CBR900RRT Mouse Motel!

[riot]

Bought a parts bike on eBay (remember eBay?) for my 1995 SC28 project. Now I have black and white versions!

I cannot believe my luck, almost every OEM plastic is in good shape. The tank looks good, but needs some major work. It is incredibly rare to find the purple/yellow OEM body, and if you do it will usually cost $$$.

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Note the sick purple seat and windshield:

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Unbelievably, the bodywork is abut the only thing good on the bike.

Missing carbs, starter, coils, chain, exhaust, radiator and god knows what else. Rusted forks, pitted wheels and mouse bits everywhere. Still, I love motorcycle archeology. Today's discovery was that the block has been 'glued'. Like there is a patch of JB weld or real steel the size of my fist in the top case. I guess we know why it was parked.

I was hoping I'd get a good start at a builder motor out of this too, but it's not looking good. I'll be lucky if any parts inside the motor besides the gearbox are any good. For sure the valves and one piston are toast, as there was water in there. Good chance that half a rod made that hole in the case too....

Anyway, still thrilled considering what I paid for it!

[6]

Blogs the bad hole?


I fucking love that bodywork so incredibly much!

[Peteroo]

love those retro 900rr's. now i want another project!

[Captain 80s]

I always loved that bodywork too (the whole bike as well of course). Decided to use it to make a "RC".

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[6]

Not sure how that went to blogs..is 3 the bad hole?

[riot]

Not sure how that went to blogs..is 3 the bad hole?

If you are sitting on the bike, it was either the first or second from the left. The first one had its valves open and I could see some gook in there, I sprayed some oil in and it went ???

I'll have to snap some pictures of the glue. It was really not noticeable at first, because it was the same color as the metal. I'm dying to pull it apart to inspect the carnage, but now is not a good time to have another disassembled engine laying around.

[eyhonda]

Nice job! I'm a fan of the first gen 900rr's too. Had a mint 94 black/purple/yellow from the original owner, then a few bikes after that. They were easy to find and cheap (10 some years ago). Those were the days.

[joel]

The Blogs rod is almost always the one that lets go when they oil starve from too many mile long wheelies. Honda neglected the oiling when designing the perfect stunt bike.


and I just learned that “#3” makes a link to blogs,which I never knew was a thing

[riot]

So brief update:

I'm trying to salvage anything good from the bike. So far I stripped all the bodywork, scrubbed it up and boxed it away. Something (coolant?) ate away the paint on the bottom of the lower fairing, but all in all it is still an amazing find. Most importantly, the whole body set cost less than replica graphics I had made by Tapeworks - and those don't really compete with OEM quality. I also salvaged the gauges, which seem nice, though the decorative foam bit has been completely turned into mouse poop by now.

I dug into the engine a bit:
I drained the oil, and at least a whole quart of brown water came out first. It smelled like a swamp, it was.... awful. However, no metal bits. Maybe some algae, but no metal.
I took off the alternator cover, and it was perfect in there. Like metal color (no rust). Looking through into the center case, everything seems intact. That said, the motor no spinny. Pretty sure the number 1 piston ring has rust-welded itself to the bore.
I took off the valve cover, and same story, everything looks good. Like a miracle.
The top case half, cast complete with the cylinders on this bike, has mega corrosion. Maybe that's why they put the glue on there? Mystery still not solved.

My guess is the thing was under a tarp in Minnesota for a while, perhaps with the bodywork off, which would account for the disparate condition of the parts.

At this stage, it is a real debate what to do: Do I just scrap or sell the rest of the pile? I mean, I might need a part off of it one day... but will the cost/pain of storing the parts ever be worth it? Certainly, my Hawk parts hoard hasn't justified itself, and I don't plan to really mod or customize this bike like that, just clean it up and ride it.

[6]

At this stage, it is a real debate what to do

Yeah... That's called denial yo.
You know what to do. You just don't want to admit it.. (to your girl).

[Yoshihns]

If it has a title and you have the funds, go sort the motor out and bring it back to life. I have a Fox Twin Clicker in great shape for it.

If no title, then part it out.

[6]

If it has a title and you have the funds, go sort the motor out and bring it back to life. I have a Fox Twin Clicker in great shape for it.

If no title, then part it out.

Easy to title in NH or VT..

[riot]

Yeah, I already have a titled one, which is the principle project. This one is just a parts bike for that bike. No title.

The frame is actually pretty good. It has some corrosion where the coils were, but the rails and anodizing are nice and not polished. An un-dented free frame is kinda tough to find.

I'll probably keep the motor just out of curiosity and liquidate the rest.

[frinesi2]

That bodywork is extremely rad.

[6]

That bodywork is extremely rad.

Yes, it definitely is.