ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

buying an R Reg with 15000miles on the clock, no service history but cheap....

gave it a test ride, all seemed hunky dory exceopt for the hinge that appeared in the middle of the bike when tackling a turn....!

i reckon thats cos iof the tyres, the front is a size too big !

Anyone got any experience of the Kwak?

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

That'll be a "G" model then...

There's few will know that bike better than Sid Squid, his one's knocking on the door of 100,000 miles now...

I have the slightly later J model which is the same apart from some detail changes. Good bike, handles well, reliable. Check the usual things like bearings, tyre pressures, profile etc....

Tyre sizes for the G should be 120/60 R17 front, 170/60 R17 rear.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

I'm no expert whatsoever, but a different front tyre on such a focused bike to me would suggest maybe a frontal impact - ie front end replacement on the cheap.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

The standard front tyre is 120/65 on the G, isn't it?

Changing the front tyre size is not an indication of a front end impact. The different size would just make the handling different.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

The G model is 60 profile, the J model is 65 profile (exactly the same wheel though). Anything in 120/60, 120/65 or 120/70 is going to be ok. It was probably just down to what was either available or cheap when they were fitted.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

Worn tyres is one thing but really bad handling requires a very hard look at the chassis.Wheel bearings headraces and swingarm bearings,and check the wheel alignment.Do the bars match for distance from the tank both sides lock to lock?Forks straight?
How cheap?Don't pay the asking price.;)

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

Possably a squared tyre or wheel bearings, feinds bike had shot rear wheel bearings and it was iffy to turn.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

An 'R' reg will be either a late F3 or early G1.

Standard F tyres are 120/60 and 160/60, Gs wear 120/60 and 170/60, but as Jambo rightly points out the wheel sizes didn't change for the subsequent models but the standard tyre sizes were altered, thus it isn't unusual to find various G, J and A models with various tyre sizes fitted - 60-65-70 profile. FS is right, the handling will be different, but none of these fitments will make it wrong - just different.

It's a bit of a leap from saying something has a odd size tyre to thinking it's been front ended.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

depends how cheap

i would not be too worried abot service history on a bike of that age, my blade did not have any, but was to cheap not to buy, but its a honda so alls peachy

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

To me, it'd just suggest someone's fitted the wrong tyre- I think they use 120/60 as standard, but 120/70 is often easier to find, especially when you need a tyre quick for a puncture repair etc.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

That is pure utter complete ******** - frontal impact??? How many Kwaks have you ridden? I have a 70 profile on my kwak - so what does that mean?

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

Agree with all of the above... I have a 120/60 on my ZX7 instead of the 120/70 as standard, because it was cheap (ie free) - and it hasn't half made the bike steer nicely.

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

Chilll :) ....I did say I knew nothing about this first!
I meant that if i'd found there was something different on the front of my second hand bike, I'd have a second glance to see if it was a cheapo ebay fix. That's all. I'd imagine anyone else would do the same

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

wake up on the wrong side of bed? ;)

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

I think he's just tried of people saying " I don't know anything about this so here's my advice" ;)

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

Who me? ;)

Re: ZX6R - im giving some serious thought to...
 

Worth checking this out:
F model:
http://www.ecbate.co.uk/Used%20Bikes...es/111974F.JPG

G model:
http://www.koups.com/sales/kawasaki/...zx600g1grn.jpg

Fair difference between the two. neither are expensive 2nd hand. See if you can check the usual "hinge in the middle" suspects mentioned above:

Wheel bearings
Head races
Swing arm bearings
Shot tyres
Forks / shock.

None of the above are terribly expensive to sort, but it's all about haggling points isn't it? :D