New project

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2026 1:39 pm

I am happy to announce that I have bought another money pit project. It is a 1988 Yamaha fzr 1000 with 50,000 mi and it needs a lot of work so I have my work cut out for me. If anybody knows of the best forum or pages for information on this exact bike that would be super helpful. Definitely a little less practical than the Honda with less storage and smaller seat, but I'm very excited. Although I prefer air cooling, the power that can be achieved from water cooling is very enticing. I think that it will be an interesting challenge working with this radiator and thermostat and all the other water cooling parts. Hopefully by next year I'll be able to ride it and see what it can really do

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/153v7SsdDX6WKtEpWaMcdZvwqKmnBG6F0

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2026 12:20 pm

That's a nice looking bike! There are sure to be FB groups dedicated to your exact model. Dealing with a water-cooled bike isn't that bad. I've restored at least 5 water cooled bikes (VFRs and GL1000's) and as long as you can get replacement gaskets and hoses, the rest is easy. Sometimes the water pumps can be a bit of a challenge to find if yours has gone south.

Good luck!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2026 5:25 pm

tomk1960 wrote:

That's a nice looking bike! There are sure to be FB groups dedicated to your exact model. Dealing with a water-cooled bike isn't that bad. I've restored at least 5 water cooled bikes (VFRs and GL1000's) and as long as you can get replacement gaskets and hoses, the rest is easy. Sometimes the water pumps can be a bit of a challenge to find if yours has gone south.

Good luck!

Thanks! I've had one watercooled bike before, a ninja 250. I'm thinking it's going to be quite a while before I can ride it, especially if I want to get a little more power out of the motor by doing a port and polish with some head work.