now I have the Carburettors accessible and in view its time to see what 13 years of storage has done.
removing the Choke mechanism allows for easy access to all the small JIS screws holding the assembly together, once stripped down into bare components, I place everything metal into the ultrasonic cleaner for a few hours, this really is a magic machine, the components came out nearly brand new!
Before rebuilding I hand clean the journals and jets making sure everything is spotless, and inspect the diaphrams and needles for excess wear. When reassembling its vital to compare to the original service manual where all specs such as jet size order, and screw turns can be found, I was able to run the bike well with the newly cleaned carbs fitted using an auxiliary fuel tank, all said and done we have the green light!
Braking news ⚠️
The brake calipers and master cylinders were so incredibly clogged up with what i can only describe as porridge I decided a rebuild was in order.
I stripped down the calipers first removing the pistons and seals, where I then used a Dremel and wire brush attachment to clean the corrosion, also making use of a Brillo pad to clean the pistons, Later repeating the same process for the master cylinders, followed by re assembly and a bleed.
Alarming 🚨
The dreaded 90s alarm system, they are so finicky.
Since all the plastics were removed I could at least see the loom clearly. I began tracing the alarm and immobiliser routing and eventually had the whole system disconnected from the multicoloured spaghetti of wiring, and a bike that would start with a turn of the key.
Corrosion ☢️
13 years of neglect will have an effect!
The Chain although relatively rust free was looking grimy, and rancid, a good 40 minutes with some brake cleaner, WD40, a wire brush, and half a tub of elbow grease however proved effective in restoring the chains health.
I was also able to use the same ethos of care, and elbow grease to bring a lot of the existing hardware back up to scratch, using paint, polish, and abrasives amongst other things.
Tyred 🛞
Its exiting and exhausting work, I can nearly see the finish line, theres just a few obstacles remaining to get her road worthy.
I had noticed the temperature dial wasn’t moving even when the bike was hot, however after inspecting the sensor I noticed the pin connectors were simply corroded and in need of a clean.
The last pressing issue was the speedo, this was a mechanical cable system attached to the front wheel hub, I was able to remmedy the fault by cleaning and reloacting the cable driver.
I tied the restoration together with a set of Bridgestone Battlax Hyper sport tyres a good clean and amazingly a fresh MOT without a single advisory!
Generation 1
Triumph Street Triple 675R
The elusively ubiquitous 675R
Weighing in at just 189KG Wet this machine certainly handles. Three cylinders of blind rage consealed into an aluminium case just waiting to be unleashed with every input.
Tip into a corner, follow it round and power out, its such a grunty little bike, with its low slung centre of gravity and just the perfect amount of get up and go for the British back roads, the Street Triple is a real B road menace that entices the tight and twisties, always anticipating the perfect ninety, an absolute riot.
Although given its sporty geometry and agrresive aesthetic the Street Triple isnt something you might consider a mile muncher.
I put this to the test touring 750 miles around North Wales and the Brecon Beacons, of course visiting Snowdonia National Park and checking out a few mountains along the way.
Its certainly no GS or Africa Twin, and it lacks any rider aids you might wish for,
even the basics like ABS and traction control in this early gen 1 example, but my oh my is it worth the sacrifice when you stumble across that incredible stretch of national road with all the bendy bits.
It just makes sense, you can really chuck it about.
This particular example is paired with a set of michellin Road 5s wich prove to be hugely confidence inspiring in both wet and dry conditions. I found myself enjoying the rainy welsh roads as much as any other sunny day pushing the bends.
with a 0-60 of around 3.2 seconds and a claimed 107BHP figure this lightweight mid 2000s street fighter really is the dogs... its a great all rounder, a bit of a Swiss army knife, and a great day to day bike if you still want that straight edge sport bike handling on the weekend.
The offering from Triumph back in 2009 for the 675R was not to be overlooked either. Build quality, style, handling, 4 pot brakes up front, and even fully adjustable suspension. At the time this was unobtainum when compared to any other bike on the market at its price point of just over £6000 on the showroom floor. Even now on the used market this old gem offers more than some of the more modern contenders, sure it might not have all the tech and buttons but its tight as a drum and makes up the difference with character alone.
Freestyle Motorcross
& Trials
