I love a bargain... or punishment!
Gumtree and Marketplace are taking up my life. Both sites are out of control! Where commonsense once led the way, I keep asking:
1) Do I need another project? No, I have too many, walk away now.
2) Do I need another project? Of course, one more wouldn't hurt.
After all, I could sell something to make more room...
Streetfighters.
I've always wanted the genuine sportsbike version, with all the proper kit from the period - suspension, brakes etc. - but never felt like ripping the fairing off a perfectly good bike. So I kept my eye out for something that maybe didn't matter. Something that hadn't been looked after in the first place and either needed new fairings, or a new look altogether.
So what is it about the older sportsbikes?
They're old school cool, and aggressive. Making good power, proper suspension, with handlebars and no fairing. What's not to like?
It was on Gumtree for months...
'Tis true. No takers for the red R1, so a deal was struck. The engine didn't run. She was in a bit of a mess. The rats had taken great chunks of her pride, but the R1 had potential.
One rainy, miserable Saturday, I sent a text to Abe to let him know I was coming up.
"You'll need a 4WD for the driveway." was the response.
"I only have a Sprinter van! Is it not doable?" I'm now concerned — the van belongs to work.
"Should be ok, send me a text when you're in the cut-de-sac, I'll have to come and get you."
I arrive and he comes down to show me the way... in his 4WD.
"Don't be afraid to give it a bit." he offered, which wasn't really the help I wanted, but I followed him up the deeply-rutted track with holes deep enough to bury corpses.
This is why it never sold! No fucker was able to get up there!
As we approached the house that I thought must be his, I started to relax a bit. Unfortunately, that wasn't his house. He took a sharp left turn for the worse, and I looked skywards as he started up a much steeper, much rougher driveway. Every proximity sensor and buzzer in that van was going nuts now as we slipped this way and that, scrabbling for grip, not wanting to fall off the side of the hill.
Quite frankly, kudos to Mercedes. That was above and beyond all expectation. I was shaking when I got out but, nonetheless, we made it and I was here to pick up my little R1. Happy!
Rats!
Well they'd chewed out part of the loom at the headstock. Bastards! The rider's seat was all but gone. They'd even nibbled the front off a Tyga carbon fibre mudguard which would've been mint. But I won't dwell on the good points, the rest of the bike looked crap. Perfect project? You bet.
The bike would barely push along which turned out to be the front wheel in the wrong way round. Luckily the calipers hadn't been tightened so nothing was bent. It already has the top yoke conversion fitted with Pro Taper bars so that's a good saving.
The chain hasn't seen much lubrication in a while, so that'll have to go. The subframe has been chopped to fit a smaller tail piece on, but I've already found another frame to replace it.
They absolutely mullered the seat though. Buggers!
The rest of the front guard is spot on. Bloody rats!
Anyway, I got stuck into cleaning and working out what was needed. With front wheel turned around and calipers etc. all cleaned, I flushed and bled the front brake. Perfect feel, discs and pads in good condition.
The forks have been painted black, I'll be changing the oil on these once I've got the thing running. Probably remove the paint too if the anodising is good underneath.
The wiring was a mess and although I'll be trying to move it elsewhere to keep it all tidy, I wanted it repaired so I could start the bike. At this point I didn't even know if it ran. I cut out the bad bits, soldered in new and fitted heat shrink.
With new subframe fitted, I could refit the loom and ECU etc. Lots of clips and odd bolts are missing, but that's basket case life.
With everything hooked up, we had ignition!
Before fitting the radiator, I flushed the cooling system back and forth several times through all of the hoses. A lot of dirty water came out, and wasps had made nests in some of the smaller pipes. The radiator is new, so I gave it a rinse out and put it back on. Once running, the system was flushed with clean water a few times again before coolant was put in.
I removed the fuel filter/sender unit and cleaned out the tank. That was actually pretty clean. The paint on the tank was in great condition, the plastics etc.,not so much. I only really need the tailpiece, that is broken too so maybe a repair for now.
Anyway, it's a runner, we are well on our way.
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