looking on ebay / MCN i've noticed 600 engines tend to go for about £300-400

was wondering if the likes of a GSX-R, CBR or ZXR 600 is too puny for a 7 (if one agrees that a 1.3 escort engine is the minimum most people would put up with)???

its probably a stupid question, its just you all seem to be using Blade, Gixer thou, or Busa engines (which attract a higher premium price wise)

i'm hoping to build on a budget, so big bike engines are out of my price range at the mo (but who knows in a few years??), that and i like the idea of a sequential box

I think you would be quite disapointed with a 600. Not just from a power to weight aspect, but unless you can keep the all up weight below 400 kilos, you'll destroy the clutch and gearbox.

Rorty is right, realistically, you should be thinking of engines from 900cc up.

Remember though, there are *other* bike engines. The good old Honda CBR 1000 engine (1987 onwards) is a storming motor, if a little bulky, with an excellent spread of power, and can be purchased reasonably. The Yamaha FZR 1000 is another sound engine, five valves per cylinder, the forerunner to the R1. These engines can be pursuaded to make silly amounts of power for their diminutive size.......

Build yourself a Pinto power locost till you can afford the conversion to bike power.

have a look at this thread here which discussed it before.

FWIW, I dont think that you would actually save money unless you planned on blowing the engines up a lot and needed regular replacements. Even tho a blade/ZX9/R1 engine costs around a grand, there are lots of off-the-shelf cheap BEC parts for them (exhausts, engine cradles etc) which you dont have with the unusual engines. Even though you save maybe £500 on the engine cost with an unusual engine, you spend it again a bit later in the build when you require custom fabricated exhaust manifolds etc.
If it was my money, at the moment I would certainly go for an R1 engine, a good 20-25bhp more than the blade and better geared than the ZX9 as well as more powerful.

Chris

Jasper:

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Build yourself a Pinto power locost till you can afford the conversion to bike power.

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cheers guys, i'll go pinto like jasper says first