Removing Craig From His List(ing)

"Peter Monshizadeh" (practicalenthusiast) 03/29/2016 at 10:55 • Filed to: Craigslist, Used Bike, Kawasaki, Ninja, ZX-10R, ZX10R, Liter Bike, Superbike, Lanesplitter, Garage

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Scoring a great deal off of Craigslist is such a wonderful feeling. However, it’s the addiction to that feeling that can blindly lead you into trouble.

Anyone who has done the Craigslist buying game knows how it goes. Days fraught with searching for a machine which straddles the balance between affordability, relative cleanliness, and uniqueness equates to a challenging pursuit of passion. Sometimes that new-to-you Craigslist find comes blessed with a host of secret “personal touches” from the previous owner. Often these wonderful surprises don’t surface until after you’ve owned said vehicle for a couple of days.

I bought a 2007 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R off the List a couple of months ago and the bike looked great - at first. It had a few obvious issues upon initial inspection but none of them looked too threatening.

The rear brake pedal wasn’t triggering the brake light, yet the light worked just fine when the front brake was applied. Perhaps a bad switch connection? Probably an easy fix.

The list continued: a couple of minor fairing scratches, a questionable tag mount location, a hint of DIY wiring, a very DIY crankcase vent tube dumping out of the fairing, pink zip ties securing wiring behind the front cowl, and a coolant reservoir that was almost empty. That last one may sound very concerning, but I put my mind at ease by chalking it up to the owner not knowing how to properly bleed the cooling system. He said he had just changed the coolant.

That list of negatives doesn’t paint a pretty picture, but with used sportbikes, these are the hurdles you have to overcome especially if you’re hunting for a deal. Even so, there were tons of positives to counteract some of the “easily fixed” negatives I had noted. The bike came fitted with a rare full titanium exhaust system, custom fuel and ignition mapping devices, adjustable aluminum foot pegs, silicone coolant hoses, steel braided brake lines, and HID headlights. It also came with all of the stock parts as well as a front end stand and a swing arm stand. The cherry on top was that it was a one-owner. To me, it appeared like a package deal that was too sweet to pass up.

After a successful 10 minute test ride most everything seemed in order. The engine had great power; it shifted smoothly and everything felt tight. There was a strange noise though – like a high frequency vibration coming from the front of the bike which only happened when you hit a bump in the road. I had done some prior research and I knew that a loose ignition switch mount could cause this sort of sound. I marked that up to an easy fix as well – nothing to worry about.

After the test ride I talked to the seller about my findings in an attempt to create some bargaining leverage. A little price haggling action later and I found the green machine in my possession, unknowingly having just set my agenda for the next few weeks.

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Assessing the Damage

I got the bike home and I immediately made a list of all of the jobs that I knew needed doing just from the surface. It went something like this:

Figure out why the rear brake doesn’t operate the brake light

Change all the fluids

Tidy up the wiring

Get rid of all those hideous zip ties

Look into that vibration noise coming from the front

Install an original crankcase vent hose

Give it a thorough cleaning

Oh how sweet it is to be naïve.

It wasn’t until after I had spent a long time staring at a picture of a stock version of the bike that I found myself subjected to a helping of Twilight Zone -grade buyer’s remorse. The enormity of things wrong didn’t present themselves until I began disassembling the bike. The complete and utter lack of understanding the previous owner had regarding the installation of a majority of the aftermarket items quickly became mind boggling. Let this picture just be a glimpse of the nightmare that lay ahead:

Let’s just say the previous owner had successfully ingrained themselves in this bike. It was now my duty to remove their legacy.

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Wiring & Electrical

1. Rear brake light switch repair

The brake light on this bike didn’t illuminate when you used the rear brake. I put this job at the very top of the repairs due to it being a safety hazard. If your brake light isn’t working, then you’ve just made yourself a dead man on a motorcycle. Getting rear-ended even with a functioning brake light is always danger, but it’s almost a guaranteed situation if it doesn’t work at all.

After a little digging, I found that the wires running to the brake switch were cut. Great. Now it was time to determine why they were cut . In order to locate the other end of the wires I had to remove the gas tank to get a better view. Wouldn’t you know it, lying out in the open, were the receiving wires. The picture isn’t great but you can tell that it is a male/female connector. The point of a connector is to make disconnecting and reconnecting an electrical circuit a fast and effortless task. Unfortunately the previous owner found that cutting the wires was an even faster solution.

At this point I decided to test the brake light switch, because shoot, even an idiot has a reason for cutting wires. Hooking up one of the switch’s wires to 12 volts and other switch wire to a grounded voltmeter, I operated the rear brake lever. Low and behold, the switch was bad. This bike was fitted with aftermarket adjustable foot pegs which couldn’t utilize the original brake light switch. An aftermarket switch was fitted that mounts to the brake line fitting at the rear brake master cylinder. It is operated by an increase in brake fluid pressure when the brakes are applied. Due to this design, for whatever reason, they tend to go bad after a couple of years. $20 later and I had a new switch installed. I then correctly spliced, soldered, and heat shrunk the new switch into the bike’s wiring harness utilizing the original electrical connector. You know, how it should have been done in the first place.

The brake light now worked great, front to back. One job done and a crap load left to do.

2. LED light kit removal

I’ll never understand the whole “underglow” fad but I realize everyone’s tastes are different. If you are going to go through the trouble of installing lights like this, at least do a decent job of it. What I’m about to show is what a poor attempt at an installation looks like. If I had known the bike had something like this going on when I first went to look at it, I probably would have walked away. It shows the previous owner’s carelessness which is often a bad sign. It was too late now so I just had to do my best at removing the remains of this nasty plague.

The most frightening thing yet: Speaker wire for days.

As I followed the wires I kept discovering more lights in the most random locations. In the end I was able to remove all of the electrical tapeworms. I was thankful that the previous owner had made no permanent modifications to frame or bodywork when they installed them.

3. Tag light repair

Where I live it is illegal to be running around without some sort of tag light, and of course, the bike no longer had one installed. I had the original rear fender and tag light and I figured I could simply reinstall these items to resolve my problem. This should have been a simple plug-and-play operation, but I couldn’t seem to find an electrical connection for the tag light. Removing the tail fairing was the only way to get to the bottom of this issue. With the fairing removed, I found what I should have been expecting: cut tag light wires. Heaven forbid that the previous owner use the existing connector…

I put my soldering skills to use again by reattaching the tag light to the connector in the way that Kawasaki originally intended. It’s a warm fuzzy feeling making simple things like this right again.

I know that most motorcycle owners do not like the large piece of factory-installed plastic that hangs off of the back of bikes. These rear fenders can somewhat interfere with the profile of otherwise streamlined bodywork.

I agree that they aren’t the most beautiful features in the world, but believe it or not, they actually do serve a purpose when a bike is doing street duties.

I always make sure to put the rear fender back on whenever buying a used bike. I like having OEM pieces in place that coincide with high-quality aftermarket enhancements, such as a nice exhaust system.

The presence of OEM pieces like the rear fender, reflectors, chain guard, and turn signals makes me feel like I’m being “responsible” with such an outlandish machine such as a ZX-10R. Having these items installed and regulating the bike to street use is like strapping a leash on a tiger and calling it a pet. Both could kill you with one wrong move, but at least you’re doing your best at making it appear that you have things under control.

After reinstalling the OEM rear fender I now had a legitimate tag mount and and tag light. The extra splash protection that comes with it is never a bad thing!

4. HID headlight repair

At the time of the purchase I thought the HID headlights were a great upgrade. As it turned out, these lights became a huge pain in the neck. It all started with the simple objective of removing all of the hideous zip ties securing wiring inside of the front cowl. As I began rummaging around, I discovered some humongous electrical issues.

Seriously, what in the hell is all of this?

Oh you know, just some random broken connector exposed and zip ties there just to be there. The Craigslist presence was real.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I found this wonderful homejob of a connection hiding within.

What we have here is the main power connection for the HID ballasts. I can’t even begin to describe its masterful design, but I will still try. First, we have the male connector made of the highest quality model railroad track joiner. That part feeds into the receiving female connector. This high voltage combo is secured together with the fastener of champions, the zip tie. No water proofing needed here!

Yeah, no. I removed that crap and put in a legitimate high voltage waterproof connector.

What I found next was worse than the above connector blunder. Remember that high-frequency vibration noise I had heard on the test ride and how it only seemed to make noise when hitting a bump? All of that was due to a loose ground for the HID headlamps. That noise was literally sound of electricity arcing every time the ground connection was jostled. It also means that the headlights were flickering every time I hit a bump which there was no way of knowing when out on the test ride.

After reorganizing the wiring harness routing and reorienting the HID ballasts, the headlights were finally sorted. The wiring still looks a bit jumbled and free hanging, but that is mainly because the ballasts actually mount to the insides of the fairings when the fairings are installed. At the very least, electrical connections were now legitimate, similar items were now grouped appropriately, and the hideous zip ties were now a thing of the past.

5. Installing a horn

Who removes their horn? I’m all for installing a louder horn, but removing it completely? A horn is one method of accident prevention, and on a bike, you need all the methods you can get. As you can probably guess, the previous owner did just that – there was no horn fitted, just dangling connectors where a horn used to be. I hopped on eBay and picked up an original horn for peanuts. While I was down there I took the opportunity to also install a radiator guard.

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Now that I had all of the electrical issues out of the way it was time to move into the mechanical and cosmetic issues.

1. Refit original crankcase ventilation system

The previous owner decided to fit his own style of crankcase ventilation system which utilized the finest of home furnace water drain hose.

They also decided to plug the crankcase ventilation opening in the airbox with a rubber cap sealed with some Gorilla Glue.

My lack of surprise was justified at this point. All you can do is laugh and do your best to make it right again. With both of those customizations removed, I then installed a new OEM crankcase vent hose and reinstalled the airbox.

2. Reinstall heat shielding

The previous owner decided to ditch all of the heat shielding on the right side of the bike. This is probably because it didn’t fit correctly once the aftermarket exhaust was installed. I felt like Kawasaki had put heat shields there for a reason, so I decided to reinstall them.

After some slight modification to the original heat shield, I had the lower shield back in place doing its job.

The upper heat shield was also missing. This too required some modification to fit due to the aftermarket foot pegs. Following some controlled Dremeling action the shield fit as good as new.

3. Fix the rear brake issues

There were a few bad situations going on with the rear brakes. The first issue that needed attention was the rear brake pads, which were practically non-existent. This was an easy fix that necessitated removal of the caliper, a little cleaning, a re-greasing of the caliper sliding pins, and the installation the new pads.

I then set off to fix the goofy brake line routing that was going on. This will sound crazy, but bear with me. Maybe you should use the facets that have been engineered into the bike to help guide you when installing parts? That is something the previous owner didn’t pick up on. For example:

Finally, it was time to fix that hideous rear brake fluid reservoir mount that the previous owner had jerry-rigged. Again, it is best to use the original designs that the Kawasaki engineers developed whenever possible. With a minimal amount of fiddling, I was able to make the original reservoir mounting location work with the aftermarket rear sets and exhaust.

4. Replace the water pump

Remember how the coolant reservoir was empty when I purchased the bike? I had assumed it was down to the previous owner having no clue about how to bleed the system. It turns out that was not the case. I began to notice a puddle of coolant collecting underneath the bike. After some detective work it appeared that the leak was originating from the water pump. Awesome.

The only way to fix this is to order a whole new pump assembly as the pump is not a serviceable part. It turns out this is a common issue on these ZX-10Rs. This is a great example of why it pays to do your research before making a purchase. The new pump arrived after I parted with $170.

Here is the new pump installed. Since I had to drain the coolant to complete the job, I used this as an opportunity to perform a flush and refill of the bike’s coolant system.

5. Replace broken trim piece

This was a simple job and it was one of the few defects I knew about when I bought the bike. The inner fairing on the right side was cracked and looked pretty terrible. The ZX-10R has a very tall kickstand which means the bike is nearly vertical when it is propped up on it. Even on a level surface it wouldn’t take much to knock it over on the right side. Inevitably this had happened to this bike at some point and the inner fairing took most of the impact. $45 later and it was replaced with a new one.

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Exorcism Complete

This whole process of putting the bike right took around a month and about $450 in parts and supplies. Had I known of all of the “personality” that the previous owner had put into the bike, I probably wouldn’t have bought it. There is no way I scored that good of a deal on it. The silver lining in all of this mess is that I now know the bike inside and out. It is now put together correctly and devoid of all traces of the previous owner.

Grabbing a great deal off of Craigslist is a fun and often rewarding experience. However, if you begin to see red flags when looking over a bike or car, it can point to deeper issues within. Sometimes walking away from such a potential purchase is the best thing you can do. If you are still convinced that it is the right machine for you, just make sure you are braced financially and mentally for the unknown issues that are most likely present.

You can always remove Craig from his List(ing) – it just depends how much effort you’re willing to put in to make that happen.

rockingthe2 > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:11

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I just did this with my 05 saab 9-2x, although to be fair even with all the fixing I’m still well under what I would pay for a “better” one.

Xyl0c41n3 > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:18

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This is good Oppo.

Seriously, fantastic write-up, and the accompanying photos are perfect.

I don’t know anything about wrenching on bikes, but I want to learn how to ride someday and my plan is (was?) to grab something cheap on CL that can handle those beginner rider scuffs before investing in a nicer bike. Your post has kind of scared me now, lol.

How long have you been riding, and how did you learn to work on bikes?

Hammerdown > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:21

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Very well done. I like seeing the XR650L hanging out in the background of the last shot as well. Now you need a cruiser/touring bike and you’d have my dream garage covered!

Peter Monshizadeh > Hammerdown 03/29/2016 at 11:24

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Thank you! You read my mind, I’ve been contemplating selling something to pick up a sport tourer. I really would like to get another VFR.

Peter Monshizadeh > Xyl0c41n3 03/29/2016 at 11:28

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Thanks! I’ve been riding for around 9 years and my first bike was heavily scratched up when I got it. But hey, that’s what makes them cheap! I learned to work on them by gradually taking more and more things apart. Start with oil changes and you’ll find the wrenching slope gets slippery fast.

Nothing > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:31

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Nice right up. Man, I hate tracing electrical mis-steps of previous owners, let alone what they may have done mechanically. Great job.

Peter Monshizadeh > Nothing 03/29/2016 at 11:33

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You know the pain! It gets ridiculous when you start messing with old British convertibles. A story for another day...

MonkeePuzzle > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:48

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love your thorough post

I’ll never understand the whole “underglow” fad

you know, on a bike is the only place I find this acceptable. I saw one on the road lit up like a neon ricer christmas tree, and after my initial thought of how ugly it was passed, it occurred to me that I noticed this bike a mile back in heavy traffic in poor light. Making a bike visible to us “cagers” is a HUGE advantage.

MonkeePuzzle > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:49

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Where I live it is illegal to be running around without some sort of tag light, and of course, the bike no longer had one installed.

lol wut? they ADDED miles of LEDS and removed the tag lights!? so painful!

Peter Monshizadeh > MonkeePuzzle 03/29/2016 at 11:51

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You bring up a good point!

MonkeePuzzle > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:58

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The silver lining in all of this mess is that I now know the bike inside and out.

I have often thought this. I’ve bought used cars that just worked, and they likely has some small part just waiting to fail catastrophically on me. Whereas the POS’s I’ve purchased I’ve gone through thoroughly and I know them intimately enough to fix them on the roadside with just a pocket knife

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:59

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We should all hope to leave things better than we found them; think of it as a bike you saved. Nice write-up!

mycarneverruns87 > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 11:59

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I just can’t understand how some things get to that point. It’s like the person has to TRY to do it poorly. He spent just as much time wrapping up the brake switch wires in tape as he would have by lifting the tank and unplugging it. Only 1 example lol

MonkeePuzzle > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:00

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I’m sure there is a tasteful line between better visibility and neon christmas tree that can be achieved :D

RightFootDown > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:06

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And through all this, I bet you’d buy it again.

Nothing > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:06

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Ha! I had a ‘79 MGB. Although the worst vehicle I had for electrical was a 1985 Cherokee. I gave up trying on that one.

Peter Monshizadeh > RightFootDown 03/29/2016 at 12:08

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You’re right about that! The bike is an absolute monster and it’s difficult to find a nice one so you have to make your own.

Duck > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:30

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This whole time I was thinking “Wow, and the guy did all this on an ‘07? How could someone do all this in such a short amount of time?”

...

“Oh... that’s nine years ago.”

Peter Monshizadeh > Duck 03/29/2016 at 12:32

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I still think 2006 was last year. I know, I have a problem.

aa240sx > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:38

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$450 and sweat equity? - quit yer whining! you got off lucky.

R Henry > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:47

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A perfect illustration of why I won’t purchase modified vehicles.

Tohru > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:47

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You mean it wasn't?

Driver > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:47

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I hope you checked that Battery Tender connection.

Harry > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:50

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Great write-up! Love that you also like the OEM tail fairing/fender look. Having bought a few bikes off CL, I know the same feeling of having to worry about opening Pandora’s box after the purchase.

Question: How sick what the tribal tat on the seller’s arm?

Comment: I think the most shocking part of this was that the horn wires weren’t just cut.

Driver > MonkeePuzzle 03/29/2016 at 12:50

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MrDefo > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:51

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I just want to say that I really enjoyed reading this article. I realize it must have been a pain to set all of this up, but it sounds like all in total it was a fun experience. It makes me want to roll the dice on a Craigslist find, especially since I now have a fully functional ‘14 bike to ride.

MonkeePuzzle > Driver 03/29/2016 at 12:51

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this is surely not a DOT approved helmet... :P

Countersteer > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:52

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How many miles on the bike? I’m thinking the guy was a total novice if he wore out the rear brake pads...

DesertDad > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:56

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Great read. I had a similar experience with my current 4Runner. It was a “mostly-done” project, and I should have walked away knowing NEVER to buy someone else’s project. It had some nice parts (tube bumpers/sliders, Marlin dual-transfer case, recent engine tune-up, new clutch, etc.) but when I got it home and got into it, it needed a whole lot more just to be safe, including much of the dumb stuff you mention about your bike: no brake light switch on the pedal, entire front end needed re-done, shocks, no front driveshaft (I am completely embarrassed to have missed that, but I never thought to check!). A year and a couple grand later, it’s basically a new/rebuilt truck, but I should have just taken that money and bought something nicer to begin with.

John > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 12:57

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Thats rough.....I may have you beat though....I currently have an entire disassembled engine in my spare room ‘because it has a bad clutch’ HA

albo > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:01

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Sounds like the kind of repairs that aren't too tough to do, but immensely satisfying when you check them off the list.

Canadmos > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:09

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I’m not a bike guy at all, but this was a good read. It must have felt very satisfying when you reached the end point.

TechWeasel > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:17

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The moment you see a used car or motorcycle that comes with a flash tuner, you need to nope right out of there.

burninaballoffire > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:20

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fyi, the rear brake lines that were cut, i have seen this before. in my case it was a zx10r, that was being sold as a repo from a bank. i bought it for 500$ and it had almost no body work. in the end, we found that the rear brake lights had a switch that would turn them off when the rider wanted. after googling the name of the guy who owned the bike before as it was on the title, i found that he had been arrested for smuggling drugs. he used the bike, which was painted completely flat black (and i mean completely, they just took paint cans and painted everything, including an titanium exhaust pipe, as well as a polished frame. the guy made it so if he was getting chased by cops, he could dissapear at night because he would shut off his rear brake light, allowing him to brake as well as turn and such, undetected and slip the police.

The Compromiser > Tohru 03/29/2016 at 13:21

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You chuckleheads knock it off or J. Edgar will get all over this, and goodbye Speakeasy.

syaieya > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:24

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Props for puttin all that down on record. Its very cool reading how people sort through unique issues on used vehicles. I wish i had more presence of mind to document the weird of my cars but its hard to break the rhythm when im wrenching

GirchyGirchy > Xyl0c41n3 03/29/2016 at 13:25

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Don’t be scared. Just buy something decent that is pretty common (aka tons of parts available, new and used) and you should be fine. Get the factory service manual and do some innernet research. Doing a thorough service - brake pads/fluid/hoses, oil, coolant, maybe fork, cleaning everything - is an excellent start.

While I’d done some work on cars before, my motorcycle forced me to go deeper than before, and that’s a good thing. It was an ‘85 Yamaha XJ700X (Maxim-X), not many around so what few parts could be found are generally pricey. I replaced most of the ignition system, set the valve lash (little tiny cups on the stems of all 20 valves), purchased a new set of carbs which I cleaned and stole parts from the original set to make one good one, etc, etc. Then sold it for a loss, but that’s ok. :)

MechaMike > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:26

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Nice lizard, but it was the sight of the XR650 in the background that got my skin flaring with arousal.

I’ve owned four offroaders and I’ve owned two sports bikes, and one of those categories apparently made a deeper impression than the other.

Professor Infinite Scroll Troll, Master of the Blogosphere. > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:27

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Great score! All the drama is par for the course

MJ > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:27

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My patience for withholding my disgust of the previous owner’s lack of care on the bike was shattered right around the part where you mentioned the completely disregard for using the brake like bracket. I mean he blew right past using it and that right there made it official. The previous owner was a disgrace to that bike and didn’t deserve to own it.

At the very least you should feel proud that you righted a very wronged machine. Awesome work dude.

blackhawk > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:28

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This kinda stuff is why I love motorcycles. I feel like they are significantly easier to work on than cars beacuse there’s just less there. I had rat damage to mine and just kept disassembling it but it never felt overwhelming:

After a couple months of work and some hiding while the rats were dealt with I got it out and it started up without any issues. Took it on the first ride this weekend!

CaliD00d > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:28

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I just assume I found at most 50% of the issues and budget accordingly, building it into the price before making a decision. It’s mostly worked out. My real issue is the impulse buying when I find a deal, which recently had me at 4 cars and 5 bikes, most of which were tucked in various relatives’ garages. I’m down to 3 and 5 now, and refuse to look at CL until I get the total down to 4.

Peter Monshizadeh > Harry 03/29/2016 at 13:28

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The seller was wearing long sleeves, but I will watch out for that next time!

ItsBetterOn2Wheels > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:29

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first you write about the rocker arms on the Ducatis from the late 90's and early 2000's.... now this....

I have a 2000 Monster 900 ie that I thought I had got a sweet deal on... now I am wondering if the valve adjustment that I need to do in a few miles will be valve replacement.

and now reading this makes me regret all the shortcuts my younger self took when working on my 96 Suzuki Bandit.... I feel shamed and embarrassed now (fortunately, I didn’t do anything to make the bike unsafe)

Cowpieapex > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:29

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I begin each morning with my coffee perusing CL bike listings. Each one is a virtual biography of dreams, aspirations and mental/emotional deficiencies.

Any used vehicle should be priced by deducting the value of any modifications from the base market value. Your instinct regarding the original engineering design of a well developed machine is spot on. When I work on a machine I’m in an active dialogue with the design engineers and any gomer who subsequently fiddled with it. Sometimes it is only the remove of time and space that saves some mouth breathers life, as their inane, lazy or tasteless efforts say little more than “F**K YYOU!” to anyone else who might need to work on or use what was once a perfectly fine vehicle.

Peter Monshizadeh > CaliD00d 03/29/2016 at 13:31

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It’s an illness for sure. You are not alone!

MrRubberGaskets > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:32

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Nice :)

Peter Monshizadeh > burninaballoffire 03/29/2016 at 13:33

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Oh man, luckily I didn’t find a switch!

CaptDale - is secretly British > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:34

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Very fun and interesting read. I am glad you got a good bike now that you decraiged it.

ZukRF9 > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:34

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I have found that in most instances of scoring something from Craigslist, it’s good to plan on spending at least $500 on fixing P.O. stupidity.
- Source: My multiple current projects

ZukRF9 > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:36

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I have found that in most instances of scoring something from Craigslist, it’s good to plan on spending at least $500 on fixing P.O. ignorance/laziness.
- Source: My multiple current bike projects

godspeed aquaboy > Nothing 03/29/2016 at 13:37

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It’s bad enough on a vehicle, but this is the shit I have to deal with regularly on our house we purchased several years ago. I’m surprised the place never burned down. It’s surprising how few people live by the ‘If you’re going to do it, do it right’ philosophy.

Xyl0c41n3 > GirchyGirchy 03/29/2016 at 13:37

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Heh. Thanks. I just followed you for Oppo, btw, so you won’t be in the grays anymore.

And that’s the plan: to get a sub-600cc ninja or entry-level honda. They’re cheap, they’re ubiquitous, and they’re pretty reliable.

The only thing I’ve ever done on cars is change the oil and some brake pads, so I’m not very well versed in wrenching at all. But, I’m a quick study, and Oppo is a great place to learn. Hopefully this place will be around for a long time.

PardonMyFlemish16 > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:39

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Nice write up. I crashed my bike and Frankensteined it back to road worthiness, but aside from the workmanship not being pretty everything is SAFE. Separate relays for my heated grips and HIDs, a machined, properly aligned mount for my streetfighter headlight, proper grounds and fuses everywhere. I’m still a little embarrassed and reluctant to sell it because of all the work that has been done to it but there’s nothing on it anywhere near this bad. In any case it’s always best to follow the old rule.... never buy anyone’s projects. If they aren’t Roland Sands (blah) or Radical Ducati (yay) you are probably going to get more than you bargained for :)

Peter Monshizadeh > Countersteer 03/29/2016 at 13:51

2

Yep you’re definitely right. Just over 12,000 on the clock.

UAVnoitall > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:52

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Sorry, I was expecting something bigger than wiring and cosmetic challenges, but I understand the hyper-analness found in the motorcycle community. You have something called attention to detail, and that’s not a bad thing but some people aren’t going to understand. I guess I was expecting to read that when you took it to the DMV the bike turned out to be stolen or the motor was from a different year or the unscrupulous owner plugged a hole in the crankcase with JB Weld. I think you got off pretty easy, but it’s never fun to find out that even with your attention to detail you missed some things during the pre buy inspection that could have gave you some leverage on the price. Unfortunately, I moved to the LA area around 3 years ago and have just experienced the worst Craigslist hell imaginable looking for an affordable first car for my teenager (import of course). Let me see if this accurately describes the type of people that are currently selling $3K Toyota’s, Honda’s, Subaru’s and Nissans on CL in the 10 Million+ population covered by CL Los Angeles: Liars, cheats, BullSh#$ers, bait and switch, con artists and of course...the 8 of 10 response of “its already sold” to which I want to scream F*** You!!! take your ad down. After narrowing down a list of 20 vehicles down to the top 10 I proceeded to waste a Saturday morning actually contacting con artists and liars only to get the “yeah i’m selling the car for my sister who’s in the Navy”... Of course the “sister” emails me back with a very believable explanation about how the car is on the East Coast but can be shipped immediately if i’m serious followed by an official military signature block...As a 20 year Veteran all I can say is that there is a special place in hell for con artists who use the honor and good name of a member of the armed forces to perpatrate their con. While I honestly wanted to believe the BS story complete with military references to shipping programs etc. it was a total con and a commonly used one on Craigslist (even used as a Scam example by CL). Thankfully, I didn’t fall for this scam, but it emotionally drained me on top of the other B.S. from the other 9 contacts I was trying to make contacts with. Bottom line, no car for me and i’d be better off to go to a dealer and buy a $10G car with minimal BS attached. I’m glad you story isn’t worse than it was and you have an awesome bike now that you removed the funk from its soal.

carzcarzcarz > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:53

1

Great write up and clean up of the bike.

I recently got a barely used FZ09, and the original owner had done many mods in just a couple thousand miles, and guess what one of those was? Remove the rear turn signals, and instead of just using the connectors, he cut the wires. Why people, why? The connector is located right under the seat, which you replaced so I know you had the seat off at some point.

Countersteer > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 13:56

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I’m surprised he survived. Sounds like you ended up with a nice bike. Have fun with it !!!

crash red hot > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:02

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Thanks for the thorough write up. I’ve enjoyed the last couple that you have done. In the end, it looks like you’ve got a great bike. Enjoy!

Rpadula > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:06

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As someone who’s looking for an 80' hero i'm little bit worried now...

DatassunTX > burninaballoffire 03/29/2016 at 14:07

1

We had a similar story with a R1. The guy we purchased it from used it in a robbery and assured us it would fit atleast a pound in the rear seat compartment.

the7thearlofgrey > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:07

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forget the bike and focus on the seller

GirchyGirchy > Xyl0c41n3 03/29/2016 at 14:09

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Sweet, thanks!

I had done oil changes and some easy suspension work (shocks) on my old beater car, and since the bike have done a lot more. I figure if I screw something up, I would have had to take it into the shop anyway!

I barely missed out on a decent and cheap, but ugly, Ninja 500 that had been passed around several times. It was the official Starter Bike for guys my age at my company.

Oh well, probably for the better. I was only ever able to put 4 miles on the Yamaha before selling it due to my wife’s insistance (and my agreement) that I not ride. At least I didn’t get too addicted first! I have enough other crap to work on anyway...

dave1827 > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:23

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“I’ll never understand the whole “underglow” fad but I realize everyone’s tastes are different.”

I don’t ride or own motorcycles, but I’ve always found that this makes them a lot more visible at night.

Alpaca > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:29

1

This is going to be so Canadian but....

I’ve totally done the same thing with Kijiji snowmobiles buddy. I know the pain well. “What in the fuck is thiiiiisss?!” has been said all too often in my garage.

drdude > DatassunTX 03/29/2016 at 14:29

2

I missed “R1" when skimming your title the first time, so I laughed when I saw the grom fitting 1 pound of anything under the “rear seat”...

Patrick Nichols > MonkeePuzzle 03/29/2016 at 14:35

1

DOT, OSHA same thing right?

Zesty Sesty > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:38

12

The best part is we all know this guy was SUPER stoked on all his mods when he was done with them. In his head, hes the best bike mechanic he knows...

DatassunTX > drdude 03/29/2016 at 14:41

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hahah yea I can barely fit my EJK tuner under the seat and 1 piece of paper.

Peter Monshizadeh > Zesty Sesty 03/29/2016 at 14:48

2

I couldn’t help but think this exact thing the entire time.

guppysb > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:51

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Do you do this for a living like Tavarish or a different day job? Just curious.

Peter Monshizadeh > guppysb 03/29/2016 at 14:55

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Unfortunately no! I have a day job that is far less entertaining.

dannyzabolotny > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 14:58

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I have to wonder what goes in the head of somebody that ghetto-rigs everything like that... It’s really not that hard to do things the proper way, and it often saves you time down the line when stuff doesn’t mysteriously stop working.

Danger > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 15:01

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Good work!

MonkeePuzzle > Patrick Nichols 03/29/2016 at 15:07

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“OSHA, DOT’cha know” ~ Minnesota’d

xenol > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 15:33

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That’s a beautiful piece of work! I’m also surprised the previous owner lasted as long as he did, considering all the questionable mods done to it.

offyatindy > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 15:33

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Great article. I have a car with a similarly botched up electrical system, and so have a related question (if you are still hanging around to read the comments.)

What, in your opinion, is the most reliable way to splice wires in a motorcycle/car electrical system.

I have tried crimp splices (meh). Soldering...(tends to corrode...a lot of work.) and now am trying something called “Power Plugs,” which allow you to push the wire in one way, and then is supposed to hold. (No idea if it will work.) All of these are “Home Depot” type solutions.

Is there an automotive grade wire splicing device available?

Michael > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 15:40

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My heart rate was all over the place while reading your post. I would have fainted if i got home with a bike like that. Incidentally i’m have CL open “just browsing” I’m up to 3 cars and 2 bikes.

Peter Monshizadeh > offyatindy 03/29/2016 at 15:48

1

I used to use butt connectors for everything wiring related. I quickly outgrew that because the connections were questionable and would let the elements in. The can’t handle much pulling either. I haven’t tried “Power Plugs” so I can’t comment on those.

I’ve found that to do it right, wires need to joined via solder. Utilization of flux is paramount to creating a good join. Also, a quality soldering iron will save you from pulling out your hair - they run about $80-$100. It was many years before I coughed up the cash to make that purchase but I’m glad I did.

Of course, it’s a different story if you are installing a male/female connectors. Most of these do not require soldering. This is mainly due to force required to connect & disconnect is placed on the connector itself, not the wiring.

IDriveEveryDay > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 16:08

1

Great article! I just went through this scenario with an IS300. It baffles me as to why anyone would choose to do these type of “mods” to what can be a decent rig.

I guess for some folks it’s all about “Don’t do it right, do it right now.”

EricG > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 17:13

1

This was a great article and very true. When buying anything on Craigslist one must know exactly what they are getting into before you buy.

Kyru Galaga > offyatindy 03/29/2016 at 17:32

2

Posi-Tap. No joke literally the best kind of connector for splicing wires. They are kinda expensive, but beyond worth.

TheRealKSack > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 17:55

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Ya...bought a 07 KX250F off the good ol’ CL in decent shape for 2k. Started up fine and everything at purchase. Go to take it our for a ride the next day, runs for about 5 minutes then won’t kick over. Figured it was a fuel or ignition problem. Took the bike home and started pulling it apart. Take off the ignition coil and behold! (dramatic pause) it was no shit bondo’d together about halfway up the sleeve. I guess previously it had gotten a little too snug on the the spark plug and they ripped it in half. I’m actually sorta impressed that they got it to work again. $80 part later and she runs like a dream!

offyatindy > Kyru Galaga 03/29/2016 at 18:12

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Thank you...The “Posi” system looks promising. Ever in search of the perfect solution, I am going to try it. (Still have my soldering iron as backup !)

DinethJ > Peter Monshizadeh 03/29/2016 at 18:19

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Great article and very detailed. I, however, HATE the OEM fenders on motorcycles. They ruin the lines of the bike! I’m sure you know this but you can buy or even make a quality piece to hold your plate with a light that will look much sleeker.