Motorcycle Investor mag
Our bikes - Project 6-Hour - part 2
1987 Yamaha FZR1000 Castrol 6-Hour replica
(From Motorcycle Trader magazine #335, circa May 2018)
by Guy 'Guido' Allen, pics by Ben Galli
Trauma ward
Guido and Galli have been working on the FZR and it’s not pretty
Some days, I really should listen to my own theories. When someone asks muggins about buying a motorcycle, my standard advice is – if you can afford it – buy something that’s already in great shape. It may be more expensive initially, but usually cheaper in the long run and far less stress. Okay, so I have actually done that with most of the transports of delight in the bulging shed at Chateau Guido, but there are two stand-out exceptions at the moment – project bikes.
One is the Castrol Six-Hour replica Yamaha FZR1000,
mimicking the machine that Michael Dowson and Kevin Magee
used to hose the opposition in the final event in 1987.
Bought for a mere $2600, it came with fresh rubber, chain
and sprockets and a few other bits, but I was warned it
had blown a head gasket. That, as it turned out, was the
least of my problems. As we discovered a few issues ago,
some clown had assembled the airbox and intake manifolds
using a weird combination of a random piece of heater hose
and litres of silicone gasket cement, evidently applied
with a trowel. Un-sodding-believable.
With time in short supply, we’ve had to tackle this one in
stages, which may be a good thing. Otherwise there’s a
risk I’ll lose it and toss the bike over the back fence.
This is where photographer and part-time mechanic Ben
Galli comes in, keeping everything on an even emotional
keel.
This time around we started getting into the head. Lesson number one, getting to the spark plugs requires the hands of a five-year old. Still, they had a story to tell. Up to now I’d still held some faint hope that the blown gasket thing was just a theory. Nope. Two plugs came out a little sooty (not unusual for unleaded fuel), one mysteriously clean, and the number two cylinder revealed clear water stains and rust. Okay, blown gasket it is.
Now to get the head out, you need to remove all the gear
that’s packed around it, including carburettors and airbox
(already done) assorted heat shrouds behind the frame, the
radiator and oil cooler, plus of course the exhaust
system.
Getting the radiator free turned out to be fiddly and it
was one of those things that required just the right angle
and technique to slip out between the frame and forks.
Having your tongue firmly planted in the left cheek helps,
too. We got there – that’s going to be fun to put back.
As part of this we dropped some coolant hoses to drain the
system. Of course I had a massive pan underneath the
machine to catch the litres of fluid we expected to come
flushing out and…nada. A few drops made a pathetic
appearance – that was it. Not good. Then we pulled off the
thermostat. Oh dear, that was ugly. Frankly it looked like
something that had been left in the bottom of the ocean
for a few decades and was clearly in need of replacement.
All up, the assessment of the cooling system is mixed. The hoses seem okay and the radiator looks surprisingly good. A flush would be in order and some sort of leak test would be a good idea before we put it back. As for the thermostat, I’ve tracked down a used unit from a wrecker for $95.
Now the previous owner said he bought the bike as a
runabout for when he was in the country, which meant it
sat in a shed most of the last several years, which fits
with the state of the cooling system. They can lose fluid
while just sitting and the thermostat is a prime candidate
for suffering.
Finally, we got a chance to pop off the cam cover – a
mercifully easy task now that all the ancillaries had
finally been evicted. If ever there was any doubt about
the blown head gasket theory, it was now gone for good.
There was the tell-tale milky white oil and water
combination lurking at one end of the casing. A sure sign
of a coolant leak.
There was also a hell of a lot of moisture under that
cover, but otherwise the cams seemed to be in good nick.
We’ll find out more when we crack open the carriers and
properly see the plain bearings, but so far I’m hopeful.
If there were serious damage here, the cost might be
enough to kill off the project.
Whoever the butcher was who did the intakes (the owner
before last, I suspect) had used a silicone-covered trowel
to seal up the cam cap, rather than just go and buy a new
gasket. Really?! Mate, whoever you are, step away from the
toolbox.
One piece of good news was the carburettors. We cracked
them open half expecting the worst, as unleaded fuel, if
left sitting, can do some terrible things. However they
looked as clean as the proverbial whistle, all with the
stock main jets in place, no signs of drilling, no rogue
silicone sealant, nothing. And there was no evidence of
Silicone Boy having been there before us. That really
brightened up our day.
We’ve pulled up for the time being, as the workshop manual I ordered online has failed to turn up and I’m not comfortable with going any further without having one on hand.
So far the costs have been modest: a few hundred dollars
on replacement induction tubes and seals, $95 for the
thermostat and that’s about it. Oh, and $230 for the
gasket set. The airbox will have to be replaced with a
used unit – it’s been so heavily coated with glue and
sealant, and cut about, that I doubt we can revive it.
That's looking like another $200-ish from a wrecker. Add
another $300-ish for a fresh set of eight induction
rubbers from airbox to carbs and carbs to the head.
At the next stage we just might hand it over to an expert.
There are a bunch of jobs coming up that I suspect will
require more skilled and experienced hands. Though paying
someone else adds to the bills, it could work out to be
the cheapest and best way out in the long run. We’ll see.
Wish us luck…
Project 6-Hour story series:
Part 1 – strip
Part 2 – that looks nasty
Part 3 – engine running
Part 4 –
finished!
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