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My K1 Gixxer rescue and restoration

4.2K views 30 replies 10 participants last post by  Gixxer J  
#1 ·
Hi guys n gals, newbie here, just joined your forum, thanks for the welcomes in the intro section.

As an older guy now and having been in my mid-teens in the mid-80's I grew up riding some of the best classic Gixxers ever IMO. As most 80's kids I have MBS (multiple bike syndrome), a couple years ago I decided I wanted to add a good old school Gixxer to my riding collection, knowing it will not be a daily rider I didn't want carb'd, wanted something I can keep on a battery tender and ride when the mood strikes me, older but still new enough to be fuel injected.

After about a year of searching I found the perfect candidate for my Christmas present last year... a K1 750, 19k miles, clean title, been down on left side and then sat for a couple years. It was somewhat local to me and I got it for an even $1000, CL ad below and me bringing it home, she was a bit rough and in need of some love.











 
#8 · (Edited)
So to continue I have to go back in time to hopefully help convey my next decisions on the Gixxer build...

In the year 2000 (wow that seems like forever ago now), our prior cat "Fogarty" (yes named after Carl) was hit by a car right out in front of our house and died, so sad. My daughters were absolutely crushed, little girls then (now 22 & 24 and all grown up).

So like any good Dad, what to do what to do, yes buy another cat, if yer a cat hater suckit don't judge me :wink.

So in year 2000 enters our new addition to the family, solid black kitten, we name her "Gixxer". Pic below is from a scrap book my wife put together moons ago, hopefully you can read the text...




Gixxer was the best family pet, no issues, no troubles, did her toilet business outside, slept with our girls at night, very low maintenance. She would often hang out in the garage with me, pic below of her with my 91 Gixxer.




Long story short, last mid-December it was obvious she was throttling down and that her days were #'d, she died on Christmas Day 2017, it was very peaceful, she got to spend her last day with us, and being Christmas even our girls were over that day. Had it not been Christmas of course nobody would have been home, so we found it a blessing on the timing.

Now 2 things come into play... For one, the new K1 Gixxer build date is 09/00 which is the same month Gixxer the cat was born. Then just a couple days after Gixxer (the cat) died I go down to DMV to get new plates n tags for the new K1 because I bought it out of state, I'm at the DMV counter getting the new plates and they ask if I want a custom plate... In long past (10 years?) I had a 91 Gixxer that I had plated "GIXXER", I asked if it was available assuming not and the gal looks at me funny and says yes it's taken, by you! Huh? I guess because I sold that Gixxer to a Canuk the plate was never released by DMV, so I said heck ya I'll take it, she says you'll get the plate in 4-6 weeks, I said don't bother I have the plate on my garage wall because I pulled it off before shipping that Gixxer to Canada, give me the tags and I'm good to go!





So at this point I'm feeling like this is a sign and just really meant to be, I make the decision to do a full oem restoration of the K1, in my mind it keeps the memory Gixxer the cat in our minds for many years to come. :grin
 
#11 ·
Well that pretty much gets you all up to speed with where I'm at now with the build. :smile

But wait, it's not over! :0

I bought the NOS blu/wht set because it was available and fell in my lap at that time, but I really like and prefer the rare red/slvr color combo and have sense then pieced together an entire NOS set of the original red/slvr bodywork, I'm stoked for finishing the build this fall, more to come!

Let me know if anyone has any questions or comments and thanks for letting me share the build with you! :cheers:











 
#15 ·
Wow, really nice build.

You got a great deal for getting that bike for $1,000!

The bike looks cleaner than new!

How come the chain adjuster bolts/studs are offset below the centerline of the axle like that. Was that a K1 750 thing?
 
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#23 ·
I had the Gixxer back in the shop for some more NOS bits being installed, since most of the bodywork was off anyway for that work seemed like a good time to try out the NOS red/silver set of bodywork. I'm gonna run the white wheels with a NOS silver (K3) upper I had and red front fender for a bit, watcha think?

I'll switch it over to the black K1 upper, black front fender, and black wheels before Christmas, which will put me right on target for having the restoration done in a year. Good times, fun build! :smile





 
#25 ·
Sharp bike! Looks like it cleaned up really well under the fairing, too. I think I like the original red/silver color scheme over the blue and white. The second set of bodywork will come in handy when you run from the cops. When they are looking for a red and silver bike, you can be riding a blue and white one. :grin