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2007 R6 Build Thread

5K views 22 replies 6 participants last post by  pbnut 
#1 ·
**I started a build thread over on another forum, and decided to post up here. I started this build 3 months ago when I first bought the bike, so the timeline is a little skewed.**

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Had a buddy selling his mint 2007 R1 and clean titled 2007 R6 to pay for a 2015 R1. He offered it to me for what he had in it, and it was too good to pass up.

Decided to make the jump to the R-Sizzle! Wasn't sure about getting it, but the wife said this is my birthday present, so if she's happy with it, I'll roll with it. Can't complain about that.

Here she is in all of her glory! Pics don't make it look like much, but it's not as rough as the pics show.

I have all the fairings except for a mid fairing and the tank skirts, as well as the seats and lights. Also came with a brand new fairing stay. Has a little rash on the GYTR tip, so I'll pull that off, sand it off, and coat it black. Not a fan of the exhaust, so I will look at getting that replaced.

Has a flashed ECU from Bauce Racing already, so that's cool. Plan on pulling the bike apart and going through the valves to make sure they are in spec, and adjust if needed. Even if they don't need any adjustments, at least I'll know where they are for future reference. Peace of mind sort of thing.

I'm not too sure about the gold wheels. I'm thinking of swapping for a set of black wheels, but we'll see. Need to see how it's going to look with the paint scheme I have in mind.

Initial plans include spec'ing the valves, new battery, fix a minor leak with the oil cooler, change the fluids, safety wire, set the suspension, paint and rip up the track. Want to get some track skins, modify the OE slipper clutch, and some small tidbits like Renthal grips and swapping to GP shift.















 
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#2 ·
So the game plan is to get the bike back to street trim, then get her done up in track trim, where she will spend most of its' time.

Well, yesterday a buddy and I brought the bike home from another friend's house.






First thing that bugged me was the tinted headlights. They looked good tinted, but the Lamin-X covers were peeling up, so they looked pretty janky. The upside of the covers means the lenses underneath were in mint condition, so that's cool.

Corners and edges peeling...





Halfway done...



All ready to be installed...



Today, I am going to check out some fairing issues on a buddy's 2015 R1, and then I plan to mock up the fairings so I know what I need to order.
 
#3 ·
Got a little work done this weekend. Can't wait for this turd to sparkle again.



First things first, I wanted to take a gander at the valves. Had an issue with the bike not wanting to start, especially when the engine is warm, so I figured they would need some love. Did they ever! 15 of 16 valves were out of spec, with the #1 and #4 cylinder exhaust valves being way out of spec.

Tear down begins. Wife was gone, so the bike came inside to be worked on in the living room.





Cams, timing chain, cam sprockets, and keepers all looked to be in good shape...



Pulled the cams on Sunday. Did all the math to figure out the shims I needed, and will be putting in a order this week for the ones I need.




Since I can't go any further with the valves until the new shims get here, I got to work on the fairing stay. One of the ears was broken off where the mirror mounts, so the previous owner ordered a new stay. For some reason, the stay was really tight where it mounted to the neck of the frame, so I had to Dremel a slight bit off of either side. Not sure if the stay is OEM or not, but fitment was just a touch off, so I'm guessing it's not. If it has any affect on the mounting of bodywork, I'll order a new OEM stay.





Got the gauges and wiring harness all swapped to the new stay....






Since I'll be waiting a little bit for the shims to come in, I will spend this week tearing apart the brakes to check pad life and proper function, and rebuild the calipers, if needed. I have to replace two bolts that mount the subframe to the frame, and will then start with the fun process of fixing the OE bodywork. The previous owner did much of the work, but there are some flaws from being moved around storage. Since prep work makes or breaks the final paint job, I'll be dedicating some extra time to that.
 
#4 ·
Didn't get as much work done this week as I hoped, due to waiting on shims, but today is the day the top end goes back together! Hopefully this goes smooth, and the bike is running by dinner time tonight.

Pulled the janky exhaust off, and to my surprise, it was less janky than I thought. I sanded off the rash on the tip, and will get that coated to make it look better. Plan on replacing the exhaust in the future, but for now, I'll roll with it. Just trying to get it road-worthy at the moment, and do upgrades later.

Picture of the rash on the canister tip...



All stripped down and ready for some attention...




Also noticed the subframe had some play in it where it mounted to the frame. Found out half the bolts that hold the SF to the frame were stripped out, and not holding much. Oh the joys of rebuilding project bikes. Always finding little Easter Eggs...

This is the condition of two of the bolts...



More progress updates coming soon!
 
#5 ·
Got the new valve shims picked up on Friday, installed them, put the cams back in, re-checked clearances, all was good, so buttoned everything back up. Top end is nice and healthy. Put some new NGK CR10EK plugs in while I was at it.





Cleaned the throttle bodies and installed those and the air box.



Tank was then installed, including the tank panels and front cover. I found a local guy selling the tank panels, the trim pieces below the clipons, and a mid fairing I was missing for a whooping $40! Can't beat that!







The threads on the frame that held the subframe were too damaged to be safe. Only a couple threads on each hole was still there. Ran a drill through to remove the remaining threads, and slid new stainless bolts through, securing them with a nylon lock nut.



The clip on retaining bolts and plugs weren't on the bike, so those were ordered and installed. New clipons will be ordered in the future if the stock bars aren't good enough.



 
#6 ·
Had to switch to GP shift because it's much more normal to me.

Stock...



GP...



Addressed an issue with the headlights, and got those mounted to the new fairing stay.



Sanded the rash on the tip of the exhaust. Coated it matte black, along with the bottom portion of the canister, and reassembled. Looks less terrible than before. I'll be upgrading to a Leo Vince, Akrapovic, or Arrow in the future when I can find a good deal, but for now, this will work.








Put the seats on to see if the shift lever was positioned properly, and made some vroom-vroom noises. Starting to look like a bike again. Getting excited to finally ride this thing.






Going to continue working on the bodywork this evening, and hopefully have all of that ready for paint in the next few days. Need to figure out where/when I will actually do the painting, but first things, first.
 
#7 ·
Got all of the plastics sanded and prepped for paint. Had to get an idea of how it looks, so mounted everything with zipties.


Of course the weather isn't looking good for the next week or two, so painting will have to wait until it warms up. My luck. Getting anxious.

In the meantime, I have fluids and filters to replace, flush the brakes, swap tires, safety wire, all the boring stuff....







 
#8 ·
One of the things that bothered me and my OCD was the hideous exhaust. The original owner had put an '05 cat-less header on, but didn't do it properly. The header needs a reducer installed to mate with the GYTR pipe. Instead of welding the reducer on, they used a worm gear clamp that is designed for hoses. Since it doesn't tighten as much as needed, they then installed some header wrap to seal everything up. Clearly this didn't work, as noted by the stains on the pipe from where it wasn't sealing.

Took off the header, removed the clamps, wrap, and reducer, and walked around to the welding and machine shop around the corner. Told the guy what I needed, he dropped what he was working on, and 20 minutes later, had everything TIG'd together. Took it home, hit it with some VHT until I can get it coated more permanently, and reinstalled. All in all, not a bad way to go for now. Still going to look into replacing it, but for $50 and a $10 tip for getting it done while I waited, I can't complain.

You can sort of see the wrap and clamp job that was on there....



What it looked like with the clamps and wrap removed...





All welded up...



Mounted and sprayed. Not perfect, but will do until I get a full system. Just need to get the proper clamp installed for the slip on, and she'll be ready to rock.



Had planned on painting the fairings myself, but after talking to a painter that I've worked with in the past, he offered to paint everything, prime/base/clear/buff, for $400-450 in a very nice metallic black. Now I just have to decide if I want to save the headache of painting and have him do it, or spray them myself.
 
#9 ·
Had to put my bike on the back burner. Have a bunch of bikes to get ready for the track season starting in Michigan, so several paint jobs to get finished, wheels to prep/coat, and more. Should get mine finished by August or September at this rate.

Did a little modification to the sprocket cover. Don't mind the nasty sprocket and chain, those are getting replaced.

 
#10 ·
THE LAST LITTLE BIT OF BODY FILLER IS SPREAD!! Just a little sanding and it's complete. Hopefully laying some color this weekend!




I hated how loud the stubby GYTR sounded. WAY TOO LOUD!! Rattled the house when sitting at idle. Had a friend notice a post I commented on about an exhaust for sale, and asked if I was interested in his carbon fiber Yoshimura. He barely used it, we came to an agreement, and I sold the GYTR for nearly the same price as I bought the Yosh. Win-Win for me!

Much better sounding, not obnoxiously loud, and looks much better, in my opinion!

Before:



After:





The CF looks incredible in the sunlight, even if it is a bit dusty in these pics from all of the bodywork going on at the moment...



 
#11 ·
So it took a little longer than expected, the shipping company lost the fairings in transit. They finally arrived, and I got everything installed yesterday. 2007 OEM Blue and Charcoal grey fairings, in very good condition. One small nick on the lower, but I'll touch that up.

Need to install WC frame sliders, engine covers, mirrors, tags/insurance, and change the oil and filter, but she's ready to go. Can't wait to actually ride this thing for the first time and see what she can do.













 
#12 ·
Sadly, the joy was short lived. Took it for it's maiden voyage on Friday after getting it legal and changing the oil. 21.7 miles later, and it spun a main. Yay! Time for a rebuild. Started stripping it down on Saturday morning. 1.5 hours later...





 
#13 ·
This isn't my bike in the video, but is almost exactly what she sounds like...



Drained the oil over a fine mesh skimmer and pulled the oil pan. No metal shavings in those or the oil pickup screen, so I guess that's a good thing. Couldn't see anything out of the ordinary when looking up at the bottom end. Timing chain is still taught, engine is still timed, and valves all seem to working fine. I scooped the cylinders, and didn't see any damage to the tops of the pistons, so I don't think the pistons and valve train made contact.

After reinstalling the oil pan for now, I took a break for dinner, and said what the hell? An hour later, and she was working under Flintstones power. I have a weird obsession with cause/effect when it comes to failures, so I need to find out the cause of this, or I'll go crazy wondering, even if the engine is FUBAR'd.





Very simple engines to pull. Almost like Yamaha would know these things would need to pulled every other ride for a complete overhaul. ;)

I pulled the clutch cover off, and check out these steels...



So a new clutch pack will be in order. :(
 
#14 ·
Well, good news is I was wrong about my hypothesis of a spun rod. The bad news is that it's still not pretty.

Pulled the cams and the lifters. Found this gem hiding on the #1 cylinder intake....



Was feeling hopeful since the engine was immediately shut down upon initially hearing the noise. Pulled the head to inspect the piston, and these are the results....






Now to decide the best course of action. Rebuild? Buy a new engine? Part the bike out? Sell it as is?
 
#15 ·
Bit of a delay since the last update. My sister got married this past weekend, so I've been tied up the last month with that.

Now that the wedding is done, my attention can turn back to this heap.

A couple hours in the shop turning some wrenches, bagging and labeling parts, and jamming out to Spotify, and she's 80% stripped down. All peripherals pulled and cases split. Just have to pull the connecting rod/piston assemblies, shift shaft and transmission, and she's ready to replace the bad parts, and reverse the process. All in all, didn't look too terribly bad.

First, pulled off the oil cooler, as well as all of the radiator piping on the front of the engine.



Stripped out the clutch pack, basket, and hub. Everything looked good here, with very minimal wear.







Pulled out the pickup coil, and was left with a bare right side of the engine.



Next stripped the stator, starter, and the accompanying gears.



Took off the oil pan, strainer, then pulled the oil pump, as well as the various tubes that route oil through the engine.





Final step of the night was to go through the sequence of systematically removing the bolts that hold everything together. A few light taps with the handle of a mallet in a couple spots to break the seal, and she came apart easily enough.





Hoping to have parts ordered in the next week or so, wait for shipping, then put it back together. Assuming I don't run into any unforeseen issues, I'm hoping to be back up and running around the 4th of July.
 
#16 ·
Day two of tear down...

First, I removed the countershaft assembly, then I pulled the shift shaft along with the shift forks.



After the upper shift forks were removed, I removed the retainer plate for the shift drum, and was able to remove it, as well as the lower shift forks.



With those items out of the way, I was able to pull the main assemly.



Next up, I pulled the connecting rod end caps, and removed the crankshaft. With that gone, I was able to remove the connecting rod/piston assemblies.





You can see the damage to the piston on the far right. Not much damage, luckily, but enough.



Now to get everything to the parts washer, cleaned up, and order the necessary parts to get this thing back together.
 
#20 ·
Great build thread Cibber, enjoyed reading it all and will be following in the future. Really wish I was as mechanically inclined, engine work is like rocket science to me and something I don't dare mess with, haha.

Bike looks really good all assembled. Good luck with the rest of the rebuild
 
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