Aj's zxr250a project

[ajverma]

Hi everyone,

My name is aj, I know, not a very creative nickname, but hey, I'm in love with my bike, and bikes in general.
I'm 19 and studying my first year of mechanical engineering, got my first bike at 17 completely against my parent's wishes, my old man rode all his life but refused to let me, so one day he found me rolling my Hyosung GT250r off a trailer in front of the house. (Controversial I know!)

Needless to say, I was kinda sick of the pretty plastics on the hyo, especially since it really didn't have the go to match the show. So I trawled gumtree for about 6 months and saved up a bit of cash, and on the 20th of June an ad for a zxr250 in poor condition for $900 came up. 10 minutes after the ad was posted, I was on my way to seeing the bike. The next day, she was in my garage. I've named her Oak, and she's my lovely zxr250a in desperate need of attention. Now I'm interested in this forum because I'm very keen on giving myself a go at racing, and don't really know anyone well who does it, so I thought I'd make some new mates!

I'll show you what I've done so far.

Excerpt from the 19th of June, the day before I picked up the bike, and co-incidently 2 days before my physics exam, which I ended up failing (Who would've guessed! I devoted 100% of that day to searching for every part I could require lol)
[i]
Bike has 37,000kms. Mechanically it's good but a bit old and rusty, carbies could use a clean.

This is my first project bike and I'm going to try do most of the work myself, I'll keep you guys updated with a play by play on this project, so expect to see a lot of how-to's

I'll start next week by pulling the bike apart, any recommendations for a newbie on how to support the frame so I can get everything apart?

I'm armed with a service manual for a zxr250c, I have no experience with this sort of thing, and I really want to learn how to rebuild a bike. Worst comes to worst, I'll sell it on, I bought it for $750.

Hope you guys can give me some advice if you're experienced in this field!


TO DO LIST

1. Pull bike apart, full service --> try to get engine running (Engine turns over easily with a battery connected, however I have not tried it with fuel, tank is disconnected right now) [anyone have a trickle charger they would be willing to lend me while I try to get her running? I have a feeling I'm going to kill multiple batteries unless I get one...]

SUCCESS, BIKE STARTED FIRST GO AND IDLES VERY WELL! Have noticed that carbies do need a clean though, when I pull off parts of the bike I may do this. On a more serious note, gears above neutral don't like engaging, however I think this is due to really shitty oil stuck in there, so I'll give it another shot when I change the oil!

2. The project

1. drain oil/ remove filter and drain radiator and brake fluid
2. pull off headers and remove all exhaust brackets etc
3.remove rear subframe and all related components
4. remove engine
5. remove wheels and all related components
6. remove forks and swing arm + all electrical components off the frame
7. take frame, wheels and triple clamps to powder coater
8. service engine while off the frame, (no oil at this stage) clean out carbies thoroughly
9. do the minor plastic repairs required and paint rest of bike (tank, fairings, engine) <--- up to this stage as of 13/07/2011
10. thoroughly clean out brake system and other important bits
11. put bike back together / replace most wear and tear items on the way

3. Get it registered.

4. Butcher her, then build a street fighter.



$2500
- 750 (Principal)
- 29.08 (1xHeavy duty degreaser, 1x WD40, 1x StartYaBastard, 4x Regular degreaser)
- 5.80 (1x Kawasaki key blank - Ebay)
- 33.26 (1x Oil filter, 1x Oil filter wrench)
- 65.00 (1x Katana conventional motorcycle battery)
- 36.37 (4x NGK CR9E-IX Spark plugs)
- 8.80 (Kwikasfuki decals)
- 67.73 (560 piece stainless allen head bolt set for ZXR250)
-100.00 (Cast alum welding for the steering stop)
-700.00 (Powdercoating)
-427.00 (valve clearances + lots of little things at the mechanic)
- 97.25 (Bearings, loctite and grease)
-101.25 (VHT: Flameproof satin black, flat black primer, gloss black caliper paint)
-200.00 ( All fairings and tank in 2k and 2k matt clear, did the prep myself, that was why it was cheap)
_________
-$121.54

Here's some media:

First day:




Next day:


About a week and a bit later:




About a week after above:

New weld:



So right now, the engine is at the mechanic getting the carbies cleaned out, I didn't want to chance messing this up as parts for the carby are like hen's teeth. The frame, rear subframe, triple clamps, wheels, swing arm, kick stand and pegs etc etc are at the powder coaters, should be done next week sometime in a gold with silver sparkle. Yeah that's right, everything on that list except the foot pegs are getting done in gold with a silver sparkle.

This is roughly what I want the bike to turn out like:




19/07/2011
Here's some photo's of the finished frame etc ;D One wheel colour was pretty off so the guy is taking it back and doing it again, hopefully should be done by thursday!
meanwhile:




























that's all for now, bearings need to be ordered, they should be here in a couple of weeks, I will then start putting the frame back together!

05/08/2011

Thanks mate!

I know its been a bit since I've updated with photo's never got the missus' camera! Well I got it today, and I have some photo's!













So what do you guys think?

[Kermet]

As long as you keep the plastics green it'll be sweet, nice work mate.

[ajverma]

Thanks mate!

Sorry to disappoint but she'll be satin black and gold ;D
similar to this:

[ajverma]

AW YEAH BEARINGS ARE HERE! Powder coating complete! Rebuild begins now! Off i go to get tyres mounted and bearings pushed in!!! Here we go guys! Home straight!

P.s. anyone looking for a 1200 bandit? A painter I know is selling his 1200 bandit to fund his hayabusa project, the bike is out of rego, but will pass rwc, everything has been done, gsxr1100 cams, apparently it's a monster, he's selling it for $1000. I'm so keen on this for a track bike, but I think I'll kill myself, so I'm going to think about it... I'm very tempted. Anyone else keen to look at it?

p.p.s it's a streetfighter, protaper bars,wr450 headlight, he says it feels like a wr450 with a 1200 engine, which I'm assuming to mean a ridiculous, balls-out wheelie machine, with 3 times the capacity... lol

[ducati_paul]

Looking good! can't wait to see it finished (as I'm sure you can't )

[ajverma]

Thanks mate! I can't wait at all!

So I think I'm addicted.. it's 2 am and I can't sleep, I'd rather work on the bike, and I have to wake up at 5:30 for work. Oh jeez, well, the good news is:

-rectifier on
- tank bracket on
- triple clamps done (may need tightening...)
- ignition done
-swingarm assembly done
-painted lowering links and suspension bracket
-will mount rear shock before i go to work today
- chain on
-tyres mounted
- 8/10 bearings in (will hammer in the lowering link bearings before I go to work)
- wheels almost ready to go, everything except discs/sprocket on them done (bearing assemblies, spacers etc)


I've gotten through the work it took me about 6 hours to do last time in about 3 hours and a bit. I'm stoked! I'll have a rolling chassis sometime next week!

[smithy5]

Great stuff...
and nice workshop, seems to have all the comforts of home Glad i'm not the landlord though

[ajverma]

Thanks mate! I'm lucky enough to be a full time student/part time worker and still living in my parents house means not much financial responsibility! So this is all I'm doing, and since my old man was never much of a hands on type, I have the bare minimum of tools, everything else I've had to be a little creative with. e.g. my multifunction stand that takes care of most of my load lifting duties for the engine, frame, etc etc is two bricks, two jack stands, two tie downs and a block of wood. I have to say, they've done a might good job, and we're moving soon, so stuff is EVERYWHERE, the new house I'm finally allowed to buy my own shed! STOKED!







So I thought I'd stick to the ghetto theme to this bike, and use my professional curing tool:



and of course, my new aldi stand LOL, Let's see how well this holds up!

[ajverma]

So at the end of the day with Dylan helping me, this is what oak looks like:


Ghetto curing device:

[ajverma]

So guys, here's another update! Bought some VHT flat primer, VHT caliper paint and VHT flameproof paint, calipers in gloss black, engine paint in satin black and a VHT flat black primer coat for the fairings/tank! This should turn out great! Also bought some liquid gasket, if anyone needs any, let me know, because I'm only going to use around 2-3 drops of it, and then it will sit in my shed for the next 3 years...

[ajverma]

Another update guys!
My supervisor/OH&S leader:

Start of this evening:

completed:

mounted:



Making sure I'm safe:


Start of the evening:








A couple of coats in:








Next up is completely assembling the front and rear axles, I put the rear axle on without the chain last night D'oh!

As always, MORE TO COME! I'm getting impatient now!

[Six Addict]

dude.... good work

[robracer]

I Bet Aj always wanted to be a spray painter, progress is good

[damo1]

Or a professional photographer

I love the use of second hand news paper when masking up

Looks great mate keep up the good work.

Cheers damo

[ajverma]

Thanks guys!

Actually neither, I don't even think I can do either one! I just keep stealing the missus' camera, and the only other thing I've sprayed is my friends car, did the whole thing in rustoleum for $200, and it's still going to this day! Didn't know anything about not being able to polish a flat enamel... ended up ruining the paint, it had cloudy white marks everywhere that wouldn't go! It's good now though.

Meanwhile,
here's an update. I spent most of the day on little things, getting everything ready to mount the engine in tomorrow, and managed to set the rear axle right, and have mounted the front axle, however, I don't have a 17mm allen socket! Getting one tomorrow morning!