I should have done it sooner!
Truth be told, I'm not a very experienced rider. I started back in January, took the MSF course, got my gear and everything else in check and began riding on an '02 Buell Blast:


It was nimble, easy to maintain, and great on mileage but I felt the need for more and I didn't know much about the bike's past. Not to mention the piston made a weird slapping noise, so I sold it as I thought of it as a ticking time-bomb. About a week after selling it, I got myself this...

ready for it?


An '88 Honda CBR600FJ with 42k miles

I got it for exactly how much I sold the Blast for. As far as I know, the engine was rebuilt at 40k, it has a K&N filter, and the exhaust is chopped. In comparison, the Buell Blast was like a toy.
Sadly, the cooling system was shot so the engine overheated really quick.
The problems I fixed were:

Broken pipette from the radiator filler neck leading to overflow tank.
I bought a replacement and used a plastic welder on the current one.

The cooling fan had a broken blade so I replaced the entire thing anyways.

I have not been able to find a thermostat yet, so it's running without one. I finally got a used one for reference though.

The sensor that turned on the fan wasn't working so I made a manual bypass switch instead of shelling out even more money.


(I did most of those repairs at 2am because LOL COLLEGE)

After getting all that stuff done, I added a coolant mix consisting of
40% Coolant
50% Water
10% Water Wetter
and did all the necessary stuff to get rid of air pockets.

I finally turn on the engine, let it warm up and take it out for a ride and...
it still overheats
The manual fan switch really helped out though.

I finally gave up and got a mechanic's opinion who said it might be the water pump malfunctioning.


On the freeway the temperatures holds steady at a safe range and everything works perfectly, but besides the cooling system I need new tires and the fork seals re-done. In conclusion, I really enjoy riding this bike and will definitely keep it for a long time. I even named her Juliette
I really hope to learn more from this forum and hopefully be useful to you guys as well.

 

First off, welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have quite the project there, although it is one cool bike that it not often seen on the roads. We have a great tech section below for those bikes.. but Im thinkin you need to put a thermostat in there.. without it, water and coolant are simply cycling in and out too quick to be cooled by the fan and radiator...

 

welcome...
+1, put a thermostat in there. not only does it slow down the coolant for the radiator, but it slows it down for the motor. heat transfer to and from the coolant takes time. the coolant needs to stop long enough for all this to happen. if you see the water flowing with the tstat out, and the system gets hot at all the same time, the pump is working. but it may not be a bad idea to replace it anyway due to age.

 

Welcome to CBRF! We won't hold the Buell against you. ;-)

Hope your new to you CBR probs are sorted quickly & you're out on the road having some fun!

Kudos for taking the MSF! All new riders should take it.

 

Well you sertainly jumped in with two feet !

Awesome.

Glad to have you here, we love the DIY-ers !

 

hey man awesome . i just bought my 92 cbr600 f2. and it running alil hot as well. so i check fuilds and everything thing seems a positive. but im thinking it is the thermostat so i took it to the shop and it been a week now and im like so ready to see what it was and hope they fix it.

 

Thanks guys, I already feel welcomed here
I'll definitely keep an eye out for a new thermostat now, I'm finding it hard to get a replacement without resorting to getting screwed by a dealership, but I will endure X)
I love being a DIYer, working on this bike all summer will certainly be fun.
Other things I've noticed while running the bike, is that it's a bit jerky at low rpm's so I'm thinking either the chain needs a little lubing, or my throttle control is bad since my hand is just recovering from a fracture and the throttle is quite sensitive.

The RPM's also hold over 3k when it's idling at operating temperature, I think a quick messing around with the idle mixture screw will fix this.

Finally, the choke cable doesn't engage at all until the choke lever is nearly all the way out. It's nothing this soon-to-be engineer can't handle though haha. I have long-term plans for Juliette.

I don't mean to overstay my welcome so I'll start posting in the appropriate sections of the forum for now

 

No worries. But yes, you'll get more views & responses in the specific sections. ;-)