Ok, so I'm buying a pair of zx600Ds, a 93 and a 95. The 93 needs all the good cosmetics the 95 has and the 95 has a spun bearing and the 93 is mechanically solid. At any rate, I'm buying it because I want to have time to do extensive work on my 916. In my research, I haven't found one weakness to this bike. Not one. I'm so not used to this. Everthing has a weakness, right Anyway, so what should I look out for?
I don't know if it applies to those years, but I've seen a few ZXs with cracked frames in areas under the seat where you won't spot it unless you know where to look. To be fair, I think most of the ones that I've seen like that were used abusively, (Street) raced or stunted. Possibly all three.
I thought that all 600cc Japanese sportbikes have or could have 2nd gear issues. But maybe I'm wrong, or spent too much time on R6 forums.
Other than that, these are heavy bikes with steel frames (IIRC), and don't have the best suspension ever put on a sportbike. Like many Kawasaki's they kept making them for years (decades?) after they were current so there should be plenty of parts around.
It appears that they have big end bearing issues
SEADave wrote: I thought that all 600cc Japanese sportbikes have or could have 2nd gear issues. But maybe I'm wrong, or spent too much time on R6 forums.
Mine had the 2nd gear issue.
Should be an aluminum frame.
Yes, aluminum frame
Kawasaki Shipyard builds virtually invincible motorcycles. If you're looking at one with a spun bearing and bad second gear, run, run away. That indicates an amazing amount of abuse.
My roommate's ZX-6R has been run over by a truck, sunk in six feet of water, crashed on both road and track, run with a regulator-rectifier so dead the headlights stopped working, frozen solid in the winter with water in the radiator and engine (I'm still not sure how nothing burst - the hoses must've stretched), and it still rides arrow-straight and hammers the rev limiter on the straight at Grattan.
I've owned a ZX6E for over 10 years and been active in the forums and whatnot. Second gear really is the only major weakness that comes to mind. That and maybe carb tuning. Seems lots of owners have trouble getting it to run just right without a flat spot here, or a stumble there, but could easily just be inexperience, neglect, and the difficulty for setting up a bank of 4 carbs to run perfectly.
That being said, I've been actively trying to kill mine for years and it just won't die. My carbs have always been fiddly and I've never gotten them right, but I just drive around the problem. I also seem to go through water pumps, but I have only been buying used, $30 pumps off ebay because new ones are $160. I think I'll buy a new one this time, as my current one is leaking again.
Here's mine. Its a bit, uh, modified. Mostly visual. The upgrades are limited to progressive fork springs, zzr1200 shock, Muzzy headers, "custom" exhaust, K&N, and jet kit. Its been a ratbike/streetfigter for years, but just recently moved it into is adventurebike stage. Went back to stock suspension, raised it 2 inches, 2.5w fork oil, and beefy Shinko dualsport tires. I've been beating it up on gravel and fire-roads and it is still just soaking up the abuse. Every time I take it out I suspect it will be its last run, but it just continues to motor on... Oh, and its got over 65,000 miles on it!
Watch me fall in love with mine and have a permenant back up to the Duc.
In reply to problemaddict:
That thing is baller. I do this use that word which means it was so bad ass that I needed to pull a word out of storage.
Buy my 97 and make your own.
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