Hi all.

Im 20 years old living in the UK, new to forums and new to mechanics, well anything of this size.

Ive recently lost a bandit to a deer and felt like getting back in the saddle after a year to recover (accident occured at leagal speeds of course!).

On a random splurge i picked up a 1990 CBR 600 F1L PC23 for £100 as a non runner. A learning project. I never expected this to be a cheap fix or cheap alternative to a more pricey bike.

I know this will cost me more than getting a runner in the end but hey....the knowledge i pick up now could save me aggro 10 years down the line on something else....
I got this as a fun way of learning about engines and repairs as it has its fair share of faults! (listed below)

Anyway the idea was to fire her up and get her running sweet before having a muck around cosmetic-wise. Perhaps street fighter jobby... not sure yet.


Condition

-No key. Ignition barrel has been snapped/broken by previous angry owner
-Sump plug spins but doesn't come out/threaded.... can't get the oil out
-Battery as flat as they come
-Oil looks like custard and coolant is empty....possible head gasket or water pump O-ring?
-Frame generally in good nick..
-Forks generally in good nick
-Doesn't look like chain and sproket haven't seen oil, a tension or a change since new!
-Looks like its had the classic drive way drops but in general i think its stayed between hedges!

The List goes on....

Progress so far....

I've stripped her down of fairing and so on to have a looksiloo inside.

I wanted to make sure she turned over before going anywhere. I took casing off and got a rachet on there... She turns over nice and there is a fair amount of compression. Obviously haven't done a proper test as no key, battery dead and wanted to sort the oil situation out before turning her on the starter. While turning her by hand I dropped a screwdriver in the plug holes and watched all four pistons bob up and down easy as hoped.

Plugs are all shot. All with flat ends and a bit black...


Couldn't get the sump plug out as its stripped so i set about taking the downpipes, off and have removed sump. Ive tipped out all the horrid gunge/oil and let it drip over a week. Hopefully soon will get photos on here to let you see the colour. I've put a cheapo oil filter on it for the sake of the first run and have put some new oil in it so its not sitting dry. I notice the sump plug is now leaking that i have disturbed it and have picked up a new sump pan for 15 quid to replace it.

Just borrowed a battery charger and intend to get the battery charged asap.

The idea was to stick some water and oil in it let it sit and see if oil/water is mixing while stationary. If all is well i planned to put fuel in the inlet then hot wire it.... just to see if she will run. Hopefully i can fire of a compression test while doing this and with some help try and identify whether it is the head gasket from the results.

Having mentioned the O-ring seal on the waterpump...has anyone else heard of this or had it happen? I was thinking if it was the seal then perhaps the oil/water mix wouldn't have been this bad....? Having said that if you saw the sprocket and chain this guy was running i wouldn't be surprised if he saw the oil was clouding and thought nothing of it... "it'll be alright!"

I'll post some pics as soon as possible and look forward to hearing from anyone who has useful tips, experience, opinions...or just fancies chatting about it.

Thanks in advance,

Kindest Regards

Njinto

 

If you want my advise, part it out on eBay . I'm 25 UK and have had my fair share of projects like that. If you actually want to ride a bike, flog it and get a runner. Unless of course you really love time in the shed / garage / driveway!

Mustart oil is always a head gasket failure, so top end off regardless.

Best tips, ALWAYS CLEAN YOUR TOOLS. Use spray instant gasket if you need any instant gasket (don't use the tube stuff unless you are really good at applying things liberally!) never take the cheap way, it'll cost more later on! (chains especially!!!!). If you find yourself ever using any brute force, take a step back, think about it, then do it properly!!

Otherwise welcome! I've had my CBR about a month now, done a fair amount of work on it! At 46,000 miles its pretty quiet compared to some 1/2 year old supersports I've been listening to lately! (engine noise that is!)

 

Thanks for the reply.

Im in need of a project on rainy days

I don't know what to do now haha!

The idea of this was a learning project that would eventually lead to a ride. Something i could take my time doing, do right, get away from the parents for a bit!

i could drip feed money into this instead of bulk spending a grand or something. Doing a head gasket as expected shoudln't cost me too much..? Full gasket set it only about 75 notes. From experience do you reckon i may run into other horrors along the way, could the head as the least of my worries?

Do you think refreshing her and trying to fire it up before taking the head off is a wise idea or not?

Regards

Mike

 

I've been down the "project" road before. I keep telling myself that the knowledge gained was worth the price... that way I sleep at night :P.
Honestly, if you have the time/money/facility to undertake a project like this, than it can be incredibly rewarding.
That being said, the first thing to do is get a shop manual! Everything you take off, record it, photo it, whatever it takes. Stuff you remove now you might not touch again for months and you may forget how it goes back together.
You may need a rebuild if there is water getting thru somewhere. I would run a compression test - to rule out rings. If water is getting into the oil or vise versa, you head gasket is likely toast.

You will probably need a new battery. If its been left flat for a while its probably done.
You should be able to find a new key and barrel on ebay, I think I've seen them. You will also need a fuel tank cap as well.