1 - Intro | Project FZR1000 | Tom's Workshop

The first episode in the series brings you up to speed on how we got here & what the plan is.
Additional Camera C/O Jonty Eggington & Ali Bullock
Welcome to Project FZR1000, follow my progress as I restore my 25 year old super bike back to it's former glory.
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[@UOO303T]

Hi Tom I had one bk in the day. Until my first marriage broke down had to sell it and lost my garage space too. So keep the wife and kids happy thats the golden rule

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Good advice!

[@honored9535]

I have the same fzr as yours mate and I'm restoring it it's nice to see other people restoring nice bikes Great job

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Cheers mate, yeah I've always loved this colour scheme. It would never happen on todays bikes, so it really seals the 90s look.

[@adambond4729]

Just bought one of these! Got a ‘94 with 34,000 miles on it and it looks almost mint! Looking forward to more videos!

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Nice! Hopefully I’ll get this one looking pretty smart by the end!

[@peterhamilton-norton8130]

A 400 to start with, so did i and ive still got it, 1987 Honda cbr400rrNC23 smokin joe's colours possibly unresticted but not by my hand's lol ;)

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Amazing bikes! I’ll never part with my NC35, not just because of the increasing value. More because the “Smile per Mile” factor is bigger than any other bike I’ve ridden.

[@jordangill8447]

Nice!

[@steved2623]

I've got a 96er in my shed that needs some TCL and I am looking to you for some inspiration. No pressure...👍👍😁

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Haha that sounds nice mate! Happy to be of use 😂

[@Lee_Joseph]

Will be watching with interest as recently picked up a complete heap of a 1990 exup and I'm so happy as I honestly thought I'd missed the boat and would never be able to afford another one as they've gone up in value a lot since I sold my 4th exup in 2012

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Great to hear Lee! Yeah I picked up mine in 2013 for under a grand, such clean condition too. All the best with yours!

[@uhtred7860]

Where are you going for parts? E-Bay i suppose. None of the wreakers here in NZ have any parts, a few years back i remember seeing plastics for these in most wreakers list of parts but since the net, they've all gone overseas.

[@uhtred7860]

Just got an early build 87 (the 71st one) as my next project as just finished my 86 1100 slabbie. Watching anything with "FZR" in it on YT. Trouble is living in NZ means not many sold so 2nd hand bits here are very scarce, anyone know of a good place for bits??

[@harryflashman4542]

I'm about to start a restoration of '86 fzr400 too, I'm in Napier NZ. Wondering about importing a 600 engine from Aus to restore. From what I can see, over the last few years (maybe lots of covid restorations) there are a lot less second hand parts available on eBay.

[@uhtred7860]

@@harryflashman4542 Yep and what bits are available are pricey, nearly as pricey as shipping to NZ. Whats wrong with the engine in it at the moment? or do you just want more cubes? I remember seeing loads of FZR 400s around, and GSX-R400s ZXR400s. The guys importing 2nd hand Japanese cars used to fill up spare space with 2nd hand bikes from Japan so loads ended up here, guess they were all crashed and thrashed to death. A lot of wreakers have told me ever since they advertised on the net people from overseas have been buying up stuff, one guy said some guy in the UK bought every single part he had for Honda MVX 250, including 2 complete bikes with blown engines, he later found out the same guy had contacted every wreaker and Honda dealer in NZ buying any New Old Stock or parts. I must have rung every wreaker left in NZ looking for bits for my 87 FZR1000, only one had some bits left.

[@harryflashman4542]

@@uhtred7860 The engine seems fine, but it's old. I think there is a leak or one of the carb boots has a crack and I probably need to replace the throttle cable. It has trouble idling. But after watching a few series on engine rebuilds it seems like a lot of money needs to be spent on replacing o-rings, bearings etc. I really don't know. If I have to spend a lot of money then I might as well upgrade the engine so I can use the bike for longer trips. But that will mean new downpipes too. It's funny, but a lot of people restoring their FZR1000's are because it's not getting use and a 400cc bike is what they use for daily riding. How did you get on with your restoration?? Any idea of the cost of engine rebuild? I just had an accident about a month back and wrote off my daily rider. Which is why I'm home watching motorcycle restoration. Got hit by an oncoming car that thought they had room to turn in front of me. So now I really need to get the FZR into reliable condition. So far I've done the forks and front brakes and I'm stuck a bit with repairing the fairings. It has a damaged top fairing which had a bad wonky repair, and I have to modify bottom fairings as they are from a later model. Fairings for an '86 FZR400 cannot be found at all on eBay, I wish I had bought some 2 years ago when there were quite a few. But engines seem to be disappearing fast as well, if I want to upgrade I need to do it now I think. I wish a busted up FZR600 would appear on TradeMe. (The 600 and 400 have a lot of interchangeable parts - including engine) These old FZRs are rising in price though, I want to hang on to it. Just about every web article has lots of comments from ex-owners who wish they had. A mint condition black '87 FZR1000 was on TradeMe about 6 months back and foolishly I thought they were asking too much $4500. I think that Japanese bikes from the eighties and early nineties are the most beautiful.

[@uhtred7860]

@@harryflashman4542 Ive done absolutely nothing at all on my FZR except buy a few minor parts from CMS in the Netherlands. Awesome place for small stuff, but pricey for us here in NZ. Ive been busy working on my 86 GSX-R 1100 which was finished, but theres a few thing i didn't do and now they stand out, its not showroom mint but quite tidy. My main bike is my 2001 R1 which is mint, owned from new and only has 12,000 KMs on it. Also have my father in-laws CX 650 which is old worn out and ripe for a resto, but not my cup of tea, even tho it has its charms. My FZR need an engine rebuild which will be 1000s also a new paint job which will also be 1000s, sometimes i look at it and think, can i be bothered, they are never going to be worth what say the Suzuki is worth, (i was offered 17,000 a while ago) But i guess i'll chip away at it. Theres a guy down wellington way that makes down pipes and exhausts for anything, he made a real nice stainless set for me and a nice ally can. Cycleworks NZ hes called, check him out if you need pipes, great workmanship and good prices too.

[@harryflashman4542]

@@uhtred7860 nearly bought another bike today to do up instead! But certain parties would not be pleased if I do not get the hulk of the FZR into a single working assembly.

[@christopherpalmer4243]

What year model? 92

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

1994