I just got a 97 CBR 600 F3 from a guy in South Houston. He told me there was a problem with low compression in one of the cylinders. Other than that he said it was perfect. He had the fuel lines disconnected but the bike sat for a few years and the tank had gas in it and rusted up and turpentine collected in the tank. I cleaned the tank with Muriatic Acid, rinsed, dried with M.E.K., and applied Red-Kote (is this the correct way to do this? I did a lot of research beforehand). Back to the cylinders, I got it checked out by a mechanic and this is the information on the test along with his notes and comments:
Cylinder compression: 1)52 psi 2)54 psi 3)53 psi 4)56 psi
Notes: engine needs piston rings. Valves not seating on cylinder 1.
Leak down test: cylinder 1)bad 2-4)good.
How much is this going to cost to fix and what exactly do these notes mean? I understand what they are saying for the most part but im not sure exactly where to start and what rings, gaskets, valves and parts I will need. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Unless you're going to do this yourself (which, based on your comments I'd say you're not) it's going to be really expensive to replace the rings, hone the cylinders, do a valve job on the heads, as well as all the labor involved. Unfortunately you have to remove the engine in order to do all the work required to fix your bike. You can pick up a used engine for less than $500 including shipping. Doing an engine swap is not that difficult of a job. For the most part it's unplugging and unbolting things, then putting them back. Granted that's an oversimplification of it but you get the idea. Do you have any friends that are experienced in working on engines ? That would certainly help.

 

Do you have any recommendations on where would be the best place to get a used motor? Im in a town of about 8000 people so Id have to have it shipped here. Yes I do know someone that works on bikes. My roommate is pretty experienced and will be helping me with the work. If I understand what youre saying, I'd just be better off getting a whole new engine instead of trying to get the individual parts to repair the one i have?

 

If you were planning on taking it to a stealership, then prolly buying another F3 would be cheaper

 

haha no. There is no way I'll be taking it to a dealership. I'm probably going to have to just find a new engine to put in it.

 

Well if you're not going to a stealership, DIY would be cheapest... But the most aggravating. Getting a new engine would be less measuring, unbolting, tinkering and cursing the Honda gods. But more expensive than DIY.

 

I would recommend getting a new engine too.. but if your in an adventurous mood and want go the DIY route, do it right and get a rebuild kit. There isn't much sense in tearing the whole block apart just to have a re-used bearing or seal fail soon after and put your back to square one. You can usually get an engine on eBay for cheap, most of the ones that I've seen are from motorcycle shops that also provide you with all the info on the bike it came from.