www.zxrworld.co.uk

I should probably reintroduce myself as I haven't signed in for quite a while. My names is Kate and I have a problem. My problem is my commitment to my seemingly lovely little ZXR, I have none however yesterday that all changed.
Enjoying a walk in the sunshine, I was staggered by the sheer amount of bikes that were out and about. I turned for home and decided to re-fit my battery (been charging on the landing since it died) and go for a ride.
I re-fitted the battery but nothing. Then the alarm started. The alarm continued to sound for the next couple of hours but luckily I was able to rope in some very much appreciated help to sort it. It didn't help that the cable for the seat release had broken so the battery could not even be accessed at first. F***ing joy. The result was having to cut off the alarm (still beeping away in the bin) leaving a rats nest of wires.
It turn out that the alarm wiring was defective in places, I suspected that the alarm was not operating properly the last time I used it. As a result I now have a very quiet bike with chopped wiring and a dead battery but this episode did not stop there. On removing the side panel, the massively corroded sub frame came into focus and a fiddly wiring job just became a restoration.
Being an optimist I have set a target for the beginning of May.
Pictures will follow. Many questions will probably follow. A for sale thread may follow, who knows?
Thanks in advance for any information, all is greatly received.
Here's a picture of the mini beast.

Thats a shame u just couldnt get on and ride it.

get a build thread up with plenty of pics and any questions, ask away.

if the cable for the seat release doesnt work, you can slide your hand up the left hand side rear panel and grab the cable, with a good pull it will release the rear seat.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KAWASAKI-ZXR4 ... 258a2e596c
This might be useful. If any connections are corroded you could use a similar one from your loom. Trying to sort out your loom could be more trouble than it's worth.
I am restoring an L5, and have always thought that hanging the loom round the offside of the bike was naff, so I took all the tape off and re-routed it up the insides of the frame. Front connections for instruments, lights, indicators etc are located through the nearside hole in the frame. Neat.
Now's the time to sort the bike so that it is ready for summer riding. Any problems - post an enquiry!

Routing the wires. Finished.

Thanks, that certainly makes more sense and would save a lot of un-taping and soldering.

Just a thought. The race lads remove the rear sub-frame, so an appeal for one on the forum could give results. Or go to Halfords and buy a tin of rust preventative and give the frame a liberal dose. If you don't take a pillion there is no chance of it collapsing!

does aluminium rust ?

cargo wrote:does aluminium rust ?

no, and yes.

rust is a mixture of differently hydrated oxidised valance III iron, aluminium also oxidises (and quicker than iron), but as its hydrated aluminium III oxide and not hydrated iron III oxide its not technically "rust" although its produced via the same basic chemical process.

any generic paint will give you a decent degree of "oxidation protection", the specific "anti-rust" paints usually contain phosphoric acid, so best bet is to not apply these to aluminium (otherwise you will produce aluminium phosphate deposits).

banner001 wrote:

cargo wrote:does aluminium rust ?

no, and yes.

rust is a mixture of differently hydrated oxidised valance III iron, aluminium also oxidises (and quicker than iron), but as its hydrated aluminium III oxide and not hydrated iron III oxide its not technically "rust" although its produced via the same basic chemical process.

any generic paint will give you a decent degree of "oxidation protection", the specific "anti-rust" paints usually contain phosphoric acid, so best bet is to not apply these to aluminium (otherwise you will produce aluminium phosphate deposits).

It was an entirely rhetorical question

I had assumed that the "sub-frame" mentioned was the rear section supporting the pillion seat and rear light assembly, which is steel.

I've taken the bike to work so I have somewhere clean, dry and warm to work and we have started peeling bits off.
As you can see, lots of nasty looking metal. Everywhere.

Some more pictures.

Interesting. You see "nasty looking metal". I see "light surface corrosion"! I would use a rotary sander to remove the corrosion on the ally sub-frame, and use zinc paint for protection. Then use a wire brush on the rear steel section to remove loose rust and paint, and then use a rust treatment, such as Loctite 7503. But do not brush straight from the bottle. Pour some into a plastic container. The transfer of rust on the brush to the solution in the container will contaminate it and it will solidify. Black or silver paint can then be applied after the rust agent has dried and formed a protective coat. The recent sunny spells should spur you on to getting the bike back on the road.

Thanks for the tips. One of the biggest problems has been removing the rusty bolts, some are simply not budging.