Exactly the same problem
Circlip completely seized in to the piston, ends broken off, still a part in the cylinder, won't budge. I soaked it in penetrating oil overnight and just tried again, still no joy. Anyone got any ideas?
Kawasaki ZZR600 progress thread
- Thread starter Diddums
- Start date
Exactly the same problem
Circlip completely seized in to the piston, ends broken off, still a part in the cylinder, won't budge. I soaked it in penetrating oil overnight and just tried again, still no joy. Anyone got any ideas?
Right, best pull my finger out my balloon knot and get on with it again. Took the master cylinder to work, popped it in a vice and a few taps with a hammer and she's in bits:
So this weekend I'll be rebuilding the rear brake, pulling the rear wheel off for tyre fitting purposes, and maybe treating it to a new chain / sprocket setup.
I have a weird fetish for anything gold on bikes, so I'm thinking of getting a Renthal lightweight rear sprocket and DID gold chain.
Of course this bike isn't anywhere near being worthy of the cash being flung at it, but who cares. Nobody said hobbies are cheap
So this weekend I'll be rebuilding the rear brake, pulling the rear wheel off for tyre fitting purposes, and maybe treating it to a new chain / sprocket setup.
I have a weird fetish for anything gold on bikes, so I'm thinking of getting a Renthal lightweight rear sprocket and DID gold chain.
Of course this bike isn't anywhere near being worthy of the cash being flung at it, but who cares. Nobody said hobbies are cheap
Yeah, I tend to forget that this is a 35 year old banger, not a beauty queen, as such I've just ordered a set with a basic DID chain and some Renthal sprockets.
Finally made a bit of progress. Got this bastid done and mounted back on the bike:
Also got the new tyre fitted to the rear and the wheel balanced. This afternoon I got home a bit early and had some daylight left so took the opportunity to tidy the garage a bit, this is how the bike looks atm:
All being well this weekend I'll be fitting the new chain and sprockets, refitting the rear wheel and starting on the panels.
I could've been done with this ages ago but the idea is to have it mechanically sound, so every time I find something that's even slightly questionable, it gets removed and either rebuilt or replaced. I've given up on the cosmetic side of things for now, once I've got it running and had it out for a blast I'll decide what to do with it.
To recap what's been done so far:
Valves done
Carbs rebuilt and cleaned
Tank cleaned and lined
Engine flushed
Cooling system flushed, cleaned and new coolant
New oil & filter
New plugs
Air filter cleaned properly and refitted
New fuel filter
New clutch
Fork seals done
Rear caliper rebuilt
Rear master cylinder rebuilt
New tyres & wheels balanced
Still got the chain and sprockets to do, then it should be close to MOT ready, just in time for winter
Whilst working on it I've also stripped and rebuilt quite a few mechanisms along the way, like the gear lever assembly so it feels properly crisp now, whereas it was like a flaccid dong before.
I must be honest, having done all this myself has been one of the best things I've ever done. I've learned so much and enjoyed every bit of it. The only thing I've not done myself is the tyres and wheel balancing, once I've bought a house with a decent garage I'll probably invest in some of that kit too. Screw doing forks though, for that I'll happily pay a man.
Hope the weather's good this weekend!
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 May 2007
- Posts
- 9,244
- Location
- Surrey
Speaking from experience (as you well know), you’ll probably find stuff goes wrong for a little while after, whilst components start to get used again (warm, cool, vibrate, fail).
Getting it running is brilliant achievement though and you’ve done amazingly well. Reliability will be the recurring migraine to challenge next.
Though you might get lucky!
Getting it running is brilliant achievement though and you’ve done amazingly well. Reliability will be the recurring migraine to challenge next.
Though you might get lucky!
Always nice when you get to break out the angle grinder
Even better when it's someone else's angle grinder
New chain and sprockets fitted. Wheel back on. Aligned and ready to go. Unfortunately I seem to have misplaced the rear brake line, so ordered a new one, it's arriving today.
Unfortunately my ultrasonic cleaner wasn't yet delivered so I just gave everything a rough scrub and shoved it all together. Depending on what I do with this bike, I might strip some bits over winter and properly glam them up, or just flog the thing and start a new project. Will see.
Getting closer. Should have the rear brake sorted this weekend and then the mechanicals are done. Proper deep clean of all the panels, screw them all on and then MOT time.
Unfortunately my ultrasonic cleaner wasn't yet delivered so I just gave everything a rough scrub and shoved it all together. Depending on what I do with this bike, I might strip some bits over winter and properly glam them up, or just flog the thing and start a new project. Will see.
Getting closer. Should have the rear brake sorted this weekend and then the mechanicals are done. Proper deep clean of all the panels, screw them all on and then MOT time.
Well, what a day it's been. Rear brake done, still need a good standing on and a bit of adjusting, but it works and it's holding pressure. Plastics back on, but the little silver waistband thing broke when I tried to clean it, so that's still in the garage.
As it stands now:
Fortunately I have quite a few local runways, so I took it for a little spin.
My report:
Firstly, let me get the obvious out the way, this bike still need quite a few little jobs done. The chain clearly stretched a bit as it's obviously brand new, the indicators for some reason flash really fast when the engine is running so that'll also need looking at. The plastics are hilariously badly damaged, so bad I didn't even want to clean them too much as I reckon I'll replace them anyway. As you can see from the sight glass in the picture, mayo in the engine. More on this shortly.
It starts on the button, and that engine is sweet as a peach. It not only hits the 14k redline with ease, but seems to absolutely love going there. Given that all the bikes I've ridden in the last few years are all minty fresh, new bits of kit, there's something genuinely charming about riding a proper old school mechanical machine. No traction control, no ABS, not even an electric choke. Just you and the machine. No safety nets, you screw up and that's it. The tyres are still at tyre-fitting pressure which is way over their rated pressure, and I couldn't adjust this as my local petrol station's compressor doesn't take card, so I'll probably have to wheel out my own compressor tomorrow to get them right. The clutch stuck a few times, nothing major, I think it's just because it's a new clutch / new oil / etc. Only happened a few times and then that was that. As for the mayo, I got the bike up to temperature and then redlined it a few times to really heat the oil up, and the mayo is now gone, so I'm hoping it was just residual moisture in the oil / engine. We'll see.
Now to insure it, tax it, get it MOT'd and enjoy it for a bit, then decide what to do with it.
To say I am both chuffed and proud would be an understatement. I absolutely loved this journey so far and look forward to continuing it.
As it stands now:
Fortunately I have quite a few local runways, so I took it for a little spin.
My report:
Firstly, let me get the obvious out the way, this bike still need quite a few little jobs done. The chain clearly stretched a bit as it's obviously brand new, the indicators for some reason flash really fast when the engine is running so that'll also need looking at. The plastics are hilariously badly damaged, so bad I didn't even want to clean them too much as I reckon I'll replace them anyway. As you can see from the sight glass in the picture, mayo in the engine. More on this shortly.
It starts on the button, and that engine is sweet as a peach. It not only hits the 14k redline with ease, but seems to absolutely love going there. Given that all the bikes I've ridden in the last few years are all minty fresh, new bits of kit, there's something genuinely charming about riding a proper old school mechanical machine. No traction control, no ABS, not even an electric choke. Just you and the machine. No safety nets, you screw up and that's it. The tyres are still at tyre-fitting pressure which is way over their rated pressure, and I couldn't adjust this as my local petrol station's compressor doesn't take card, so I'll probably have to wheel out my own compressor tomorrow to get them right. The clutch stuck a few times, nothing major, I think it's just because it's a new clutch / new oil / etc. Only happened a few times and then that was that. As for the mayo, I got the bike up to temperature and then redlined it a few times to really heat the oil up, and the mayo is now gone, so I'm hoping it was just residual moisture in the oil / engine. We'll see.
Now to insure it, tax it, get it MOT'd and enjoy it for a bit, then decide what to do with it.
To say I am both chuffed and proud would be an understatement. I absolutely loved this journey so far and look forward to continuing it.
£63 for the year insurance, with £26 cashback through Topcashback too. £87 for roadside assistance, again with £16 cashback.
Hopefully MOT'd in the next day or two, then a nice day off work to go and enjoy it before we all freeze to death over winter.
Can't wait
Hopefully MOT'd in the next day or two, then a nice day off work to go and enjoy it before we all freeze to death over winter.
Can't wait