0
On the auction block today is that 1998 ZX6R lovingly referred to as "that fruity pink bike". Yes, that's right, it's pink. Very pink. Excruciatingly pink. But oh, it's gets better.
I bought this bike off of Mike Kurtz of BoRN (then ODFU) fame last september. Mike had lowsided the bike, resulting in a leaking stator cover, broken left rearset, and bent clutch handle. Rather than fix the bike, Mike decided to buy himself a new R6 and I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to purchase said vehicle thinking it would be a neat "winter project".
Alas, I forgot three things:
1) I am lazy. Or busy. No, lazy.
2) I am completely mechanically inept.
3) I have no patience for working on motorcycles. Except the racebike. Which I like to swear at. And beat with a hammer (See #2). It likes it.
So, as expected, I didn't do shit to the bike all winter, and there it sat. It probably would have fired right up had I just bought a damn stator cover and changed the oil. But no, I let it sit until july. When I bought a used stator cover off ebay, changed it and the oil, and fired up the bike.
It didn't start. Big fucking surprise. The battery was dead, I hadn't stabiled the gas, and when I opened up the float bowls a brown liquid came out. Fuck. I swore at the bike, kicked it a few times, and let sit again until today, when I tried to disassemble the carburetors. Yeah, in two hours I managed to a) cover myself in gasoline, b) strip one of the carburetor float bowl screws, and c) break the #1 plug wire. Oh yeah, and c) cover myself in grease and swears.
Fuck it. I don't like working on bikes. I don't want to let this bike sit another winter neglected. I want to buy a VFR, a running one, and pay someone else to maintain it. This bike haunts my dreams, its evil pink shadow coming to me in the night. It must go, to be replaced by a nice honda and never thought of again.
Hopefully this gives you a picture of the thing. It's ugly. It's got a rebuilt title, somewhat rashed bodywork and a polished frame that hasn't been polished (however, rather than reverting back to unpolished as might be expected it has turned a lovely shade of crap). It will need love and care. You will need to give it hugs at night and tell it everything ok and that I will never again be allowed to work on it. But with the right love, care, and extensive therapy, it might someday make a half-decent street and/or trackbike again.
I paid $1200 for the thing, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Other than the whole haunting my dreams thing, I still think it was a pretty good deal. I bought a left rearset and clutch lever for it, two batteries (one used, one new), and like I said I already replaced the stator cover. It'll need a new plug wire now (fuck!), a shift rod (I have one, but it's bent. It's aluminum, you could hammer it out if you were so inclined) a carb cleaning and perhaps some other things. But I'm done. Fuck you, bike. I'm getting me a honda. Eat shit and die.
So by my math, I've spent about $200 in parts for it but this is offset by the fact that I also worked on it. If anyone wants it, I'd take the original $1200 for it and eat the $200 as a lesson to never, ever, work on a bike again.
Pictures will be forthcoming as soon as I get off my lazy ass and take them.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Doc
it looks like I'm going to be plopping the pink bike out behind the checker flag with a sign that says "bike must leave this weekend, best offer by end of racing sunday takes it". 