Official YZF Makeover Thread

Okay, I guess I'll start this thread fresh and new. Just a recap: I picked up this 97' YZF1000 on Jan. 28th for a great price. Got her home and now it's time to make her my own! We'll start with the before pictures............

She was dirty and grimey with quite a few scratches on the body panels that didn't look too deep. She started and ran fine however as they all are, very cold blooded. A couple of missing screws, dry rotted Dunlops, and filthy chain, sprockets, and rims is what I will have to deal with. The exhaust was filthy as well and the mid-pipe had something spilled on it while hot and was totally tarnished.

BEFORE:

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So that was then. Today I went down with Richie to start the "Big Clean". I started with rubbing compound and started one panel at a time. I was able to remove more than 80% of all the minor scratches and made the major ones less noticable. Richie removed the exhaust and sat with Noxon and steel wool and removed almost all the rust and corrosion from the mid-pipe and can. I was amazed at how nice it cames out. I then walked around and took notice of all missing screws. There weren't many so hopefully Tony has some spares. I polished the tinited windshield and that came out looking like new. Not one scratch on it! So here are today's progress pics and a video at the end as a bonus.

I'll call this the DURING pics:


Richie sat for almost two hours working on the exhaust and it shows. Nice job son!!
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Okay....Missing Screws Pics: There are 5 in total missing
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Here's the only crack on the entire bike. It's not all the way down the panel so I'll remove it and "weld" it up from the inside to keep it from traveling.
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So after compounding for almost 3 hours straight, I gave her a quick coat of wax and buffed her out. The difference from yesterday and today is amazing. It's hard to see in my crappy pictures but she was sparkling!
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Next step is to begin removing all the body panels and get the wheels off. Then I'll remove all the fluids, chain, sprockets, and really get down to business!! Stay tuned for the next installment. Oh, and here's the video I promised you guys. It's a quick one but covers everything...........

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrx8ulI3iEE&list=UUtIiPrXXOnkIUMfJ6mRxgkQ&index=1&feature=plcp]97' Yamaha YZF1000 - YouTube[/ame]
 
Man that is going to be a very nice bike once you're done with her, not that it's bad now.

She's really in good shape, a little TLC and she'll be like brand new. :tup:
 
Looking good, It is amazing what a little elbow grease can do.

Thanks Utah, now the fun stuff begins! My great buddy from Indy is sending me a swingarm stand. Once that gets here I'll be pulling all the bodywork off to find the real grease and grime that lies waiting underneath. As soon as the "Tax Dough" arrives I'll pick up the new Bridgestone 023's, Chain and Sprockets and get everything back together. I think I'm still going to pull the carbs and clean them good. She's hard to start and stays way too long on choke which I don't like. The seller had it in storage for 4 years and only put 4,800 on it in 5 years so I could imagine that the jets need a good cleaning.
 
Well Billy it looks great! I'm sure once you take of the plastics and give it an even better cleaning she will sparkle. As for the missing screws...I should be able to help you out :D
 
Well Billy it looks great! I'm sure once you take of the plastics and give it an even better cleaning she will sparkle. As for the missing screws...I should be able to help you out :D

Thanks T, I figured out that the picture that showed the J-Clip is actually not in place correctly. That Tab belongs "behind" that panel, but I guess it will still need a screw anyways.
 
Thanks T, I figured out that the picture that showed the J-Clip is actually not in place correctly. That Tab belongs "behind" that panel, but I guess it will still need a screw anyways.

Yea, it goes behind, but now the whole panel needs to be removed in order to get it behind the other one.
 
Back in it's day the YZF1000 was a top sportsbike so you have a good base to start from. It's heavy by today's standards but it's got plenty of grunt. I'm sure you'll have plenty of stuff to clean once you remove the panels after 15 years. Both the YZF1000 and 600 were a good series of bikes with the Deltabox frame, stout motors and reasonable seating positions. Keep us posted on the progress.
 
Back in it's day the YZF1000 was a top sportsbike so you have a good base to start from. It's heavy by today's standards but it's got plenty of grunt. I'm sure you'll have plenty of stuff to clean once you remove the panels after 15 years. Both the YZF1000 and 600 were a good series of bikes with the Deltabox frame, stout motors and reasonable seating positions. Keep us posted on the progress.

You're not kidding about that...With the double bubble screen and the Heli bars my YZF1000 is actually more comfortable than the FZ1 (at least for me).

The motor has plenty of mid-range grunt and a decent top end.
 
Yea, it goes behind, but now the whole panel needs to be removed in order to get it behind the other one.

Yep, thats what I thought. It doesn't matter as all the panels will be removed next Saturday. Also, I forgot that we sell the Devcon S208 5 Minute Clear 2 Part Epoxy at work. That will be great for the repair. There is a guy I found that has the service manual, over 400 pages, for 20 bucks for direct download. I may jump on that one. Lord knows I tried everywhere yesterday to find a "freebie" if you know what I mean, but it's not happening.
 
Yep, thats what I thought. It doesn't matter as all the panels will be removed next Saturday. Also, I forgot that we sell the Devcon S208 5 Minute Clear 2 Part Epoxy at work. That will be great for the repair. There is a guy I found that has the service manual, over 400 pages, for 20 bucks for direct download. I may jump on that one. Lord knows I tried everywhere yesterday to find a "freebie" if you know what I mean, but it's not happening.

Oh I'll send you the link for the "free" one. Check your PM in a little while ;)
 
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