Ongoing FZS 600 project

[basher]

Hey I decided to create a post summarizing my first restoration ever, on my fzs 600 98 my first bike.




Ive already dismantled it and went through virtually every part of the bike, only a few minor things have to be finished off. and I am trying to keep it as close to original as possible with only a new exhaust system, seat cover  grips and levers  and some hoses being the only visual differences. its still ongoing and I plan on updating this post until its completed.


Engine work



replaced the cam chain.
redone all valve clearances (13 were out of spec)
resprayed with heat resistant matt engine paint, valve cover white heat resistant paint.
carburetors cleaned out and rebuilt.


Frame and plastics

all plastics resprayed with VRC1 exact colour of red as original.
plastics also welded with hot staples and plastic bonder.
frame sprayed with black and 2k clear coat over.
steering stem bearings replaced with new roller bearings.




suspension

replaced the original shock with a low mileage used one. (might upgrade to yss in future)
front forks are working fine with no seal leaks. ( might upgrade forks or springs in future)

cooling system

replaced damaged radiator with good used one.
buying radiator guard soon.
new as3 performance red hose kit with stainless hose clamps.



wheels


sprayed black and clear coated with 2k
new metzeler m5 interact tires.
all wheel bearings and sprocket carrier bearing replaced and greased.

[benzimo_]

Hey I decided to create a post summarizing my first restoration ever, on my fzs 600 98 my first bike.




Ive already dismantled it and went through virtually every part of the bike, only a few minor things have to be finished off. and I am trying to keep it as close to original as possible with only a new exhaust system, seat cover  grips and levers  and some hoses being the only visual differences. its still ongoing and I plan on updating this post until its completed.


Engine work



replaced the cam chain.
redone all valve clearances (13 were out of spec)
resprayed with heat resistant matt engine paint, valve cover white heat resistant paint.
carburetors cleaned out and rebuilt.


Frame and plastics

all plastics resprayed with VRC1 exact colour of red as original.
plastics also welded with hot staples and plastic bonder.
frame sprayed with black and 2k clear coat over.




suspension

replaced the original shock with a low mileage used one. (might upgrade to yss in future)
front forks are working fine with no seal leaks. ( might upgrade forks or springs in future)

cooling system

replaced damaged radiator with good used one.
buying radiator guard soon.
new as3 performance red hose kit with stainless hose clamps.



wheels


sprayed black and clear coated with 2k
new metzeler m5 interact tires.

looking great keep it up!!

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[b1k3rdude]

Nice work.

[basher]

making progress but I have a few water leaks. the thermostat and water pump seals are both perished...


also I can start the bike but it wont hold idle. and adjusting the idle screw doesnt make a difference. Im guessing after doing the valve clearance and deleting the airbox for cone filters I will need to adjust the fuel screw for it to idle again.

[BBROWN1664]

you will have lots of fun getting it running right with cone filters. Most who have tried have wished they never bothered.

[basher]

you will have lots of fun getting it running right with cone filters. Most who have tried have wished they never bothered.

I have heard about the difficulties of cone filters, but I wanted to try anyways. if all else fails I can just reinstall the airbox.


its definitely running very lean at the moment so ill try get away easily by turning the fuel screw first and then I guess upping the jets if that fails.

[basher]

Okay, first drive today went alright.
bike is running very rich though because its popping and banging a lot and the pipe is getting sooty fast. more smoke, sputtering and hard to accelerate. all telltale signs
also the water leaks are still present so I've to sort that out. the bike got very hot with the combination of engine not running properly and water escaping.


so the next step is to buy new o-ring for the water pump and I've to replace the thermostat assembly, also ensure all the hoses are tightened enough.
buy a battery and then sync the carbs because I feel like they're way off too, and then if its still running too rich ill adjust the fuel screws in until its running right.


so that's the current plan to get the performance sorted out first, then once that's done ill continue with the finishing touches (seat cover) (radiator guard) (stickers) (paint touch up) (etc)


Apart from that the bike had nothing come loose or anything dangerous so I'm happy, and the performance is definitely a LOT better than it was the last time I rode it even with fueling being rich and carbs out of sync, so I imagine once its all dialed in, it'll be amazing.

[basher]

Okay quick update for the time being, made a bad mistake pertaining to the camshafts. long story short they're pitted to hell. I believe i left debris on the cams during the cam chain replacement and valve clearance work. when i ran the bike first time I came home to notice a valve cover bolt was completely missing and in said hole the cam journal was actually moving. straight away pulled the cover off and sure enough lots of metal sludge and gouging of the journals. bit of a set back but besides that all was well. when I dropped the oil from the engine I was thankful to only find small bits of very fine metal particulate which im assuming also came from the cams. so the plan ahead is


I've ordered a completely clean used cylinder head off ebay.
i'm buying some hex key sockets to remove the current head.
also have to buy a new head gasket.
clean down the new head when it comes and respray it black to match the rest of the engine
flush the oil galleries with diesel and the whole bottom end for good measure, I cannot risk any more metal finding its way around the engine
once that's done ill just reinstall the top end and time it up while ensuring the cams and everything is pristine clean.
and finally redo the valve clearances to ensure they're all in spec again 


little bit of a set back but I know what I did wrong and ill update when I have the engine running again after all the above is done

[basher]

Okay So I have the the head off at the moment and ive been preparing the new one ive bought, gasket surfaces cleaned and prepped for the new gasket which came today. used some stuff to break down the carbon build up on the valve faces and the exhaust port, then sprayed the head black to go inline with the rest of the engine.


going to polish the journals and cams tomorrow and once im happy with them ill put it all back together and time it so I can check the valve clearances. there are a few small marks on the journals but im hopfully going to have everything completely smooth by tomorrow evening.

[basher]

Okay    I took off the cylinder out of curiosity knowing I would have to replace its gasket and I'm glad I did because as you can see below there is a lot of blowby occurring on all of the pistons.
Bitter sweet I guess but that's life. so I have decided to add on four new sets of rings and the cylinder base gasket to my shopping list.

[siedlik]

Okay    I took off the cylinder out of curiosity knowing I would have to replace its gasket and I'm glad I did because as you can see below there is a lot of blowby occurring on all of the pistons.
Bitter sweet I guess but that's life. so I have decided to add on four new sets of rings and the cylinder base gasket to my shopping list.

Is it easy to change just the rings while the engine in the bike? Getting some low compression on cylinder 1.

[basher]

Okay    I took off the cylinder out of curiosity knowing I would have to replace its gasket and I'm glad I did because as you can see below there is a lot of blowby occurring on all of the pistons.
Bitter sweet I guess but that's life. so I have decided to add on four new sets of rings and the cylinder base gasket to my shopping list.

Is it easy to change just the rings while the engine in the bike? Getting some low compression on cylinder 1.

funnily enough I have actually meant to update my post with my progress which I will along with videos and pictures tomorrow, but to answer you. Yes I found it fairly straight forward once you follow the manual like a bible and keep everything clean during installation.. I made that mistake and had to buy a new head and cams because I didnt clean it properly the first time around. so learn from my mistakes and youll be fine.


take off cam chain tensioner, then valve cover. remove the cam caps, take out the cams, unscrew the head studs, pull the head, take the head gasket off, pull the cylinder slowly to mind the pistons and rings, replace the rings in the correct order and orientation, then reinstall. im making a more detailed version tomorrow with pictures etc

[basher]

Okay so I'm back with an update and some questions about where I am now.


to start off I've replaced the piston rings on all cylinders and installed new cylinder base gasket and head gasket along with fresh head and cams, valve clearances in spec.
So I had it all back together and went for the first ride and thankfully when I came back and took the valve cover off the oil was clear and not metal sludge 


drove it for an hour then and fixed a few small coolant leaks and just felt the bike. the carb water heater circuit hose has a tear and just slowly leaks at a constant rate but apart from that there are no leaks now thankfully, and I've heard I can delete that circuit anyways which I might do.


I also found out after attempting to balance carbs for the first time that only 2 cylinders were running... so I was driving parallel twin I guess at least at low rpm.


there is very good compression on all cylinders after valve clearance and new rings and head gasket so I think it has to be carb related issue, it also hunts a bit.. but im chalking that up to me doing a crap job balancing it and I've messed with the fuel screws to try get cylinder 2 and 3 to heat up, turning the fuel screw on carb 2 I got that exhaust to heat up a bit more but 3 is still cold. I checked all the plugs and HT leads and even swapped them around loads of time because I was worried i had them the wrong way around. I believe the HT leads are all fine and plugs are all giving good spark.


It does sound like all 4 cylinders are working well when I'm on the throttle though which is good. possibly just the pilot is clogged. im going to check the carbs over tomorrow and probably remove the coolant circuit from them at the same time.


So I'm probably running rich on some cylinders and lean on others and not at all on 3 XD, carbs are a mess atm but they're my next priority.


I will say even with the state of the carbs at the moment the bikes feels better than ever, even with a shot clutch that needs replacing asap 


All of it was done with the engine in the frame also.