Hi all!
Been a while.
Anyways, some may know of me pining after early 90s GSXRs for while (it was a childhood dream bike) and some may remember Weekender BBQ chats where I kept saying things like "If one turns up cheap and the right colourway, I'm just going to have to buy it". This was right between conversations about having no money and too many projects.
Well, not long after that, a bike did turn up cheap in the exact colourway I was after..... well curse word
Obviously it was in Cornwall with no MOT and had been off the road since 2015. But it was cheap.... sooo I bought it
This was the furthest the bike trailer had ever been and the heaviest thing its ever handled! Luckily I'd addressed its slightly anaemic trailer neck the previous day and it handled 230kgs of Suzuki easily. (Thanks mylittletony)
So, got it home, gave it a wash and lets see what we have...
Good from far, but sadly far from good.
The previous owner working on a farm meant most orifices were stuffed with mud.
Things that were mentioned in the ad were completely true:
- The tyres were goosed
- Choke cable seized
- Rear brake master leaky
- Leaking fuel petcock
Things not mentioned in the ad
- Indicators wired in with some ugly bodge wires
- Most of the fairing bolts missing / seized in place
- There must have been an animal strike or something at some point because the headlight was held in with a third of its fittings (the rest having broken) same for the front fairing.
- Because of said suspected crashu, all the metal subframes at the front that supported the fairing were twisted
So, got stuck in...
The front fell off
Getting naked...
Kwalitee wiring
I was planning to rebuild the rear master, but this bolt sheared off in it, and after about the 6th attempt to weld a nut to it to remove, I just bought a "good" second hand one from ebay.
Then even more of the front fell off (new tyres time)
Then after a bunch of massaging and fettling of bodywork, and fixing mini bodges (the rear brake pad retaining pins had been lost and replaced with slightly sanded down bolts that have been eating into the caliper ) I put it back together and everything pretty much lined up! No gapping hole around the headlight anymore.
MOT TIME! (which also meant... first ride!)
AND IT ONLY BLOODY PASSED
First ride was enlightening. This is my most powerful bike ever (My GasGas has 45ish BHP and is A LOT lighter but still nowhere near the bhp/tonne including myself of this thing).
Holy heck it all happens over 9k RPM
Anyhoo, this told me that something still wasn't right up ahead.
Some more investigation revealed sloppy head bearings (a quick nip up solved that) and a warped front disc.
Once I get the disc sorted and a couple of other minor visual changes I'm looking forward to just riding it TBH.
Just in time for the summe...oh.
Been a while.
Anyways, some may know of me pining after early 90s GSXRs for while (it was a childhood dream bike) and some may remember Weekender BBQ chats where I kept saying things like "If one turns up cheap and the right colourway, I'm just going to have to buy it". This was right between conversations about having no money and too many projects.
Well, not long after that, a bike did turn up cheap in the exact colourway I was after..... well curse word
Obviously it was in Cornwall with no MOT and had been off the road since 2015. But it was cheap.... sooo I bought it
This was the furthest the bike trailer had ever been and the heaviest thing its ever handled! Luckily I'd addressed its slightly anaemic trailer neck the previous day and it handled 230kgs of Suzuki easily. (Thanks mylittletony)
So, got it home, gave it a wash and lets see what we have...
Good from far, but sadly far from good.
The previous owner working on a farm meant most orifices were stuffed with mud.
Things that were mentioned in the ad were completely true:
- The tyres were goosed
- Choke cable seized
- Rear brake master leaky
- Leaking fuel petcock
Things not mentioned in the ad
- Indicators wired in with some ugly bodge wires
- Most of the fairing bolts missing / seized in place
- There must have been an animal strike or something at some point because the headlight was held in with a third of its fittings (the rest having broken) same for the front fairing.
- Because of said suspected crashu, all the metal subframes at the front that supported the fairing were twisted
So, got stuck in...
The front fell off
Getting naked...
Kwalitee wiring
I was planning to rebuild the rear master, but this bolt sheared off in it, and after about the 6th attempt to weld a nut to it to remove, I just bought a "good" second hand one from ebay.
Then even more of the front fell off (new tyres time)
Then after a bunch of massaging and fettling of bodywork, and fixing mini bodges (the rear brake pad retaining pins had been lost and replaced with slightly sanded down bolts that have been eating into the caliper
) I put it back together and everything pretty much lined up! No gapping hole around the headlight anymore. MOT TIME! (which also meant... first ride!)
AND IT ONLY BLOODY PASSED
First ride was enlightening. This is my most powerful bike ever (My GasGas has 45ish BHP and is A LOT lighter but still nowhere near the bhp/tonne including myself of this thing).
Holy heck it all happens over 9k RPM
Anyhoo, this told me that something still wasn't right up ahead.
Some more investigation revealed sloppy head bearings (a quick nip up solved that) and a warped front disc.
Once I get the disc sorted and a couple of other minor visual changes I'm looking forward to just riding it TBH.
Just in time for the summe...oh.
