95 Kat 750

[Scotty43210]

Well this is my new (to me) bike, the guy next door decided to move and did not want to take it with him however he was the second owner of it and i am not sure what all happened to it but! needless to say it needs a lot of work and TLC. I started on it last week and had found out that the gas cap key had been snapped off inside the cap -_- so after finding out how much new gas cap and bases are i decided to take the take off and figure out a new way to get it off. Turns out the entire gas tank was super rusted.. sad face.. SO! after not being able to find any tanks online anywhere i headed down to a bike shop in town and i asked the guy working the counter at the time and he did not seem to know a whole lot? just kinda worked there but i guess one of the older guys working there came in just at the right time and he said hold on and walked away, then he came back with a used tank that was like almost perfect so not only did this guy save me from having to try and mess with cleaning the rusty tank but he also fixed the gas cap situation in one move..well played sir ..anyways bought a battery and the tank came out to about 150$ now i think i'm going to put a gallon of carb cleaner in the tank just to clean the old gas out. Today however dad found the keys that were supposed to be for the bike and the ignition key was just a blank ...so now i am going to be taking the ignition switch off and getting a key made for it...so i know you guys like these bikes, but as someone who is just getting in to motorcyles i am getting discouraged :/ is this even worth it? It maybe a newb thing to say but just kinda how it seems to be going..thoughts?

[92xjunker]

It's a neglected 18 year old bike, what did you expect? Those type of repairs are common. I would highly recommend tearing down the carbs and dip them in carb dip for 24 hours, replace all o-rings and gaskets. In tank carb cleaner isn't going to work, to much buildup in the carb passages.

[Kreylyn]

If you don't enjoy and want to work on a project, get rid of it now and quickly.

If you enjoy a good project and don't mind investing time and $ for a project to do... then it's a great option.

If your primary focus is wanting something to ride... again, get rid of it and quickly. Then buy something fully running.

Krey

[Scotty43210]

haha well i was hoping for alittle bit of chrome :P...I was just asking because I have a done a couple frame off restorations for cars but have never done anything with bikes so just wanted to know what i've got before getting in too deep.

[Kreylyn]

haha well i was hoping for alittle bit of chrome :P...I was just asking because I have a done a couple frame off restorations for cars but have never done anything with bikes so just wanted to know what i've got before getting in too deep.

You have a good base for a full rebuild. It is going to need a full rebuild though. Just seeing the bike in that pic, it's had a rough life.

It's not nearly as hard or intensive as the car frame off projects, but ... I would suggest you start by stripping it down that far and addressing any frame rust now.

Krey

[Wild-Bill]

Kreylin's got good advice but do keep in mind that whatever you put into the bike it's not ever going to be worth much. No problem if you're doing it because you like tinkering and want to end up with a comfortable, versatile, reliable but underpowered and softly suspended bike that's all yours. If you're thinking of it as a financial investment, I'd get it running and sell it quick with no regard for cosmetics.

[Scotty43210]

Decided yesterday that after i get the ignition switch rekeyd we'll see how hard it is to get started, if it is beyond my ablities i'll end up just selling it. Most of my problems right now are i do not have any of my tools with me... I removed all the plastic and everything so i could see the frame, no big rust issues just light stuff where the paint had been scraped leaving the metal to some good 'ol oxidation. So for right now it is just cleaning the arizona dirt and sand out of it... so much sand :C

[Scotty43210]

So as it turns out, i was headed to the bike shop the other day and i was going to ask how much it would be to replace my ignition and see what they thought. As i was walking out the door i was holding the key and looking at it and decided to go stick it in and try it anyways...i only had to wiggle it and it worked O_O *mind blown* so then i tried it on the seat lock and it worked on that also. Has anyone ever heard of someone setting their system up to work with a blank key? or do you think the guy before me just got mad and broke some stuff so a blank key would work?

[Kreylyn]

So as it turns out, i was headed to the bike shop the other day and i was going to ask how much it would be to replace my ignition and see what they thought. As i was walking out the door i was holding the key and looking at it and decided to go stick it in and try it anyways...i only had to wiggle it and it worked O_O *mind blown* so then i tried it on the seat lock and it worked on that also. Has anyone ever heard of someone setting their system up to work with a blank key? or do you think the guy before me just got mad and broke some stuff so a blank key would work?

Really easy to do.

Remove the tumbler, take out the slides in it... any key or even just a screw driver will allow the tumbler to turn then.

Krey