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FZR400 winter overhaul
- Thread starter Brian P
- Start date
Coronavirus too-much-time-on-my-hands update.
All of my FZR400 spare parts acquired through 23 years of racing these bikes have been randomly jammed into the crawl space under the front stairs in the house for years, because sorting through it all would be a daunting and time-consuming task. Well ... I've suddenly found myself with more time than I know what to do with. A few days ago, I dragged ALL of the random boxes of parts out, spread them out on the floor and the workbench. I bought some stacking storage totes from Canadian Tire and organised them. Tote #1 has all of the internal engine parts. Tote #2 has suspension, brakes, and cooling system parts. Tote #3 has fuel and air intake parts. Tote #4 has levers, handlebars, footpegs, and engine case covers. Tote #5 has electrical and lighting parts. Tote #6 has small bodywork and frame parts. Not in totes: The original bodywork from both bikes and one half-decent salvageable set of fiberglass bodywork, plus two subframes, a brand-new-in-bag front fairing bracket, two OEM exhaust systems, two aftermarket exhaust systems. Crashed and mangled race bodywork is going away. Engine covers that have a hole worn through them are going away. A set of crankcases with a huge crack in them (someone crashed a bike at Bogie and I bought what was left of the engine to grab the internals) is being stripped of everything that could potentially be useful and is going away.
I found some stuff that I didn't know I had, including two almost-mint NRC engine covers. I gave those a coat of silver paint yesterday (they'll oxidize and look ugly otherwise) and installed them today, to replace the mildly rashed covers that were on the bike. I also took the clutch cover off and installed carefully-selected washers to reduce the clutch spring preload a bit (clutch actuation is way too heavy). And, the thing that made the biggest difference, I took apart the clutch perch and cleaned and lubricated the pivot for the handle, and lubricated the cable, and took the bike for a little test-ride. Much better.
I have a spare bone-stock engine that has been raced twice since being put together from spare parts, in 2013. The only thing wrong with it is that the crankshaft end seal inside the alternator weeps oil. A spare brand-new seal has been taped to the cylinder head as a reminder that I have to replace that seal someday in order to have a 100% good spare engine. That might happen at some point in the next few days.
If anyone needs a radiator for a FZR400, I have FOUR spares!
All of my FZR400 spare parts acquired through 23 years of racing these bikes have been randomly jammed into the crawl space under the front stairs in the house for years, because sorting through it all would be a daunting and time-consuming task. Well ... I've suddenly found myself with more time than I know what to do with. A few days ago, I dragged ALL of the random boxes of parts out, spread them out on the floor and the workbench. I bought some stacking storage totes from Canadian Tire and organised them. Tote #1 has all of the internal engine parts. Tote #2 has suspension, brakes, and cooling system parts. Tote #3 has fuel and air intake parts. Tote #4 has levers, handlebars, footpegs, and engine case covers. Tote #5 has electrical and lighting parts. Tote #6 has small bodywork and frame parts. Not in totes: The original bodywork from both bikes and one half-decent salvageable set of fiberglass bodywork, plus two subframes, a brand-new-in-bag front fairing bracket, two OEM exhaust systems, two aftermarket exhaust systems. Crashed and mangled race bodywork is going away. Engine covers that have a hole worn through them are going away. A set of crankcases with a huge crack in them (someone crashed a bike at Bogie and I bought what was left of the engine to grab the internals) is being stripped of everything that could potentially be useful and is going away.
I found some stuff that I didn't know I had, including two almost-mint NRC engine covers. I gave those a coat of silver paint yesterday (they'll oxidize and look ugly otherwise) and installed them today, to replace the mildly rashed covers that were on the bike. I also took the clutch cover off and installed carefully-selected washers to reduce the clutch spring preload a bit (clutch actuation is way too heavy). And, the thing that made the biggest difference, I took apart the clutch perch and cleaned and lubricated the pivot for the handle, and lubricated the cable, and took the bike for a little test-ride. Much better.
I have a spare bone-stock engine that has been raced twice since being put together from spare parts, in 2013. The only thing wrong with it is that the crankshaft end seal inside the alternator weeps oil. A spare brand-new seal has been taped to the cylinder head as a reminder that I have to replace that seal someday in order to have a 100% good spare engine. That might happen at some point in the next few days.
If anyone needs a radiator for a FZR400, I have FOUR spares!
Riceburner
Well-known member
Would be tempting to put my YZF600R engine into a FZR400 frame.....
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