1994 Kawasaki Zx6 R

TruenoAE86coupe

Moderator
They won't be able to if it won't run, they can tell you if it spins freely and if the other stuff is alright, but the most expensive/important part they won't be able to tell you anything about. But take me seriously about the seals all being shot, motors are not meant to sit for 7 years, all the seals dry up and will not hold oil.
 

woodsmaneh!

Well-Known Member
Before you part with your money make sure it turn's over and get someone to do a leak down test! Do not buy the bike without the leak down test. It will tell you if any seals are gone, if they are pass on the bike. 650 is a great size bike for a guy to learn on and enjoy. Check the sprockets also and chain. If the sprockets show uneven wear the bike was ridden hard and put away wet. I raced for Kaw for 4 years and have had bike for 35 years. Two things you don't cheap out on TIRES and BRAKES.

Good luck
 

Dizzle Frost

Well-Known Member
right..if it sat for that long you may considder a full gasket kit...but thats all comon sense maintenance if yur gonna buy an older bike. i personllay like the older bikes from the 90s..there cheap and fast with some cheap upgrades..you see alot on track days cuz frankly nobody cares if they wipe it out..parts are a dime a dozen for em to.

i forgot to mention you should put it in gear and roll it....see if it has compression. Whoever made the point that it has more than likely been abused is pretty right lol...ive smoked 2 transmissions a clutch and popped an engine in mine....asides from 3 crashes on the road 1 was a rite off ...i also know a guy who had a bent subframe becuz his bike fell over in a parking lot..stupid shit like that will cuase damage you cant really see with the naked eye...but you will feel it when you ride. One of my Yamahas had a bent frame but was not noticeable at reg speed..anything over 210 kph would make it headshake violently. Do your homework on sportbikes and all thier lovely problems before you pop out cheddar for this thing.

make yurself a tally of possible costs and go from there...like i said you might be better off buying a bike for 1500 that runs and is rideable

chain and sproket will be about 100-150
carb cleaning will be about 150 ish ..more if new jets are needed
air filter, fuel filter, oil filter 50
oil (synthetic 15 a quart, yul need 4-5)
tires price depends but still cheap tires are not cheap, say 400
brakes?
clutch about 200 for a barnett
spark plugs?

so sometimes a project bike is a bad idea if you dont have alot of experience with them or know were to score cheap parts

whatever you buy make sure its safe! i been riding since 92 and i seen alota shit get sold and rode...also check for safety wire ( metal wire tied to lug nuts so they dont spin off) this means it was more than liley a track bike, and has been severly abused ..stay away from IMHO
 

Medical Grade

Well-Known Member
yea, the bike is described as low mileage and limited usage, it has under 4k miles on it. the guy bought the bike, and didnt really enjoy riding that much, and tried to let a buddy make payments but he didnt make the payments, and broke the ignition when he came over to repo it. the bike has been sitting in his garage since then in 04.
 

akgrown

Well-Known Member
look dont let people tell you to not buy a crotch rocket because its old. If it has low miles and runs good and STOPS good then buy it. A 600 is not that fast anywyas. I reccomend you take a Motorcycle safety course, buy a fucking helmet and a leather jacket. Dont be the idiot who is doing a wheelie at 80 in a tank and flip flops because I will only laugh at your pain. MY first bike was a 989 buell firebolt and then I graduation to my 05 ZX10R. That was a fast bike, 175mph on route 66 was fun. It did 90 in first gear. Miss my bike.
 

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
You said that this was a bit of a rocket for a first bike, just saying it really isn't that powerful.
Saerimmner is really spot on here, a quality bike is more important than a bike. Not saying you need to spend a fortune, but most of us would say that if you are not capable of the repairs yourself its best to stay away from. A "ignition" issue is a great way to sell a POS bike that needs a lot of electrical work, you will never know till you've repaired the ignition, then you find out it needs completely rewired.
Motorcycles may seem simple but call a shop and just tell them what you are looking at and get their advice, any shop worth anything will tell you that you are looking at more money than the bike is worth. If you plan to spend $1,600 on a bike, get a running one for that price, not one you have to put back together, it gets expensive quick.
And NEVER buy anything you can't hear run!!!! You might as well take your $600 buy a big bag of weed and smoke it all to your head, then at least you will have gotten something for your money rather than a headache.
Not entirely sure if i'm looking at the specs for the exact bike but well it's talking about near 3 second 0-60mph times. Call me dull but that seems pretty powerful and fast for a first bike unless he's ust talking about it being his first bike owned not ridden in which case it's not completely overboard. I learnt with my first car that it's dangerous to have power available when you're not capable of putting it on the road. Doh :(
 

Sgt. Floyd

Well-Known Member
Find a good running bike. It's gonna save you a headache you don't want for your first bike.

And when you do start riding, ride like every car is going to try to kill you at any moment.
 

akgrown

Well-Known Member
they key to riding on the st is just to rememeber that no one is looking for you on the road. I learned to ride on the Cali freeways here pretty quick and its always pucker time during rush hour. Never know when someone is going to try an door check you while lanesharing. I broke the mirror of some guys 5 series bmw for doing that shit to me once.
 

TruenoAE86coupe

Moderator
I want what your smoking the 650 will destroy your Honda Gold boat with a fat guy on it. LMAO some people
You forget, in the 70's Goldwings didn't come with fairings or bags, just a Horizontally Opposed $ cylinder, like a Porsche, in fact bags and fairing were options on the Goldwings until 1984 when they went to the tuna boat 1200, that one was gutless, but prior to that the Goldwing surprised a lot of people. Depending on whos riding each bike, you might get me, but i have surprised more than a few crotch rockets with the "Gold boat".
 

OrezO

Well-Known Member
look dont let people tell you to not buy a crotch rocket because its old. If it has low miles and runs good and STOPS good then buy it. A 600 is not that fast anywyas. I reccomend you take a Motorcycle safety course, buy a fucking helmet and a leather jacket. Dont be the idiot who is doing a wheelie at 80 in a tank and flip flops because I will only laugh at your pain. MY first bike was a 989 buell firebolt and then I graduation to my 05 ZX10R. That was a fast bike, 175mph on route 66 was fun. It did 90 in first gear. Miss my bike.
I'de personally save some more money & buy a newer non fixer upper. You don't want your first bike to be a bad experience. The bike sat for a long time, it could be fine, or it could need a complete overhaul. I look somewhere else, it took me about two years to find my exact bike, but my model is rare around my parts.
 
It is really getting to be nice outside, and i am really getting an itch for a motorcycle.

i found a local sale for a 1994 ZX6 R or E im not sure which one it is.. but it needs a new ignition system because someone tried to steal it at one point and jacked up the part where u put the key in, and the carbs have been taken off and rebuilt, but the bike has been sitting for 7 years. its got low miles.. 9k.. body work looks good.


for 600$ i am interested in picking this up but it would be my first bike and dont have alot of experience.. any other bike enthusiasts out there have an opinion on this deal?
Being a motorcycle mechanic i'll tell you this could be good if you do the work yourself, taking it to a shop your going to get screwed hard and have more than what is worth putting it back together. if the carbs were rebuild and not put back on the carbs would still be clean but if they were put on and ran then after 7 years they need rebuild again for sure. Not sure for that model( i work on honda's and yamaha's) but if it has four carbs, my shop charges an hour and half labor per carb(on the bike, an hour off) at $70/hr + rebuild kit running about $25, that's over $500 dollars just for the carb clean, ignition is a whole another thing if you can crank it over and it has spark then just replacing the key switch will probably be fine but if it dont have spark than you should pass on that money pit. Personally for me it would be a good buy if it had spark, being i could rebuild the carbs myself, but if you can't do it yourself or have a trusted friend who knows what he's doing pass it up, and find something that already runs and drives and only needs a few maintance items addressed otherwise you'll be spending more than it's worth.
 

incognegro999

Well-Known Member
. I broke the mirror of some guys 5 series bmw for doing that shit to me once.
This. You guys have it nice you can ride the middle in traffic out there right? for a while I kept ball bearings in the jacket for that reason, however titanium knuckle gloves are pretty badass
 

incognegro999

Well-Known Member
well if you want a cruiser then maybe a harley would be good, but im not spending money on style of bike i dont want to ride.. i fully plan on taking the bike to a shop and have them do all the repairs.
what I was getting at is a 17 year old sportbike is usually pretty beat up, however a 17 year old harley is usually well taken care of.
 

r1tony

New Member
what I was getting at is a 17 year old sportbike is usually pretty beat up, however a 17 year old harley is usually well taken care of.
Yes this maybe true but.. the avg sport bike mileage in 50-100K in it's 17 years and the Harley between break downs and service time is 2-5K in 17 years. LOL.

I used to wave at every biker and most time the Harley guys don't wave back, so @&*!^ em old farts.. now I do a one handed stand-up wheelie by them and use the other hand to flip em off while they are on the side of the road.

Kinda like this one summer:

 
Top