Honestly, I'm not really sure what I'd do. It depends what you paid for the bike, the mileage on it, what shape everything else is in, and how much time and money the fairings/cowl/stay and all the other parts are going to cost you.
I probably wouldn't restore it unless I could get all the parts for really cheap and I knew it was going to be an easy build. These bike aren't all that expensive in good shape.
I love my 1000F. I really do. It's a really solid bike that's fast and comfortable.
But..... I'd be tempted to make a few benjamins and send it on it's way. lol...

Yep, that's a newer tail.

 

That's interesting. I didn't even know it was a newer tail. Thank you for the info!

Makes me wonder if I got the whole story when I bought the bike.

But I did test-ride it and it runs nice, shifts nice. I already put a new clutch lever on it (that's about the limit of my mechanical ability) so I'm considering at least a semi-restoration. If I go ahead with it I will photo-document it and post it all up.

I appreciate the insights and opinions, anytime.

 

worth restoring bit by bit if you ask me

Start making it legal first , lights gauges , mirrors.

You'll have to decide whether or not go with mk 2 or the later
mk3 fairings early on in the process of collecting fairings the
main front fairing "stay" / bracket is different for both generations

The rear tail can stay put - but the rest are like an Irish wedding
everybody/thing is related from the front to (almost) the rear

Trust me I know this and have attended many Irish weddings

Oh yeah and ......... welcome to the Forum.

 

hi and welcome, i would keep and restore, getting bits as funds allow,

 

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

A newer tail on the MK2 is quite a common 'up-grade', the more modern look is popular and as Sprock says, it's the one piece that slots right in with both types of fairings.

 

Well, they say every man has his price. LOL

That front is dropped quite a bit there.

I have to go with the trout man on this one. If you really love it and want to make it like new, it will be a longer road to go down then to make a fighter out of it. If you just want to ride it, you will need a place to work on it and have the ability to do so. I personally wouldn't have the patience to to wait to ride it. For what you need to put into it is about what you would need to pick up a decent runner in good shape.

Sometimes you need to follow your dreams and sometimes its best to keep piece in the family.

 

So far, I'm leaning towards keeping the bike. I have a bike to ride so I can take my time with this one and just work on it as funds allow. I have most of the parts, even if the fairings are in rough shape. I'm even thinking of a possible interesting rebuild project that I might do.

Does anyone have measured drawings (blueprints, even) of the fairings? I have a few interesting resources and I may try to re-manufacture them.

That's the part I'm having trouble finding, is body parts.

Oh, and I need mirrors and a windshield.

Anyway, the "safety net" here is that I got a reasonable deal on the bike and I feel if I don't break anything that I could easily recoup my investment again in the future.

I appreciate the opinions and information.

TimBucTwo what did you mean that the front is dropped quite a bit?

 

First photo; Someone loosened the triple trees and let the bike drop. There's a lot of fork tube showing between the upper clamp and clip-on. You shouldn't see any in the proper setting. The fork tube should be adjusted to where the clip-on butts against the upper clamp and maybe 1-mm of tube extends beyond the clip-on.

 

I didn't even notice the triple tree sitting so low, definitely need to set it. The clip ons look like they're right where they should be but the triple tree is sitting way too low. It's already got the vance and hines full exhaust (exact same that's on my bike, I love how it sounds) so that right there will save you $600 or more. You can usually find mirrors and windshields on ebay pretty easily, it's the fairings that are hard to come by. The best advice I can give you on that is save up some money and then just start checking ebay on a daily basis, one day you'll find nothing, the next you'll find exactly what you need, and then the next day it'll be gone. The easiest way for me, others may have better ways, to fix fairings that are broken is to super glue the pieces where you want them, then after they dry and are in place fiberglass the back side (then you don't have to sand it). If there happens to be a small ridge or anything a little bondo will smooth it right up with minimum work but it'll last. Just keep us updated and good luck with everything

 

Hey I have a line on an '87 CBR1000f I might be able to pick up locally -- a non-runner but with usable fairings. Will the body parts fit on my 1991?

edit: it's a 1987 -- don't know if that makes a difference.