Winter 'cat project

Figured i'd start a thread here i couldn't see a dedicated "Projects" section and will help me document any/all work done to this thing.
I'm riding my gpz through the winter so this is likely going to sit for a while



As i do with pretty much any vehicle i buy i normally strip it down to make sure there aren't any hidden surprises, which i've started doing on the 'cat.

First things first was replacing the pads that were worn down to the plate. Easy right?



well.. an easy job of cleaning up the pistons and putting new pads in turn into a right 'mare when one of the pistons popped out :( I've rebuilt both calipers now with new seals and bled the brakes through (both stupid jobs due to being a one piece caliper as well as having 4 pistons either side of the wheel)



test ride has been done and brakes didn't fail.. must have done something right    

Next issue, one of the bolts holding the front mudguard on has sheared and looks to have been glued in to hide it. I'l have a go at drilling it out but i recon the monkey that did it cross threaded it which is why is snapped.

Oil change and full fairing removal happening before christmas

I like winter rebuilds, keep the pics & posts up to date, good luck with it.

Paul

stole a few hours this weekend to work on the bikes monday and tuesday saw me doing a 250mile round trip up to birmingham on the gpz and was running a bit weak when i got back so got to fault finding. looks to have been the exhaust manifold gaskets not sealing. tightened up and all good.

then on to the 'cat and these fairings. they are so fiddly. there is so much of it it took me flipping ages to remove one side (being careful obvs) and having to battle against Chinese bolts that were softer than camerbert. Some monkey had clearly had a go at removing these as most had been mauled and some actually loose  

this is as far as i've got and a few more pics Stupid stickers aren't my doing and will be coming off





little bastard bolt. anybody know where to get these from?


as far as i got with the help of a 4 year old



** had anybody used the fairing bolt kits off ebay? I was to replace pretty much every bolt that can be seen with stronger stainless ones.

I got these. Pretty good ones, comes with a what bolt where picture. Rubber grommets and the clips as well. The clips needed a bit of modding as very tight but thought they were worth the money and they hold up well to doing up and undoing.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Spike-CNC-Fairing-Bolt-Kit-Fasteners-Nuts-Screws-Yamaha-YZF600R-97-06-/181674950082?hash=item2a4cabbdc2

that looks pretty good

i ended up buy the below as the price was right and they're a4 stainless. I don't need anything fancy, they just need to be stronger/less likely to rust as the cheapo chinese ones are

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161582271643?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Now the fairing is off i can see the manifold clearly and it looks a bit rusty(i think it might be blowing a bit at the collector). Come the end of this month i'm going to be ordering a delkevic manifold and new studs/gaskets as i'd like to do it and not need to remove fairing for a while afterwards. The carbs are likely going to need a clean up too as its running a bit crap after being sat for about a month.

As I'm sure everyone will tell you the headers are re-nowned for failing there.
I replaced mine with Delkevic ones - just be warned to SOAK AND RE-SOAK AND RE-SOAK with penetrating oil or similar the studs before trying to remove the nuts.
I managed 7 out of 8 with obviously the most awkward one snapping.
Other than that they are a great fit.
Another tip is to use domed cap nuts to protect the stud once fitted.

Catnapper wrote:As I'm sure everyone will tell you the headers are re-nowned for failing there.
I replaced mine with Delkevic ones - just be warned to SOAK AND RE-SOAK AND RE-SOAK with penetrating oil or similar the studs before trying to remove the nuts.
I managed 7 out of 8 with obviously the most awkward one snapping.
Other than that they are a great fit.
Another tip is to use domed cap nuts to protect the stud once fitted.

not snapped a bike stud yet but plenty of Cr-x studs went pooey when trying to replace them. i have plus gas on order now so will take your advice on the matter they will get dunked in a pot of copper slip before being put on like i've done with the gpz ones. I have been slacking them off and re-tightening every month (or when it starts running like crap due to exhaust leak) or so to ensure they don't seize to the studs

are the any super duper solid manifold studs i should be getting as a replacement?

i've seen these below but wondering if there are any stronger ones on the market
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331624700310?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Sounds and looks like your doing the same as I did a few months back. I rebuilt the motor (whole bike as well) and replaced the exhaust studs with those exact ones. They do the job just right. I did get a spare set just in case but haven't needed them.

thats good to know, il get a set of those then

as far as the bike is concerned, its not a full rebuild yet but a good going over/clean up replacing anything that i feel isn't up to scratch or has seen better days.

Well if you need any parts I have a lot in the shed so give us a shout

thanks dude, no doubt il need a part of two

decided im going to spray the black parts of the fairing as the quality isnt that great and they generally look naff. the actual side panels/nose cone are done well but the infill panels look cheap n nasty

oil change was done this weekend with a new filter as well. previous owner was true to his word that he'd done it and as its only done about 50 mile since i got it, the oil was a good colour but i did it again anyway.

delkevic has been ordered along with new studs and gaskets the old one is looking crusty

Might be a bit late now, but earlier this year I replaced my OEM downpipes with Black Widow stainless steel ones.  In summary:

• All nuts came off the studs easily.
  
• The pipes fitted well.
  
• The free gaskets supplied with the pipes weren't great - in hindsight I'd get some OEM ones if I was doing it again.
  
• I used new OEM nuts on the studs, just because. And copper grease on the studs.
  
• I managed to do the pipes with the lower fairings loosened but still in place.
  
• A dab of exhaust paste does a great job of holding the gaskets in the cylinder head whilst you manoeuvre the pipes into place.
  

Overall after expecting a nightmare job, it was all very pleasant and straightforward.

thanks weasley.

Its a bit late as they're on their way i have been WD40'ing the nuts over the last 2 days and just got some plus gas to spray on each day until they arrive. probably could have done it without removing the fairing but was checking for any hidden damage/cracks etc. hopefully they won't need to come off for a long while once back on

got the carbs to sort out soon. NOT excited about that job at all

Re: the front mudguard bolt.

The buggers can weld themselves in place through galvanic corrosion and need drilled out.  

Looks like that has happened yes :( will need drilling. I'm hopeful I can take the lower guard bolt out and using the drill get it to go with the thread all the way out the other side

Don't be tempted to try an Ezy-Out.
I did, it snapped and what's left is far too hard to drill out.

If it's not for budging it'd probably be easier to drill it out and bang in a press thread insert.

This arrived today quality looks great and it came with nuts and gaskets so I need not have bought them separately. I'm still going to replace the studs for peace of mind. It was £40 odd more expensive than some of the others but im not complaining

Noted on the ezi out. i'l give it a go this weekend

i have an aftermarket fuel cap. does the stock one have a breather on it ? as i can't seem to find one on the aftermarket one. Its not lockable either which is a bit annoying

Update:

Removed the old manifold today which went well. No snapped bolts despite the inner 2 from the left side being rusted. Very rusted.

Once I felt them resist I sprayed wd40 and tightened them back a bit. Repeated that twice and they came off with ease

I'm stuck trying to remove the studs. Tried the 2 nuts trick but no luck. The threads weren't strong enough for the torque needed so have ordered stud puller thingy. So paranoid about snapping them

Also confirmed various holes at the collector and a bash or two as the down pipes curve

Taken a few bumps somewhere along the line..


Hole in the bottom


And two in the top

update:

Found a few hours this weekend to put together a workbench in the garage and also fit this shiney new manifold
I wasn't able to get the studs off with the 2 nut trick as the nuts were so smaller it was not easy to get enough torque to move the stud before the spanner slipped and rounded the nut

queue a Stud remover off amazon for £15. I was a bit skeptical as cheap set tools like this rarely work for me but was pleasantly surprised when i got all 8 studs off with ease. No fighting, no swearing.. just socket on and a quick turn and away we go.

Proof:


The 2 nut trick worked well to get the new studs in though. Lots of copper slip on both ends should hopefully mean they come off easy. Very pleased with the quality of the delkevic system and everything that came with it. Its clear a bit of though has gone into this system

Shiney!




Next job is to drill out a couple of snapped bolts from the fork leg and rear end and then fit the fairing back on after a good clean

Great stuff...keep up the good work

Cheers
Rosco

Aye, that looks bonny.

This is my old set:

Very nice quality looking manifold, I will probably get the same when mine is past its best. It's still going strong at 14 years old though as I've repainted it with temp resistant paint a couple of times over the years.

Paul

thanks folks. its getting there. I'm not after perfection, just a perfectly usable bike that is mechanical sound and reliable with a focus on ease of maintenance for the future

yamahamad: its a great bit of kit and came with everything i needed except the manifold studs, so account for 200/210 all in. There are cheaper options though

great thread, any updates?

little update

its almost MOT time and im not 100% sure this is going to pass due to the front discs having a sizable lip :( its going to hurt buying 2 new discs for the front, thats for sure.

I managed to drill out the 2 stuck/snapped bolts yesterday which actually went fairly easily due to the china fairing bolts being made from cheese. If they were stainless bolts, like the ones i am replacing the lot with it would have been a real hassle.

All i need to do now before the MOT is to remember how to put all the fairing on and get the lines matching up as best as possible.
Hints/Tips on the fair | place the buy cheaper discs welcome