[Sleepyhallo]

Hello! Yesterday I was speaking with riders about my motorcycle I bought that they despise & tell me I'm an idiot for buying.

For starters, I am a brand new rider & I understand that a 600 is automatically not a good starting point. I am responsible though!! I have no intention of riding like an idiot & endangering others or myself. I'm 19 & I'll be starting my new job the week after Christmas. I've had this FZR 600 in my garage for about 4 months now after buying it from a guy I used to work with. The bike, aesthetically, is butchered. They took the fairings off & painted them like garbage, they gutted it, put it back together, & labeled parts on the inside with tape, & kind of just neglected it.

It's been sitting for two years, & they had bought it from someone who had definitely taken care of it, as it'd been used since as far back as 1999 from what I can see on the bike itself (A parking sticker on the fork). I have all of the parts, but I haven't troublshooted the bike yet because even though I bought a battery, the negative terminal is missing from the loom. My new job will give me about $250-400 bi-weekly & I really want to see that motorcycle running. Is there any hope? Do any of you have stories about your motorcycles you bought as total junkers?

Is it realistic for someone with my kind of background to see this bike at least running any time in the next 2-3 months? Thanks for any and all replies!

 

[R&dcycles]

You being responsible has very little to do with why a 600 isn’t a good choice for a beginning bike. Even someone who is in their 30’s and is a new rider, this isn’t a good idea. The reason why is the bike has a lot of power and is very unforgiving if you get a bit out of shape on it. There are larger displacement bikes that are much better suited for a new rider out there, but I don’t recommend any new rider to start on a super sport of any displacement.

as for the repair of the bike. Well that’s up to you. I doubt you will ever get your money back on the investment, but there is more than money to be had here. You will gain skills and experience that you wouldn’t have before this. I have taken quite a few basket cases and made them good again. I actually just finished one yesterday, which was the second of 2 XR80R’s I bought for $30. I now know how to relace wheels (new to me skill) I’m much better at working on engines and transmissions and tuning carbs. This isn’t my only bit of this type of thing either. So if you want to learn diagnostics, repair a possible missile and learn how to paint (not talking rattle can but really paint) then this is a project that Sounds fun to do.

 

[Offcenter]

I agree that you will get valuable experience rebuilding that bike,
as well as the satisfaction of saying "I built it myself".
I also agree that you will never get your money back out of it.
But if you are looking for something reliable to commute to work on,
I don't think this will be it unless you spend a LOT of time and money
on it in the next few months.
You would be better off working on this in your spare time, slowly,
and learning from the experience, and buying something else that
actually RUNS to commute on 'til you get this one done....preferably
something smaller that no one has had their mitts in. There are a
lot of butchered bikes out there that were victims of idiots who
shouldn't own tools. This sounds like one of 'em.
There are a lot of smaller low mileage bikes out there cheap.
Find one. Then you can both ride, and work on this one.

 

[bpe]

Is it realistic for someone with my kind of background to see this bike at least running any time in the next 2-3 months?

Based on the laws of averages, not likely.

at least running

Should focus on running properly
____safely

 

[Unkle Krusty]

You will need to know a few things. How to get fuel to the cylinders. This will likely involve removing the carbs and cleaning them, and setting float levels. If it is fuel injected there are other skills required. How to remove the calipers and pistons and brake pads, and how to put them back together knowing they will work. How to replace wheel bearings and tires. How to replace the chain. How to sort out the electrical system. Once you do all that and get it running safely down the road, you need to figure out how to ride safely, when those all about ignore you.

I bought an 83 XS400 Yamaha for the task you have. Much better choice IMO. Meantime a decent 450 Suzuki dual purpose bike, that is running well, will do the job. Go practice in the dirt, or on gravel roads.

UK

 

[Retired Guy]

My first bike was a basket case, but I had dad to help me put it back together, ah, I mean he put it together and I helped because he was a pretty good mechanic.

I probably put a couple hundred thousand miles on that bike before we ever got the engine started. So, yeah, it can be done, but you might need a little bit of help. Good luck with it.

 

[OldMan54]

Hello! Yesterday I was speaking with riders about my motorcycle I bought that they despise & tell me I'm an idiot for buying.

For starters, I am a brand new rider & I understand that a 600 is automatically not a good starting point. I am responsible though!! I have no intention of riding like an idiot & endangering others or myself. I'm 19 & I'll be starting my new job the week after Christmas. I've had this FZR 600 in my garage for about 4 months now after buying it from a guy I used to work with. The bike, aesthetically, is butchered. They took the fairings off & painted them like garbage, they gutted it, put it back together, & labeled parts on the inside with tape, & kind of just neglected it.

It's been sitting for two years, & they had bought it from someone who had definitely taken care of it, as it'd been used since as far back as 1999 from what I can see on the bike itself (A parking sticker on the fork). I have all of the parts, but I haven't troublshooted the bike yet because even though I bought a battery, the negative terminal is missing from the loom. My new job will give me about $250-400 bi-weekly & I really want to see that motorcycle running. Is there any hope? Do any of you have stories about your motorcycles you bought as total junkers?

Is it realistic for someone with my kind of background to see this bike at least running any time in the next 2-3 months? Thanks for any and all replies!

Hi Sleepyhallo, First I wouldn't pay much attention to people who say this bike is to big for you. Personally a 600cc bike is probably a good place to start. Depending on the type of riding you're going to be doing. If you're looking for around town short rides and not going on long rides, a sport bike would be ok. I strongly recommend taking some classes and a riding school. Then go practice . Drive "under" your ability and don't get over confident. Try out MCrider - Motorcycle Training on You Tube. He has some great content for new riders and old ones like me. The link is https://www.youtube.com/user/kevinmorris22

As far as rebuilding a bike like the one you described, your going to find out quickly how very expensive it is to buy parts for it. If its been sitting around that long and it had gas in the carb, I can tell you that you'll almost definitely have to do a carb rebuild on it. Then you'll have to address any safety issues it may have. Being older and hopefully wiser, if it where me, I'd pass on the repairs, sell the bike as is and get a good used bike from a reputable dealer. You should sit on different makes and models and see what fits. How does the weight feel. Is it top heavy or lower center of gravity. Then take some out for a test ride if you are licensed. Hell you could by my 2005 Honda VTX 1300C with all the aftermarket stuff I have and you could get a "great" running bike for about 4k. BTW mines not for sale...just saying. But if you find something you like at a reasonable price at a dealer, and you have a steady job, you could walk away with a good first bike that you can afford. Just do your research and don't overpay or overextend yourself. Don't get deep into dept!

Hope these thoughts help a little and welcome to the brotherhood of riders. You'll find that most of us love to ride and won't criticize what you ride. Just be safe, understand your experience level and always always learn

Good Luck

 

[R&dcycles]

Hi Sleepyhallo, First I wouldn't pay much attention to people who say this bike is to big for you. Personally a 600cc bike is probably a good place to start.

I'm hoping here that you missed the fact that this is a SUPERSPORT type of bike. 4 cylinder, sport bike that is extremely powerful. 600cc is a great place to start on a heavy cruiser like a Honda Shadow or something like that... in that case yes 600 isn’t too big. For any experienced rider to tell a kid that a super sport is ok for a first bike it totally irresponsible. Hell if a 600 super sport is acceptable, then why not just get the king of the hill 1600cc Suzuki, and never worry about out growing it. I do mention that there are good larger displacements to start out on but never a good idea to start on a super sport of any displacement.

to the OP. If you like spo bikes and want to start on one there are plenty of fun 250 and 300 cc bikes to consider that will allow you to develop the riding skills you need before putting 100 plus horsepower between your legs.

 

[OldMan54]

I'm hoping here that you missed the fact that this is a SUPERSPORT type of bike. 4 cylinder, sport bike that is extremely powerful. 600cc is a great place to start on a heavy cruiser like a Honda Shadow or something like that... in that case yes 600 isn’t too big. For any experienced rider to tell a kid that a super sport is ok for a first bike it totally irresponsible. Hell if a 600 super sport is acceptable, then why not just get the king of the hill 1600cc Suzuki, and never worry about out growing it. I do mention that there are good larger displacements to start out on but never a good idea to start on a super sport of any displacement.

to the OP. If you like spo bikes and want to start on one there are plenty of fun 250 and 300 cc bikes to consider that will allow you to develop the riding skills you need before putting 100 plus horsepower between your legs.

First I suggested he figure out what type of riding he really wanted to do, 2nd I told him to take classes and seat time and to practice under his ability. Yes they 4 cylinder 600 can kill you just like any other bike. I started on a 4 cylinder 750 back in the day and I didn't ride like a nut and I'm still here. If he bought a 250 he'd probably kick himself in the ass in a short period of time because he'd out grow it quickly. The bike won't kill him. It's how responsible he is on it. I even told him to try out many bikes and get one that feels right. And no...I wouldn't recommend a 1600cc.

 

[Unkle Krusty]

The problem with 600 cc sport bikes is the need to keep the revs up nearly all the time. It gets boring real fast. they are useless around town bikes. The 650 Suzuki V twin has more power at lower revs, up to 9000 and is a much more suitable bike, along with many others. There are folks who started out with the wrong bike and survived. But the story is not over until you are still walking straight at 80, and have a few more years left to ride, on something sensible.
We need to learn how to ride. It will not happen on a sport bike, on the street.
Check the crash statistics.

UK

 

[R&dcycles]

First I suggested he figure out what type of riding he really wanted to do, 2nd I told him to take classes and seat time and to practice under his ability. Yes they 4 cylinder 600 can kill you just like any other bike. I started on a 4 cylinder 750 back in the day and I didn't ride like a nut and I'm still here. If he bought a 250 he'd probably kick himself in the ass in a short period of time because he'd out grow it quickly. The bike won't kill him. It's how responsible he is on it. I even told him to try out many bikes and get one that feels right. And no...I wouldn't recommend a 1600cc.

I put my12 year old son on a 650cc Maxim which is a 4 cylinder and he handled it just fine. It’s not a Supersport bike, it’s a cruiser. I have no objection to larger displacement bikes for beginners, just not super sports.

 

[johnnyvee]

I've had this FZR 600 in my garage for about 4 months now after buying it from a guy I used to work with. The bike, aesthetically, is butchered.

My new job will give me about $250-400 bi-weekly & I really want to see that motorcycle running. Is there any hope?

If this guy returns he'll see our responses. Since it's been over a week, maybe that return isn't so likely. Nevertheless, I'll throw my 1 cent opinion in.

As I read the situation the guy ALREADY owns this FZR 600, mileage and mechanical condition unknown, wants it running by next spring, so he can learn to ride on it.
The bike has got some cosmetic issues, and some wiring issues and maybe more.

I agree with the folks who said an FZR 600 is not an ideal starter bike,just too much horsepower on a light, tall bike. Compared to the "superbike" of my youth, the Honda CB750, it's 100lbs lighter, got 30% more horsepower, and top speed is damn fast vs. just really fast. I personally don't think beginner bikes should be easily capable of doing wheelies or stoppies, and the FZR 600 can do both.

I wouldn't personally recommend an FZR 600 as a bike to learn motorcycle mechanic skills on. Fully encased mechanicals, 4 cylinders, 4 carburetors,high compression, water cooling, none of these things make the job of putting and keeping a machine on the road any easier in my opinion.

As far as cosmetic restoration, the OP might find that replacement parts are difficult to find and expensive. The bike was made for 10 years, but production ended in 1999. Sport bikes are not unknown to suffer some mishaps and plastic doesn't hold up that well in impact. Personally, I'd research this aspect carefully before I set my heart on a cosmetic restoration, especially in light of the fact that the OP has stated his income is limited. I'd put together a list of the parts that I'd want to replace and start searching to get an idea of what kind of total cost I was looking at before I spent any money on cosmetics. If the project doesn't look manageable, sell it on before you are invested.

One good thing about the FZR 600. It has just about ended it's depreciation cycle. If you do nothing with it for the next 30 years except protect it from rust, you should be able to realize a profit on the bike.

 

[LovelyNancy]

In my experience, the brakes on a super sport will get a new rider in trouble before the throttle.
Keep that in mind at all times.........gentle squeeeeeeeze.
Even if you keep the brakes under control, the throttle is going to be twitchy at low speeds for a beginner.
Why put yourself through that.
I say, build that one up for resale and start on a better beginner bike.

 

[Offcenter]

Even if you keep the brakes under control, the throttle is going to be twitchy at low speeds for a beginner.
Why put yourself through that.
I say, build that one up for resale and start on a better beginner bike.

WHAT SHE SAID....!!

 

[SemiFast]

. My new job will give me about $250-400 bi-weekly & I really want to see that motorcycle running. Is there any hope? Do any of you have stories about your motorcycles you bought as total junkers?

Oh I've seen this movie before.... The short answer is no, no hope, at least not much.
Total junkers are just that, Junk.
Those things will snowball on you in that you sink a bunch of money into them only to find (uncover) major problems that make the machine pretty much un-fix-able due to things like parts that are no longer available and the price of parts that are available. The possible pit falls are endless.
If you do finally get it up and running you will realize that you could have bought something that was running and ready to ride for a fraction of what you put into your junker.
At this point you've only thrown away money on a battery. I'd recommend stopping with that....

S F

 

[Unkle Krusty]

Good points SF. I had been thinking that the OP message was conflicting enough.
The amount of $$ spent on the wrong bike, would pay for something sensible that is running.

UK