FZ600 vintage race bike

[ex119x]

A friend decided that he was wanting to race with AHRMA this year. He has an SV650 that he has raced for years with WERA and CCS, plus he has just put together an 89 GSXR 7/11. I decided to take a look and see what I could put together for a race bike out of the stuff in the garage. I could put together another Honda 500 single, but need to do a complete rebuild of the motor, I could get the Seca 550 ready, it doesn't need much but I haven't raced it since about 2009. I could put the motor back in the CB350, but it is just a stock motor that I haven't even started up since I put it together out of used spare parts, plus I need to make noew rear motormount plates and finish plating the bottom of the frame. So, I decided to go with this.

It is an FZ600 frame that I had hanging in the garage rafters. I just painted it Rustoleum black so it should be fast. I pulled the engine a few years ago because the PO broke one of the valve cover hold down bolts and the frame was in the way of getting at it with a drill. I imagine that is why it was parked. I bought it as a parts bike about 12 years ago. I started it and it puked oil out of the valve cover. I guess the po siliconeing the broken bolt in place was not the right fix.

Here is the engine after I fixed the broken bolt. I think this is an 8k mile engine, so it should be in pretty good shape. Probably my best one. There really isn't anything available for performance parts for these bikes, so I am going to concentrate on suspension, wheels and brakes for this build, trying to use as many parts available from my spare parts boxes.

 

[ex119x]

Frame and engine back together for the first time in years. I also have the triple clamps on. They are first gen SV650 and almost are a straight bolt on with the FZ spec tapered roller bearing kit. I had to take about .1" off the bottom of the neck as the bearing race set in a little deep and the lower triple was closer than I like. I couldn't space the inner bearing higher on the stem since I needed all of the length of the stem to be able to bolt it all together.

 

[ex119x]

I had the SV complete front end and rear wheels as leftover race spares. I sold that SV, but still have one, but it has ZX6R forks on it, so these will work for this racebike project. I am also going to use SV controls and maybe footpegs. That way there is a much better chance of somebody having spares at the track, since nobody else races an FZ600, anymore. Next I installed the rear wheel in the stock swing arm. It requires using the cush drive from a GS500 to get the wheel centered then I made some spacers to center the caliper on the disk. I found the GS cush drive with sprocket on ebay for $25. It didn't come with the cush drive spacer so I had to machine down the SV650 spacer to the correct length. Then it all just bolted up. I have a small box of assorted wheel spacers that I can trim down to fit on the lathe.

 

[cyclocrossfool]

I had the SV complete front end and rear wheels as leftover race spares. I sold that SV, but still have one, but it has ZX6R forks on it, so these will work for this racebike project. I am also going to use SV controls and maybe footpegs. That way there is a much better chance of somebody having spares at the track, since nobody else races an FZ600, anymore. Next I installed the rear wheel in the stock swing arm. It requires using the cush drive from a GS500 to get the wheel centered then I made some spacers to center the caliper on the disk. I found the GS cush drive with sprocket on ebay for $25. It didn't come with the cush drive spacer so I had to machine down the SV650 spacer to the correct length. Then it all just bolted up. I have a small box of assorted wheel spacers that I can trim down to fit on the lathe.

i believe Kurt Hoff still races a fz600 along with his rd in ahrma. you have checked the rule books. wera, ahrma, uscra. ??? check the rules about swingarms and forks. dia. etc. wera and uscra are pretty lax . you will get called out at ahrma.

 

[ex119x]

I am fine with the AHRMA rulrbook. They don't allow USD forks and have a 43mm limit on fork tube diameter. The SV forks are 41mm. Their other restrictions are on bodywork, but I am running stockish stuff. They also don't allow radial brakes, but the SV brakes are just standard 2 piston.
As far as WERA goes, they run superbike rules for vintage, so I could run almost anything.
Are you racing any AHRMA this year or just WERA?

 

[teazer]

You need an FZR400 - if it fits the rules that is. We happen to have one that my wife bought years ago and rarely rides. It's complete and registered and ready to rock and roll. WERA used to have a class for them. Not sure what anyone is racing now.

 

[cyclocrossfool]

Are you racing any AHRMA this year or just WERA?

NO wera this year planned. i did 15 races with wera last year ( V4,5, 6lw). in 12 of those i was the only starter. plan is to do the 3 uscra rounds and maybe the new jersey ahrma round

 

[ex119x]

You need an FZR400 - if it fits the rules that is. We happen to have one that my wife bought years ago and rarely rides. It's complete and registered and ready to rock and roll. WERA used to have a class for them. Not sure what anyone is racing now.

I do not need another race bike. The object is to use up parts in the garage and put minimal expense into this bike. WERA still has a class where the FZR400 is the best option, with D superbike. I liked riding the FZR400 the couple of times I did. I raced against them back in the day with my NT650 Hawk in D production. The FZR was the better bike.

 

[teazer]

Are you sure? Just kidding. Ours is a street bike but we bought it from a WERA racer in Michigan who had a pile of FZR400s as back ups to his main race bike. But parts in the garage. That's a real issue for us with CB160s. One is going back together as a Cafe Racer that has absorbed twice as much cash as it could ever sell for and we have piles of motor parts and frames and forks for a race bike I never built. I even had a 180 degree crank built and special cam ground for a motor that is still taking up space.

Good luck with teh project.

 

[ex119x]

You don't have any spare lower fairings do you? I can make stock work, but old race fairings would be better.

 

[teazer]

Afraid not. After I rebuilt the bike, I sold off any useable surplus parts.

 

[ex119x]

I got the swingarm, shock and rear wheel installed. I have the rear caliper rebuilt and the basic running gear is all set. Brakes are done and the steering stops fixed so the FZ frame works with the SV triples. Next up is to rebuild the carbs. I have 3 sets, so I should be able to get at least one set ready. I am also toying with the notion of fitting 4 individual 30mm carbs on it. I got some Chinesium ones and bolted them together with plates between them and 2-1 cables going to a dual cable throttle. I might give it a try or save all the hassle for the next one.

 

[canyoncarver]

Neat build. I'm in.

 

[irk miller]

Race bike threads are always good. I've yet to gravitate to road racing, so this should teach me a bunch.

 

[ex119x]

There isn't too much trick stuff going on with this one since I am trying to use up parts on hand. The SV front end was practically a bolt on with the FZ tapered bearing set. All I did was replace the speedo drive with a spacer out of my spacer box and faced off 1mm in the lathe. The rear wheel required the use of a GS500 sprocket carrier and fitting the right width spacers. The CBR600F4i shock took a little more spacer work and clearancing of the FZ dogbones, but I had made that conversion before, so it was pretty easy. The other important mod for race bikes is safety wiring. I am drilling the bolts as I have them out so it really just adds one more step.

 

[ex119x]

I have been making some progress, but I keep getting distracted by other bikes.
I got my cut down sub-frame on. I am going to mount all of the electrics that used to be on the subframe on the main frame and around the engine, so seat and subframe removal will be easier and faster.

I got the steering damper mounted. It is a GSXR damper and it is always tricky to get it mounted so it has full travel and doesn't limit the steering angles.

I also mounted the tach, ignition switch and upper fairing.
I think the green tank is the one I will be using for this project. It doesn't have too many dents and isn't too rusty inside. That is not the seat and tail I will be using, I just set it on there. It is for an OW 01 and wouldn't be legal for AHRMA, but would be for WERA. I will be using some cut down side panels and a seat cowl with a stock seat that I used on my last FZ race bike. I also got the footpegs mounted but haven't connected the shift linkage or brake linkage.

I have an exhaust mounted with a Yoshimura muffler that I ran on my last race bike, but I think I will swap it out for the D and D system I have on the street bike. I also ran into an issue with the CBR600 shock I fitted. The shock ended up being too short. When I checked my notes I noted that the CBR600 shock is about 15mm shorter than the stock shock and about 20mm shorter than the CBR900RR shock I have fitted in the past. The rear end sits too low and my swing arm angle is only -6.5 degrees. With a CBR900 shock the angle is -12.5 degrees. I am going to pull the 900RR shock and modified FZ linkage off my 3rd frame and put it on this one, once I dig that bike out. Maybe I will get to that tomorrow.

Progress continues.

 

[ex119x]

A bunch of other stuff around the house got in the way, but I have made some progress on the FZ. I got the CBR900RR shock swapped out from my other spare bike, so it is good to go. I also finally got my wiring figured out as I totally stripped the stock harness and have only the essentials for the ignition, charging system and electric starter. I am too old to be bump starting anything. I got it to start and run, now I just need to dial in the carbs and take it for a test ride.

 

[ex119x]

Here is how it currently sits. I still have a few items on the punch list until it is ready to be on the track, then I have an additional list of things I will do in the future just to make it better. For now, it needs an oil and filter change since I have had the bike for over 10 years and never changed it although I have only started it twice in that time. I also need to flush the front brake fluid, since it is of unknown age and origin. It needs tires, which I will pull off my SV650. I also need to put the correct windshield on it and fit an oil containment belly pan or lower fairing,
Should I leave the front fender black, or replace it with a red one, which I have?

 

[Brodie]

My vote is for red on the fender.
Currently it is very top heavy looking as all the colour is up high. The red fender will help to give it a balanced look.

 

[porcelanowy]

Hello
How about a white fender?
Just saying...