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My '93 ZX11D Project

6K views 38 replies 9 participants last post by  quisp 
#1 ·
I just got my hands on a 1993 ZX11D that's been stored, uncovered, out in the elements for a few years. The last time it was started was a few years ago. I've got some work ahead of me and wanted to post my progress here as well as get advice and suggestions from members here.

Here's the list of things I've found so far:

Leak from a rust spot at the bottom of the fuel tank.

Choke lever not moving.

Front brakes and fork area are loaded with what appears to be caked up grease or oil.

Seat is heavily cracked up from weather exposure.

Piece of a screwdriver broken off in the ignition from when it got stolen several years ago.

Chain is rusted.

Needs a new battery.

That's my list so far. I'll update when I get a chance to give the bike a more thorough look.

In the meantime, I'm assuming I'll need to pull the carbs off and do a cleaning. Tank will need to have the old fuel emptied out and check for internal rust. I was thinking about patching the leak in the fuel tank with JB Weld for the time being and coating the inside of the tank with epoxy. I'm going to change the brake pads because they've been sitting for so long. Choke cable should just need some lubrication.

Any advice or suggestions in general are welcome.
 
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#2 ·
Congrats on the new (to you) machine! I hope it was inexpensive, because it sounds like it needs some work. Do you know the bike's history? Was it running when parked? What problem led to it being abandoned? I can never understand how people can let a fine piece of machinery just sit and rot! If you can't afford to fix it at least pass it along to someone who will care for it!

Since the heart of the machine is the engine, and there are known issues with oil starvation to the rods I would start with a diagnosis of the oil and filter. Drain and look for metallic particles, then depending on your mechanical ability, consider pulling the sump and inspecting that. If the engine is toast, you would do better to move on before spending time and money on anything else. Or do like I did and buy a running engine and install it.

If you are lucky (and I hope you are), it will just take some cleaning and normal maintenance items and you will be on the road for a few hundred bucks. Seats, chains, sprockets, batteries are all fairly cheap on the 'bay and Amazon.

Best of luck and keep us posted.
 
#3 ·
Didn't want to bore people with backstory, but in hindsight it would have helped.

So, the bike was generously given to me. I've been around the bike since she was purchased used many moons ago, around '06 if memory serves me. She's been down twice, just cosmetic damage. Oil changes at regular intervals, chain lube, etc. Ran like a champ when parked. The bike was 'abandoned' because it's a theft recovery. Off the top of my head I'll say it was stolen about 4 years ago. When it was stolen my friend bought a new CBR as a replacement. Around 6 months later he found the ZX and recovered it, hence the need for a new ignition. It looks like they used a screwdriver to start it and it broke off in the ignition. He didn't want to get rid of the ZX so he put it to the side. So, now, years later it's been given to me.

I know I can't afford to bring it back to pristine condition right now, but making it rideable should be doable.

I'll be posting some pics soon.
 
#4 ·
Well, that's good news knowing it ran well when parked. As for being a theft recovery, it really doesn't matter if you are only rebuilding it for your self to ride. And if you ever do decide to sell it, the values are so shamefully low these days that it won't matter.

And as I said, used parts are cheap on the 'bay. You may be able to get it looking and running better than you expect for less than you think. You can learn bondo/sanding work on your own and flat black is acceptable until you can afford real paint.

In the mean time this is your opportunity to get very familiar with the bike's systems and become more mechanically adept. This site has some great write ups and pictures, as well as generous and helpful members. Again, some things only need to be carefully cleaned and lovingly re-assembled, and they will continue to serve for a long time.

Oh, and down load the manual! I repeat-download the manual!!

These machines are highly sophisticated and even an experienced wrench may not anticipate their specific quirks.

Good luck, and post pics!
 
#6 ·
Getting it running is first and foremost on my to-do list. I'm hoping it will run like it did before.

I haven't tried starting it yet since the battery is dead. I'm going to try charging the current battery before I drop money on a new one just yet. Going to drain the tank and patch the pinhole leak that seems to be from a rust spot. I figured I could use some JB Weld for that. I'm assuming I'll need to clean out the inside of the tank and coat it with some epoxy. For the carbs I was thinking maybe I can run some Sea Foam through them and see how that goes before I tear them apart.
 
#8 ·
Here are some pics of the whole bike, the inside of the tank, the inside of the ignition, and the chain.
 

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#9 ·
The other day I was about to attempt drilling the metal out of the ignition when my drill died after about 3 seconds. I had just charged it that morning. That turned out to be corroded and leaky batteries in the battery pack. Time to rebuild the pack. One more project for the to-do list.

Moving on from that I pulled the battery out to see if it was any good. Zero volts on the meter. Added some distilled water and it measured .21 volts. Charger won't kick in because the voltage is too low. I hooked a 12v 1.5A power supply to it for around 45 minutes and it's now up to 3.21 volts. Tomorrow I'll try putting my charger on again and see if it will kick in.

In the meantime I've got a good amount of rust in the tank that needs to be cleaned out. Pics in the post above this one. I'm going to clean it out the best I can and then coat the inside with epoxy. Seems safe to say that should do the trick with using the existing tank. I haven't researched what to use for the rust removal yet.

I've got a few ideas for getting the metal out of the ignition. Plenty of time to tinker around so I'm in no rush to buy a new ignition. If all else fails my final attempt will be to JB Weld some solid metal wire to whatever is stuck in there and try to jiggle it out.
 
#12 ·
Ignition update

Drilling didn't work as I suspected. Broke a couple of bits trying.

My next idea was to use a thin screwdriver to try and wiggle it up from a thin gap on the side. After some hammering, maneuvering and patience I was able to get the piece to shift inside the ignition. At that point I knew it was just a matter of time before I could get it out. Spent a couple of hours total on it and I finally got it. Pic of what appears to be a screwdriver tip is attached.

Next was to make sure the key would still go in and turn. Success.

Now I'll move on to cleaning out and coating the tank.

Discovered it needs a new rear sprocket so I'll have to order one. Some of the teeth are worn down.
 

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#13 ·
Good way 2 clean the rust out is w a power washer. Remove every acces port u can and blast it as much as u can. When ur satisfied w that plug it and soak it w muriatic acid. Carefully. Like a few hours to overnight for each panel. It will eat the metal. So make sure u soap n water it well when ur done w that. Then if its still poor inside coat it w a good sealer. And install an inline filter to watch for particles. Lotta work but well worth the effort if u plan on keeping the bike
 
#19 · (Edited)
I have a stock seat

$100 obo

I have stock bar ends - free
Think I have a stock windshield as well

Chain is shot, get rid of it...... Its a broken link looking for a place to happen.
 
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#23 ·
Life happened and this project went to the back burner. I'm finally settled in a new place with a garage and have started working on the bike.

I put in a new battery and the basic electrical seems to be fine.

Needed to change the oil and a second set of hands broke off a part I'm unable to identify. It's the piece that the oil pressure sensor/switch is attached to.



I did manage to remove the remainder of the threads from the oil pan.



Now I just need that part to install. I checked the fiche but I didn't see a match. Perhaps I missed it.

Right now I'm just trying to get it running. I'm running some fuel from an external tank to the fuel line I detached from the bike's tank. I'll be working on de-rusting the bike tank shortly and putting tank coat in.
 
#24 ·
My mystery part has now been identified!

It's a tee fitting used in plumbing.

It's not an OEM setup and I'm not quite sure why the modification was made. I've come to find out that the original owner (2 owners ago) used to race the bike. I'm gathering he wanted increased oil flow to keep the bike running cooler. Ordered a fitting from Amazon since Home Depot and Lowe's didn't have it and none of the employees had any idea what it is so they couldn't tell me if they had them in stock. I browsed the aisles for awhile and couldn't find one.

The additional oil line that was added runs from where the oil pressure sensor threads in to a threaded hole in the lower front right corner of the engine. I stared at the fiche for a bit but drew a blank.
 
#27 ·
I separated the oil pressure sensor from the tee. The sensor doesn't fit into the oil pan. The male on the tee measures .52 inches and the male on the sensor measures .40

Sensor measurement
Tee measurement

I don't know what the sensor is supposed to measure so I'm not sure I'd they reduced the width of the threads or they opened up the hole in the oil pan more. Either way, going to order a new tee and put it back the way I found it.

Here's what the tee looks like close up

Tee and sensor

Here's where the added oil line went from the sensor hole.

Added Line from Sensor Hole to Unknown Hole
 
#29 ·
So, I think I've figured this fitting situation out. After searching around and not being able to find an elbow fitting with a smaller hole size on the bottom I was a bit puzzled. I started looking at street tees. That didn't pan out either. Then someone mentioned that it looks like a custom made piece. I tried putting the oil pressure switch into the pan and it was too small. Ok, pretty sure that guy is right, it's custom made. Found an identical elbow with no hole on the bottom, one 1/2" male and one 1/2" female. Hole on the bottom must have been drilled and tapped to fit the switch. The thread thickness on the sensor has been reduced to fit the smaller hole created in the elbow. Now to order the elbow along with a tap and die set to create a new threaded hole for the switch. Good excuse for me to add a tap and die set to my toolbox.
 
#33 ·
Nice project. Keep us posted. Get the carbs and engine running and everything else should call into place. I took the carbs off mine when I bought it not running. Gave it to a friend along with 200$, a bag of pistachios and a big bottle of jim beam. He cleaned and replaced some stuff. Been running good every since. I
I have a 92c. I got a box of swingarm bearings and other stuff. All ordered new. Not sure if they will fit a d but they are yours if you get that far.
 
#36 ·
Since 3 years approx. I'm putting 4 lts in every change (instead of 3.5 lts). I decided this for two things: 1) contemporary ZX6 carries 3.7 lts, how in the hell an engine much smaller carries more oil than a ZX11 !!, and 2) I put 4 lts and after one week without turning on the engine, the oil level descends approx. to a 60% of the glass window, and so I try to keep it at that.
After so many years figuring out what would be the best way to check the oil level (the only item that I hate of the ZX11), this is my last way to do it.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Changing out the plugs and I found a nice amount of oil in the plug tubes. Valve cover gasket I'm assuming. 1 and 4 a bit on the plugs. 2 and 3 were loaded with oil throughout the tube. Going to replace the spark plug gaskets and the valve cover gasket.

ZX1100D Oil In Spark Plug Tubes

Old plugs looking pretty overdue.

ZX1100D Old Spark Plugs being replaced

ZX100D Old Plugs L to R, 1-4
 
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