My Bike History
I've worked on bikes ever since I owned them. My first couple of bikes needed repairs fairly regularly due to my ambition being bigger than my talent.
1985 Honda CBX250
My first bike was an old school air cooled single cylinder bike that I thought was awesome, but learning on it meant that I was constantly replacing broken mirrors and patching up scratches on the exhaust due to low speed drops.
1995 Kawasaki ZZR250
I owned this bike for 6 years and refreshed it a number of times. Its the first bike I put a full exhaust system on and the first bike I plastic welded and painted myself. I started messing around with steering geometry on it as well, lowering the front by 30mm and putting race clipons on it to make it sharper in the corners. I had to remove the center stand because I just couldn't get the cornering clearance I was after and even then I'd grind pegs. That said, the corner speed I could carry on that bike meant that I was faster than any 600 or 1000 until we hit the straights. I knew this bike inside out, both mechanically and dynamically.
1998 Suzuki GSXR600
I picked this one up cheap (but damaged) and got it roadworthy again. It was a great fast bike but the cam chain tensioner adjuster went on me 3 times in the 3 years I owned it, including once on the way to Eastern Creek for a track day. I never did get it onto the track, but I did do one epic ride up to the Oxley Highway and back down the Thunderbolts way with a huge group of other bikes.
2006 Honda CBR600RR
I'd just gotten back from overseas and one of my best mates convinced me to pick up a wrecked CBR from an insurance disposer in Sydney. The bike was basically perfect, just a few scratches and cracks and a broken footpeg, easy fix. It was simply the best handling, most powerful bike I've ever owned and I commuted on it for 3 years and loved every second of it. I'd buy another one without hesitation. To top it off I made $500 on it when I sold it, even including the repairs, rego and insurance for the entire time I owned it.
1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R Streetfighter
The same mate bought 3 wrecked ZX-6Rs from around Sydney and built one complete bike for himself with the remaining 2 making about 80% of a bike. He got what was left running and left it to me to do the rest. The 2nd gear selector was bent, the frame and front wheel was repaired (well) and there was no fairing or headlights but it ran well and seemed a good project. It took me 6 years, but I eventually got it finished and I've been riding it for the last 2 years. The customisations to this bike are a pretty long list, but nothing I would consider hugely innovative. Starting from front to back:
1985 Honda CBX250
My first bike was an old school air cooled single cylinder bike that I thought was awesome, but learning on it meant that I was constantly replacing broken mirrors and patching up scratches on the exhaust due to low speed drops.
1995 Kawasaki ZZR250
I owned this bike for 6 years and refreshed it a number of times. Its the first bike I put a full exhaust system on and the first bike I plastic welded and painted myself. I started messing around with steering geometry on it as well, lowering the front by 30mm and putting race clipons on it to make it sharper in the corners. I had to remove the center stand because I just couldn't get the cornering clearance I was after and even then I'd grind pegs. That said, the corner speed I could carry on that bike meant that I was faster than any 600 or 1000 until we hit the straights. I knew this bike inside out, both mechanically and dynamically.
1998 Suzuki GSXR600
I picked this one up cheap (but damaged) and got it roadworthy again. It was a great fast bike but the cam chain tensioner adjuster went on me 3 times in the 3 years I owned it, including once on the way to Eastern Creek for a track day. I never did get it onto the track, but I did do one epic ride up to the Oxley Highway and back down the Thunderbolts way with a huge group of other bikes.
2006 Honda CBR600RR
I'd just gotten back from overseas and one of my best mates convinced me to pick up a wrecked CBR from an insurance disposer in Sydney. The bike was basically perfect, just a few scratches and cracks and a broken footpeg, easy fix. It was simply the best handling, most powerful bike I've ever owned and I commuted on it for 3 years and loved every second of it. I'd buy another one without hesitation. To top it off I made $500 on it when I sold it, even including the repairs, rego and insurance for the entire time I owned it.
1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R Streetfighter
The same mate bought 3 wrecked ZX-6Rs from around Sydney and built one complete bike for himself with the remaining 2 making about 80% of a bike. He got what was left running and left it to me to do the rest. The 2nd gear selector was bent, the frame and front wheel was repaired (well) and there was no fairing or headlights but it ran well and seemed a good project. It took me 6 years, but I eventually got it finished and I've been riding it for the last 2 years. The customisations to this bike are a pretty long list, but nothing I would consider hugely innovative. Starting from front to back:
- Headlight - Z1000 with carbon windshield. I started with a cheapo ebay headlight that was rubbish so went the whole other direction on my second shot at it and bought a stock headlight that I fitted onto the forks with a set of cheap mounts.
- Galfer braided brake lines front and rear
- Ebay levers
- Carbon yoke cover
- Carbon front mudguard
- EBC sintered brake pads front and rear
- Rizoma master cylinder reservoir front and rear
- Handguards with integrated indicators
- Aliexpress grips
- 03 ZX6R instrument cluster
- Custom made black radiator guard
- Cut down air intake ducts flush with the frame
- K&N air filter
- KLEEN air mod and bypass of the RAM air system
- 01 ZX6R tank
- Techspec snakeskin tank pads
- Keyless aircraft style gas cap
- Dynajet Stage 1 Carb kit
- 03-04 ZX6R headers
- Danmoto GP style exhaust
- 09 ZX6R rear shock
- 20mm longer suspension linkages
- 43 tooth rear sprocket (+3 from stock)
- Fiberglass custom rear cowl
- Carbon rear mudguard
- Carbon heel plates
- Aliexpress foot levers and pegs
- Wheels, frame, swingarm and engine covers powdercoated satin black
- Tank, headlight cowl, rear cowl and pillion cowl painted satin pearl white
As the bike was so incomplete when I started on it I had to understand how to build it without having a baseline to start from. I had to pull the gearbox apart to repair the 2nd gear selector and had the bike split into a million pieces to have all of the powdercoating done. Basically the only thing I didn't touch is the wiring, the even that I had to get into a little to wire up the new instrument cluster. Without this bike I doubt I would be able to take on a project like the XV and to be honest it is worth far more to me in sentimental value than I would ever get for it if I tried to sell it.