The Mrs's J1 SP

Here's a chance to show off your zxr400, so get them digital cameras out and show us some piccies.Rebuilding your bike or modding it then let everyone in on it.

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asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Hi everyone! After scrolling through reading everyone else's build threads, I thought it only right to let you all in on the one I'm currently doing myself!

The story so far -

The Mrs has been banging on about doing her test for years, and finally now has it booked...so I thought I'd better crack on and find her a bike, and what better place to start than a ZXR400! So on eBay I quickly found advertised a rather sorry looking non-runner 1990 'H' model, sat unloved in the fellas back garden since 2007. After agreeing on the outstandingly bargain price of 300quid, we jumped in the van and headed off to Essex for a butchers! Upon arrival, I quickly noted the fact it has an SP seat unit...which looked to be original. Not thinking in a million years it could be, I had a quick look at the frame number, and to my amazement it did look to be one! So I swiftly came on here to verify my theory, and sure enough the bike is a genuine J1 SP!! Obviously, I'd seen enough...the bike was paid for and loaded before the Mrs had time to finish her cuppa and we were off on our jolly way!

Upon arriving home with the find of the century, the detective work started on what was wrong with this poor little bike...the quick answer was everything! Lol - it didn't start, wasn't holding on to a single one of its fluids and was simply in a rather poor way! First thing was first, why wasn't it starting? Carbs out, stripped...and sure enough, pure grot! So a good couple of hours were spent cleaning them up, refitting and with a fresh gallon of fuel in the tank it eventually fired....kinda! Running like an absolute bag of sh**e...but it was a start. After lots of hours spent fiddling with idle screw and mixture screws and getting nowhere...I decided to re-strip the carbs and realised the idiotic school boy error I'd made - I didn't drain the tank or change the fuel filter! D'oh! Turns out they were both full of rusty watery fuel type stuff - that'll be the problem then! So, another clean of the carbs along with the required tank drainage and filter replacement, fired it up....far better, but still not right! Longer story short, it turns out there was an air leak from one of the inlet manifold rubbers, the fuel was set way too lean when it arrived and all the rubber airbox trumpets were missing!! - but yet it was apparently running beautifully before it was parked?? Ok lol, so anyway I borrowed the air box off my personal SP and she ran up lovely!!

That's as far as I've got so far, now need to work my way through the long list of other jobs - ie full service, fork seals, caliper seals, pads, tyres, throttle cables, starter solenoid blah blah blah! Lol. Will add photos if someone could tell me how?

I'm also looking for an airbox with good trumpets & seals to stick back on my bike if anyone reading this has a spare :tease
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Miles
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Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by Miles »

Jammie git! Lol
asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Image
asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Image

Image

These were mid carb fight...cheeky mare even had a little oil wee on my floor!
Last edited by asandilands69 on Thu Sep 29, 2016 6:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Image

Don't ya just hate it when you go to do a simple oil change, only to find yourself stripping half the bike to replace a bodged sump??!
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banner001
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Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by banner001 »

i recognise this bike.... :smt003
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Haha, I did wonder whether I'd come on here and find a subtle hint from you to continue this.
Thankyou again for all the help yesterday, haven't had chance to ride it yet with the garage build starting today, but it definitely won't be left lonely for long!

So, to continue on from where I left off for everyone else...I'm actually not sure where to start as it turned out to be a rather large can of worms! With a lot of very helpful advice from John and a carb rebuild kit, I finally got the bike revving pretty nicely. Sump was replaced twice, due to a faulty part I was sent - not gonna lie, I did strop a little bit after catching my knuckles rather a lot of times refitting the downpipes, only to find a stripped oil cooler pipe mount, and having to take them back off again! Lol. Once that was sorted I moved on to persuading the bike to hold on to its coolant, turns out I had I pin hole at the back of the water pump, so ordered a nice low mileage L9 unit, which did the job nicely! Then it was on to brakes, for now I've just pinched the calipers off another bike I had to get it going, but I do plan a full refurb of them in the not too distant future. Forks have been rebuilt with new stansions, discolouring the fork bottoms slightly as they needing heating to remove...but nothing a bit of powder coat can't fix! From there it was just odds and sods really, tyres, pads, brake bleeding - which was a pain in the butt, ended up buying a vacuum bleeder for this, which did the job lovely. Bike is now mot'd with the only advisory being a noisy exhaust - not a bad result for a bike sat untouched in a garden for 10years!
As you probably gathered earlier in the message, myself and the bike took a trip up to visit John yesterday, who very kindly gave up his Sunday to help me with checking valve clearances, balance the carbs and correct a few other little niggles. As his neighbours could now confirm, the bike is shooting up through the revs beautifully and sounding rather good for a 20year old kwak with a cheap 'race' can on! The mrs has now passed her test and loving her new toy, once she gets the falling off bit out the way...no doubt the bike will be treated to a bit of paint, as it's currently looking pretty tatty! I'll get some up to date photos once the bike is back home.
Next thread will finally be the rebuild on my personal J1!
Last edited by asandilands69 on Mon Apr 10, 2017 5:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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banner001
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Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by banner001 »

:excited
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Did yours make it up on to the ramp after I left?
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banner001
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Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by banner001 »

nah, was too knackered :D

worked 8am to 7pm yesterday so it didnt go up last night either...will be more likely tonight, or i might keep it on the floor and use the bike lift as a substitute bench whilst i build one for my engine to sit on...and i do need to get on with removing the valves.
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Image

Happy late Christmas to me!! Lol
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banner001
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Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:27 pm
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Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by banner001 »

Mmm shiny things...
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
asandilands69
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 SP / R1
Location: portsmouth

Re: The Mrs's J1 SP

Post by asandilands69 »

Need the posh Beet zorst to go with it now! Lol
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