Advice Gratefully recieved

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Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

Hi i've just acquired a ZXR400 thats been stood in a garage for about 10 yrs, my intention is to restore it to its former glory, can anyone give me some pointers as to where to start with it......any advice would be gratefully recieved.
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masterofinsanity
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Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by masterofinsanity »

stick with this forum lol
Don't forget people there is more to the zxr400 than this forum... check out www.zxrworld.co.uk also.
Ewetea
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Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Ewetea »

Just Strip/Inspect/Rebuild.
This depends on:
Your general motorcycle knowledge
Your facilities for an extended project, including tools.
Your commitment to completing the job if a bolt is impossible to remove (there will be at least one).
Your wallet.

If it's been standing for 10 years then the tank could be rusty internally; the carbs will need to be stripped and cleaned, with new seals; the battery will be past its sell-by date; the brakes will need to be stripped, cleaned and rebuilt with new seals. Plus all bearings in headstock, wheels, rear suspension and swinging arm will need inspecting and possibly replacing.

There are oodles of threads on the website regarding rebuilding of brakes, front forks, carbs etc so look for an answer first before asking the obvious.
There are also microfiches detailing parts to help you understand the internals of any item. There is also a site for Cradley spares, with prices.

This is a good time to start, with potentially seven months before the decent weather when you can ride it. Take plenty of photos for reference.
It's a Bank holiday weekend, so you can start immediately.
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masterofinsanity
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Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by masterofinsanity »

good post Ewetea biggrin
some pics would be good to see exactly what condition its in, Garages differ in shapes sizes and dampness
Don't forget people there is more to the zxr400 than this forum... check out www.zxrworld.co.uk also.
Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

thanks for the advice.....might be a long winter...
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banner001
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Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by banner001 »

dampness :smt002
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

actually it was last started in 1997 which is 18yrs....i'll put some pics on when i get chance....dont know if i have it in me to fully restore it.....the last bike i tinkered with was a 175 BSA Bantam...
Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

got a bit deeper into the bike...dont know if the carbs can be ressurected and it looks a bit poorly inside the engine......http://imgur.com/pARXa4i.......http://imgur.com/y0bRQel
Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

sorry the links above are wrong...try these...
http://imgur.com/eVmv9Mk
http://imgur.com/4yxoLKf
http://imgur.com/SvliJWB
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banner001
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Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by banner001 »

thats just from crap fuel being left in there to evaporate instead of being drained.

remove the jets and take it to a sonication place, they will be fine after that.
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

the problem i have is that the butterflies are very sticky and i've soaked them in penetrating oil and they still wont move much at all...i'm not worried about the rest of the carb....i've searched for info on them and i cant seem to find much at all.......
Ewetea
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Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Ewetea »

I've been away on holiday for a week, so I expected to see a "rebuild" thread from you!! :pmsl
I did detect an air of despondency in your last post....not good if you intend to be flashing down leafy lanes on a pristine bike next Easter!!
I repeat: the rebuild depends on your commitment to persevering with whatever problems appear when you strip/inspect/rebuild. I have a set of H1 carbs which you could have cheap, but you really need to examine a lot of other parts before you commit to expenditure. Either make up your mind that you intend to go for it, or put it on e-bay. There's no point in beating about the bush.
Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

what i do and when i do it is entirely up to me, i dont need you or anyone else telling me that i should have it rebuilt for next easter or any other time scale...if i dont want to see it through its up to me NOT you....i am very grateful to receive any advice given and for the people who want me to see it through and point me in the right direction i would return the favour in any expertise i may possess......at this current moment in time i am fully committed to restoring the bike and i have already come up against several problems as the blood on the bike will show.....i understand people on this site have a lot more knowledge about the zxr400 than me which is why i came here in the first place....i came for the knowledge and assistance not timelines and condescendence.
Grooveski
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Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Grooveski »

Hi Bob,
That actually looks pretty good at first glance. Mine was in a worse state after less than half that time lying forgotton.
Trouble spots on mine were:

Petrol tank - was letting in a little before being rolled into the barn, was totaly shot when it came out.

Nigh on anything rubber - even things that seemed ok during the rebuild started leaking once it got rolling again. Rubber replacment list included floatbowl seals, airscrew, float and accellerator pump orings, fork seals, gearshaft and mainshaft oil seals....
....tyres(obviously), plug tunnel orings and top seals. Calipers needed new seals but I decided to change the the calipers themselves. Fuel petcock rubbers....
Scary thing is there were more that I can't remember offhand.

Connections - When I first prodded the starter after the build there was nothing. Cue the first session cleaning connecters(but not the last). Was missing righthand indicator, horn, instrument lights, rear brake light, flasher - all through black connections and manky switchgear copper....
....and the bypass box wasn't working (which meant the rev limiter was).
.....and the TPI was grotty and reading open through half it's range, feeding gibberish back to the CDI.

Exhaust needed hauled apart and cleaned at the joints(and new gaskets). Front disks were history(were about gubbed anyway). Were a lot of rusty bolts - I bought a fairing bolt kit which freed up a lot of ok bolts for use elsewhere. Sump gasket blew after about 100 miles.....
Bobbarian
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 H1
Location: sheffield

Re: Advice Gratefully recieved

Post by Bobbarian »

sounds like i've got a lot to look forward to......hopefully it will be worth it.....started to rebuild mine now, think ive been lucky with some of the items on the bike probably about £400 to £500 should about do the trick...unsure as to if i should change the colour or not, but this forum has certainly given me enough information to complete the job...
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