Can they fix it? NO THEY CAN'T

[nico]

I guess the way the place is at the mo $60 is probably the going rate. Im a sparky and SOME charge that, most are btwn 40-45 an hour. I guess I just thought it could be fixed hmmmm

Anyway Im just wondering if they would trade it like it is? Im thinkin if i get a new one itll be a ninja or something I suppose by the time i save that money itll be winter...yay.

bike shops around welly seem to hover around 80 p/h so id so 60 prety sweet dude but in saying that i only go to the shop as absulte last resort just reading of w/s manul mose jobs are quite simple also going for a old bike all good i serched for a tidy and 1 with full history as ive been stunk b4 and learnt very quickly alot of guys out there will say any thing for a sale. all good dude look on the bright side now you get to have a project bike you can custum and make it your own.but it aint the mechanics fault m8 they aint mid readers or they probally have a difrent job lol youve got to be very clear what you want done and get them to ring you if they need to do something else, works a treet, you could also ask if you could stand around and watch/learn it's quite insterting

[Max Preload]

As a 'sparky' I'd have thought the first thing you'd check would be the operation of the fan, and since there's been no menton of it, I'd suggest checking that first although that will only possibly be the problem if the bike is only overheating around town. If it's overheating on the open road it's a whole different kettle of fish.

[Forest]

Speaking of which, I watched a really quite amazing event this afternoon.

A guy drives past a car dealer's yard. Sees a bike he'd like to buy for his son. Nice thought.

The guy stops in. The dealer gives him the Billy. The guy goes for it. Trade older bike for newer bike. Brings trade bike, says, 'Be back tomorrow.'

Two days later.... The dealer has sold the trade-bike to another. Deposit taken, pick up soon.

Original owner turns up and tells the car dealer that he's spoken to his wife and she won't let the deal happen.

Dealer says, 'Mate. The deal was done. We shook hands on it.'

The guy starts getting a bit aggressive and tells the dealer he has financial issues.

The dealer asks if the guy knew about these 'financial issues' before he made the deal.

The guy reflexes to some more aggression followed by a bid for pity.

The dealer rerpeats, 'Mate. At the moment I'm really pissed off with you. You came in here. Made a deal. I then made another deal on your old bike and now you're saying you're going to bug out and leave me hanging with another guy who will be seriously pissed off when I tell him the deals off. He's gonna think I'm just a ratshit car-dealer who sold the bike for a better price. I'm really pissed at you at this moment for doing this to me.'

In the background are two kids belonging to the guy. A boy...the owner of the original trade-bike, and a dinky wee girl. Both looking seriously traumatised watching daddy get shit from the dealer.

Next minute the dealer says, 'Listen. At this moment I'm really fucked off with you, but it'll pass.' And like Alice stepping through the looking glass the dealer says, " Hey, I'm taking all my kids to the local dirt track. Why don't you come along and bring your kids?'

The guy is looking for the angle. The dealer is just going with his gut. One fucked up parent and two upset kids, and some bloke who thinks he will own a bike, and the dealer's thinking hey, 'The kids are upset and I can deal with this.'

Half an hour later, sundry bikes are fired up, the guys kid gets to ride his own bike. The wee girl is plonked on a quad, everyone hoves off to the small track down the road, and suddenly, everyone's having a good time.

I was there and saw the entire event.

I have to take my hat off to you Frosty. I don't think I could have sucked it up as well as you did today, buddy. But the way you dealt with that shit today was just awesome.

Amazing story. It deserves its own thread.

[dipshit]

So I take it into bike shop to get a "service" saying it is hard to start and it overheating.

You should have asked them to diagnose the overheating problem and give you an idea of how much it would cost to fix.

Mind you, your typical NZ bike shop couldn't service a freaking wheelbarrow.

[gammaguy]

I trust only one guy in Christchurch, KG Motorcycles, Call him up he is very good. Maybe there is still some hope for your poor girl. (Just like my ZXR750 that got mashed up the other day :'( )

i used to work for old KG.Not flash,but not a bulshitter either.if he cant fix it,no-one can,or they dont want to.for good reason,a lot of mechanics(me included)keep well away from 20 year old ex raced(probably)and ex
-thrashed(possibly)sports bikes.the gulf between owners expectations and good outcomes are often only bridged by a huge wodge of cash.

[FROSTY:Me]

Richie -Don't know you from a bar of soap
Bit of advice for ya -bad mouthing the people you are likely to need in the future aint real clever.Its a small world in the bike scene But hey thats a learning curve.

Dude Ive owned a few ZXR400's in my time -If you paid 3 grand it was pretty cheap to be honest.

BUT- to your problem. which is why you are posting up after all.
1)Posssible causes are --Just pure bad luck.,Worn out water pump.,Cooling fans/fans not going,blocked coolant pipes/radiator,crudded up inside the engine from running water not glycol.
Solution -1) buy a motor and fit it in-do it yaself --cost around $600--then fill her with Glycol and hard wire the fans to an on/off switch--when the temp gauge moves to halfway turn the fans on On a side note --I found racing my H that the rad was heaps smaller thatn the later model rads--fiting the J model rad helped heaps.
2)Get the head gasket fixed. --To do a decent job I'd expect you to pay $1000-1500 you could save a fair bit of money by rippping the engine out yourself and taking the head off yourself.--Dont be scared its actually not that hard -theres no nasty suprises waiting for ya.
3)Trade it in as is but to be honest i wouldn't pay you a lot for a bike that doesn't go

[The Lone Rider]

Que the music....!

[Paul in NZ]

Richie -Don't know you from a bar of soap
Bit of advice for ya -bad mouthing the people you are likely to need in the future aint real clever.Its a small world in the bike scene But hey thats a learning curve.

Hey maybe i should buy it for another FZR of doom thread ;-)

[FROSTY:Me]

Hey maybe i should buy it for another FZR of doom thread ;-)

Not a bad idea mate- (he said expecting a sudden increase in welly/auckland toll calls)