Henry Lubong's Journal » zx6r

Trackday At Infineon Raceway

Henry Lubong — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:58:04 +0000

I’m too lazy to write something so I hope this video speaks for me. My friend has the onboard camera and I’m the one in front. Enjoy.

She’s Alive!

Henry Lubong — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:10:59 +0000

My ZX-6R 636 that is. Stupid me, found out what’s causing the engine to cut off. It was the down sensor. I took the tank bracket off and forgot that the sensor is attach to it. Ooops, my bad. So she starts fine now. Wohooo! With only 8K miles on the engine, it sounds like a $6000 dollar machine. Craigslist anyone?

No More Blowing Of Fuses

Henry Lubong — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:38:25 +0000

The ECU arrived today. Plugged it in and blowing of fuses is no more, yehey! But a new problem arose… argh. The bike would start and engine turns over but it won’t hold idle. Maybe because the engine is still cold so I tried holding the throttle and giving it gas but the fuel is getting cut off. It will only run for 3 to 5 seconds and then it will die instantly; not choking but a sudden shut off. Looks like some relay or sensor is bad or maybe a vacuum leak somewhere. Here the things that could cause this trouble:

vacuum leak
bad sensor and/or relay
inlet air pressure sensor
fuel pump
loose connectors

Oh well, it’s time to research and troubleshoot again.

Found The Culprit

Henry Lubong — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:19:33 +0000

Worked on my 2006 ZX-6R again today and now I am armed with a service manual I downloaded online. I love the internet! This PDF manual is pretty cool because the wiring diagrams are detailed. So I retraced the wire all the way down to the ECU. Using my ohmmeter, I toned out the red wire coming from the kill switch against the frame (ground) and there is the problem. It is shorted! I did more test and turned out that I only get continuity when the smaller connector of the ECU is plugged in. I disconnected all loads and only left the ECU and tachometer, which is a pretty good isolation. Fuse still blows up with the ECU connected. So at that point, I concluded that the ECU has a short inside. I already ordered an ECU on Ebay just a few minutes ago.

Tracing Electrical Problems On My 636

Henry Lubong — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:07:40 +0000

Yesterday, I started cleaning up the bike a little bit and assessed the actual damage. It wasn’t that bad. I replaced the battery and turn the ignition key to On for the first time. The meter lit up and initiliazed. I confirmed the actual mileage to be exactly 8001 miles. I was gonna try to fire her up but when I turned on the kill switch or the start/stop engine switch, the ignition and ECU fuses blew. My inital thought was something is probably shorted somewhere. I checked the kill switch first to make sure theres no open wire rubbing onto something – it’s clean. I then checked the wire harness to look for any possible open wire. Nothing, all seems to be ok. I then disconnected the fuel pump because this is one of the components that is being checked when turning the kill switch on. I tried the start sequence again and the fuses keep blowing. This is where my headache starts. What could it possibly be? This is the time when a wiring diagram is very useful. Well, it’s Thursday and my wife had to go to work and I have to baby sit. So this troubleshooting will have to continue tomorrow

Initial Inspection On My 2006 636 ZX-6R

Henry Lubong — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:47:03 +0000

I got up early this morning to check up on my newly acquired bike. I unmounted the unfixable broken fairings and toss them away. The only front fairings usable are the left lower fairing and the right upper fairing. The front fairing has crack all over but I think it’s fixable with duct tape. I don’t care much about the fairings as it will be replaced with race fairings anyway. Here is the list of stuff that needed fixing or replacement:

Battery (completely dead)
Front brake reservoir
Upper front fairing bracket
Ram air duct assembly
Headlight (if converting to street)
Left foot peg
Blown ignition fuse and ECU fuse
Miscellaneous bolts and dampers
Complete fairings and tank cover

I’m guessing, I would need to spend at least under a grand for all the parts I needed. I still have room to spend if I ever wanted to resell it after everything has been fixed. I could make at least $2K to $1500 on this bike.

Newest Addition To My Stable

Henry Lubong — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:49:55 +0000

I was browsing through Craigslist today time when I saw a fresh post about a 2006 Kawasaki 636 ZX-6R. It’s only been posted for an hour. The seller listed the bike for $2500 with 8000 miles but it’s been crashed. With my retail expertise (ehem), I know I can get this bike for lesser than that. The bike looks good on picture that’s why it’s worth checking this bike out in person. In reality, $2500 for a low sided bike with a low mileage and clean title is already an excellent deal assuming that the frame is straight and engine is good. I called the seller and asked more information about the bike. He gave me some interesting facts about the bike so I scheduled to check out the bike this evening. It’s a 45-mile drive but i think it’s a good investment.

I drove up to South San Francisco to personally inspect the bike. So this bike was low-sided at the track but never reported to insurance, thus the clean title. The side and front fairings are all destroyed. The frame looks straight (no dent at all) and the engine is clean. The forks are also straight and the rest of the components are intact. The only problem is the bike does not start. The seller said the ignition fuse keeps blowing up when started. I figured this is just a simple fix. To make the long story short, I used my bargaining skills and purchased the bike for $500 less than his asking price. What a steal!