Hey all! So with the MS3 gone for some time now, I finally picked another project. I've wanted a motorcycle for as long as I can remember and finally got an offer on a bike I just couldn't refuse. My buddy had a bike that had been sitting for some time, and was "in parts" but ran great when parked. I decided to follow up and it turned out to be a 2002 CBR600F4i with ~14,500 miles on it, and he wasn't asking much money at all. Basically, a project for a steal that I couldn't turn down.
Looking into the fuel tank on purchase day lead me to worry a bit about the amount of maintenance the bike needed but more about that later....
Obligatory vehicle purchase photo:
Obligatory man on man action photo:
(friend with the truck on the left, my dad on the right)
The bike is definitely dirty from sitting under the cover and unfortunately there's a worn down Plasti-Dip paint job on the fairings that is far from attractive. For a starter bike though I am not upset at the ugly fairings as odds are, I'm going to drop the bike eventually and scratch it up anyway.
So on to today's work. Here she is in her new home, which is my wonderful GF's shed. Kinda small but I'm not complaining.
(that 14,000+ redline thooooo)
First pulled the seat and put the battery on charge. The battery seems to be holding a charge so that's refreshing. Odds are though I'll replace the battery before going out as I really don't feel like having a battery die on me during my maiden voyage.
After the battery, I moved forward to the gas tank (yay)... Needless to say it's pretty ugly in there. Lots of muck and grime from sitting. I didn't think it would look so bad in there, as it only sat for two years, but there's chunks and all just sitting in there. I've started the tank sitting full of water + Dawn + Pine Sol. I read good things about each cleaning nasty tanks, so why not combine. I'm thinking about putting 1-2 gal gasoline in a bucket and soaking the fuel pump in that, as gasoline is a great solvent. I don't really feel like buying a new pump assembly as on eBay they're right around $250 used.
After that, I opened up the intake manifold (or whatever it's called on a bike) and it was surprisingly clean There was a little dust on the air filter but it looked pretty clean so I think I'll leave it for now. I just sucked the lawn clippings out of the airbox.
Neat ITB pic:
So now to do research on safe riding methods and to schedule a rider course to get my M license.
If anyone has any advice on cleaning up this nasty ass fuel pump, please do comment below.
Looking into the fuel tank on purchase day lead me to worry a bit about the amount of maintenance the bike needed but more about that later....
Obligatory vehicle purchase photo:
Obligatory man on man action photo:
(friend with the truck on the left, my dad on the right)
The bike is definitely dirty from sitting under the cover and unfortunately there's a worn down Plasti-Dip paint job on the fairings that is far from attractive. For a starter bike though I am not upset at the ugly fairings as odds are, I'm going to drop the bike eventually and scratch it up anyway.
So on to today's work. Here she is in her new home, which is my wonderful GF's shed. Kinda small but I'm not complaining.
(that 14,000+ redline thooooo)
First pulled the seat and put the battery on charge. The battery seems to be holding a charge so that's refreshing. Odds are though I'll replace the battery before going out as I really don't feel like having a battery die on me during my maiden voyage.
After the battery, I moved forward to the gas tank (yay)... Needless to say it's pretty ugly in there. Lots of muck and grime from sitting. I didn't think it would look so bad in there, as it only sat for two years, but there's chunks and all just sitting in there. I've started the tank sitting full of water + Dawn + Pine Sol. I read good things about each cleaning nasty tanks, so why not combine. I'm thinking about putting 1-2 gal gasoline in a bucket and soaking the fuel pump in that, as gasoline is a great solvent. I don't really feel like buying a new pump assembly as on eBay they're right around $250 used.
After that, I opened up the intake manifold (or whatever it's called on a bike) and it was surprisingly clean There was a little dust on the air filter but it looked pretty clean so I think I'll leave it for now. I just sucked the lawn clippings out of the airbox.
Neat ITB pic:
So now to do research on safe riding methods and to schedule a rider course to get my M license.
If anyone has any advice on cleaning up this nasty ass fuel pump, please do comment below.
