Hi. I just joined here and was looking for some info. A good friend at work may be selling me his Ninja 600 if and when he buys a newer '01 600. Im not sure the exact year but its early 90's. It needs some work, but for $150 I cant go wrong. It runs and is mechanically sound. The biggest issue the bike has is the tank is rusting from the inside out and small particles of rust are cloggin the fuel filter. How can I go about repairing this without the possibility of splitting open the tank and sandblasting? I would also like to avoid buying a new tank as I have NO budget (Im going to need to make payments on the 150 as it is and try to figure out a way to register it too) He says someone told him of a liquid product you pour in the tank, coating the surface and allowing it to harden. After curing you puncture a hole where your petcock is and it's good to go. Has anyone heard of such a thing? Thanks in advance.

 

I have heard of a product that you put in the tank that will coat the liner of the tank..

 

welcome to the forum. is this going to be your first bike? if it is, it will be an all around great learning tool. not only will it teach you how to wrench on your own bike. buy you don't have to worry too much about dropping it when you learn how to ride it. good luck, gear up and be safe.

 

Yeah, it's my first street bike. I've had two dirt bikes and a 4 wheeler prior to this. So all I really need to get used to is the speed and balancing a heavier vehicle. I test rode a Katana 600 a few years ago that i almost traded my quad for, but changed my mind. I found out this bike is an '88, jetted with a V&H 4n1 pipe on it. I'm probably not gonna be able to ride this year due to needed repairs on the tank and a new front tire to pass inspection, but he's gonna store it for me in his garage so I can work all winter on the body, repairing cracks and painting. You can use fiberglass resin cloth on the inside of the panel and skim some bondo over the front of the crack to repair them right? As long as it'll stick, I figured this was the strongest way to reinforce behind the cracks and smooth them over in the front.

 

ya, you got the right idea for fixing the cracks. just use the right amount of mixture. you don't want too much hardener in the resin where it will crack. or not enough where it take too long to cure. and don't use regular bondo on plastic. it won't hold. i forget the name but it's a special type of plastic bondo that works better. good luck

 

Welcome! Hopefully all the work you'll be doing will help the winter go by fast! Keep us posted on your progress! And we love pics!

 

Well, Ive got great news. I got the bike to my house tonight and started the tear down (will get pictures up sometime soon) I pulled the tank to see how bad the rust was. Ha! What rust? All that was in there was some sediment that had formed over the years. I pulled the petcock off and the fuel gauge float and started slowly rocking the tank back and forth. Nearly all the flakes and dust fell out right there. Im going to give it a small acid bath to really clean out any remainder and she should be good to go. Step 1: Dismantle and asses repairs needed. Done. Step 2: Clean tank and get bike started. Any particular section my posts of my progress should go into? I will gladly start a new thread if this isnt the right place for this.

 

That is great news!!! Glad to hear that it isn't as bad as what you thought - how often does that happen???

 

Well, things are moving quite quickly. I can't really take any pictures of the progress, but i will definetly get some of the final result. I got my first layer of fiberglass laid over the cracks nad painted all the good panels. Charged up the battery and cranked it over a few times. Sounds like it wants to start right up (of course it wont right now, the tank isnt even connected) Im actually thinking that most of the "major" repairs other than replacing the bald front tire will be done this weekend. My freind is going to be in shock when he gets back from vacation next week and sees his old bike looking all nice. With how little I have put into it so far, this was an incredible deal: 88 ZX600 with 30k miles for only $130.00. AND IT'S MECHANICALLY SOUND! The only real mechanical repair has been the sediment in the tank, a clogged fuel filter, and a drained battery (which is only a year or so old) I was also told by another previous owner of this same bike (kinda a long story on how I know him) that this bike also has a "racing" clutch in it and really hooks up. Of course he also scared me just a little when he said that out of the 3 ZX600's he's owned this one was the fastest and pulled the hardest. I guess 6th gear isn't going to see much use by me for quite a while.

 

hey thats great news. and also take a picture of your friends face when he sees his old bike.[sm=Flahssssss.gif]