u/SignificantWar5311

I recently got my hands on a Kawasaki ER6N (not sure on the exact year yet, VIN decoder hasn’t given me a clear answer. Was told it is 2014 or 15 but he wasnt sure). The previous owner tracked it, crashed it, repaired it, and then ran out of time and sold it to me in boxes. He says all the parts needed to make it run are there.
The frame is complete and rolling, and all the hardware seems to be sorted into bags, so my plan is to put it back together and get it running.
My first issue is with the rear wheel. When I install the rear axle with both spacers that came with the bike, there is a huge amount of side-to-side play. I’ve checked all the bags and can’t find any additional spacers, and the two I have are on the correct sides.
I watched a YouTube video of someone installing the rear wheel on an ER6N, and his spacers looked different, but I figured that might just be due to different model years.
So my questions are:
Is there supposed to be this much free play before the axle is tightened, or am I definitely missing a spacer/collar?
Does the brake caliper carrier take up some of this play?
More generally, is there a recommended order for putting one of these bikes back together from boxes? Any build threads, manuals, or tips from people who have rebuilt an ER6N/Ninja 650 from a rolling chassis would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks!

My CBR600F3 ran great up until recently. A few weeks ago I topped out 2nd gear on an abandoned road with no issues.

Then the bike sat outside for about 3 weeks since the starter button stopped working due to moisture in the switchgear. I couldn’t start the bike during that time. After cleaning the switch, it starts again, but now it has a completely different problem.

The bike starts and idles fine. After the first carb clean it also revved cleanly in neutral. Now it acts the same there as under load. Under load it starts bogging badly in the mid-RPM range. If I open the throttle further, it gets worse and can lose power completely. If I roll on the throttle slowly, it seems happier.

A few observations:
It revved up when I blew into the air intake hose.
After shutting it off and gicing it a vouple of breaths, it needed a lot more cranking to restart.
Choke seems to make the problem worse.
I feel like it ran slightly better with the fuel cap open.

Things I’ve already checked:
Carbs cleaned twice in the last two days.
Main jets and pilot jets removed and cleaned.
Float needles inspected and cleaned.
Fuel filter is clear.
Petcock is working.
Mixture screws were at 2 turns out and I tried 2.5 turns out with no noticeable change.
Fuel pump relay shorted, it pisses like a cow.
Carbs have not been synchronized, but the bike ran perfectly before sitting for 3 weeks.

What confuses me is that I’m getting mixed signals. Choke making it worse suggests it’s running rich, also blowing into the air intake maning it better. But it pops from the exhaust a lot, which makes me think its running lean. Im really hung up on the fact that it ran great just a short while ago…

Would you still suspect the carbs, or should I be looking elsewhere. How do I make it run leaner if thats the problem.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

I have a Honda CBR600F3 that I’ve arranged to trade this weekend.
The bike has run great for the last 3 months, but after sitting for about 3 weeks I noticed it hesitated a bit in the midrange under load. Since I suspected a carb issue, I removed the carbs and found that two of the float needles seemed a little sticky in their seats. I polished the needle seats lightly, cleaned everything with brake cleaner, reassembled the carbs and put them back on the bike.
When I started it afterwards, I noticed a fairly significant fuel leak on the right side. I removed the tank and connected a temporary fuel source to pinpoint the leak. I found one fuel hose that wasn’t fully seated, pushed it on further, and that reduced the leak considerably.
However, fuel is still coming out of the brown hose (pictured). From what I understand this may be an overflow/vent line from the carbs.
A few questions:
Does this indicate that I need to replace an o-ring, or a float needle/float level issue or something else?
Is there any chance this can be fixed externally, or do the carbs need to come back off?
Could polishing the needle seats have caused this?
Would this be enough of a red flag to make you cancel a motorcycle trade?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!