The r3v motorcycle thread

[LateFan]

OK, you knowledgable bike guys, explain this to me - why is the seat so damn high? is it current style, is it front-rear weight balance, is it handling...? The rider seems to be really high and farther forward. Don't you want your center of gravity as low as possible?

[LateFan]

At the Peterson Museum...

[LateFan]

Hasty Flaming Buffalo

[Northern]

My buddy has two snapped off/ seized jets in his GPz, can't remember which. We didn't want to do any more damage at the time, but he's ordering a jet kit for this winter. Also his float bowl drains are all sorts of messed up, so I don't know what his plans are there.


The F4i gear set showed up. It looks pretty good and has the same spacing as the F4 so it'll fit. Edit: Apparently it doesn't have the same spacing...
I'm going to pull it apart to clean/oil it before I throw it all back together, also will check the shift forks for any kind of bends/wear.

Pretty pumped to put it back in the bike and not have bike parts all over the place, then it might end up in the shed before snow falls.

[tim88325is]

My GPZ550 carbs were kind of a mess, the needles didn't match. I ended up getting a Dynojet kit and a rebuild kit to just replace everything and rejet to the aftermarket pipe that was on the bike. These small bike jets are so tiny, hard to tell if they are clean or not. The new jetting is fairly rich on the needle with a smaller than recommended main jet since the airbox is stock, starts and idles great with excellent throttle response and revs freely too.


I just replaced the seals and used new fluid, bike seems to handle as well as anything from that era. I added 8psi to the front forks too per manual.

[Northern]

My friend's GPz is sadly not in the best shape, we resealed the forks and cleaned the carbs but it's still a pain to start and keep idling while it warms up. We're probably tearing into the carbs again with a rebuild kit and doing some engine refresh over the winter. Also maybe trying to figure out the whole anti-dive system and seeing if it's actually working.

Sounds like a cheap bike is turning expensive

Definitely going to sink $500 into this bike to get it driveable and not a dumpster fire, but still ends up being pretty cheap.

I bought a full F4i trans last night for $80. I couldn't see 2nd gear dogs from the photos, but every other set of dogs looked pristine so I'm hoping it works out. Some gears are common between the two, so I'm really hoping the main/countershaft still have the same spacing.

[tim88325is]

Yeah, that sucks, my worst nightmare for working on older bikes, not old enough to have aftermarket parts being made but the factory parts have run out.

I purchased a 1985 GPZ550 over the summer for $350 as a partially dismantled project, had trouble getting it to run right but persevered and it turned in a great little bike. Nice survivor condition.

[econti]

Sounds like a cheap bike is turning expensive

[Northern]

So I split the case on the F4. A few broken clutch discs may explain the wacky clutch.

I found the dogs on second gear are mashed, other gears aren't spectacular. When I looked up the issue with second gear popping into neutral, I found it's a very common issue on these bikes, maybe because the dogs aren't back cut, idk. Pretty much everyone's suggestion is to buy new gears and throw them in.

Imagine my surprise when I find out that both gears are NLA. Can't find anywhere that still has them either.

Best option at this point seems to be to switch to F4i gears, assuming they even fit. The ratios for 5th and 6th are different, so I'm trying to find a full F4i transmission off ebay with a good set of 2nd dogs. Worst case, parts are at least still available for the F4i.

My FSAE team used to run '05ish CBR600RRs so I grabbed an old transmission set. While the full set of gears fits on the mainshaft and countershaft, the spacing between the shafts is different on the RR, so that was a few hours wasted.

[Northern]

It has like 70k (km) on it,but runs nice.

The engine is on my workbench now, I'm probably going to split the case to get at the gearbox sometime today.

My biggest worry is the lack of a friction zone on the clutch. I managed to make it work for a test drive after I stalled the bike initially, but that might've been dumb luck because my GPz friend who is used to a weirdly small friction zone stalled it 5 times or so before he managed to get going. Not sure why this is like this, unless it has some sort of super grabby aftermarket clutch.

[TeXJ]

I was wanting an F4i before I got my R6. Normally those F4i's were used a lot as stunt bikes. The frames are pretty strong on them and the motors are pretty good too.

[Northern]

I mentioned this in the nonsense thread but didn't post pictures.

I picked up a 2000 CBR600F4 for $1000 CAD (~~$25 USD) to replace my Ninja 250R in the spring.

Observations:
Runs well
Brakes well
Clutch is like a switch, probably aftermarket
Was definitely someone's track bike before the previous owner - everything is lockwired or at least drilled for it.
has an early F4i rear split seat tail, but the tail fairing is battered.
hot bodies front flushmounts, which had the wires ripped out of the PCB
Headlight and dash doesn't work.
Wiring is generally atrocious.
Rear integrated tail with what looks like a milk carton used as a tail tidy???
Pops out of second gear if you get over like 5k RPM
Many holes drilled in the header collector "for drainage"
Various things bent/broken from being down or abused.
Front tire bald + wheel has a small dent
Aftermarket slip-op, maybe the rest is too, not in great shape though.

Plans:
Fix the shit.
Rattle can the tail fairing red after some fiberglass work.
954RR integrated taillight w/ some sort of surround

Deceiving picture from the FS ad lol:







Current Ninja 250R with a friend's 1984 GPz750

[econti]

How is it? Looks clean. I've never ridden an old Ducati, neat bikes though.

Unbelievable. Totally unrefined, raw, and sketchy fast. It's heavy (compared to new things) but hides the weight reasonably well. I don't have an airbox, just an open filter; so when I'm on the throttle I can't hear the exhaust, only the intake. It's so good.
To put it in perspective, I had it out the other night for the first spirited ride, went to dip the clutch to pop the front wheel but instead just lay a fat burnout down the street. I lifted a bit so it gripped, then went back on it, and lofted the front wheel up. That's for a bike made in 1992.

If you can find one to ride, do so. It's a lot of fun.

[varg]

How is it? Looks clean. I've never ridden an old Ducati, neat bikes though.

[econti]

The 888 got rego and I got my full licence, first time the bike has been ridden since 2001.