'97 katana 600, reston VA, under the wrench.

[Hudson]

When I hit this site twenty times just because google says I should, I decide to sign up.

Not much else to tell, '97 katana 600, fair condition, was abused by idiot previous owner, yet oddly escaped any serious damage. I had to let it sit for four years, now i'm kicking it back to life and good running order.

Signed up to seek some advice on finding the right jets for my carbs, which I'v been having some trouble tracking down.

I'll post photos when it's all done, new fairings come after the engine is happy.

Oh, and hello.

[ZukiFred]

Welcome to KatRiders Hudson.

[professorman]

Welcome to KR! Fellow VA rider here. I am in South-West VA (Hampton Roads area)

[JOURNEYMAND]

from one newbie to another, welcome.

[ChattKat]

welcome

[Tito750]

Welcome to the KR forum Hudson, i'll be waiting for those pics.

[md86]

Re: '97 katana 600, reston VA, under the wrench.

Signed up to seek some advice on finding the right jets for my carbs, which I'v been having some trouble tracking down.

Has it been jetted , or is that what you're trying to accomplish ?

[Hudson]

Thanks everybody! And hey, some other VA riders, cool! Maybe we can go around sometime...er, once my kat clears its little hairball problem

I got a crapton of photos, some videos too, but they are all jumbled and craptastic right now. I'm doing a sort of ongoing bike-log type thing as i go along and as i learn more about the bike. It's alot of fun, i'll link it when its more polished.

md86:
Thats one of the problems, the guy i bought it from 'wasn't sure if it had a jet kit or not', and trust me, that guy wasn't sure about much of anything, complete dorkus. I got so many mixed storys from him about this bike, it took me three days of going over it inside and out just to sort through half the BS.

So..i don't know if it's been jetted. i don't /think/ it has, the jets don't look to be the adjustable sort, but i'm not too sure if they are stock either. thus the source of my annoyance with them at the moment.

The going idea right now is this:
Put things back to stock configuration, use that as a basline and go up from there over time.

It's half matanince and half restoration, the bike sat in his garage for about two years after he gave up on sportbikes (and after he almost abused it to death, or so he thought), and then right after i finished paying him for it and picked it up, i had to leave it sitting for another two years till i got a place with a garage and room to work on it.

Trashed fairings, messed up carb settings, strangness in the oil system (wich can't be re-created, somehow. or tracked down, and isn't happening anymore, FNAR), messed up airbox fittings, 3-inch-thick gunk in the shift cover, crammed up clutch cable, almost rusted out pipes all sorts of weird stuff that i'v been sorting and reparing along the way.

Got quite a bit of it done already, really.

I got plans for this bike, I'v always had a eye for the kats, just never had my hands on one. I like the history that goes with the bikes, being that they started the 'sport bike' trend and style, and have pretty much been very inovative and original in several new ways since then, stylisticly and also from an engeneering standpoint.

So, special bike, special treatment.

the guy was convinced that the bike was 'unfixable', but after i gave it a good inspection, i neglected to mention my findings and he sold it off for a grand flat.

Yes, i said a grand flat. Insane, i know. his loss, my gain. ..Or my own personal insanity, not sure yet.

Yep, its 4 AM alright, i'm rambling my fingers off. Ahem, i'll shutup now.

[md86]

md86:
Thats one of the problems, the guy i bought it from 'wasn't sure if it had a jet kit or not', and trust me, that guy wasn't sure about much of anything, complete dorkus. I got so many mixed storys from him about this bike, it took me three days of going over it inside and out just to sort through half the BS.

Well , easy enough to see if it's been jetted . Pop a diaphram cover and see what the needle looks like . Or put a mirror under the carbs and look for the pilot screws . If you can see 'em , they probably been jetted .

[Steve_Guelph]

Welcome from Ontario Canada.

[BlakKat]

Welcome to KR! Fellow VA rider here. I am in South-West VA (Hampton Roads area)

South-western VA? when did Hampton Roads move? LOL.... I'm in South-western Va...right smack dab in the middle of the Blue Ridge mountains...

[srt4]

Welcome from another newbie.

[sven]

Welcome from about five miles away in Cascades!

[Hudson]

Sven:
Rock on, hey, drop me a message sometime if you ever feel like hanging, i got caffination and tunes and..uhm, a new nice neat garage we can trash with bike projects.

re carb jet kit:
I did a little digging and poking ariound, the jets are stock, yay!

Sorry I was away suddenly like a vanishing noob, i took a week to overhaul my garage when a neighbor gave me a funload of free shelve units and other shop stuff.

Now its not just a garage, its a shop. tools forthcoming.

Now i need to get back to the bike, i ripped the carbs apart again, and found them to be filthy all over again, tons of the orange goop, Ugh. I tink the first tank was really bad gas (shoddy station), thankfuly i only put like 2 gals in it. got some much better gas this time.

Time to tune and synch the carbs, *crosses fingers* any advice muchly welcomed!

I'm hoping to have this purring by the weeks end, if possible.

[fordfurious]

Welcome to KR from east texas