Kawasaki ZZR600 progress thread
- Thread starter Diddums
- Start date
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Oct 2024
- Posts
- 45
- Location
- Stoke
I had the exact same colour scheme on my 1992 ZZR600. Absolutely loved that bike and genuinely miss it.Here's me, on my ZZR600 in around 1994. Check out the phone I'm holding.
Great bike it was. Lobbed it up the road though.
Now have a ZZR1400 which was and still is my dream bike.
Will be following this thread with great interest!
It died a bit as I was at Defqon 1 but now I'm back to normal, things can progress a bit. I'll update the thread later as there have been a few little bits happening in the background.
Should be MOT ready soon
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Oct 2024
- Posts
- 45
- Location
- Stoke
Hope you are well and glad you are back to normal. Looking forward to the updates.It died a bit as I was at Defqon 1 but now I'm back to normal, things can progress a bit. I'll update the thread later as there have been a few little bits happening in the background.
Should be MOT ready soon
Right then, back to the mill.
Tank has been cleaned and treated with POR15. I soaked it once with vinegar and I think I left the vinegar in a bit too long so it didn't come out all the nice, so I redid it and it came out a lot better. Unfortunately the vinegar also ate one of the fuel level sensors. These two bits are meant to be stuck together:
Fortunately we have some tame engineers at work (actual proper engineers, that use lathes and milling machines and weld and stuff) and a bribe later one of them managed to sort it for me:
Unfortunately the vinegar also ate part of the fuel filler cap so I can no longer use it. I've tried sourcing a replacement but they're rarer than hen's teeth so I bought some cheapo Amazon thing which will hafta do in the mean time, and have set an alert on Ebay in case any pop up.
I also got some fresh oil and a new gasket for the clutch cover. I intend to reuse as much of the current oil as possible, given that it's not even been used for more than 3 minutes, but just in case:
And I also want to start getting the rear caliper and master cylinder sorted. I asked around in our friendly Whatsapp group if anyone had a compressor and @bloodiedathame took longer than 30 milliseconds to respond so me being me, I bought this:
Got a charity fete thingy this afternoon but hoping to still get *something* done this weekend. We'll see.
Tank has been cleaned and treated with POR15. I soaked it once with vinegar and I think I left the vinegar in a bit too long so it didn't come out all the nice, so I redid it and it came out a lot better. Unfortunately the vinegar also ate one of the fuel level sensors. These two bits are meant to be stuck together:
Fortunately we have some tame engineers at work (actual proper engineers, that use lathes and milling machines and weld and stuff) and a bribe later one of them managed to sort it for me:
Unfortunately the vinegar also ate part of the fuel filler cap so I can no longer use it. I've tried sourcing a replacement but they're rarer than hen's teeth so I bought some cheapo Amazon thing which will hafta do in the mean time, and have set an alert on Ebay in case any pop up.
I also got some fresh oil and a new gasket for the clutch cover. I intend to reuse as much of the current oil as possible, given that it's not even been used for more than 3 minutes, but just in case:
And I also want to start getting the rear caliper and master cylinder sorted. I asked around in our friendly Whatsapp group if anyone had a compressor and @bloodiedathame took longer than 30 milliseconds to respond so me being me, I bought this:
Got a charity fete thingy this afternoon but hoping to still get *something* done this weekend. We'll see.
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Oct 2024
- Posts
- 45
- Location
- Stoke
Looking promising!
By the way, in case you aren't aware of it. If you ever need to look up OE numbers for parts to cross reference if other build years fit or to double check something is correct for your bike, this site is awesome for it.
www.fowlersparts.co.uk
By the way, in case you aren't aware of it. If you ever need to look up OE numbers for parts to cross reference if other build years fit or to double check something is correct for your bike, this site is awesome for it.
Fowlers Parts | Genuine Motorcycle Parts & Spares
Fowlers Parts are the largest UK supplier of genuine motorcycle parts & spares for thirteen manufacturers of motorcycles. Offering next day delivery (UK) on orders made by 5pm.
www.fowlersparts.co.uk
Finally made a bit of progress again today 
Most importantly, it moved under its own steam:
The petcock has been completely rebuilt and refitted to the tank and the tank is back on the bike, so it can be filled properly now and not run off that silly bottle of embarrassment:
The oil cooler has been refitted:
Also drained the oil again and fixed the oil leak, so it's completely tight now and won't drip.
I also refitted the rear brake assembly as it was the only way I could get the banjo bolts off, so I'm gonna go start that after this post.
A few things identified during all this:
-New vacuum hose to be fitted to the petcock/vacuum connection
-Investigate why side stand switch doesn't cut the bike out
-Find out why the main stand is rubbing on the chain
-Check a few coolant hose runs, there appears to be a coolant hose going in to the waterpump (no, not those hoses, some small auxilliary thing) which has been blanked off, and there's another one at the top of the radiator somewhere which has a little filter-looking thing in it, and which drips extremely slowly. I need to find out where this needs to be connected to and get it sorted.
-Check the gear linkages, there seems to be far too much play so I need to see if I can tighted it up a bit. I'm sure changing the gears in flip-flops wasn't helping this however.
Progress, finally. Might even book it in for an MOT soon at this rate
Most importantly, it moved under its own steam:
The petcock has been completely rebuilt and refitted to the tank and the tank is back on the bike, so it can be filled properly now and not run off that silly bottle of embarrassment:
The oil cooler has been refitted:
Also drained the oil again and fixed the oil leak, so it's completely tight now and won't drip.
I also refitted the rear brake assembly as it was the only way I could get the banjo bolts off, so I'm gonna go start that after this post.
A few things identified during all this:
-New vacuum hose to be fitted to the petcock/vacuum connection
-Investigate why side stand switch doesn't cut the bike out
-Find out why the main stand is rubbing on the chain
-Check a few coolant hose runs, there appears to be a coolant hose going in to the waterpump (no, not those hoses, some small auxilliary thing) which has been blanked off, and there's another one at the top of the radiator somewhere which has a little filter-looking thing in it, and which drips extremely slowly. I need to find out where this needs to be connected to and get it sorted.
-Check the gear linkages, there seems to be far too much play so I need to see if I can tighted it up a bit. I'm sure changing the gears in flip-flops wasn't helping this however.
Progress, finally. Might even book it in for an MOT soon at this rate
Last edited:
A good scrub and some lubricant later, and this is now resolved. Good job too, prices for these things are hilarious
The screws were borderline hard to get out, so they were replaced with some nice stainless jobbies.
Identified how this is meant to work, these two need to be joined together so I need to order some hose and clamps for that.
Completely disassembled everything and rebuilt it, much better now. Still not as good as I'd like, but this is a 35 year old bike after all.
Also looked at the cost of rear discs (£140 lol), as this is what the current one looks like:
15 mins later on the main stand, first gear, steel brush and some wire wool, and it looks semi-presentable now at least:
I also tested the wiring for the fuel level sensor and it works fine. I still need to test the sensor itself however, I've run the bike for a bit to drain some fuel and will eventually see if the sensor works, not in a rush with that one.
Should have the rear caliper rebuild kit soon, so will likely get that done next weekend. I also need to strip the master cylinder and see what's what there too. Then the forks, properly dreading that one.
Then I can start on the cosmetics, and picking some fresh rubber.
Are you coming back for Season 3?
Caliper rebuilt. It's such a satisfying feeling putting all this together again. Bought these to strip the master cylinder:
Straight in the bin. What a load of junk. The fact the companies even have the balls to sell such crap products is amazing.
Replaced with a proper set of Halfords Advanced jobbies. The quality difference is hilarious to be honest:
Anyway, on to the master cylinder, and I've definitely found out why the rear brake was completely dead
Look at the state of this:
Some dunce has obviously replaced the stainless circlip with a mild steel jobbie at some point, which has promptly decided to just turn in to dust in the master cylinder. I managed to get half of it out, but the other half is refusing to budge.
Just gonna find a whole new cylinder, cba with this.
Straight in the bin. What a load of junk. The fact the companies even have the balls to sell such crap products is amazing.
Replaced with a proper set of Halfords Advanced jobbies. The quality difference is hilarious to be honest:
Anyway, on to the master cylinder, and I've definitely found out why the rear brake was completely dead
Look at the state of this:
Some dunce has obviously replaced the stainless circlip with a mild steel jobbie at some point, which has promptly decided to just turn in to dust in the master cylinder. I managed to get half of it out, but the other half is refusing to budge.
Just gonna find a whole new cylinder, cba with this.
Today was the day that broke me, more on that in a moment. The chap who sold me the master cylinder told me five days after I ordered it (yesterday) that he couldn't find it and cancelled the sale. He then deleted the listing completely, deleted the messages to me and turned his shop to "away" for a week. Very clearly trying to dodge the feedback system. So like a proper snitch, I dobbed him in to the ebay police. Ordered another one, hopefully here in the week.
This left me with the forks to do. Started stripping the front end, all goes well, then I need a 12mm allen key. Which of course I don't have. I tried every shop in our area and nobody had any in stock, not even in a set, or as a bit I can pop on my ratchet.
I ask in our Whatsapp group if anyone has one, @Hades to the rescue, he found a radiator key at Toolstation. One in stock, and of course their site is having issues so I have no way of reserving it. Like batman to his batmobile I hop in the car and off we go. The chick at the shop rummages around looking for it, comes back and says "soz lol computer mistake ain't got none bruv". Then someone else overhears this and says to hold fire, he's gonna have a look. Fortunately, he found it. Oh how we all laughed.
Remember I said this is a radiator key? Yeah, not that strong unfortunately. The edges start rounding off. I decide to soak the lot in penetrating oil and try again later, this time with a bit more leverage:
Proper bush mechanic stuff, but it worked.
The front end is now completely off the bike, and it looks like this:
Looking pretty sorry for itself, but should be back in one piece next weekend if all goes well.
Anyway, what a forking nightmare.
Got these two bar stewards off the bike:
Drained the oil and started disassembly. One of the bolts in one of the bottoms rounded off, because of course it ******* did, and I can't get it out:
Strike one.
Strike two is this evil thing, which needs to be pressed down in to the fork, against the spring and damper cartridge in order to get the ring out.
Tried for a bit, got fed up and found a bloke who can do them both for £45ish. Dropping them off on Monday together with the oil and seals.
As much as I want to do everything myself, I need to know my limits, and not only is this frustrating the everliving hell out of me, but if that thing pops out in an uncontrolled manner, it could put me in hospital so I'm doing the wise thing and paying a bloke to do it.
On another note, I'm looking in to media blasting and powder coating, and might be giving it a shot using very primitive kit, to see what the results could look like.
This left me with the forks to do. Started stripping the front end, all goes well, then I need a 12mm allen key. Which of course I don't have. I tried every shop in our area and nobody had any in stock, not even in a set, or as a bit I can pop on my ratchet.
I ask in our Whatsapp group if anyone has one, @Hades to the rescue, he found a radiator key at Toolstation. One in stock, and of course their site is having issues so I have no way of reserving it. Like batman to his batmobile I hop in the car and off we go. The chick at the shop rummages around looking for it, comes back and says "soz lol computer mistake ain't got none bruv". Then someone else overhears this and says to hold fire, he's gonna have a look. Fortunately, he found it. Oh how we all laughed.
Remember I said this is a radiator key? Yeah, not that strong unfortunately. The edges start rounding off. I decide to soak the lot in penetrating oil and try again later, this time with a bit more leverage:
Proper bush mechanic stuff, but it worked.
The front end is now completely off the bike, and it looks like this:
Looking pretty sorry for itself, but should be back in one piece next weekend if all goes well.
Anyway, what a forking nightmare.
Got these two bar stewards off the bike:
Drained the oil and started disassembly. One of the bolts in one of the bottoms rounded off, because of course it ******* did, and I can't get it out:
Strike one.
Strike two is this evil thing, which needs to be pressed down in to the fork, against the spring and damper cartridge in order to get the ring out.
Tried for a bit, got fed up and found a bloke who can do them both for £45ish. Dropping them off on Monday together with the oil and seals.
As much as I want to do everything myself, I need to know my limits, and not only is this frustrating the everliving hell out of me, but if that thing pops out in an uncontrolled manner, it could put me in hospital so I'm doing the wise thing and paying a bloke to do it.
On another note, I'm looking in to media blasting and powder coating, and might be giving it a shot using very primitive kit, to see what the results could look like.
Last edited:
Forks can be a right **** to do if you don't have the right clamps etc. I think you made the right choice by giving it to someone else to do.
The last set of seals I did was on the Showa USD items on my old GSXR1100WR. I swore I'd never do another set again after that.
The last set of seals I did was on the Showa USD items on my old GSXR1100WR. I swore I'd never do another set again after that.
Forks dropped off yesterday, should be ready tomorrow. 2x Bridgestone Battlax T32s ordered, will also be delivered tomorrow, and the brake master cylinder is being delivered today.
That means this weekend will be:
Finish off rear brakes, refit, fill & bleed.
Refit forks and rebuild front end.
Replace tyres with nice spangly new ones (have to do these one at a time as I've only got a centre stand to work with atm).
And then the big one...
Work on the cosmetics. Now this is just a paragraph of me musing about this topic so feel free to skip. The bike's steel bits are in all in awful condition cosmetically. This bike has clearly been attacked with rattlecans in its life and it shows. My god does it show. The biggest factor here is that this bike isn't anything special, it's just an average, run of the mill 600cc Kawasaki. To that end, spending £lol on it is wasted. On the other hand, this is also the first bike I've properly worked on and sorted myself, therefore it will always hold a bit of a sentimental value which brings in to question what I do with it and whether I sell it or not. I have a few ideas and options:
Hmmm.
Lemme get this weekend out the way first and we can go from there
That means this weekend will be:
Finish off rear brakes, refit, fill & bleed.
Refit forks and rebuild front end.
Replace tyres with nice spangly new ones (have to do these one at a time as I've only got a centre stand to work with atm).
And then the big one...
Work on the cosmetics. Now this is just a paragraph of me musing about this topic so feel free to skip. The bike's steel bits are in all in awful condition cosmetically. This bike has clearly been attacked with rattlecans in its life and it shows. My god does it show. The biggest factor here is that this bike isn't anything special, it's just an average, run of the mill 600cc Kawasaki. To that end, spending £lol on it is wasted. On the other hand, this is also the first bike I've properly worked on and sorted myself, therefore it will always hold a bit of a sentimental value which brings in to question what I do with it and whether I sell it or not. I have a few ideas and options:
- Touch up the panels to a decent standard and keep OEM.
- Respray the whole thing, preferrably in the most 90s paint scheme I can come up with.
Hmmm.
Lemme get this weekend out the way first and we can go from there
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Apr 2013
- Posts
- 13,609
- Location
- La France
Oh, fork springs will always fly out in an uncontrolled manner and £45 quid is bargain for the work and having the springs damage somebody else’s workshop and/or body when they do fly out.Today was the day that broke me, more on that in a moment. The chap who sold me the master cylinder told me five days after I ordered it (yesterday) that he couldn't find it and cancelled the sale. He then deleted the listing completely, deleted the messages to me and turned his shop to "away" for a week. Very clearly trying to dodge the feedback system. So like a proper snitch, I dobbed him in to the ebay police. Ordered another one, hopefully here in the week.
This left me with the forks to do. Started stripping the front end, all goes well, then I need a 12mm allen key. Which of course I don't have. I tried every shop in our area and nobody had any in stock, not even in a set, or as a bit I can pop on my ratchet.
I ask in our Whatsapp group if anyone has one, @Hades to the rescue, he found a radiator key at Toolstation. One in stock, and of course their site is having issues so I have no way of reserving it. Like batman to his batmobile I hop in the car and off we go. The chick at the shop rummages around looking for it, comes back and says "soz lol computer mistake ain't got none bruv". Then someone else overhears this and says to hold fire, he's gonna have a look. Fortunately, he found it. Oh how we all laughed.
Remember I said this is a radiator key? Yeah, not that strong unfortunately. The edges start rounding off. I decide to soak the lot in penetrating oil and try again later, this time with a bit more leverage:
Proper bush mechanic stuff, but it worked.
The front end is now completely off the bike, and it looks like this:
Looking pretty sorry for itself, but should be back in one piece next weekend if all goes well.
Anyway, what a forking nightmare.
Got these two bar stewards off the bike:
Drained the oil and started disassembly. One of the bolts in one of the bottoms rounded off, because of course it ******* did, and I can't get it out:
Strike one.
Strike two is this evil thing, which needs to be pressed down in to the fork, against the spring and damper cartridge in order to get the ring out.
Tried for a bit, got fed up and found a bloke who can do them both for £45ish. Dropping them off on Monday together with the oil and seals.
As much as I want to do everything myself, I need to know my limits, and not only is this frustrating the everliving hell out of me, but if that thing pops out in an uncontrolled manner, it could put me in hospital so I'm doing the wise thing and paying a bloke to do it.
On another note, I'm looking in to media blasting and powder coating, and might be giving it a shot using very primitive kit, to see what the results could look like.