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My long running katana project (Black Betty)

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  • My long running katana project (Black Betty)

    My katana 600 (Black Betty)
    I bought my kat for about $1000. I haggled him down from $2000. I probably could have gone lower but frankly, this is my first bike and the money was burning a hole in my pocket. Anyway when I bought the bike it was mostly disassembled. I probably wouldn’t have even bought it, (I'm big on "I want to hear the motor run") but it was a friend of a reliable friend who told me she ran good when it was assembled.

    How I bought her



    I got the bike home and the first thing I noticed was the pin hole in the tank. Got that fixed,



    put it all together and it started!! Ran a little rough though. Took the carbs apart and cleaned them per “Carbs 101” and synced them with a manometer or whatever it’s called. Bike was running great, till the coils crapped out. Replaced the coils and I was off. Straight street fighter mode. It took me an entire summer to get the complete set of plastics from the guy. I can’t express enough how much this forum has helped me. If it wasn’t for you guys, my black Betty wouldn’t be the bike she is today. Anyway, here is a list of what I have done so far. We have come a long way but we have much farther to travel before my work is complete.
    New Battery
    Fixed holes in the tank
    Tried to get at much rust out as possible (not complete)
    New Plugs
    New Coils (used coils, I tend to be a little poor sometimes)
    Re-glued the air box boots and plugged the drain hole for better back pressure in the air box
    Painted the rusty headers (came with 4 to 1 and a yosh pipe =])
    Replaced fuel line from tank to petcock
    Cleaned Carbs
    New carb bowl screws
    Mirrors with integrated blinkers
    Replaced ALL rubber parts in the carbs
    new clutch cable
    LED blinker relay
    Jetted Carbs
    Lubed chain
    replaced intake gaskets
    eliminated all vacuum leaks
    Synced Carbs
    Lowered front end 1 inch
    Barnett high performance clutch
    oil change
    mounted plastics
    replaced clutch and brake levers
    new Windshield
    fixed gauge dash
    added a phone mount to the dash
    painted the dash ( gauge cluster)
    changed the green red and orange lights with LED lights
    added a phone charger
    replaced carb vacuum caps for syncing
    reinforced chain adjustment plates
    installed a busa shock
    painted the rims on the gauges
    painted the caliper arm
    Blue chain
    new sprockets
    new tire
    new front tire valve
    painted swing arm with plastidip
    added blue LEDS
    new seat
    made a muffler hanger (mine was just hanging)
    New tire (couldnt afford the front and it wasnt that bad so just the back, there were wires poppin out)




























    That’s what I’ve done so far. What I have left to do
    Replace stator cover (dropped her playing outside in the winter, hit black ice and she toppled at idle speed)
    I want to have the tank serviced. It’s still rusty inside.
    REAL paint job... its just rattle canned right now.
    before I paint it I want to have the gas tank stripped and sand blasted inside and repaired, while the tank is in the shop Ill sand and prep the plastics for paint and when I get it back paint all of it. (I got a painter buddy)
    2003 Yamaha R1 tail light mod
    I would like to modernize the nose. I’ve seen some crazy pictures of gsxr noses being fabbed on, I like that idea.
    Id like to powder coat everything ive painted
    I want new grips
    I want to powder coat the triple trees

    I love this bike. No it’s not a super sport, but it’s plenty fast for me and it’s comfy. Not to mention, she rides like a dream. My hard work has paid off. She always starts, and never dies. I want to thank all you here at Katriders for helping me take a box of motorcycle parts and turn it into a magnificent, well-tuned machine!!!

    The last 4 pictures are a progressive summary of the way my bike looked. Still lots of work but with a real paint job and a few more bells and whistles she will be done. Well.... then it'll probably be time to switch over to inverted forks, gsxr swingarm and a b12. Its definitely not worth the money I've put into it and im ok with that. I dont ever plan on selling it. when the time comes to get a new bike, (probably a super sport) I will definitely be keeping this one!!
    My build thread (Black Betty) '97 600 (Dearly Departed)
    http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133286
    2007 GSXR 750

  • #2
    nice job!

    Comment


    • #3
      Surprised I didn't see this when you first posted, good work, looks nice
      1998 Katana 750
      1992 Katana 1100
      2006 Ninja 250

      2006 Katana 600 RIP - 130k miles

      Comment


      • #4
        Great job!

        Comment


        • #5
          POR 15 for tank sealer. looks great.
          never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself sigpic2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016

          Comment


          • #6
            Great job on the bike !!!!

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks guys. Just made another round of improvements to her.

              New front tire. Now I have matching Conti Road attacks.
              2003 Yamaha R1 LED tail light with Integrated Blinkers.
              Ek Xring Metallic Blue Chain.
              New Exhaust gaskets.
              Gave the carbs a good spring cleaning.
              Got new shorty mirrors.
              Blue cat eye flush mount front blinker covers. (havent put them on yet but i will be using yellow LEDS instead of the bulb)
              Spring time oil change.
              My build thread (Black Betty) '97 600 (Dearly Departed)
              http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133286
              2007 GSXR 750

              Comment


              • #8
                Congratulation very nice job
                More one exemple that old Suzuki's never dies

                Comment


                • #9
                  Here's the way she sits this spring. The other bike is my buddy's, the first bike I've ever rebuilt. We picked that bike up in boxes too... lol

                  My build thread (Black Betty) '97 600 (Dearly Departed)
                  http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133286
                  2007 GSXR 750

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Looks great

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thank you sir
                      My build thread (Black Betty) '97 600 (Dearly Departed)
                      http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133286
                      2007 GSXR 750

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Night and day from where you started. Great Job!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Heres how she looks as of last month. Was just about to go on a 300ish mile ride sight seeing around the michigan thumb with my girlfriend. I packed about 30 lbs of tools, and never needed a single one! that was refreshing, but the saddlebags dug into the paint on the rear fairings on both sides and kinda hosed my rattle can paint job. Im hoping to have it professionally painted this winter.



                          This is with the Cat Eye front blinkers. I was going to use yellow LEDS instead of the incadesent bulb but its actually a decent bulb. Its super bright and VERY white.

                          I noticed that I havent posted pictures of my LED taillight in this thread so Im going to add those too.






                          Im running out of things to do to this bike. lol My proposed winter projects for my Black Betty is to get this extra tank i got coated. I thought about the POR15 thing but ive never done it and i feel like the itll turn out to be a huge headache so I think Im just going to take it to gas tank renu and let them bother with it. Then I wanna get some race tech front springs and new fork oil, then hopefully a professional paint job. Eventually I want my seats reupholstered only I want the front seat to be a darker blue to match the rest of the accents and have the backseat redone black. Then hell, i dont know what else im going to do. Save up and buy a gixxer maybe?
                          Last edited by maniac1886; 10-16-2014, 08:57 AM.
                          My build thread (Black Betty) '97 600 (Dearly Departed)
                          http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133286
                          2007 GSXR 750

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Well.... Its winter time again. You know what means, another round of improvements.. Lots on the list to so here goes:

                            Replace Front Master Cylinder - Complete
                            Flush Front and back brake fluid - Complete
                            New Valve Cover Breather Hose - Complete
                            Loom add on LED and phone charging system wire harness - Complete
                            Replace broken phone charger under rear seat - Complete

                            Sand/Repaint Gauge Cluster - In process

                            Post 600 Clutch Perch
                            New Post Brake/Clutch Levers
                            Clean /Lube Chain
                            Fairing Bolt kit??
                            Replace rubber piece on Brake pedal
                            Rebuild Forks (Racetechs + Cartridge Emulators)
                            Maybe Neck Bearings?
                            oil/filter/air filter/spark plugs
                            Replace Coils
                            Check/Adjust Valves + New Valve cover gasket
                            Replace Handle Bars (they are bent)
                            Coat the inside of the gas tank
                            New Fuel Filter?
                            install Reinforced Gas Lines
                            Clean Carbs
                            Last edited by maniac1886; 12-16-2014, 10:10 PM.
                            My build thread (Black Betty) '97 600 (Dearly Departed)
                            http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133286
                            2007 GSXR 750

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Well ladies and gentleman, looks like this thread is going to get some more of my attention this month. Just ordered the following:

                              New OEM Handlebars
                              Rubber pad on the Brake pedal
                              Rear Caliper Dust covers and Pins
                              New springs, bolt, nut, and spacer for the kickstand
                              RaceTech Springs
                              Gold Cartridge Emulators
                              Fork Seals/Dust Covers
                              Inner/Outter Fork Bushings
                              Fork Oil
                              Post 98 Clutch Perch

                              Still working on resanding the gauge cluster for Gloss Black Paint
                              Still working on repainting all my odds and ends that are chipped up

                              Pictures coming soon.
                              My build thread (Black Betty) '97 600 (Dearly Departed)
                              http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133286
                              2007 GSXR 750

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