Here she is! My FZR 750 project bike
Hello world! I’d like you to meet someone. Or rather something. And that something is my new bike! That new bike isn’t that new at all. Frankly, she is 35 years old at time of writing this article. And she comes in the form of a Yamaha FZR 750 Genesis from 1987. Meet my FZR 750 project bike!
I already wrote a little article about her in August, announcing my first steps in the motorcycle restoration world. Or better said; rebuild world. Since I won’t actually restore her to her original form. We (my boyfriend Ron and I) will rebuild her into a proper track and road legal sport bike. During that proces, we will probably call upon the help and wisdom of our good friend Merijn. Who’s humor basically makes every situation better.
PROPER PROJECT BIKE
A SOMEWHAT BEAT UP FZR 750
So what did we end up with? And how? And why, for goodness’ sake. Let’s start with the ‘what’. Like I said, she is a Yamaha FZR 750 from 1987. She is a true black beauty, although she misses half of her fairings. She still has her headlights and tail light though! Behold, our charming little granny! (Please forgive me for the shitty picture. My phone’s camera seems to die on me little by little)
WHAT IS MISSING
ON THIS PROJECT BIKE
So what’s missing is the front cowling and the stay. Also the stay for the mirrors and the original mirrors themselves are missing. In return, it does have a gnarly little left side mirror. Which does the job, I guess. Since the cowling is missing, the windscreen is absent as well.
NOT BAD
AT FIRST GLANCE
Also, there are no side panels and belly pan. And there is no battery in place. Which make sense, since she’s been standing still for quite some time now. She does still have a front fender and the tail fairing with the original seat is still in place. Which is in poor shape, to be fair. And it has a big, sorta shiny exhaust and a beat up damper. Not too bad, right?!
According to our Dutch Vehicle Registration System she should have 84 hp (62 kW). I am not sure how many horses have left the building over the years. She weighs about 203 kilos without fluids and 210 with. That seems about right. And actually isn’t that bad for an older sport bike! She hosts a proper 5 valve 749 cc engine. At first glance, the engine doesn’t look too bad. But we will find out about its true state when we start to strip her down.
WHAT'S GONE
BROKEN THINGS ON THE PROJECT BIKE
The previous owner said the clutch is dead. Not sure yet which part though. But might just sort it and replace the master and slave cilinders. And replace the plates as well. The front brake is a bit shady as well. Doesn’t seem to work properly. Not sure about the true issue with this part as well, but hey. We will find out when we properly examine the babe.
MUCH NEEDED TLC
A BIG ADVENTURE
So she needs clearly needs a decent amount of TLC. But it could have been worse. Way worse, if you’d ask me. And there is no real man overboard if the engine doesn’t run. We haven’t checked yet. Need to get her a new battery first. But if she doesn’t run and it turns out the original engine needs too much work to run properly, we’ll just swap it for a 1000 cc heart that beats. And turn it into a glorious 7-11!
WHAT'S UP WITH THE 'SHE'-THING
A TRUE LADY
Why I am calling it a ‘she’? Because the numberplate has ‘MR’ and ‘SR’ in it. Which makes me think of Mister and Sir, and therefore I love to call it ‘She’. Just because I enjoy a bit of controversy in my life.
THE 'HOW' AND 'WHY'
A LITTLE STORY
How did I end up with this beauty-to-be? I worked at a company that is partly owned by a huge motorcycle enthusiast. This babe was his first sport bike and he rode it for some years. Rumor has it she even had her few seconds of fame on television on a so called ‘villains of the road’ show.. So this lady got some speed! At least enough the break some rules.
He gave it to one of his employees and best friends. This lovely man rode it for another few years, until he switched to a newer bike. And she ended up in a heated and dry warehouse. So she was put away quite nicely. The warehouse is owned by her original owner. Since he is a fanatic motorcycle collector, she took up space he’d rather use for more collectible bikes. So she had to go.
He knows I am crazy about bikes, wanted a not so expensive road bike to commute with again on occasion and maybe explore some classic racing events. He asked if I wanted to have her and take her of his friend’s hands to create room for him to grow his collection. Of course, he didn’t need to ask twice.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it! The what, how and why. And the first glances on this beauty-to-be. I’ll tell you all about my (or rather ‘our’) plans for this babe of an FZR. I’ve got so many ideas! Not fully set on it all yet, lots of things can change in the proces. But I’m convinced she will look like a rock star once she’s done. Stay tuned!
