New '96 katana 600

[andrewm921]

Im new to motorcycles, and just bought an $800 katana 600 off ebay; should be coming in wednesday or thursday.

The ebay listing said it hadnt been ridden in five years, 23k miles on it, and garage kept. The battery is said to be new, but has been sitting with the bike (needs charging). When the previous owner tried to start it a few weeks ago, the engine turned over freely, but was said to have "a weak spark".

I plan on doing everything to the bike myself if possible as id like to think im reasonably mechanically inclined. What are the first things I should look for (things specific to kats) assuming that charging the battery doesn't fix the issue? What could go wrong with the bike after simply sitting for 5 years?

Also, I bought a shoei tz-r helmet, and am planning on icon accelerant jacket/gloves. Does anyone have any experience with any of these? Thanks.

Here are two of the ebay pictures of my bike; I plan on painting all fairing and tank black, with red wheels and painting the bit of frame seen through the gap in the fairing red.

[Shipster]

Welcome to KR! This site is awesome I recommend checking out this site as it pertains to used vehicles: http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/moto...uyingused.html
Good luck with everything!

[ckholloway]

Welcome

First off if that battery has been sitting for 5 years what you do is take it to a parts house and use it as a core trade in on a new one.
Second, drain the tank, clean the tank, clean the carbs, clean the petcock, change the plugs.
Third, start and ride. If it was running as they said when they parked it, then these things should get you moving down the road. If you capable of the work and you start on a saturday morning you will be riding by saturday night.

[ct3]

welcome man

[Rangerx52]

1.return the wave
2.always chain it up
3.rubber side down


funky paint job

[andrewm921]

Thanks. I appreciate the advice, ill you know how it works out as soon as i get the bike.

[RossW]

drain tank, it's probably rusted, do a search for por15.
pull off carbs, clean thoroughly at least twice, check everything and reassemble
do a valve adjustment
change the oil and filter
check air filter
replace fuel lines
replace brake lines
replace spark plugs
check tires for dry rot/cracking
after sitting for five years the battery is probably shot unless it was disconnected

Basically go through the manual and assume no maintenance was done.

The black with red wheels paint scheme looks good on a kat (see my garage/signature). Have fun!

[fireball 440]

She'll need an oil change too.

[barryjay]

thats actually not a bad looking kat the way it is, mine was not that pretty before the make over.
now people check it out all the time, I even catch people taking pictures.

[andrewm921]

haha, yea thats the plan after i learn to ride it... dont want to make it pretty just to dump in in a parking lot practicing.

Well, an update:

The bike arrived on thursday morning. Ive cleaned out the tank and petcock, cleaned the carbs, and bled the breaks.

Tomorrow, my new fuel line, oil filter, air filter and plugs should be coming in.

However, while cleaning the carbs, I stripped two pilot jets - so i have them ordered. The previous owner installed a dynojet kit, but was running 32.5 pilots instead of the stock 35's; so i ordered 4 35 pilots as well as a new chain and sprockets.

Finally, the clutch wasn't fully disengaging, so i took out the friction plates to check for warped plates. they were fine and looked new. Also, while they were out, with the bike in gear, it rolled freely - so im guessing the plates were simply stuck together and all will be fine after re-installing, new oil, and a clutch adjustment.

my one question is: should the bike be able to shift through all the gears when its just sitting and off? or do bikes not like to do that? - mine wont shift through all gears unless i jiggle the clutch plate housing

[H-2 CHARLIE]

Bead blast the steel plates while they are out...IS THE CABLE FROZEN

[andrewm921]

no it moves freely. it partially disengaged to the point that i could push the bike while in gear, albeit slowly.