nath

Glad your sticking with it mate im rebuilding my FZ600 - have been since november! its been a pig to work on but got the engine rebuilt along with the forks, a new frame and electrics! just the brakes and the spark issues to sort then im not far behind you! im thinking either black and white, or yellow and white for mine though... Keep it up mate - it'll look mint when sprayed up!

ill stick the kettle on and get the bacon on then mate!

bit far from worcestershire matey - wouldnt you say? i think its the floats with the carbs tbh, by the time this is finished there wont be a single component which hasnt been tinkered with...

for reference it turned out to be a duff wire to the starter relay... turns over no probs now... Next problem is there is no bloody spark... typical... so im gonna swap the coils out unless anyone has a better idea... i get the impression that the leads cant be swapped on this type of coil pack???

Hi all, keeping this thread alive i thought i would post another few problems requiring attention... The engine is rebuilt... and fitted to the frame - the timing looks ok but time will tell however i took a brave pill and crudely cranked the engine over on the starter motor - attached to a car battery 'trick'... it spun over lovely and didn't implode or crap gears through the housing so im happy!!! Now my new problems have arose as ive reconnected the existing wiring loom, ive found that although i can get power to all lights and the neutral switch is functioning, the engine will not start - i cannot get the starter motor to turn over on the button... This is an intermittant problem which has become permanent over the last 2 days. initially the relay would click and buzz but would not turn the engine over. Then i disconnected the 'shorted' sidestand switch wiring and the engine turned over fine... so i connected the tank up to the carbs and pressed start once more... Nothing... And this has continued since then... A point to note is that sometimes on pressing the start button the oil light came on... however this no longer happens... So im well and truly stumped! Also upon connecting up the carbs to the fuel lines - fuel poured out the back of carbs 1 and 3 and out the overflow pipes... is a rebuild worth attempting or is it a specialist 'fiddly' job??? or better still can i just clean them with carb cleaner???

HAHA reading back on my thread ive missed a major section of the story out. so for those who give a sh*t! the engine cases were assembled and after assembly i noticed an odd looking piece just sat around next to the case (piece of the starter clutch) so it all was disassembled again - pieces replaced and all back together... then the starter clutch wouldnt 'ratchet' and was locked solid when the crank was turned - so it was split again and i noticed that in my haste a load of crap has found their way onto the big end shells and when the crank was turned it scored them... so back to yamaha for 6 new shells and to find that they no longer stock the shim which sits in the started clutch (which was cutting into the starter clutch itself... nor do they stock the guide for the hyvo chain any more... so lots of loctite on the remaining pieces of chain guide and its locked into position nicely - minus the centre piece. the shim was filed down with a metal file and placed back into the starter clutch (with no ill effects as yet). New bearings to replace the scored set and the whole lot was cleaned with paraffin and then blasted with an airline. I was going to replace the pistons, rings and cylinder with that of the spare engine however the bike had been dropped at some point knackering all the fins on the cylinder - so the originals have remained... to my detriment possibly! i have nicked the clutch from the spare engine as the plates had more meat on them - oh and dont EVER buy the aftermarket gasket kits that retail for about £80 - a tube of instant gasket by loctite is sufficient with a head gasket from yamaha. The aftermarket gaskets are poorly made and dont have half of the pieces you require for a full rebuild... if anyone wants advice into how to build an engine the hard way just PM me lol

Hi all - i dont know - i go off to do my exams and suddenly everyone starts to rebuild FZ600s and i miss out on all the Goss!!! Right heres where im at (i dropped my laptop - buggering the internal bluetooth somehow - so pics are a no show at the minute) 1. The engine is assembled apart from the cams (im shitting myself about the timing setup as haynes isnt helpful) 2. Frame is cleaned up and resprayed white - i bought a new frame from ebay so the bike will now be an 'F' reg instead of an 'E' reg. 3. The loom still requires attention as the previous owner butchered it more than i thought... 4. the bike is 85% done - the LH fairing requires spraying in yellow/black as the old one fell off on the M18 (they shatter at speed) Overall im happy with how its going... its difficult to know if the engine will run (fingers crossed) it'll need the carbs retuning, a new chain and new brake pads... oh and retaxing Finally quick technical question - are there any tips with the timing arrangements, i have the no.1 piston at TDC but am aprehensive as to how to approach the next step... p.s. jimR rules...

Jim is a legend - hes the only reason im still grappling with rebuilding my FZ600; which is nearly finished after 6 months of scraped knuckles and melted credit cards! Cheers matey!!!

Legendary! and yet creative at the same time...

that back end... defo my next mod!!!

Ok heres a good one - crankshaft oil seal, ive bought a new one from yamaha and it lacks a 'lip' going around it so therefore it wouldnt be retained in position as the engines running... fair play i think so i take it back with the original showing the difference... not so says the nice parts man, the 'new' type of oil seal is without said lip to allow for replacement without splitting the case halves... Have i just swallowed someones bullsh*t here? i mean its fitted now of course, ive even put silicone around it to make sure but if i rebuild this whole engine for the seal to move when i fill it with oil i wont be happy with the nice parts man... what say you??? oh p.s. Starter clutch fitted Crankshaft fitted Transmission fitted tomorrow: case halves together (when i find that pesky dowel) oil pan + gubbins Clutch then who knows??? beer methinks!!!

yeah ive had that feeling for a while jim... i'm canibalising an old 2HW for the guide and putting the old chain back in as yamaha have discontinued the parts... just purchased the oil seals to go on the crank... its an arse to be sure but hey sh*t happens and learning curves usually are steep! not long now though i hope... the unit might be finished by monday! Quick Edit: famous last words... managed to shear or round about 5 bolts before being rained off... i remember how much of an arse it was last time to strip an engine... i guess it can run without the full guide... half will have to do!

Right then peeps the cases are cleaned to within an inch of their lives, the crank is rebuilt with new big end shells and tightened to 25Nm with my new torque wrench... Question is this... upon inspection i saw that the starter/drive chain guide has snapped into three pieces, with a small section loose in the case miraculously held in place by the two larger sections still bolted to the upper case. Ive ordered a new one from Yamaha (£15) which will hold me up for a few days, is it possible that this is the source of the rattling noise??? also the the chain looks intact with little signs of wear, however according to haynes the chain links should not 'touch' when sat on the bench, whereas this chain does sag in the centre... Ive priced up a new chain (£137+vat), so i laughed heartily and am asking whether its practical to reuse the old one and whether there is a risk of breakage... Quick Edit: can the engine run without the chain guides??? are they crucial to safe engine operation or will it leave slack in the chain???

haha no its alright - quite interesting having people who remember when they were new... i was 3 years old when mine was registered!!! people think im mental being 23 yet liking things from the 80s... Frame got cleaned down today and im gonna spray it to get it nice - white i think (any objections) also interesting fact - ive removed the rocker cover from the 2HW engine today and the timing is different from the 3KM... with the 2HW firing something like 1,3,4,2 and the 3km definitely firing 1and4 then 3and2 together... strange sequence i thought... anyway the head will be off the 2HW soon so i can nab the pistons, rings and cylinder then its off to a mates garage for some airline and paraffin cleaning and reassenbly action...

Right im confused... first i can guess that the 3KM is not original with the bike but then i bought a replacement engine which is stamped as a 2HW unit... but that unit is definitely air cooled...

interestingly my frame has no stamp on it, throwing more uncertainty on the origins of my bike although the fram does have the serial: 2HW-002525 stamped on the steering head... this suggests that the 3KM engine is not the orignal and that it and all the electrics and loom have been bodged in when it was 'restored' - i would love to know who restored it put it that way because they are a moron put bluntly... anyway the deadline is the end of april for it to be back on the road... as im moving house... And both the 2HW and 3KM units i have are definitely air cooled - although the 3KM unit did have a unique lubricaton system using petrol instead of oil BRING ON THE REBUILD!!! oh and nice to see so many FZ600 owners getting involved - i think were somewhat under-represented on here by the R6/R1 mob...

yeah currently i have both engines... the 2HW and the 3KM. so far the only difference ive found is the electrics around the alternator and a slight difference in the case where these are mounted... cheers for the advice jim - ill have a look around before it goes back together - might mean a trip back to yamaha for a pic of them to make sure... oh and massive thanks to J&S Yamaha at Doncaster, always a massive help with any issues - the amount of time ive spent in there trawling through microfiche and parts diagrams! mucho respect!

Hi all sorry for the long reply but im at uni and well lets just say with the snow, exams, coursework and a prevalent lack of funds the FZ has sat unloved in the garden awaiting its return to the road!!! Just thought i would post up an update... The case is now split with the gears being cleaned (no faults as predicted jim!) the crank is out and appears ok, ive got new main bearing shells, big end shells, gudgeon pins + clips, head bolts, gaskets, fork seals and a plethora of pins, clips and washers - all from yamaha which has emptied my account good and proper! I cant afford new piston rings at £135+vat so im robbing the cylinders, pistons and rings from the 2HW engine and putting them in this one - a bodge i know but the spare engine was A1 when i bought it... The upper case half is going to a mechanic to get two high tensile studs removed which were drilled out to free the starter clutch (colbalt drill bits are good!!!) Ive also bought a spare frame, subframe, wheels, and a LH fairing so this is turning into a full restoration... Oh and some epic bodges are here as well - like wrapping bare wires around each other and sheathing in electrical tape (how much does a connector cost really???), or chocking the speedo with wood to stop it from vibrating - brilliant! Some pics for your viewing pleasure! OEM yamaha timber wedges The bike as it stands now...

Think starwars... the story so far... And all the components bagged and labelled in sections... (lots of bags) Ive hit a wall though... I cant get the alternator off to split the cases... ive tried everything i can think of but it wont budge... any ideas???

cheers mate - you've been a big help!

hi mate there is a bloke in barnsley that had a load of FZ600 spares for cheap... if your still in need then let me know and ill PM you his number...

Cheers Jim, that noise is the noise the bike makes at idle (albeit louder) so yeah im gonna go the whole hog and strip the cases down (oh how i hate trains ) just making a list now of what im gonna replace but i think its limited to the odd bearing and maybe the rings while they are exposed. What am i looking for with respect to the oil gallery and its operation. Its not something im familiar with...

i had to record it as a movie so that photobucket would accept it but listen to the noise... its not normal lets put it that way... oh and ignore me falling over enjoy!

ho hum the saga will continue... the clutch is off - had the verniers on the plates etc nothing wrong the release bearing is A1 no signs of warpage,wear or distortion to anything then i had a play with the main shaft (give it a wiggle!) noticed a slight noise, went to the other side did the same with the drive shaft - lot more noise... so the culprit is the gearbox... and what do i have to disassemble to get to that??? pretty much everything else... quite heartbreaking when everything else is in good order... give me 5 minutes and ill get a soundclip of the noise...

ok this is getting confusing... the fuel in the oil is on engine one (my failed engine) engine two's (the replacement) oil was fine... today im stripping the clutch from engine one to see if thats causing the problem... i think engine 2 is now a donor engine (tasty spare parts) rather than a replacement outright... ive also ordered a new headgasket, base gasket and new head nuts to the pricely sum of £80... i think ill order some rings tomorrow too...